NUTRITIONAL AND WEIGHT COUNSELLING
At each yearly examination, we will grade your pet using a body condition scoring system for an assessment of overall well-being. Starting at our puppy and kitten visits, dietary needs will be discussed as will reputable foods that will fit with your pet. Certain breeds of growing dogs will need certain nutritional requirements that perhaps another breed will not. For example, a Great Dane Puppy should be on a giant breed puppy food while a regular puppy food will be adequate for the Poodle in your life! As there are so many foods to chose from in the pet stores, our veterinary team will try to help navigate a proper and reputable diet for your pet.
If you are interested in feeding a home cooked diet, there are many resources available from qualified veterinary nutritionists. To ensure that your pet is getting a completely balanced, nutritional home cooked meal, we need to contact or use the resources available to our team to ensure that this is the case.
A few years ago, a diet referred to as the RAW diet became popular in southern Ontario; recently, it has become more popular in the area. We cannot condone this diet for numerous reasons and the research has proven that this diet can be hazardous to your pet, as well as family members. Please read our links in the FAQs to educate yourself about this diet and the risks to your pet and yourself. Be aware that any animal, needing to be hospitalized eating RAW will be quarantined as the risks to other animals in clinic and our team pose significant health hazards. For example, if your RAW animal is a carrier of Salmonella, it can be transferred to other pets in hospital as well as to staff members. SALMONELLA SEPTICEMIA CAN KILL – WE WILL NOT RISK ANYONE’S SAFETY FOR A RISKY PERSONAL DECISION.
Weight counselling may be used if your pet is under or overweight as determined by the veterinary team at the yearly appointment. Statistically proven, 60% of the pet population is overweight and this is the majority of patients regardless if canine or feline. We will discuss your current diet, treats, and any other “treats” given in order to formulate a weight loss strategy to benefit you and your pet! Our team is well versed in the commercial diets available to us and will use staff nutritionist expertise from our veterinary weight loss foods available through our clinic. As each of the team has pets of our own, we do have personal touches that we have used to help with the weight loss program. Why is optimum weight of pets important? Obesity in pets has been linked to an increased risk in arthritis, muscle injuries, diabetes and many other conditions that we can discuss on an individual basis.
