In January, the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) announced its plan to create a new set of nutritional guidelines for use by veterinarians and to publish these recommendations in June 2010.
The newly formed committee includes academic leaders, animal hospital directors, and veterinary technicians: Tony Buffington, DVM, MS, PhD, Dipl. ACVN, Ohio State University; Joe Bartges, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, University of Tennessee; Lisa Freeman, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVN, Tufts University; Don Ostwald, DVM, Dipl. ABVP, Wheat Ridge Animal Hospital, Wheat Ridge, Colorado; Mary Grabow, DVM, Noah’s Westside Animal Medical Center, Indianapolis; and veterinary technicians Julie Legred, CVT, and Kimberly Baldwin, LVT. The AAHA’s goal is to incorporate the latest advancements in medical knowledge, but remain practical enough that veterinarians can use the guidelines to make recommendations to their clients. “It’s time we put nutrition in the minds of veterinarians,” says AAHA President John Tait, DVM. While no details about the scope of the guidelines are available, Tate indicated that poor client compliance (with feeding prescription diets) and the impact of nutrition on pet health are the driving forces behind the decision to create these guidelines.
Another likely factor is the increased interest in homemade diets, especially following the massive pet food recalls in 2007. “Pet owners are inundated with advice from a variety of sources on what constitutes proper quality of care and treatment of their pets. Unfortunately, many of these sources are not credible,” says Dr. Tait.
There are far too many inappropriate or inadequate recipes available to owners, for both healthy dogs and those with health conditions requiring a modified diet. The question is, will the AAHA’s new nutritional guidelines focus on what has been learned about nutrition in the past 10 to 15 years, or will they simply rely on the same high-carb, low-protein formulas that the pet food companies have promoted for so long? Hill’s Pet Nutrition has provided funding for the task force and has promised to help implement the guidelines when they are published, so we’re not overly confident that the new guidelines will be all they could be. We’ll analyze them when they are published, and share our analysis at that time. – Mary Straus
