Canine Diet Formulation - An Online Course
Study the Canine Diet Formulation in an online course taught by renowned canine nutritionist & herbalist Cat Lane, Dip. CFN, Chartered Herbalist
This is a course intended for people who want to learn how to formulate a balanced canine diet, whether raw, cooked or a mixture, based on sound, scientific principles of canine nutrition.
It includes a solid foundation in digestion, as well as review of all required nutrients and components of the canine diet. It encourages critical thinking, so you can evaluate various diets and methods of feeding, and choose what works best, to suit an individual dog. You will learn to formulate balanced diets, containing all the essential macronutrients and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). My emphasis here, as always, is a foundation of scientific knowledge, combined with skillful use of foods and ingredients, so that the end product is a series of recipes that support your dog’s health in every level.
The course is done entirely online, and is available as mentored (with assignments) or non-mentored – tuition fees vary.
There are 12 units. The course includes reading, study and research, plus written assignments for the mentored version. You can complete the course in your own time, and at your own pace, but I highly recommend sticking to a regular schedule of study.
Upon completion, you receive a Certificate of Completion. I look forward to hearing from you!
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
Each unit has a corresponding assignment.
Unit 1
Introduction to dietary formulation
Principles, tools and reliable resources, plus an overview of current, popular dietary approaches, and where they may go awry
Unit 2
Energy and Macronutrients
How much food your dog really need? What should a diet consist of, in terms of carbs, fat and protein? Are all carbs really so bad? Formulation starts with macronutrients and energy, and food sources of all.
Unit 3
Protein and Amino Acids
How much does a dog really need? Food Sources, requirement ranges and how to calculate, nitrogen balance, signs of deficiency and excess.
Unit 4
Fats and fatty acids
Much confusion on this one floating around! Here we will get the skinny on fats and why we need to understand fatty acids, not just the total amount a dog takes in from all sources.
Unit 5
Micronutrients; an overview, and requirements
Vitamins and minerals are required in much more precise amounts than fat, carb and fiber. This is where many home made diets fall down – and yours never will again.
Unit 6
Vitamins
What do they do in the body? We’ll look at food sources, requirements, interactions, how to supply in the diet and supplement as needed.
Unit 7
Minerals
What do they do in the body? As with vitamins, we’ll examine food sources, requirements, interactions, how to supply in the diet and supplement as needed.
Unit 8
Interactions and Anti Nutrients
All foods contain more than essential nutrients, and we need to understand some of these to get started. You may have heard of phytates and oxalates – there are others! In addition, nutrients can affect the absorption of one another if fed in excess, so here is here we learn about balance and ratios ,and why they’re important.
Unit 9
Supplementation and food storage/preparation
An extensive section on commercial dog food where some of the things you will learn include the different forms, formulations, label claims, marketing techniques, brands, manufacturers, and much more.
Unit 10
Putting it all together; forming the recipes
We’ll use nutritiondata, your own dog(s) as examples, and start figuring out how to actually put a completely balanced recipe together. We’ll look at raw and cooked diets, and get the foundation set up.
Unit 11 & 12
Practicuum in recipe development
Vitamins and minerals, calculating fatty acid content, what to do if it doesn’t seem to work, substitutions.
COURSE DETAILS
This course may be taken as a monthly class, or you can take your own time, send me questions as required and complete in a more leisurely fashion (A ceiling of 8 months is recommended, so you keep some momentum).
We will use all classnotes and Internet resources, so no additional texts are required. I will provide a Recommended Reading list, but you don’t need to purchase anything extra to get started.
Canine Nutrition – Diet Formulation course (Mentored)
- Receive access to the full course including lecture notes and assignments.
- Access to the online Facebook Classroom
- Turn in assignments for grading and receive feedback from Cat Lane.
- Receive a certificate of completion
CAD $400.00
Canine Nutrition – Diet Formulation course (unmentored)
- Receive access to the full course including lecture notes and assignments.
- Access to the online Facebook Classroom
CAD $100.00
Setting: Online/Virtual | Expected Completion Time: 1 Year
HOW IT WORKS
1
Purchase the course and immediately receive access to course materials online under the “My Courses” tab. Easily track your progress under the “My Courses” tab.
2
Work through the lecture notes, textbooks, and recommended reading at your own pace. Lecture materials are available online and Cat Lane is available for any questions.
3
Full course students submit homework to be graded and receive feedback from Cat Lane. Receive a certificate when all assignment have been submitted and solid understanding of the material has been demonstrated.
Always willing to take time out of her busy schedule to answer questions. Offers lot of free and low cost educational material. Actually aware of specific breed difference as they relate to diet rather than a one size fits all recommendation. I appreciate having her blog and on-line tutorials as a reliable source to expand my diet and nutrition education.
The Diet Formulation For Dogs course is excellent and best of all you can take your time and do it at your own pace. The course is very well structured and everything is covered from the ground up.
Starting with Digestion and Energy, moving onto Macronutrients, Proteins, Carbohydrates, Fatty Acids, Micronutrients, Vitamins, Minerals and Supplements, with lots of practical work along the way. Each module builds on the last one with the aim to give you the confidence and the knowledge to feed a complete and balanced diet by the time the course is completed.
If you love the thought of feeding your dog fresh foods but worry about getting the nutrient requirements correct. This is the perfect course for you.
Cat Lane is a true master of her field and her courses and tutorials are a fantastic testament to her knowledge and experience. The basics of canine nutrition course is not only a fantastic wealth of information, organized beautifully and precisely in an aesthetically pleasing web format – it is an incredible starting point for learning how to critically think about the inner workings of our dear canine companions so that we can begin the very arduous, but mentally invigorating process of developing homemade diets with confidence and an abundance of strong scientific sources at your back. Lessons covering all of the building blocks of any diet: energy, macronutrients, vitamins, and minerals. These chapters alone provide months’ worth of materials to take serious deep dives into – the topics are complex and will exercise the science side of your brain.
I consistently find myself looking back through Cat’s lessons and sections – not just the basics of canine nutrition, but also her canine diet formulation course as well as her fantastic Facebook tutorials on nutrition, home cooked diet formulation, and herbalism. Lifetime access to all of the materials provides a permanent harbourage for you to continue to refer back when questions arise, and revisit material to brush up on comprehension.
The single most comprehensive, detailed and reliable source for everything related to dog health and well being. Whether it’s information, a therapeutic or proactive consult or a learning course, this site has it all and is the gold standard in both health and education. No one knows more or cares more than Cat Lane and she has made the biggest difference in my dogs life hands down. She continues to do this every single day. My gratitude is beyond measure!
I have been following Cat Lane and her page The Possible Canine for years. I recently took her online tutorial for home made diet formulation for dogs. She gives you so much information and help for so little compensation for her knowledge and time. I highly recommend Cat’s services.
Cat is a very structured teacher and her courses are very well written and developed. I’m currently enrolled in all her classes and actively studying both the Basic and Formulation courses. I am learning so much that I am more confident in being able to feed my dog right.
At the same time, Cat is a brilliant herbalist who has helped my dog immensely. Previously, she would have a major flare up because of her sensitivities whenever she experiences changes in her hormones, but after following Cat’s protocols, we’ve sailed past her last heat. I look forward to engaging Cat’s help in getting my dog’s diet modified next because I’m certain she’ll do an excellent job.
Two thumbs up!