The Wild Wild West of the Pet Nutritionists
By: Harper
Tags: Cats, Pet Health, Dogs, Pets, Dog Nutrition

The Wild Wild West of the Pet Nutritionists

The marketplace is exploding with people seeking education on nutrition for our furry friends.

While it is common knowledge at this point that many Veterinarians do not receive much education in nutrition. There are, however, actual board-certified nutritionist. There are two veterinary colleges. The first is The American College of Veterinarian Nutrition ACVN, which has 96 Diplomates, and the European Society of Veterinary & Comparative Nutrition ESVCN, which has 42 Diplomates.

The requirements for the ACVN are two years of study with a focus on basic and clinical nutrition as well as research and teaching. Some of them are no longer active, some work for various companies, others act as consultants. Many work at various veterinarian schools across the country. Many of them, however, do offer nutritional consultations and meal plans.

At the same time, more and more veterinarians are taking the initiative to learn more about nutrition. This is a step in the right direction, but there is still a lot of room for improvement.

This still leaves a considerable knowledge and information gap. This has partially been filled by various companies, influencers, Pet store owners and employees, and everyday pet owners taking it upon themselves to learn more.

There are now plenty of courses, certificates, and "Diplomas" available.

It seems like everyone and their mother is coming out with their own nutrition or raw feeding courses. Every day more and more people are claiming to be certified pet nutritionists or have a diploma in canine nutrition. There are hundreds of people offering nutritional consultations, meal plan formulations etc.

There are hundreds if not thousands of people claiming to be or portraying themselves as experts. Many people are attaching various acronyms or titles to their names and bios to create a heightened sense of professionalism. This can be misleading to many pet parents. When most people see an acronym or title, they lend that person more credibility; it creates a sense of security for the consumer. Oftentimes this can be a false sense of security.

The courses, certificates, and "diplomas" are all of varying length and quality. Some courses are less than 20 hours, some are 200 hours. Most are somewhere in between. Some just require watching some videos or going through some PowerPoints. Some of the courses don't have any quizzes or tests; some have several multiple-choice, while others require more work. Some don't require any reading, some provide a booklet, some require reading a book, some require reading an actual textbook. Some have access to instructors; others do not. Some cover more basic level information, while others are more in-depth.

The point is there is a wide range of quality when it comes to the courses. This ultimately makes it more complicated and confusing for consumers and pet parents.

This is why I call it the Wild Wild West of the pet nutritionist. Everyone is claiming to be educated or certified, but given the disparate quality, pet parents don't really know who to trust and who not to trust.

What's worse is that many times pet parents begin searching for these people when their pet is not well. The pet parent is desperate to find someone to help formulate a diet.

I personally believe this is a significant problem, and it is something that needs to be addressed preferably sooner rather than later.

Now I'm not saying that they can't formulate a diet to NRC, AAFCO, FEDIAF Standards. I'm not saying that they can't answer some of your questions as it relates to your pet's nutrition or health. I'm not saying you should only go to one of the board-certified veterinary nutritionists to formulate a diet for your pet.

I am saying that consumers do need to be more cautious. I am saying that you should ask plenty of questions before purchasing a meal plan or consultation. I am saying that you should ask where they received their certifications. You should look into who granted the certifications. What the course actually entailed. What was required to obtain the certificate? Ask them questions about the course. Ask them what the most interesting thing they learned from their course. What was the required reading? Ask them about the last research study they read. What was interesting about it? Ask them about what books they have read? Ask them questions about the nutrient guidelines. Ask them why black-haired dogs and cats may need more Phenylalanine and Tyrosine, or what might happen if the diet is deficient in iodine? Ask them questions about one of their more difficult consults. Ask them how many supplements are generally used in their formulations. Ask them how many consultations they have done?

Preferably you would ask the majority of these questions over the phone instead of through email and chat. I'm not saying they need to have all of the answers memorized, but at the very least they should be able to answer the last research study, what the course entailed, what's the most interesting thing they learned from the course etc.

If anyone gets upset over you asking them questions before purchasing a consult or meal plan, then I personally would go to someone else.

That is why I have also compiled this list. This list will be updated periodically.

The list is of the various courses, certificates or diplomas, and the website of the organization that issues them. Some of them are much more common than others. I have included the acronym for the ones I have seen abbreviated. I urge all pet parents to look at these organizations and what is required to receive the certificate or diploma.

That being said just because someone graduated from MIT with their PHD in computer science doesn't necessarily mean they are smarter or better than the person who graduated from Georgia Tech.

DogsNaturallyMagazine.com

Pet Food Nutrition Specialist-PFNS

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Acute Canine Herbalism Specialist

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CASInstitute.com

Canine Nutrition Certificate- (Cert.CN)

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TheISCP.com

Diploma in Canine Nutrition- Dip. CN

Diploma in Raw Feeding

Canine Behaviourcollege.com

Canine Nutrition Certificate Course

Canineprinciples.com

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ANHS-School.com

Canine Nutrition Certification- CNC

Clinical Pet Nutritionist- CPN

Feline Nutrition Certification- FNC

Pet Master Herbalist

Pet Homeopathic Educator

Pet Clinical Aromatherapist

Pet Aromatherapy Educator

Centreofexcellence.com

Canine Nutrition Diploma Course

Canine Holistic Health & Therapy Diploma Course

TheScienceDog.com

Basics of Canine Nutrition

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Originally Published at Harper & Friends