To provide the best dietary recommendations to maintain optimal patient health, veterinarians must be able to assess a patient's nutritional status and offer necessary diet adjustment recommendations. Because obtaining accurate diet histories and answering owner questions about specific diet options can be time-consuming, this article summarizes efficient methods to complete this process. Short case illustrations of common nutrition calculation equations and an example diet history form are included. Members of the entire veterinary team can be involved with the assessment process to reduce the veterinarian’s workload, while improving the quality of information obtained and the recommendations made for the pet.