A Top Holistic Vet Just Spilled the Pet Care Mistakes Most Owners Don’t Even Realize They’re Making

Pet parenting has officially entered its “wait…what’s actually in this stuff?” era. People are reading ingredient labels, questioning yearly vaccine reminders, side-eyeing flea meds, and realizing their fur baby’s routine might not need to look exactly like everybody else’s.

One stat from integrative veterinarian Dr. Judy Morgan explains why so many owners are suddenly rethinking everything: “The average life expectancy of a medium-sized dog in the ’70s was 17—it’s now 10.”

On The Art of Being Well, Dr. Morgan joins host Dr. Will Cole to break down the pet care habits she believes deserve a second look. Whether you have a new puppy, a senior rescue, or a cat that’s been eating the same crunchy brown pellets for a decade, here’s what she wants every animal lover to know.

Most commercial kibble is genuinely not food

“When you go to the slaughterhouse, if they find a big cancerous area in a cow or a pig or whatever they’re processing, it goes into a bucket not for human consumption…it goes to pet food,” Dr. Morgan says. Worse, rendered “meat meal” can legally include euthanized animals, which means pentobarbital (the actual drug used to put pets down) can show up in your dog’s kibble. The FDA has known for years and their stance is that the amount probably isn’t enough to be a problem.

Things to skip on the ingredient label:

• Anything labeled “meat meal,” “meat and bone meal,” or “meat tallow” (rendered = mystery animals)
• Corn (over 60 percent of the corn used in pet food is moldy, rejected from the human food supply)
• BHA, BHT, ethoxyquin, and other preservatives banned from human food
• Artificial dyes (your dog cannot see them, they are 100 percent for you)

Look for freeze-dried raw, gently cooked, or human-grade brands instead. Dr. Morgan’s go-to recommendations are Allprovide, Get Joy, and Green Juju.

Spay and neuter timing is way off

“We’re taking a six-month-old dog and making it postmenopausal overnight,” Dr. Morgan says. Removing sex hormones that early is now linked to higher rates of arthritis, hip dysplasia, and several cancers. In Scandinavia, spaying and neutering is illegal without a medical reason, and their dogs live longer because of it.

For small breeds, waiting until at least one year is the move. For large breeds, Dr. Morgan suggests holding off until at least 24 months, ideally after three heat cycles for females, so the hormones have a chance to do their actual job.

Flea and tick meds are pesticides, not preventives

A massive misconception is that these chemicals repel ticks. They don’t. “Your dog or cat has to be bitten by the flea or bitten by the tick in order to ingest that chemical, then they die,” Dr. Morgan says. The Isoxazoline class of pesticides (the kind your vet probably hands you in the exam room) has been linked to seizures, tremors, dry eye, spontaneous bleeding, and even death in some animals. There are already multiple class action lawsuits in motion.

If you live somewhere without major flea or tick exposure, you may not need these at all. If you do, Dr. Morgan recommends asking about natural alternatives like neem-based formulas, and never giving the chemical at the same vet visit as a vaccine.

Annual vaccines are mostly outdated

“That card should say, ‘Hey, Fluffy is due to come in for a physical exam and some lab work, let’s check Fluffy’s health,'” Dr. Morgan says. Instead, it says shots are due. Most core vaccines for dogs last a lifetime, and titer testing (a simple blood test that checks for antibodies) can confirm whether your dog actually needs a booster before they get one.

A few rules of thumb:

• Never let your vet give multiple vaccines plus a pesticide dose all in one visit
• Ask for titer testing for distemper, parvo, and rabies before booster shots
• Push back when boarding or grooming facilities require vaccines your dog doesn’t actually need

Cats are obligate carnivores, kibble is 50 percent carbs

If your cat eats dry food, this might be why they are overweight or diabetic. “Kibble is at least 50 percent carbohydrates because it can’t go through the extruder if it’s more than about 30 percent meat,” Dr. Morgan says. Cats are built to eat meat. 

Freeze-dried raw is her top pick because it has the same crunchy texture as kibble (cats are wildly loyal to texture), and you can rehydrate it with water for a wetter meal. Frozen raw patties and gently cooked human-grade options from brands like Allprovide, Get Joy, and Green Juju are also great. 

Pro tips Dr. Morgan swears by

For anyone who wants to start making changes today, her short list:

• Bone broth on every meal. Great for gut, joint, and brain health, and an absolute lifesaver when your dog has an upset stomach (Dr. Morgan recommends fasting them for 12 to 24 hours, then easing them back in with bone broth).
• Omega-3 supplements if you’re feeding kibble. Dry pet food has a 30:1 omega 6 to 3 ratio, which is wildly inflammatory. Adding omega-3s helps balance it out.
• A functional mushroom supplement. Dr. Morgan loves Real Mushrooms’ Five Defenders blend because it covers lion’s mane, reishi, cordyceps, and more in one chew. Great for immune, brain, and overall vitality support.
• Vitamin D testing through VDI Labs. Unlike humans, pets can’t make vitamin D from sunlight, they only get it through food, and most of it gets destroyed during processing. Most pets are deficient and don’t know it. Never use human vitamin D supplements on your pet though, the dose is way too high and can cause kidney failure.
• An at-home microbiome test. Just a poop sample mailed in, and it shows you exactly what’s actually going on in your pet’s gut so you can figure out if (and which) probiotics they actually need.

Pet care has become an industry of upsells and outdated protocols, and most of the changes that make the biggest difference don’t cost much. Better food, fewer chemicals, smarter vaccines, and a vet who treats your pet like the individual they are.

Listen to the full episode on The Art of Being Well with Dr. Will Cole, available wherever you listen to podcasts.

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