Dig into pet nutrition

It's a question that leaves so many veterinarians squirming and searching for just the right answer: "So, Doc, what should I feed my pet?"

PHOTO: SHAWN STIGSELL/ZAC BENTZ

It's a commonly held belief in the profession that, by and large, students don't receive adequate nutritional training and education in veterinary school. Dr. Rebecca Remillard, DVM, a clinical veterinarian of small and large animal nutrition at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, certainly recognizes this and notes that there's a gap between what's taught in school and what students will face "in the real world" as practitioners, particularly when it comes to small animals.

"Veterinary schools have always brought over nutritionists from the animal science departments," Dr. Remillard says. "Traditionally, they haven't gotten into small animal nutrition."

While it may be true that there's a void to fill in schools, no one argues that as an excuse for not knowing more on the topic. "We're not exposed to a lot of nutrition in school," says Dr. Ernie Ward, a Veterinary Economics board member and author of Chow Hounds: Why Our Dogs Are Getting Fatter. "But I argue that we're not exposed in depth to a lot of things we practice every day."

What's a DVM to do?

Dr. Remillard says that while conferences typically offer some sort of continuing education courses in nutrition, they're often poorly attended. "Nutrition doesn't pay in practice," she says. "Veterinarians would rather go to a session on endoscopy or dentistry—something they'll see a return on. They admit that nutrition is good medicine, but it doesn't pay."

Often veterinarians come to rely on sales representatives from pet food companies as their primary source of nutritional education. Dr. Remillard believes that most representatives—particularly ones who are also veterinarians—do an excellent job of educating veterinarians and their staff about new research and advancements in nutrition. "The subject matter will be driven by whatever the product is that they want to sell, but the actual information they give is quite good," she says.

What do your clients really want?

But is it possible that veterinarians are relying too heavily on the pet food companies? Dr. Ward thinks so. "Veterinarians are often so busy and stressed, we think we just need to hit the 'easy button' on this one," he says. "We bring in the sales reps and ask them to tell us what we need to know."

But he's concerned that by taking this path of least resistance, veterinarians often receive information that's muddied with too much corporate detail and fails to deliver the whole story. So what's his solution? Just go back to basics.

Be a pet nutrition detective

Remember those clinical nutrition books you toted around in veterinary school? Get 'em back out, says Dr. Ward. He recommends taking the time to understand the basic underlying principles of nutrition—what does food do and how does it impact the pet's health? Once you've armed yourself with this knowledge, you can start making informed decisions that incorporate your personal preferences and beliefs. But you can even dig a little deeper.

It's also important to understand how a pet food company manufactures its food, from sourcing its nutrients to processing its diets, he says. "I tell veterinarians to go and explore a brand," Dr. Ward says. "Just look into it. Learn what they're doing."

In doing so, you'll either discover things you like and come away with an appreciation for that brand, or you'll discover things you don't like and make another choice. But the important thing is to do the research.

What about home-prepared diets?

An easy way to accomplish this is to contact a veterinary nutritionist at a local veterinary college and fire some questions at them. Or better yet, go straight to the source and call the nutritionists at the pet food companies, says Dr. Remillard. They're there to answer your questions—and save you a lot of time.

Knowledge + confidence = success

Now that you've got all this knowledge under your belt, how do you translate it into a tangible and useful part of your practice? Just start the discussion, Dr. Ward says. Nutritional counseling became a foundation of Dr. Ward's recently sold practice Seaside Animal Care in Calabash, N.C., because he did his homework and he wanted to have the discussion with clients. "We're successful with our dietary recommendations because we're knowledgeable, we're confident, and we're not afraid to initiate the conversation," he says.

At Seaside Animal Care, they don't wait for their clients to ask what they should be feeding. Veterinarians there take control and make specific, guided recommendations to their clients during an exam. "People are very receptive when you get down to that individualized level, because they realize you've given it some thought and are basing your recommendation on the information you have about their pet," he says.

Dr. Remillard agrees that veterinarians should be willing to open up the conversation about nutrition. "Nutrition and food might be low on the clinician's priority list, but they're very high on the client's priority list," she says. "Clients understand food—they can relate to it. The veterinarian who talks about food is probably going to be very successful for that reason."

Filter the noise

But what about all of the other recommendations that clients get from outside sources—the Internet, a pet store employee, or the groomer? Even if your first reaction is to bristle at their advice, it's important not to show it, Dr. Remillard says. She stresses that as a veterinarian, it's your job to listen and help clients understand. Let them know you're there to help cut through all the noise and make informed decisions based on the needs of their pet as well as their lifestyle and financial situation.

Dr. Ward echoes a similar sentiment and says whatever you do, don't be dismissive when a client comes to you with information about a new diet. "The worst thing you can do is dismiss it," he says. "If that person has heard a compelling case for the diet and you dismiss it, your credibility is shattered. They don't want to hear anything else you have to say."

A better approach is to reserve making a judgment and tell them you'd like to investigate the diet and get back to them once you have more information. And then do just that. Do some research and decide if it's a good choice for that pet. If it's not, call the client or bring them back into your clinic for a nutritional counseling appointment. At that time, you can share what you've learned, tell them about your concerns and why you can't recommend the diet, and give them an option that's more closely suited to the pet's needs.

But Dr. Remillard is quick to point out that sometimes, even if you wouldn't have recommended a diet on your own, if it's not doing the pet any harm, leave it alone. "Often, clients become jaded because they think you're just pushing the product that's in your waiting room," she says. "You have to pick your battles. If there's nothing wrong with the food they're feeding, that's not a battle worth going down for."

Take back the reins

Although no veterinarian would argue the importance of nutrition as a critical component in pet wellness, it's still an oft-neglected part of many wellness exams and client discussions.

Dr. Ward believes that many veterinarians are afraid of nutrition because they feel inadequate that they aren't knowledgeable enough to act as experts. But veterinarians are the experts, he says. And what's more, it's not just about having a solid knowledge base about nutrition—it's about having an opinion, too.

"Veterinarians are sometimes afraid that if they express an opinion or give a specific recommendation, they'll alienate or lose a client," he says. "But I haven't found that to be the case."

Dr. Ward reminds veterinarians that clients are coming to you as a trusted source of information and as a caregiver for their pets. Clients want to hear your opinions and discuss all facets of their pet's health with you. And the most important health decision a pet owner makes each day is what they choose to feed their pet. Make sure you're there to help them make it.