Resources for Pet Owners
When you're trying to learn more about your pet's nutrition, it's easy to become overwhelmed. Social media is filled with opinions, influencers, and passionate debates about ingredients, raw feeding, grain-free diets, supplements, and the "best" food. The challenge is that not all nutrition information is created equal.
One of the questions I hear most often is, "How do we know who to trust?”
The answer is actually very simple: textbooks, peer-reviewed research, and veterinary nutrition resources. While social media can be a wonderful place to build community and hear other owners' experiences, it should never be the only place you learn about your pet's nutrition.
If you're someone who enjoys learning, I encourage you to build your knowledge from the same types of resources that veterinary professionals and nutritionists use. As a nutrition advisor, it’s my suggestion that you not feel like these are essenital things- its not your job to read these books, I already did and it’s my role to guide you. However, I feel like making you aware of options and resources is my job. If you chose to jump in then here is where I would start….
One of my favorite references is Small Animal Clinical Nutrition. This is one of the foundational textbooks used throughout veterinary medicine and companion animal nutrition. It covers everything from digestion and metabolism to obesity, kidney disease, urinary health, gastrointestinal disorders, diabetes, and nutrition throughout every stage of life. It is definitely not light reading, but it provides an incredible scientific foundation for anyone who wants to understand why nutrition recommendations exist.
Another excellent resource is the National Research Council's Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats. This textbook is commonly referred to simply as "the NRC," and you'll often hear veterinary nutritionists reference it. The NRC summarizes decades of peer-reviewed research and establishes nutrient requirements for dogs and cats. While nutrition science continues to evolve and new research is published every year, the NRC remains one of the most respected scientific references available. It explains nutrient requirements, deficiencies, toxicities, digestibility, energy needs, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids, and much more.
If textbooks aren't your style, there are several outstanding online resources that explain nutrition in a way that's easier to digest. Tufts Petfoodology, written by board-certified veterinary nutritionists, offers evidence-based articles covering commercial diets, ingredients, supplements, obesity, raw feeding, homemade diets, and common nutrition myths. Their articles do an excellent job translating complex research into practical information for pet owners.
Another valuable resource is the WSAVA Global Nutrition Toolkit. While it was originally developed to help veterinarians evaluate pet food manufacturers, it also teaches owners how to ask thoughtful questions about nutrition and how to evaluate pet food companies beyond marketing claims.
Many veterinary teaching hospitals also publish excellent educational articles. Universities such as UC Davis, Cornell University, and The Ohio State University regularly provide evidence-based information about nutrition and common medical conditions that affect dogs and cats. These resources are written by veterinary experts and are an excellent alternative to relying solely on social media.
You may also notice that some pet food manufacturers publish educational articles and research summaries. That doesn't automatically make the information unreliable. Many companies invest heavily in nutrition research and employ veterinary nutritionists. The important thing is to recognize where the information comes from and evaluate it critically, just as you would any other source.
Nutrition is an incredibly complex field. It combines physiology, metabolism, biochemistry, ingredient evaluation, food manufacturing, and clinical medicine. The more you study nutrition, the more you realize there are very few simple answers. That's one of the reasons I believe continuing education is so important. Good nutrition isn't about chasing trends. It's about understanding the science well enough to apply it appropriately to each individual animal.
One piece of advice I always give owners is to ask, "Where did you learn that?" whenever someone makes a strong nutrition claim. That simple question often tells you a great deal about the quality of the information. Is the recommendation based on peer-reviewed research? A veterinary nutrition textbook? A board-certified veterinary nutritionist? Or is it simply someone's opinion repeated online? If they are a professional, is this a human based training? or are they trained and certified in dog, cats and horses? I do not personally support bringing human functional medicine concepts to dogs/cats/horses based on how ingredients and herbs work in human physiology- we need to learn how these active ingredients work in the specific species first. For example, we know that horses metabolize soy different than humans.
There's nothing wrong with asking questions or wanting to learn more. In fact, I encourage it. The more educated pet owners become, the better decisions they can make for their animals. My goal has never been to tell owners what to think. My goal is to help them understand how to evaluate the quality of sources. Social media is not regulated and I see a lot of bad info on there each day so caution is needed so we cna be the best advocate for our pets.
Social media can absolutely be a great place to connect with other pet owners and share experiences. Just remember that likes and followers are not the same thing as scientific evidence. Extraordinary nutrition claims deserve extraordinary evidence. Before repeating nutrition advice you've seen online, take a few minutes to fact-check it using trusted veterinary resources.
Your pet deserves recommendations built on science, not trends. A little extra research can make a big difference in helping you make confident, informed decisions about their nutrition.
