Tuesday, February 24, 2026, 8 pm ET
Evaluating Pet Supplements in Practice: Helping Clients Make Informed Choices
Speaker: Laura Gaylord, DVM, DACVIM (Nutrition)
Pet supplement use is rapidly expanding mirroring the widespread adoption of supplements in human health. Owners increasingly seek products to support mobility, skin and coat health, anxiety, and aging, yet veterinarians receive limited training on evaluating and recommending these products. This session will provide practical guidelines for assessing supplement quality and efficacy, review current regulation and oversight, and highlight cautions regarding adverse events and unsupervised use. Case examples will illustrate how supplements can be successfully integrated into multimodal treatment plans to enhance patient care.
Tuesday, March 17, 2026, 8 pm ET Neo-Natal Nutrition Across Species: From Calves and Foals to Puppies and Kittens Speaker: Mark Fagundes, DVM, PhD
The neonatal period presents unique physiological challenges and represents a critical stage of life, during which nutrition plays a central role in health, growth, and development. This session will explore comparative neonatal nutrition across calves, foals, puppies, and kittens, highlighting colostrum, passive transfer, milk composition, and gastrointestinal adaptation. Attendees will gain a practical, cross-species framework for understanding how early nutritional management influences both immediate outcomes and long-term health.
Dr. Mark Fagundes was raised on a family dairy farm in California. He attended Cal Poly–San Luis Obispo for his undergraduate studies and Washington State University, where he earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. After veterinary school, he completed a veterinary internship and went on to earn a Doctor of Philosophy degree in ruminant nutrition from Utah State University. He practiced as a large animal veterinarian in California’s Central Valley before pursuing small animal general practice. Dr. Fagundes is currently a nutrition resident at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, where he provides clinical nutrition consultation across a range of species.
Tuesday, August 4, 2026, 8 pm ET
Weight Management/Obesity Speaker: Katherine Oakes, DVM
With obesity rates persistently climbing in companion animals, weight management has emerged as a primary concern for pet owners and veterinary professionals alike. This session provides insight into risk factors and physiology of obesity, as well as nutritional strategies for prevention and treatment. Attendees will not only learn how to formulate a weight loss plan, but also how to how to effectively communicate with owners and build the trust that is essential for long-term success.
Dr. Katie Oakes has had an interest in veterinary nutrition for several years, receiving her bachelor's degree from North Carolina State University for Animal Science with a minor in Nutrition. She then attended Ross University in St. Kitts, and spent her clinical year at the University of Tennessee before graduating in 2024 as a Doctor of Veterinary edicine. Last year, she worked as the Clinical Nutrition Intern at Kansas State University, where she deepened her passion for weight management while working in their Healthy Weight Clinic. Dr. Oakes is currently a Clinical Nutrition Resident at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, where she lives with her two cats.
Tuesday, September 8, 2026, 8 pm ET
Approaching the Patient with Chronic Gastrointestinal Signs
Speaker: Kyle German, DVM
Chronic gastrointestinal disease is one of the most common reasons dogs and cats are referred for nutritional consultation, with chronic diarrhea representing a frequent clinical challenge. This presentation will provide a practical, stepwise approach to evaluating patients with chronic gastrointestinal signs, including recommended diagnostic testing to identify underlying disease. Nutritional management strategies will be discussed in detail, including how to select and modify diets based on the suspected disease process, with emphasis on dietary fat, fiber, protein sources, digestibility, and other key nutritional interventions.
Dr. Kyle German earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Oklahoma State University in 2010. After 13 years in small animal general practice, he pursued advanced specialty training in veterinary nutrition, completing a nutrition residency and becoming board certified as a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Nutrition). Dr. German is passionate about the role nutrition plays in preventing and managing disease and enjoys helping veterinarians and pet owners optimize the health of dogs and cats through individualized, evidence-based nutrition plans. Originally from Oklahoma, he has lived in Colorado for the last 10 years. He now lives in the mountains with his fiancée, four dogs, and two cats. When he's not working, he enjoys hiking, mountain biking, snowboarding, and spending time outdoors in nature.
AAVN student webinars are free but registration is required. CE credit is not provided for these sessions.
