wanting to specialize

[Journeys]

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Hello all, I just joined the forum. I'm hoping that I can get some advice here with some sort of a direction I want to go in.

I'm looking into going back to school. I'll be 25 in March, and unfortunately life has thrown me some curveballs the last five years which kept me from completing college, including the death of my daughter and everything surrounding that. Anyway, I've been trying to rebuild my life since then, and I'm at the point where I'm ready to go back and get a degree this time.

I currently work for a small local pet store where I am in charge of the dog and cat food. I have a holistic approach to nutrition, one could say, and have done a lot of personal study because of the job as well as because of my nine rescued furkids (five dogs, four cats). Companion Animal Nutrition has become my passion in life, and I would like to pursue a career focused in it. Of course, not exactly sure what sort of career, maybe either working for a food company as a rep, or consulting for pet stores, private advising sessions with pet owners, etc.

My question(s?): frankly, is this even possible? I don't know if there's this sort of specialty in veterinary medicine, or if going to vet school would be an option for this specialty or for myself. (I tried working in a vet's office when I was younger... unfortunately I have a subconscious aversion to blood and needles to the point of getting lightheaded and passing out. 🙁 So I wouldn't be able to shadow surgery or do anything like what I'd assume a regular clinic vet would have to learn during vet school.) I realize that there are some nutrition classes that I could take, but is there any degree program/college major just for companion animal nutrition? I've found degree/certification type programs for dog trainers and pet groomers, but (so far) none for pet nutritionists. While searching on the forums here, I've gathered that the online class at Purdue is mostly focused on livestock, so that wouldn't really be my preferred subject either. Also, sorry in advance to those of you who are in the school of thought that the vet-recommended diets of corn and by-products are perfectly fine, to be blunt, I don't want to waste my time in a "nutrition" class that's really just a Hills/Purina/Iams propaganda lecture because I will never believe that dogs or cats can thrive on those foods, especially after observing my dogs throughout my life. To make things even more difficult of course, I would probably be limited to online programs, since the aforementioned nine furkids makes it hard to relocate.

My reason behind wanting to get a degree or at least take some courses, is I'd like a higher level of understanding of things. Plus something to back me up that I have had the proper schooling to understand nutrition for future careers. It's much easier to get ahead with a degree than none at all. But basically, I want to learn more about the science and physiology. I know that dogs and cats need animal protein, and I have a general understanding of why. But I want to learn exactly how proteins vs carbs vs fats are utilized by the body, for example. Hope this makes sense.

Is this possible? Worth it? What do you think? Any advice or recommendations for someone focused on animal nutrition?

 

[Poochlover11]

Hello all, I just joined the forum. I'm hoping that I can get some advice here with some sort of a direction I want to go in.

I'm looking into going back to school. I'll be 25 in March, and unfortunately life has thrown me some curveballs the last five years which kept me from completing college, including the death of my daughter and everything surrounding that. Anyway, I've been trying to rebuild my life since then, and I'm at the point where I'm ready to go back and get a degree this time.

I currently work for a small local pet store where I am in charge of the dog and cat food. I have a holistic approach to nutrition, one could say, and have done a lot of personal study because of the job as well as because of my nine rescued furkids (five dogs, four cats). Companion Animal Nutrition has become my passion in life, and I would like to pursue a career focused in it. Of course, not exactly sure what sort of career, maybe either working for a food company as a rep, or consulting for pet stores, private advising sessions with pet owners, etc.

My question(s?): frankly, is this even possible? I don't know if there's this sort of specialty in veterinary medicine, or if going to vet school would be an option for this specialty or for myself. (I tried working in a vet's office when I was younger... unfortunately I have a subconscious aversion to blood and needles to the point of getting lightheaded and passing out. 🙁 So I wouldn't be able to shadow surgery or do anything like what I'd assume a regular clinic vet would have to learn during vet school.) I realize that there are some nutrition classes that I could take, but is there any degree program/college major just for companion animal nutrition? I've found degree/certification type programs for dog trainers and pet groomers, but (so far) none for pet nutritionists. While searching on the forums here, I've gathered that the online class at Purdue is mostly focused on livestock, so that wouldn't really be my preferred subject either. Also, sorry in advance to those of you who are in the school of thought that the vet-recommended diets of corn and by-products are perfectly fine, to be blunt, I don't want to waste my time in a "nutrition" class that's really just a Hills/Purina/Iams propaganda lecture because I will never believe that dogs or cats can thrive on those foods, especially after observing my dogs throughout my life. To make things even more difficult of course, I would probably be limited to online programs, since the aforementioned nine furkids makes it hard to relocate.

