The Alternative Dog Moms

From Zookeeper to PhD Animal Nutritionist: Dr. Francis Cabana on Pet Food Myths, Microbiomes & Feeding Better Dogs

• Kimberly Gauthier (Keep the Tail Wagging) and Erin Scott (Believe in Dog) • Season 4 • Episode 171

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In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Francis Cabana to talk pet nutrition myths, unbalanced homemade recipes online, microbiome health, probiotics, and what it’s really like working in the pet food industry. We also cover whether dogs are true carnivores, zoo kibble, affordable ways to improve your dog’s bowl, and how to confidently choose evidence-based nutrition over internet noise.

Timestamps:

0:56 – Dr. Francis’s origin story: from zookeeper to PhD animal nutritionist
8:06 – Why she started sharing about pet food on social media
13:13 – Life for dogs, cats, and pet parents in Singapore
17:16 – Unbalanced homemade recipes and misinformation online
25:31 – Encouraging pet parents (and our own parents) to try something new
32:00 – PhD in Animal Nutrition vs online nutrition certificates
40:11 – Are dogs carnivores? And what’s the deal with zoo kibble
45:10 – The microbiome, probiotics, and gut health
51:11 – Working as a nutritionist for a pet food brand
57:38 – What Dr. Francis feeds + affordable ways to improve your dog’s bowl

Links Discussed:

Social media:

Thanks for listening to our podcast. You can learn more about Erin Scott's first podcast at BelieveInDogPodcast.com. And you can learn more about raw feeding, raising dogs naturally, and Kimberly's dogs at KeepTheTailWagging.com. And don't forget to subscribe to The Alternative Dog Moms.