Pet Nutritional Counselling
What your pet eats plays a major role in their overall health, energy, and longevity. At My Animal Veterinary Clinic in Toronto, we provide personalized nutrition counselling to support ideal body condition, manage medical conditions, and ensure your pet receives a safe, complete, and balanced diet at every life stage.
Support Your Pet’s Health Through Nutrition
Good nutrition is one of the most important ways to support your pet’s health and well-being. Whether you have questions about diet choices, weight management, or medical nutrition, our team is here to help you make informed decisions for your pet.
Learn More About Pet Nutrition
What is Pet Nutrition Counselling?
Pet nutrition counselling focuses on selecting and managing a diet that supports your pet’s individual health needs. Nutrition is the foundation of health, and every diet—whether commercial, home-prepared, raw or unconventional—should be complete, balanced, and safe. Our veterinarians help guide you through the many options available and ensure your pet’s diet meets established nutritional standards.
Why Nutrition Matters
- Maintain a healthy weight and body condition
- Support growth, energy, and immune function
- Manage medical conditions such as diabetes, kidney disease, or allergies
- Promote healthy skin, coat, and digestion
- Improve quality of life and longevity
Even small nutritional imbalances can affect your pet’s health over time.
Choosing the Right Diet
With so many pet food options available, choosing the right one can be overwhelming. We help you:
- Understand pet food labels and ingredients
- Select diets that are complete, balanced, and age-appropriate
- Choose products made with strong quality control and safety standards
- Evaluate commercial, prescription, or home-prepared diets
Our goal is to ensure your pet’s diet is safe, consistent, and appropriate for their specific needs.
Raw Diets and Safety Considerations
While raw meat-based diets are popular, they carry important risks. These can include bacterial contamination, parasites, nutritional imbalances, and complications such as dental fractures or gastrointestinal obstruction from bones.
Current veterinary guidelines emphasize that there is no proven health benefit to raw diets, but there are well-documented risks. For this reason, we recommend carefully evaluating diet choices and are happy to discuss safe, balanced alternatives for your pet.
For More Information:
AVMA Policy on Raw Diets for Dogs and Cats
AAHA Position Statement: Raw Protein Diet
Weight Management & Body Condition
Maintaining an ideal body condition is essential for your pet’s long-term health. Excess weight can contribute to joint disease, diabetes, heart disease, and reduced lifespan.
We assess your pet’s Body Condition Score (BCS) and help determine appropriate daily calorie intake, portion sizes, and feeding strategies to support a healthy weight.
Not sure if your pet is at a healthy weight? Use these simple charts to assess your pet’s weight and overall condition:
Dog Body Condition Score Chart
Cat Body Condition Score Chart
Treats and Feeding Guidelines
Treats are an important part of bonding and training, but moderation is key.
Treats should make up no more than 10% of your pet’s daily calorie intake.
Overfeeding treats can contribute to weight gain and nutritional imbalance.
Ask us about healthier treat options and feeding strategies.
Treatment & Nutrition Plans
- Therapeutic or prescription pet food diets for medical conditions
- Calorie and portion guidance
- Diet transitions and feeding schedules
- Supplement recommendations when appropriate
- Ongoing monitoring and adjustments as your pet’s needs change
Many pets benefit from regular follow-up to ensure their diet continues to support their health.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are grain-free diets safe for pets?
Grain-free diets often replace grains with ingredients like peas, lentils, and potatoes, which may affect how certain nutrients—such as taurine—are processed in the body. While research is ongoing and a direct cause has not been definitively proven, this association is important to consider.
It’s also important to know that:
- True grain allergies in pets are rare
- Grain-free does not mean low-carbohydrate or higher quality
- Diets should always be complete, balanced, and supported by strong nutritional research
Because of the potential risks and lack of proven benefit, we recommend discussing any grain-free or alternative diet with our veterinarians. We can help you choose a safe, balanced diet that supports your pet’s long-term health.
What is a dietary elimination trial?
A dietary elimination trial (or “diet trial”) is a test where your pet eats only a specific prescription diet for 8–12 weeks (sometimes up to 6 months) while we monitor their symptoms. If their signs improve or resolve on the trial diet, a food allergy is strongly suspected; if there is no change, a food allergy becomes less likely, though it cannot be fully ruled out.
Why is a balanced diet so important?
A complete and balanced diet ensures your pet receives all essential nutrients in the correct amounts. Deficiencies or excesses can lead to serious health problems over time, including painful growth deformities in young and still-growing animals.