DOG owners / CAREGIVERS

World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) Nutrition Guidelines

Body Condition Score (BCS) charts for dogs and cats.

Muscle Condition Score (MCS) charts for dogs and cats.

 Selecting commercial pet food can be challenging due to the plethora of commercial products available and abundance of information on the internet. Below are resources on pet food selection and navigating internet resources.

World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) Nutrition Guidelines

Selecting a Pet Food  

The Pet Nutrition Alliance (PNA) asked pet food manufacturers about Colleagues took the WSAVA guidelines and investigated numerous pet food manufacturers in their Pet Food Manufacturer Evaluation Report. 

Homemade diets can be a good option for adult dogs or cats with a nutritionally sensitive condition/disease (e.g. kidney disease) when the dog or cat is uninterested in eating a commercial veterinary diet formulated for that condition/disease. However, there is lots of room for error. Therefore, the recipe should be formulated by a Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionist®. Furthermore, the recipe needs to be followed, as formulated, because changes in ingredients will alter the nutrient profile of the recipe.

Raw meat-based diets are more likely to be contaminated by bacterial pathogens like Salmonella and Listeria. These pathogenic microorganisms can make pets and humans very sick.

World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) information on raw meat-based diets.

Tufts Petfoolology Raw Pet Food Risks: A Research Update

Dr. Weese & Dr. Anderson's Worms & Germs Blog information about raw meat-based diets.

Blog for pet owners by veterinary nutritionists on all things pet food!

Calorie Calculators

Pet Food Manufacturer Evaluation Report

 Body Condition Score (BCS) chart for horses

Equi-Analytical Forage Lab

Liburt Equine Nutritional Consulting Facebook page