Veterinary Medicine Essentials: Nutrition nuggets

What your patients eat on a regular basis can have so much impact on their health. Taking the time to assess each patient's diet is vital. And these days you have to be prepared for clients' oddball questions about diets, even the dreaded raw food discussion. These articles will get you up to speed so you're ready to delve into any topic on nutrition in the exam room.

Feast on the latest

Dial a diet recommendation

Dec 15, 2017

How teleconsultation between primary care veterinarians and nutrition specialists can conquer geographical limitations on patient care. ...

Go with the gut: Exploring a probiotics promising benefits

Oct 27, 2017

A probiotic already on the market could modulate immune responses in dogs and cats to help manage select clinical problems. ...

Data: Pet owners on nutrition, preventive health, pain

Aug 18, 2017

Whose job is preventive health? How often do young pet owners turn to nutrition to solve their pet's pain problems? Dive into the new data from The Pet Owner Paths research. ...

Should DVMs sell pet food?

Feb 21, 2017

If your answers to these two questions in this article are "yes," then ABSOLUTELY your veterinary hospital needs to sell pet food to pet owners, according to Ernie Ward, DVM. ...

Diagnosing food allergies in dogs and catsBring your case to trial

Jan 05, 2017

An elimination diet trial is the only way to diagnose a food allergy in a dog or cat. Heres a step-by-step guide for selecting and conducting an elimination diet trial. ...

Shucking pet food marketing gimmicks: One nutritionists perspective

Aug 02, 2016

Do your research, cut through the advertising, and offer your clients your science-based opinion to quell the fears about diets you recommend. ...

Living in a GMO world: Fresh from the 2016 Nestle Purina Companion Animal Nutrition Summit

Apr 12, 2016

Consider these talking points for veterinary clients who say, "Heck no, GMO!" ...

No meat? All meat? (Neither, please)

Feb 05, 2016

Veterinary clients can go to opposite sides of a spectrum in diet preferences for their pets. But who's really in control? ...

Pet food facts-and fiction

Feb 19, 2015

Cant stomach the dizzying array of pet food trends, fads and marketing tactics inundating the market? Lets demystify some of the most common misconceptions so you can counsel your clients with confidence. ...

Control the conversation

A tool to find out what Ruby and Roscoe are really eating

You know you're not really getting the full picture of what your veterinary patients eat. Here's a form to help you get a little fuller picture of a dog's diet. ...

Nibbling nutraceutical factsone veterinary client question at a time

You want to be the health authority pet owners turn to for nutraceutical recommendations and questions. Because if you arent, the GNC salesperson will be. ...

Nutrition leaving a bad taste in YOUR mouth?

You may find diet discussions distasteful, but there's value in making nutrition the 5th vital sign. ...

Out-of-the-blue diet and nutrition queries: Pick your battles carefully

Unsure of the best way to counsel your clients on nutrition? Simplify the conversation with these three questions. ...

A veterinary nutritionists advice on client-requested diet curiosities

Dr. Rebecca Remillard's expert opinions from the frontline ...

3 excuses Ive heard from veterinarians scared to talk about nutrition

You dont have to be a nutritionist, run long in every appointment or shill for pet food companies. ...

Clients are hungry for information

Client handout: How to conduct a limited-antigen diet trial

Help pet owners get a handle on their pets nutrition needs with this printable tool. ...

Client handout: 3 pet food myths

With so many pet food options, choosing the right diet can be tricky. Help clients with this handout. ...

Client handout: The pet food guessing game

Once you get past the marketing and product claims, what are veterinary clients really feeding pets? ...

Client handout: Forget the packaging, read the ingredient list

Provide veterinary clients with a pet food ingredient cheat sheet to better understand what's in their pets' food. ...

Client handout: How many calories is a mouse?

Ever wonder how a mouse would factor on the Weight Watchers "point" system? It may help clients with overweight cats. ...

Let your team serve up nutrition information

DIY recipes for diet trials

If clients need to use a limited-ingredient diet to complete a diet trial for their pet, Dr. Anthea Schick recommends these two homemade diets. ...

Keep current on calorie counts

No, calorie content is not required (yet) on pet food labels. But you can still help your veterinary clients figure out caloric intake. ...

Calculate the perfect portions for pets

Are Fluffy and Spot eating too much or too little? Use this step-by-step guide to determine caloric requirements for your veterinary patients. ...

Team handout: 8 questions you should be able to answer about the food you recommend

Hint: Youll have to look beyond the label. ...

When it comes to homemade diets, tell and SHOW

Getting the right balance of nutrients is key. Here's a tool to help. ...

Demystifying pet food facts and fiction

This quick-start guide will get you on your way to confident pet food recommendations for your veterinary clients. ...

Nutrition nugget: Feeding tips for a multicat household

Help veterinary clients feed their cats the right amount of the right diet. ...

Nutrition myths: How veterinary technicians can bite back with facts

Ann Wortinger, LVT, VTS (nutrition), serves up nutrition facts on gluten-free, raw and other marketed diets and dishes advice for team members who want to start the nutrition discussion with pet owners. Firstline Editor Portia Stewart interviews. ...

Get pet food savvy and bring the pet food conversation back to the veterinary clinic

Helping pet owners decipher the often confusing marketing and labeling of pet foods may prevent them from making well meaning, but uneducated nutritional choices in the store aisle. ...

Bottom line: Nutrition is about pet health

A pernicious triad: Arthritis, obesity and chronic pain

Each of these health problems causes harm in its own way, and it's not unusual for veterinary patients to present with all three. Dr. Tara Edwards says early detection and intervention and a multimodal management strategy are keys to taming this tangled trio. ...

See Spot suffering from osteoarthritis

Techniciansdoctors need your help in detecting osteoarthritis in your veterinary patients. Heres how to become an OA advocate in your clinic. ...

U.S. pets getting fatter, according to pet obesity research report

Pet owners disagree with veterinarians on nutritional issues ...

Top 10 obesity-related pet conditions

These cat and dog conditions accounted for more than 1.3 million of Nationwide pet insurance claims in 2016, a 23 percent increase from three years before. ...

Do I look fat in this? 6 ways to effectively intervene in patient weight issues

A new study looks at how veterinarians can comfortably step in to facilitate weight loss, borrowing from successful human programs to help. ...

Dig into pet nutrition

You don't need a degree in nutrition to help veterinary clients make good pet food choices. All it takes is the desire to learn and a willingness to start the conversation with clients. ...

Skin diseases responding to nutritional changes (Proceedings)

The exact etiology in most clinical cases is not well understood. Food allergy is defined as an immunologically based reaction to food. Immunologic mechanisms of types I-IV have been hypothesized. ...