Canine Nutritionist

[PeMaCo]

With all the nutrition info out there for our puppers, it's interesting to note that much is misleading..... including the term canine nutritionist/ canine nutritional consultant. A true canine nutritionist is a DVM with further study and certification in nutrition. Needless to say, they are few and far between. Two that I'm aware of are www.susanwynn.com and www.petdiets.com The whole area of canine nutritional consultant seems rather gray to me. There are online courses, and no real state regulation or licensing. Food for thought......

[sam.i.am]

Cornell Vet Hospital also offers canine nutrition consults by a DVM. I'd proceed with any canine nutritionist with caution even if they are a DVM, but that's just my particular issue with nutrition and vets -- and my experience with Cornell's other specialists has been sub par, so I am not a huge fan.

[Terry]

I went from raw to kibble, simply because of all the fosters coming and going. I buy a good kibble, but you know what? People down the street have a 14 yr old lab that still runs and plays and they have fed him pedigree since he was a pup. so there you have it.

[PeMaCo]

Yep, there will always be those who can live a long, long life on pretty questionable nutrients. Kind of like the old geezer they interview on the news when they reach 100 and ask how they explain their longevity.......ah, some chew, tobacc-y and a pint of Jack Black every day. LOL Unfortunately for my "line", we need all the help we can get with good nutrition and medical care.

[Delynnr]

I think genetics play a much bigger role than we would want. I wish that taking good care of my pets would guarantee a long long life, but the genetic lottery has a big role. Not that I feed crap food, because I think life should be about balance. You don't feed crap, make sure they are healthy and get exercise (advice I should stick to closer myself) and hope they live a long and happy life.

My old Sheltie growing up was fed Science Diet his whole life and lived to be 18. My Grandfather's dog was fed complete crap food, table scraps and whatever she caught (was a bird dog - german shorthair mix I think who liked mice) and lived to be 16. So with those two genetics was certainly playing a role, but I do wonder how long Arrow would have lived on better food - we will never know.

[woola]

Ive used a canine nutritionist (cat lane, "the possible canine") and the more i dig into her qualifications im not exactly sure what they are. She was referred because she had experience with mega-e dogs, and i can say that i've been pretty happy with the recipes I've gotten. Jack has been steadily gaining weight and is happy to eat, you'd never know he was a dog with a serious condition by looking at him. Now that I have recipes I can expand from there using my own research and knowledge, but I don't regret using her services.

[borzoimom]

Here is my take on it for what its worth.
I looked into it, even the course as well. However- as explained right from the top the fact is the courses, without having a DVM behind it, is actually only on 'theoretical occurances'. Meaning- that in 'theory, this so in so help with so in so, aids in etc. The problem is that without a DVM the medical proof still falls into the world of veternarian care. A "result that can not be scientifically proven' unless one is also a DVM.
Interesting huh?

Case in point- using broccoli for a few minutes, once intoduced may affect thyroid functions. However- unless the medical test is done, and also ruling out all other possible contributors, this still is not a 'scientific specific fact' in a general study. ( meaning not all thyroids are affected by the use of broccoli) See?

A few months ago, due to show schedules etc and harder to do a raw diet in traveling, I put my dogs back on kibble ( Blue). I am 'seeing' excellent results. Does this mean that the Blue is better for this group of dogs in this 'control study'? Hard to say for exact 'scientific proof'.
Save your money and use the food analysiser for a head start where to get the information for your dogs.

[PeMaCo]

There's the "mystique"... unless she is a DVM, she, by definition, is not a canine nutritionist. She may be a canine nutritional consultant... but their standards of education, "licensing" etc. seems to be all over the board.


oops meant to quote woola's above post.

[sam.i.am]

I spoke to cat lane once, too. I was not comfortable moving forward with her based on her preliminary advice. I'm glad she's helped with the meg-E, though. I think I just disagree with her school of thought and would not want to be feeding my dogs lentils and squash and quinoa, etc. (don't know if she uses those types of ingredients for everyone, though).

[woola]

I spoke to cat lane once, too. I was not comfortable moving forward with her based on her preliminary advice. I'm glad she's helped with the meg-E, though. I think I just disagree with her school of thought and would not want to be feeding my dogs lentils and squash and quinoa, etc. (don't know if she uses those types of ingredients for everyone, though).

yeah, ive gotten a recipe with butternut squash and another with quinoa. im still not sure how i feel about it but i will say jack loves the roasted butternut squash and it seems to help keep him regular. we switch between brown rice and quinoa but not nearly as much as she would want me to put in his food. now im starting to tinker with proteins and what not but it was nice to have a solid starting point. plus like i said, its clearly working because if it hadnt jack would have most likely starved to death by now.

[sam.i.am]

I am really happy she has helped with Jack's mega-E. I think that is extremely difficult to work with -- whatever works when you are dealing with something so tough is a great answer for sure.