Wellness Nutrition Part 2: Developing a nutrition protocol and how to start the conversation with your clients

Starting the nutrition conversation

Why is it important that we have these discussions at every consult? Even if we don’t change the diet in any way it is important we have an ongoing conversation with clients around nutrition. If we don’t, it implies we don’t perceive nutrition as important for health. The first discussion about diet with a client should not be when there is a disease process that could benefit from a particular food, because nutrition is just as important for healthy pets – so important that WSAVA have included nutrition as the 5th vital assessment. This means just like Temperature, Pulse, Respiration and Pain, that it should be evaluated and discussed for every pet at every visit. The veterinary health care team should be the clients’ first port of call if they have queries regarding nutrition.

The 3 step process

1. Ask for permission to talk about pet food. I guarantee most clients will be willing to have a discussion. In fact they usually want to have this discussion.
2. Ask open ended questions, then LISTEN. Questions to ask include: What do you feed? Why do you feed product x?  Do they have concerns about feeding certain ingredients, such as grains? Even if you don’t agree with an owner’s feeding practices, it’s still important not to shy away from having an open discussion.  Listen to what they have to say, put yourself in their shoes, show compassion and understanding. These are all important to build positive strong rapport. If owners trust you they are going to be much more willing to listen and take your advice.
3. Ask for permission to make a recommendation. Would you be open to trying something new if it was going to benefit your pet’s health/improve her coat/reduce his flatulence? Many owners will be willing to accept your recommendation if they understand the benefits clearly.

Don’t forget to follow up

1. Follow up is the single most important thing you can do once a client has accepted our recommendation.  This is as simple as calling the owner in a couple of days to see how their pet is enjoying the new diet. This is an opportunity to provide tips and encouragement to the owner. It’s also an opportunity to address any questions or concerns the owner may have and to reiterate what was said in the consultation. A study by the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) has shown that following up can increase compliance with your dietary recommendation by 3 fold!
   

We all know that change associated with diet is not going to happen overnight. Instead you will generally need to feed a pet for 60-90 days to see a benefit. That’s why it’s important to send the owner home with the right bag size. A rule of thumb is a pet will eat ½ its bodyweight per month in food. So it’s logical to send the pet home with its bodyweight equivalent of food. This is also really useful to know as you can estimate when a client is likely to run out of food. That way you can be proactive and call them to see if they need to place another food order or to get them back in for a revisit.