Written by Helena Vaz de Araújo Alcântara
FMV-UL
IVSA Portugal
2nd Place Winner of SCOVE X Purina Institute Essay Competition: A Nutrition Management Case Presentation
Nutrition is a significant aspect of animal welfare, enhancing their quality of life and quantity[1]. Pet owners who are increasingly aware of the importance of animal nutrition, play a crucial role in choosing their animals' diets.
A variety of diets for pets are emerging, including homemade cooked diets, raw diets, grain-free diets, dehydrated diets, among many others. However, the major problem with the popularity of these diets is the misinformation that accompanies them. With widespread access to social media, people are often inclined to follow flashy unbalanced and incomplete diets for their pets, without scientific basis. The role of professionals is to assist these pet owners in formulating these diets, listening to their concerns, explaining, and providing information without prejudice, as ultimately, we all want what is best for the animal.
To facilitate the explanation of how to approach these new diets and guide pet owners, let's consider a specific scenario. An owner who watched a video about the benefits of raw meat-only diets for dogs. He believes that their pet should be fed a diet based on what wolves eat, thus wanting to switch from the current complete commercial composite food to such a diet.
As a professional in the field, it is important to make the owner feel comfortable and never judged, always prioritizing the provision of accurate information. In this case, my approach would follow this structure: first, present the benefits and contraindications of the diet mentioned. For instance, raw diets may have some benefits, such as raw meat being more easily digestible and improving stool quality[2]. However, many other purported benefits lack relevant scientific evidence. Moreover, such diets have several weaknesses, with the primary concern being that 80% of these diets result in nutritional deficiencies[2]. Additionally, these raw meats may be contaminated with pathogens such as Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli, and Campylobacter[4].
In a second step, considering the specific animal, I would analyze with the owner the current diet of the animal and its nutritional status using, for example, the WSAVA's nutrition guidelines. Then, if necessary, adjustments would be made to that diet and the composite food that comprises it. Still, if the owner remains reluctant to commercial diets as they seek a natural alternative, it is important to explain how to identify a complete and high-quality diet and the benefits of quality food that can meet all the animal's needs. One strategy I find particularly useful is to introduce owners to the "Interpreting Food Labels" document from WSAVA[5] so that they feel engaged in choosing a complete and high-quality diet.
It is normal for an owner who comes with a specific diet idea to feel frustrated or even anxious with the "information overload" and may ignore or forget much of the information given. Therefore, it is crucial to provide safe and reliable research websites or even flyers for the owner to read later and learn more. In my opinion, articles provided by the Purina Institute are quite suitable for the majority of owners, as they introduce various types of diets and their benefits and drawbacks in a relatively simple manner[2]. Additionally, for more curious owners possibly more knowledgeable in the subject, the nutrition guidelines from WSAVA can help them understand, identify, and choose correct diets[1].
In conclusion, there is a growing trend of new diets and dietary fads that can pose many risks to our animals. Therefore, it is important to clarify and inform the owners about what is fact and what is myth in order to provide correct and balanced nutrition to our animals.
References
1. Lisa Freeman (USA), Iveta Becvarova (USA), Nick Cave (New Zealand), Clayton
MacKay (Canada), Patrick Nguyen (France), Betina Rama (Argentina), Gregg Takashima (USA), Ross Tiffin (UK), Hajime Tsjimoto (Japan), Peter van Beukelen (Netherlands). NUTRITIONAL ASSESSMENT GUIDELINES, WSAVA, jornal of small animal pratice, June 2011.
2; 3; 6. Purina institute, Hot topic – raw food diets. On-line,
4. Davies RH, Lawes JR, Wales AD. Raw diets for dogs and cats: a review, with particular reference to microbiological hazards. J Small Anim Pract. 2019 Jun;60(6):329-339. doi: 10.1111/jsap.13000. Epub 2019 Apr 26. PMID: 31025713; PMCID: PMC6849757.
Comments