Pet parents often notice that veterinarians frequently recommend kibble-based diets and may wonder why this approach is so consistent across clinics and schools. One factor worth understanding is the role that large pet food companies play in supporting veterinary education and research—and how that support influences the nutrition landscape.
This influence is real, but it’s also complex and not inherently negative.
1. Corporate Support Is Common in Veterinary Education
Veterinary schools are expensive to operate, and like many professional programs, they rely on a mix of public funding, tuition, research grants, and private partnerships.
Large pet food companies such as Hill’s, Purina, and Royal Canin often contribute through:
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Funding nutrition research and teaching positions
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Supporting veterinary teaching hospitals
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Providing educational materials and case studies
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Offering student scholarships, internships, and continuing education
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Supplying food for hospitalized or teaching animals
This support helps fill financial gaps and enables schools to maintain strong clinical and research programs.
2. How This Shapes Nutrition Training
Because major pet food companies invest heavily in research and educational resources, much of the available nutrition data used in veterinary training comes from commercially formulated diets.
As a result:
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Students receive in-depth instruction on AAFCO standards and feeding trials
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Commercial diets are frequently used as examples of balanced nutrition
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Homemade and alternative diets are discussed, but often with an emphasis on formulation challenges and risks
This reflects the availability of data rather than an explicit exclusion of other approaches.
3. Why Kibble Is Often the Default Recommendation
From a clinical standpoint, veterinarians are trained to recommend options that are:
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Nutritionally complete and consistent
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Supported by published research
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Practical for most owners to use long-term
Kibble meets these criteria well. Its formulation is standardized, its nutrient content is predictable, and it has been studied across life stages and health conditions. For a general population of dogs with varied owners and circumstances, it represents a reliable baseline diet.
4. Understanding Influence Versus Intent
It’s important to distinguish between system-level influence and individual decision-making.
Most veterinarians:
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Do not receive commissions for recommending specific foods
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Are guided by clinical experience and available evidence
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Prioritize safety, prevention, and long-term health
At the same time, the research landscape is shaped by who has the resources to fund large-scale studies. Commercial pet food companies are currently the primary contributors to this body of evidence, which naturally affects what is taught and referenced.
5. Why Non-Commercial Diets Are Approached Cautiously
Fresh, homemade, and alternative diets can be appropriate for some dogs, but they require careful formulation. In practice, veterinarians often encounter cases where well-meaning homemade diets are unbalanced, leading to nutrient deficiencies or excesses over time.
Because of this, veterinary training emphasizes caution and professional oversight when these diets are used. This approach is rooted in clinical outcomes rather than a preference for any specific product type.
6. An Evolving Field—with More Options Emerging
Veterinary nutrition continues to evolve as new feeding approaches are studied and refined. Alongside traditional commercial diets, there is growing interest in fresh, gently cooked meals that are developed with the same nutritional rigor used in veterinary medicine.
Some fresh-food companies, such as Leo’s Organic Bowl, work within this framework by offering meals that are:
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Veterinarian-formulated
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AAFCO-compliant
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Nutritionally complete and balanced
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Made with fresh, human-grade, locally sourced ingredients
These types of diets aim to combine the consistency and nutrient assurance emphasized in veterinary training with ingredient transparency and minimal processing. While not every fresh diet on the market meets these standards, formulations developed with veterinary oversight represent one way the field is expanding beyond traditional kibble while still prioritizing nutritional adequacy and safety.
As more research becomes available, veterinary recommendations are likely to continue broadening to reflect a wider range of evidence-based feeding options.
Final Perspective
Corporate involvement in veterinary education helps sustain research, training, and clinical care, and it also shapes the framework within which nutrition is taught. This helps explain why kibble remains a widely recommended option—it aligns with existing data, standardization, and risk management principles.
Understanding this context allows for more informed conversations between veterinarians and pet parents, especially as interest in alternative feeding approaches continues to grow.