Dietary Features Are Associated with Differences in the Urinary Microbiome in Clinically Healthy Adult Dogs.

Nutrition plays an important role in shaping the gut microbiome composition, although the impact of diet on the urinary microbiome (i.e., urobiome) remains unknown.

Healthcare experiences of people living with medically unexplained symptoms: a systematic review.

A diagnosis of medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) is made when a person reports a complaint for which no organic disease can be detected. People with MUS commonly present to primary care services in the UK; however, there is no consensus regarding the evidence base for care. This literature review explores the experiences of these patients when they interact with health services.

Senior Pet Nutrition and Management.

Senior dogs and cats commonly present to veterinary clinics for wellness examinations and for illness. Nutritional needs change in healthy elder pets compared with the young adult life stage. Veterinary health care teams must provide nutritional assessments and individual recommendations, recognizing there is no defined nutrient profile for seniors.

Controversies in Veterinary Nephrology: Renal Diets Are Indicated for Cats with International Renal Interest Society Chronic Kidney Disease Stages 2 to 4: The Pro View.

Renal diets have been the mainstay of therapy for cats with chronic kidney disease (CKD) for many decades. Clinical trials in cats with CKD have shown them to be effective in improving survival, reducing uremic crises, and improving serum urea nitrogen and phosphorous concentrations. It has shown that, when food intake is adequate, renal diets can maintain body weight and body condition scores for up to 2 years.

Communicating with Pet Owners About Obesity: Roles of the Veterinary Health Care Team.

Obesity continues to be the most prevalent nutritional problem of dogs and cats as well as one of the most frustrating conditions to treat successfully. Educating and assigning roles to all members of the health care team will improve staff engagement and the consistency and effectiveness of nutritional counseling for preventive care and weight loss treatment plans. Excellent communication skills can be used to assess the client's ability to change and implement a weight loss plan at the right time in the right way to achieve better adherence and improve patient health.

2014 AAHA weight management guidelines for dogs and cats.

Communicating and implementing a weight management program for dogs and cats can be a challenging endeavor for veterinarians, but a rewarding one. An effective individualized weight loss program provides a consistent and healthy rate of weight loss to reduce risk of disease, prevent malnutrition, and improve quality of life. Weight loss is achieved with appropriate caloric restriction, diet selection, exercise, and strategies to help modify behavior of both the pet and client.

Increase the success of weight loss programs by creating an environment for change.

Veterinary professionals frequently recommend weight loss programs for pets, but success is often elusive. By learning techniques to assess clients' readiness for change, the veterinary team can apply communication tools and strategies to help clients overcome obstacles and barriers to sustainable change. With a better assessment of a client's ability to change, a weight loss plan can be implemented at the right time in the right way to achieve better adherence to the agreed-upon plan and improve patient health.

Teaching nutrition to the left and right brain: an overview of learning styles.

Functioning effectively as a veterinarian requires proficiency in multiple learning styles. Whether the goal is to design a nutrition course, plan a veterinary curriculum, or help students develop interpersonal, communication, and leadership skills, students benefit when content, design, and delivery are balanced to meet their learning-style preferences. An overview of four different learning style models is presented: the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), Kolb's Learning Style Model, the Felder-Silverman Learning Style Model, and the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI).