Is your pet eating a balanced diet? Are you positive that what you’re feeding your companion is sufficiently meeting his or her unique nutritional needs? What about weight? Are you confident that the number on the scale is right where it should be?The fact is your pet’s nutrition and weight play an important role in his or her life and longevity. The right diet can help with everything from growth and performance to managing existing medical conditions, ultimately extending and improving the quality of your pet’s life. Yet with so many products available on the market today and so much confusion surrounding the topic of weight, understanding what combination would be best suited to meet your pet’s unique needs can be a challenge.
The nutritional counseling and weight management services available at Barre Animal Hospital can help take the guess work out of managing your companion’s diet and exercise needs. Our team is experienced in all aspects of pet nutrition and understands the importance of maintaining the proper weight for companion animals.
Health Analysis
We’ll conduct a detailed analysis of your pet’s current health and consider a number of important factors to help us identify his or her unique nutritional needs. These factors include such things as your pet’s species, breed, age, weight and the existence of any medical problems. Then, we’ll get to work determining which food would best support your pet’s optimum health. This may include a recommendation of prescription diet food, which often offers several key benefits that regular over the counter pet food does not.
Ideal Weight
Once we’ve determined what food your pet should be eating, as well as how much and how often, we’ll move on to the second component: weight. Obesity among companion animals is a growing problem, and one which can rob your pet of a long, healthy life. Conversely, if your companion is underweight, he or she may be more at risk for becoming sick or suffering an injury. We’ll use the detailed information we gathered in our nutritional analysis to determine what your pet’s ideal weight range should be, and then provide advice and suggestions on ways you can help your pet achieve and maintain that perfect weight.
Regular Evaluation
Lastly, we’ll perform regular evaluations of your pet’s nutrition and weight control plan at various intervals throughout his or her life. As animals age, their needs change. Puppies and kittens have vastly different nutrition and weight requirements as adult and senior pets, and vice versa. It’s important that we revisit and make any necessary modifications to your pet’s plan every so often to ensure that it remains as effective as it was originally designed to be.
Unless you are specially trained, the subject of nutrition and weight management can be a tricky one. Don’t play a guessing game with your pet’s health! Let the experts at Barre Animal Hospital help. We can design the perfect diet and exercise plan that will bring out the very best in your four-legged friend and get them on the path to a lifetime of optimum health.