My reason behind wanting to get a degree or at least take some courses, is I'd like a higher level of understanding of things. Plus something to back me up that I have had the proper schooling to understand nutrition for future careers. It's much easier to get ahead with a degree than none at all. But basically, I want to learn more about the science and physiology. I know that dogs and cats need animal protein, and I have a general understanding of why. But I want to learn exactly how proteins vs carbs vs fats are utilized by the body, for example. Hope this makes sense.

Is this possible? Worth it? What do you think? Any advice or recommendations for someone focused on animal nutrition?

Hmm... I am not sure if I will be a ton of help with this but I will give it a shot. I guess I wouldn't recommend just going to vet school to learn nutrition if you aren't going to be a practicing vet. It's a lot of money to go to vet school! (How I wish it weren't). At the university I go to we have an undergrad major called Animal Science. It includes some pretty good and useful things, along with animal nutrition. I guess that is what I would recommend instead of going to vet school. I am sure others have some better advice, but that is just a start.

Also if you want to learn about how the body processes food I wouldn't just limit yourself to animal nutrition. There is some really good info in biology courses that might help lay out a foundation for understanding nutrition.

 

[Selkie2283]

Good question! No clue, LOL! I agree that if your intent is not to be a practicing doctor, a DVM is probably a little extreme.

I wiki'd it, and I think this might actually be useful to you:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_nutritionist

Check out the External Links section and see if Auburn, Cal Poly, or Iowa have programs that might be what you're looking for. I know you said it'll have to be an online program, but it's amazing how doors you couldn't even believe were there start opening up with you pursue a path you're truly passionate about! Don't completely rule the possibility out! If nothing else, take a detailed look at their programs, and see if comparatively those programs are offered at online institutions.

I think this would be a GREAT field to get into! People are really beginning to acknowledge the importance of quality pet food. We have two natural pet food stores in my town, and they do good business! People are starting to make healthier, more holistic choices for themselves, and in turn, are doing so for their creatures.

 

[Electrophile]

To answer your question, yes, there is a board certified specialty in animal nutrition (you have to do a 2-3 year residency after 4 years of vet school and pass the boards to be a board certified veterinary nutritionist). Here is the website of the American College of Veterinary Nutrition:

http://www.acvn.org

It's actually what I'd like to do when I get out and likewise with a holistic focus. 😎 My eventual goal is doing some general mixed practice, but doing nutritional consults from a species appropriate perspective. I'd also love to come up with a line of veterinary diets that truthfully let the vet and the client know exactly what percentages of dry weight ingredients are in the food for managing various medical conditions. Though they legally cannot be labeled as such, but "human grade" ingredients for those who cannot homecook. But yes, you would need to go all the way through vet med school first, which does include lots of surgery and procedures with needles and whatnot. 🙂

There are undergraduate, masters, and PhD programs in animal nutrition. My masters degree was in biology, but I did a lot of nutrition studies on phytoestrogens and their effects on the reproductive system. You'll basically learn about vitamins, minerals, fats, carbs, protein, enzymes, and more from a biochemistry perspective (so you'll likely need to take biochemistry and organic chemistry) and how they interact. The veterinary nutritionist must have a strong background in what is called internal medicine (endocrinology, nephrology, dermatology, and general physiology, etc), so the difference is that the veterinary nutritionist would be more interested in seeing how the body uses (or doesn't use or gets too much of, in certain pathologies) the different components of diet than a PhD/masters animal nutritionist. The two overlap a lot though, kind of like a PhD psychologist versus a MD/DO psychiatrist. Hope that helps!