The entire Ontario Veterinary College Nutrition team is thrilled to welcome back Dr. Caitlin Grant to our team as an Assistant Professor and as the recipient of the Nestlé Purina Professorship in Companion Animal Nutrition!
It’s the holiday season! This may be a time of year where you get to enjoy your favourite foods and treats, and start to decorate your homes, and maybe include your fur-babies in all the fun! However, it is important to remember that not all human foods are appropriate for our pets. We have a developed a short list of holiday-themed items to avoid giving to your pets over the holidays, and some resources to contact if you are worried that your pet may have consumed something they shouldn’t have.
Read more about "Check the List Twice – Find Out What’s Naughty or Nice"
When treating and preventing obesity in our companion animals, it is not uncommon for caregivers and members of the healthcare team to question: How low is too low when restricting calories for weight loss? Are our cats meeting their nutrient requirements during weight loss?
It can be confusing to navigate pet food labels and determine whether a diet is appropriate for your pet or not. Often, the presence or absence of particular ingredients are prominently displayed, while the nutritional content of the diet may take second stage. It’s important to determine the difference between ingredients and nutrients in order to evaluate pet foods.
With a new school year starting, we are excited to introduce you to our new team members who have joined us this fall! We will be interviewing our new team members to help you become acquainted with them as professionals, students and people.
We are in that beautiful time between Canadian Thanksgiving and Halloween, where many of our human family members are treating themselves to a multitude of tasty snacks! With all this snacking and indulgence, we of course want to include our pets in the family fun. It’s important to note that treats can be tricky, as there are many ways treats can be a bane rather than a boon to our pets!
With a new school year starting, we are excited to introduce you to our new team members who have joined us this fall! We will be interviewing our new team members to help you become acquainted with them as professionals, students and people.
With a new school year starting, we are excited to introduce you to our new team members who have joined us this fall! We will be interviewing our new team members to help you become acquainted with them as professionals, students and people.
The Ontario Veterinary College offers summer student researchers an opportunity to explore some of the exciting research being conducted here at OVC. This program, the Summer Career Opportunities and Research Exploration (CORE) Program, runs from May until August
With National Pet Obesity Awareness day coming up on October 14, the OVC Pet Nutrition team thought it was a good time to bring some attention to the #banthecup movement.
Read more about "National Pet Obesity Awareness Day: #banthecup"
Dietary supplements for dogs and cats (also referred to as nutraceuticals = nutrition + pharmaceutical) have been growing in popularity for over 30 years in Canada and the USA. It’s estimated that between 30% and 50% of pet parents are using one or more of these products for their dog or cat, and that 90% of veterinarians across North America recommend some type of nutraceutical or dietary supplement. It’s interesting to note that while the dietary supplement industry for both pets and humans has grown into the billions-of-dollars, there is no standardized or legal definition for what is allowed (or isn’t allowed) as a nutraceutical.
The Fuelling Wellness Symposium was the final day of the Global Animal Nutrition Summit. This event was to provided a platform for open and inclusive pet nutrition and collaboration, open to all skilled pet professionals. To optimize attendee’s educational opportunities, three streams were offered; the veterinary, paraprofessional and equine streams. Attendees were able to attend multiple streams and even return to view other streams after the recorded live sessions were posted.
4. Omega 3 fatty acids may be beneficial for overweight cats, and algae oil is an environmentally sustainable alternative to marine fish oil for Omega 3s.
Read more about "8 Things I Learned From The Global Animal Nutrition Summit 2020, Part 2"
From August 11-15, I had the pleasure of attending the virtual Global Animal Nutrition Summit. This event highlighted valuable nutrition research from incredible people all over the world. Although I wish I could highlight every presentation given, below are a few things I learned during this international conference, more to follow later this week!
Read more about "8 Things I Learned From The Global Animal Nutrition Summit 2020"
The OVC Nutrition Team is so pleased to introduce the Canadian Academy of Veterinary Nutrition (CAVN) to all of our readers! The CAVN is a group of veterinarians and veterinary technicians with a passion for nutrition. It’s 12 fellows include board certified veterinary nutritionists, veterinarians who have completed a residency in nutrition, residents in training to become board certified, as well as veterinary technicians who have received their specialty training in nutrition –in Canada! To say this group loves nutrition is an understatement and it was this shared passion that brought the founding members together in August 2018 to form the CAVN.
When you go about cooking dinner for yourself, do you first wash down the surface before prepping food to make sure it’s clean? How about when you go out to eat, do you check to see if your plate and utensils are clean? When it comes to feeding your pets, do you do the same with their food and water bowls?
Pet food is no longer just about kibbles and cans, as more owners are exploring different avenues to feed their canine and feline companions. This was recently demonstrated by Dr. Sarah Dodd's recent publication in the British Medical Journal Veterinary Record, An observational study of pet feeding practices and how these have changed between 2008 and 2018 .
Read more about "More Room at the Table: Unconventional Diets on the Rise"
From June 10th – 11th the American Academy of Veterinary Nutrition (AAVN) hosted its 20th annual meeting and first virtual AAVN Clinical Nutrition and Research Symposium. While the event was originally scheduled to be held in Baltimore (USA), the global pandemic with COVID-19 forced organizers to change to a virtual format. Fortunately, this did not detract from a great program with excellent research presented on a wide variety of topics: feeding methods in horses, renal care in senior cats, dietary interventions on the canine microbiome, and obesity prevention, treatment, and communication.
Have You Heard of The Garfield Syndrome? June 19th is National Garfield Day!
In the Before The Bowl Blog, we will aim to share two to three new posts per month, something which can be used by veterinary team members and pet caregivers alike. We will try to bust myths, share new information on veterinary and pet nutrition as it becomes available and explore new feeding trends.
