Re: Foods/Weight clinics

shakira miles — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 15:38:55 GMT

Hiya, defo my fav subject, Yes I have many!

weigh, record in all areas/chart etc. Photos and maybe measure areas.
Explain if neutered why he/she is overweight, reduction in metabolism and this starts from the day of neutering! so remeber this in discharge info!
body condition score/explain to owner and set a goal and ideal weight.
Identify the problem...lack of exercise/arthritis/poor diet/human food?/ not light and is neutered or excess food/only one meal per day etc/excess in treats/ elderly owner unable to walk
remember to show owners how overweight patient is...if 5kg it needs to loose get them to hold a 5kg bag of food and show how much extra strain the dog is carrying! especially for smaller animals as the impact on joints etc
Explain that food doesnt makle an animal happy, relate to self, satisfaction is not long lasting, and quality of life is far more important
to deal with it now not in 3 years when more imobile and has diabetes and pain!
benefits, longer life, pain free, less expensive for vet bills and shopping bill if fed proper diet (adult light hills/ vet essentials)
identify best food, slow and small amount of weight loss...stop all treats, increase exercise and use adult light/neuted and healthy snack
if arthritic and not morbidly obese use j/d light and encourage swimming and light grass/woodland exercise, not road, or r/d and ease flex chews/cosequin and or metacam depending...assess joint mobility, especially in cats assess how bad and for how long. j/d light not avaliable for cats but RCW do mobility tabs which are good for cats (are supposed to be for dogs, just half them)
work out cost per day as prescription food/vetereinary food alweays seems more, advise to buy larger bags ends up cheaper and not to worry about if pet not keen as money back guarentee if bought from a vets.
book next weigh in and set targets too,
always gain a good bond with these clients as they have usually no idea that post neuter their pet needs are different, and encourage them to come back, make it possitive, always deals on hills foods and if a client is elderly and has finanical difficulty but pet is a great candidate speak to your rep as they are usually very helpful and like to ensure the best...also good promotion for them too.
New plan make it strict, write on the back in a sharpie of how much per day, also give a cup with the correcr diet on, and draw a line again or use a lable with an arrow. Ensure feeds are divided into atleast 2-4 feeds a day depending on the severity of obesity!
Always makle life easy for the client too, ive even dropped food back for an elderly lady before (extreme I know!)making sure its in stock etc
give client info and specific clear instrctions too.

If owner still doenst want to buy vetereinary foods then I know bakers do a weight control dry but i think that this is just the same as light and go cat do a neutred cat...not ideal but its a start for these companies!

Good luck hope this is helful,

Shakira x