Creating a nutritional protocol in your veterinary practice

Vicky Ograin, MBA, RVT, VTS (Nutrition), scientific communication specialist at Hill's Pet Nutrition, told dvm360 in an interview how a conversation about nutrition with clients is crucial to help improve a cancer patient's prognosis. Patients recently diagnosed with cancer need extra attention to nutrition so it's important to know what the pet owner is feeding and how much, including treats—especially if they are overfeeding with treats.

The following is a partial transcript of the video.

Vicky Ograin, MBA, RVT, VTS (Nutrition): When we have a patient that has been diagnosed with cancer, first off, we're going to have those discussions about the treatment plan. Part of that needs to also be nutrition. Find out the nutritional history, find out what they're feeding, find out why they're feeding that, and then put together a plan. It could be a supportive type diet, or we're just going to keep them on the diet they're on. But we need to have those conversations, and particularly about treats. This is when they go completely out of control with the treats. And what I always recommend is figure out how many calories that dog or cat is going to need, write it down, give them something that they can take home, or that they can get at home. What I mean by that is a brochure or text them [or] email them.