In this day and age of Instagram doctors and Google search professionals, it's hard for pet parents to differentiate between fact and fiction when it comes to their pet's diet.

That's why we made sure to consult and work with board-certified vet nutritionists when learning and formulating our fresh food recipes.

What's a board certified vet nutritionist?

A board-certified vet nutritionist is a vet specialist who continued their studies in pet nutrition after graduating from vet med school.

The requirements to become board-certified include: "After achieving a degree in veterinary medicine and completing at least 1 year of internship or clinical experience, residency training includes at least 2 years of study, with a focus on both basic and clinical nutrition as well as research and teaching. Trainees study under the mentorship of at least one board certified veterinary nutritionist and often with contact with many others over the course of the program. Some programs also require graduate-level coursework and rotation with other specialists (such as Internal Medicine, Critical Care, and Clinical Pathology). Trainees must prepare and write up three case reports to qualify to take the board exam. The two day written examination is offered annually and covers a wide range of nutritional and medical knowledge."

Why is this important?

Most primary care vets do not specialize in pet nutrition after graduating from vet med school which limits their knowledge on the nutritional needs and important details about our pet's diet. Nutrition is just a small course that most vets complete during their schooling so they do not learn much about this field. But board-certified vet nutritionists have extensive, hands on experience in this field and can educate pet parents about their pet's diet.

What is the difference between a "nutritionist" and a "board-certified nutritionist"?

Some "nutritionists" can claim that they are knowledgeable in the field of nutrition for pets but may lack experience and research about this topic which can be dangerous for pet parents. The spread of misinformation can lead pet parents into confusion and not be able to provide their pets with the diet they need. The term "nutritionists" can not be protected so many can claim this occupation without much education. Some can enroll in online courses for certificates which may only require 100 hours of courses.

We believe that experience and education can definitely make a difference in opinion for our products and our pets so we chose to work with only board-certified nutritionists to provide only the best from the professionals.

Sources:

"American College of Veterinary Nutrition" - https://acvn.org/

"The Perceived Importance, Emphasis, and Confidence in Veterinary Nutrition Education of First-Year Canadian and US Veterinary Students" - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8368460/