Nutrition Counseling
Good nutrition and weight management are critical aspects of your pet’s overall health. During your pet’s physical exam, a Body Condition Score (BCS) will be assigned to indicate whether your pet is underweight, overweight, or at their ideal body weight. In addition, your pet will be evaluated for disease processes that could be related to diet.
Our veterinarians are trained to provide appropriate nutritional recommendations for your pet. If you have questions regarding your pet’s diet, we encourage you to bring those questions to us rather than asking a pet store employee. Pet food in the U.S. is a $22 billion dollar industry, and manufacturers rely heavily on marketing to influence consumer choice. Unfortunately, this situation often leads to “marketing myths” regarding specific food ingredients and consumers who overspend on food of questionable quality and benefit.
Our veterinarians are trained to provide appropriate nutritional recommendations for your pet. If you have questions regarding your pet’s diet, we encourage you to bring those questions to us rather than asking a pet store employee. Pet food in the U.S. is a $22 billion dollar industry, and manufacturers rely heavily on marketing to influence consumer choice. Unfortunately, this situation often leads to “marketing myths” regarding specific food ingredients and consumers who overspend on food of questionable quality and benefit.
At the Vet at BlueRidge, we have chosen to carry the Hill’s Science Diet and Prescription Diet foods. We support this premium brand and offer it to our clients for the following reasons:
Do you need to feed a premium food to have a healthy pet? In many cases, the answer is no. However, we can help you choose a good food that fits within your budget as well as advise you on recommended feeding amounts.
Prescription Diets
Prescription diets are available for a number of health conditions and may be recommended as part of your pet’s overall treatment plan if any of the following disorders are diagnosed:
True prescription diets are only available through veterinarians or with a prescription from a veterinarian.
- Hill’s foods are formulated and manufactured by a highly qualified team of professionals. Hill’s employs over 150 veterinarians, Ph.D. board-certified veterinary nutritionists, food scientists, and other board-certified specialists.
- Foods are tested on real animals in clinical feeding trials.
- The company conducts and publishes research to advance scientific knowledge regarding pet nutrition. Over 50 research papers are published each year.
- Hill’s owns 100% of their own manufacturing facilities.
- Hill’s perform extensive quality assurance testing from start to finish (on raw ingredients, during processing, and on the final product) to ensure that a food is nutritious and free of contaminants.
- Hill’s has been making pet food since 1939.
Do you need to feed a premium food to have a healthy pet? In many cases, the answer is no. However, we can help you choose a good food that fits within your budget as well as advise you on recommended feeding amounts.
Prescription Diets
Prescription diets are available for a number of health conditions and may be recommended as part of your pet’s overall treatment plan if any of the following disorders are diagnosed:
- Urinary crystals or stones
- Diabetes
- Kidney disease
- Liver disease
- Obesity
- Arthritis/joint pain
- Allergies
- Diarrhea or intestinal upset
- Thyroid disease
- Cognitive dysfunction
True prescription diets are only available through veterinarians or with a prescription from a veterinarian.