Friday, July 14, 2023

Dr. Marty - Misinformation, Clickbait, Dangerous

 Dr. Marty sells pet food. He doesn't want to stop there, though. He also wants to post fraudulent ads online with extremely misleading and dangerous information, and pass it off to readers as "important things" from "top veterinarians".

"If your Dog Eats Dry Food, Do This"
"Top Vet reveals the most important thing you can do for your dog."

You should never fill your dog's bowl with milk. One simple google search reveals [this] from the American Kennel Club, which explains that dairy is safe for most dogs in small doses on special occasions. Some dogs are entirely lactose intolerant and shouldn't have dairy at all. "Doctor" Marty is pouring a whole morning breakfast here. He just can't bring himself to stop there, though. He goes on to call this the "most important thing" one can do for one's dog, claiming the advice comes from a "top vet". This is not true at all! It's important to mention that when clicking on these ads, they often point to something completely different than what's in the picture. However this doesn't exonerate him - he's still clearly putting the suggestion out there.


"Top veterinarian reveals the most important thing you can do for your dog."

This one comes to us courtesy of his Twitter page. See [here] for the original, or [an archived version] in case he tries to hide the evidence. We have a photo of someone putting whipped cream on dog food. Whether whipped cream is safe for dogs depends on a lot of factors such as your dog's diet/health, risks, the ingredients in the whipped cream, and more. Also, whipped cream typically has dairy, so the same risks as with the "dog food cereal" above should be taken into consideration here, too. Again, he positions this as "the most important thing" one can do for one's dog. The page goes to something else again, but there's an obvious photo of someone putting dairy on dog food, with the instruction of "do this". Someone [commented] that they tried this and it made their dogs sick. Unsurprising! And "Doctor" Marty has nothing to say for himself.

"This dog behavior isn't 'normal'. Dogs often hide signs of illness. Look for these clues instead. 1 Dog Behavior To Never Ignore" [twitter] [archive]

The reasons dogs roll onto their backs are plenty. Playing, showing trust, asking for belly rubs, scratching their backs, self-defense, and more. It is a completely normal behavior that virtually all able-bodied dogs do regularly. "Doctor" Marty is using scare tactics here by implying that a healthy behavior any dog owner will see daily has actually been an abnormal sign of illness all along.

"How Dogs Cry For Help: 3 Warning Signs Your Dogs Is Crying For Help"

Yes, the "doctor" actually wrote "your dogs is". Anyway, same scare tactics. The dog is clearly just relaxing/sleeping, but he's positioning it as a "cry for help". This doesn't even really need an explanation; it's pretty self-explanatory. "Doctor" Marty doesn't want to let sleeping dogs lie -- only "Dr." Marty is allowed to lie!!!

"If Your Dog Licks His Feet He's In Danger"

In our last example for right now, he pulls the same scare tactics a third time. The very first sentence of [this AKC article] confirms that dogs licking their paws is typically fine and normal. No further explanation needed. There are exceptions, and it is worth reading the whole article to look into them, but "Doctor" Marty doesn't position this as "exceptions" or "certain cases". He just says, with little punctuation and seemingly no sense of subtlety in the most alarmist way possible, that dogs licking paws is a sign of danger.

It doesn't stop here. The ads persist, and have for years now. When is it finally enough? When will someone hold this reckless "doctor" accountable for the dangerous misinformation he's spreading?