Why Clinical Nutrition Matters
Nutrition is vital for promoting animal health and managing medical conditions. At Sunstone Veterinary Specialists, our Clinical Nutrition Service supports both healthy and sick pets by addressing their nutritional needs. From enhancing well-being to managing chronic conditions, we provide tailored nutrition plans to optimize your pet’s health.
Focused Nutrition Care for Pets
Our expert team can:
Identify and correct nutritional deficiencies
Manage diseases nutritionally
Improve your pet’s quality of life
Whether your pet has multiple chronic conditions or requires assisted feeding methods, our team is here to help. We also educate pet owners about every aspect of their pet’s personalized nutrition plan.
Nutritional assessment
Commercial diet recommendations
Evaluation and formulation of home-prepared diet recipes
Weight management plans with comprehensive monitoring
Assisted feeding plans and formulations (enteral and parenteral nutrition)
We assist pets with various conditions, including:
Acute and chronic gastrointestinal disease (chronic enteropathy, motility disorders including megaesophagus, constipation, short bowel syndrome, etc.)
Pancreatic disease (pancreatitis and exocrine pancreatic insufficiency)
Hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol or triglycerides)
Diet responsive/food allergic disease (both gastrointestinal and dermatologic symptoms)
Acute and chronic renal disease
Proteinuria
Diabetes mellitus
Hepatic disease (copper storage disease, portosystemic shunts, etc.)
Urolithiasis (urinary stones)
Cardiovascular disease
Orthopedic disease
Weight management
A 60-minute consultation includes:
Complete physical exam
Evaluation of medical records and current lab work
Diet history evaluation
Nutritional assessment and goal setting
Written commercial diet recommendations
30 minutes of follow-up communication
Additional services such as home-prepared diet formulation and weight management plans are available for a separate fee.
Contact Sunstone Veterinary Specialists for pricing and information.
Our team will send you an invite to fill out the required pre-consultation diet history form and will request medical records from your other veterinarians.
A member of our referral coordination team will contact you to schedule the consultation once all required information is received.
A non-refundable consultation fee is due at booking.
Current lab work is required for the doctor to make diet recommendations. This lab work must have been performed within 6 months of your pet’s nutrition appointment, and must include at a minimum:
CBC (complete blood count)
Biochemistry with electrolytes
Urinalysis
T4 preferred, but not required
If current lab work has not been performed prior to your pet’s appointment, it can be performed on the day of the appointment. Diet recommendations will be delayed until lab results are received.
Services We Do Not Offer
Our Nutrition service does not provide recommendations for or formulate raw or “lightly cooked” diets, in accordance with WSAVA, FDA, AAHA, and AVMA recommendations.
Home-prepared diets will not be formulated for growing dogs and cats (commercial diet recommendations only) due to their constantly changing nutrient requirements; exceptions will be made only when severe medical conditions necessitate home-prepared diet formulation.
Currently, we do not offer remote (video or telephone) consultations. If you are seeking remote clinical nutrition services, we encourage you to visit VetSpecialists.com to find a board-certified veterinary nutritionist that offers these services.
We work closely with your primary care veterinarian.
Because your primary care veterinarian will continue to manage most of your pet’s ongoing care, we’ll keep them fully informed of your pet’s condition and treatment while at Sunstone.
Open Continuously, Friday morning – Tuesday evening
*Please call ahead 503-505-7255