Nutritional assessment

The World Small Animal Veterinary Association

(WSAVA) has established an initiative to establish
nutritional assessment as the fifth vital assessment
(5VA) after temperature, pulse, respiration and pain;
and the WSAVA has set up guidelines and tools
for assessing nutritional status (www.wsava.org/educational/
global-nutrition-committee).
Nutritional assessment includes consideration of
animal-specific, diet-specific, feeding management
and environmental factors.
■■ Animal-specific factors include age, life stage,
activity, and disorders requiring specific dietary
management.
■■ Diet-specific factors include diet safety and
appropriateness (considerations include balance,
quality, spoilage, contamination).
■■ Feeding factors include feeding frequency, timing,
location and method (considerations include
over- or underfeeding, treats, scavenging).
■■ Environmental factors include housing, other pets,
access to the outdoors, and environmental
enrichment.
The nutritional assessment has two parts: a
screening evaluation and, when needed, an extended
evaluation.

Extended evaluation
Additional animal-specific factors include changes in
food intake or eating behaviour.
The diagnostic investigation usually includes a
minimum database (haematology, serum chemistry,
urinalysis,
possibly blood pressure) and other indicated
tests, e.g. faecal tests, serum folate, vitamin
B12, thyroxine, canine-specific pancreatic lipase,
and imaging. The effects of nutrient wasting diseases
such as diabetes mellitus or protein-losing
enteropathies should be considered. Serum electrolyte
concentrations or appetite may be affected
by medications.
Diet-specific factors include the caloric density
of the food. Any additional foods, e.g. treats, scavenging
and food given to administer medication,
should be evaluated for their effect on the overall
diet balance and caloric intake. If contamination of
the food is suspected, testing should be performed
(e.g. for aflatoxins, Salmonella). The diet should also
be assessed to determine whether it is complete and

Feeding frequency
Adult dogs may be fed once or twice a day, though
feeding only once a day may increase the risks of
gastric dilatation–volvulus in deep-chested dogs and
of hypoglycaemia in toy breeds.
Puppies and feeding for growth
Most commercial puppy foods are higher in calories
than adult maintenance foods. After weaning, puppies
should be fed for an optimal growth rate for bone
development and maintenance of appropriate BCS
(Figure 4.7), rather than at maximal growth. Excessively
rapid growth, especially in large-breed dogs, increases
the risk of orthopaedic disorders. If puppies are fat
during growth, they are more likely to become overweight
adults. Feeding for a slower growth rate does
not decrease the final adult size of the dog, although
that size will be achieved at a greater age.