New canine and feline clinical nutrition handbook available

The Purina Institute has released the Purina Institute Handbook of Canine and Feline Clinical Nutrition, a reference guide to the nutritional management of clinical conditions in dogs and cats. According to a company release,¹ the free, product-agnostic e-book is written by over 40 global experts in veterinary nutrition, internal medicine, cardiology, dermatology, emergency care, and additional specialties.

Photo courtesy of Purina Institute.

In a recent Purina Institute survey, 96% of pet owners expressed that veterinarians are their most trusted source for nutrition advice.¹ Also, 78% of pet owners said that nutrition expertise is an "important" or "extremely important" factor in their satisfaction with their veterinary clinic. However, only 1 in 5 veterinary professionals surveyed say they proactively offer nutrition advice during most client visits.¹

"We know nutrition can help our patients thrive, but it can be hard to engage clients in a nutrition discussion" said Andrew Sparkes, BVetMed, PhD, DipECVIM, MANZCVS, MRCVS, independent veterinary consultant and an editor of the nutrition handbook.¹ "This handbook is an outstanding new resource to help facilitate conversations about nutrition and provide practical tips for busy veterinary team members, making it easier to prioritize nutrition recommendations and meet the needs of their clients."

A challenge veterinary professionals said they often confront when discussing nutrition is misinformation surrounding pet health that pet parents find on the Internet.

"The good news is that the survey revealed clients are much more likely to trust advice from veterinarians and staff members on pet nutrition than any information they can glean from Internet searches," said Natalia Wagemans, PhD, global head of the Purina Institute, in the release. Wagemans also shared that pet owners place a high level of importance on nutrition, with 3 of 4 stating it is "very important" to the pet's health and well-being.

"Whether a client and patient are visiting the veterinary hospital for a sick or well pet visit, it's clear that nutrition discussions are vital opportunities to build trust," she added.¹

Veterinary professionals can obtain free access to the new online Clinical Nutrition Handbook by visiting PurinaInstitute.com/sign-up and signing-up to receive scientific communications. Along with this resource, Purina Institute offers CentreSquare, an online toolkit to help facilitate nutrition conversations and promote client understanding and compliance with nutrition recommendations.

Reference

Purina Institute launches new canine and feline clinical nutrition handbook for veterinary teams. News release. Nestle Purine Petcare. June 30, 2023. Accessed June 30, 2023. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/purina-institute-launches-new-canine-and-feline-clinical-nutrition-handbook-for-veterinary-teams-301867589.html