I just wanted to point out a web site I found recently which offers excellent information on pet nutrition. PetDiets.com is the site of Veterinary Nutritional Consultations, Inc. (VNC). This organization is a independent consulting group that provides nutrition information for veterinarians and for pet owners. It is run by Dr. Rebecca Remillard, a board-certified veterinary nutritionist.
For clients interested in feeding a homemade diet, I always recommend consulting a veterinary nutritionist. Homemade diets can be an excellent feeding option, but they are notorious for being nutritionally inadequate (1), and the advice of a nutritionist can help pet owners avoid unintentionally feeding inappropriate diets.
I also like the extensive collection of pet owner questions Dr. Remillard has answered and posted on her site. She provides clear, comprehensive, and science-based answers to hundreds of questions regarding homemade and commercial diets, nutritional supplements, and other nutrition-related topics.
References
1. Lauren , S., et al, Computer analysis of nutrient sufficiency of published home-cooked diets for dogs and cats. Proc ACVIM Forum 2005.
Wish I had had this to hand when trying to end an interminable debate on raw food on the dog section of a horse forum – raw food diets being heavily pushed: I eventually had to leave the forum, people got so cross………
…….and, now that I come to think of it,
“A romanticized view of evolution cropping up on the web is reversionary “new age” trash and clouds the issue. Evolutionary pressure, contrary to current popular notions, does not indicate the very best or optimal diet but merely indicates a minimal diet for survival. ”
will come in handy when bearing patiently with the “man is a meat eater” school of thought:
Thanks for pointing to the Petdiets.com site, it is a great resource.
skeptvet, what’s your opinion of self-styled gurus who dispense nutrition advice to pet owners over the internet and formulate diets for dogs, even though they’re not qualified to do so?
one such “doggie dietitian” in canada formulates raw diets. she charges fees equivalent to those of a veterinary nutritionist ($275 for an adult dog consultation). i wonder what dr. remillard and her collegaues think of this!?
can anyone, regardless of their abilities and education–or lack thereof–set up shop and create therapeutic diets for dogs? isn’t there potential for harm, particularly if the dog is old, sick or debilitated?
what would you do if one of your clients worked with a “canine dietary consultant” instead of a qualified veterinarian (petdiets.com, balanceit.com)?
Irish comedian Dara O’Briain characterizes these folks pretty well.
The Internet creates the impression that anyone can be an expert, without the hard work. Why else would anyone take advice about vaccines from Jenny McCarthy?
Request-please a balanced diet for Lady Baby, 20 lb 1.5 yr old King Charles Cavalier. Note that history can be obtained from Dr. Cecilia Friberg, 3123 N Clybourn Ave. Chicago, Il 60618. Thank you
Dr. Hughes,
You appear to have misunderstood my post. I was simply recommeending the nutrition service at PetDiets.com. I am not affiliated with the organization and this is not their web site. You can request a nutrition consult through:
https://www.petdiets.com/Consult/default.asp
we have a nine year old shitsu-bejon . a lovely dog except with allergies to grass,ham, turkey and other irritants. she is very picky to what foods [WET} she will eat. we add sliced turkey to all her meals. I so want to break her of this habit, along with her appetite for trwats. I need help astertaining a healthy diet. she will only eat wet dog food. she likes the venison we eat. I await your help
Unfortunately, identifying specific food allergies is very difficult, and most of the time we don’t go through the appropriate steps to do so. A dog should be fed a hydrolyzed protein diet exclusively until all symptoms resolve and then should be sequentially fed individual ingredients in short test periods to determine which trigger symptoms and which don’t.This is way too much work for most people, son often we make a diet change and then guess at which component of the previous diet might’ve been the trigger, but this is not very reliable.
If you are feeding a commercial diet from a reputable company (nutrition specialists on staff, proven quality control track record, etc), and if treats and table food make up only a very small proportion of the diet (less than about 10% or so), that is probably nutritionally fine. If you want to look at homemade or commercial diets for specific medical needs, including allergies, it would be best to consult a veterinary nutritionist. You can do this online or at some veterinary colleges and private specialty hospitals. Here is a list of veterinary nutritionists to start off with. Good luck!
We had a terrible experience with PetDiets.com. Even the Ohana Pet Hospital vet who recommended this site couldn’t figure out what they meant by their proportions. We wasted our money and the extra expenditure of a rush order. We couldn’t even use their diet. We’re letting our friends know to go elsewhere.
I’m sorry to hear that. I have lots of clients who have been happy with their services, but fortunately there are a lot of other resources out there too.