prescription diet

2151 Views 10 Replies 8 Participants Last post by bigpoodleperson, Dec 1, 2009

vacheron

Discussion Starter · Dec 1, 2009

My boy Pan got sick over the weekend with a bad bout of diarrhea. I seem to think it was because of my neighbor, who wont get rid of these birds roosting on the side of his house, the droppings and food waste from these birds is so bad it is starting to stink and its wearing away at the brick on my side of my house. I live in a row home and I am the last on the block so his house is the only one attached to mine. I think Pan has coccidia. His poop smells funny and the vet agreed also it may be.

Well, the vet gave me a can diet to give to Pan to tighten up his bowels. It is Hill's Prescription Diet W/D and what struck me as odd is that the first ingredients are as follows: water, egg product, ground whole corn, chicken, cracked pearled barley, pork liver, powdered cellulose and chicken liver flavor.
How is it that a can food can have one of the first ingredients as corn? It smells like meat but from reading the list, it has very little meat in it. What gives? I really don't want to give this to him.

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Nigel

· #2 · Dec 1, 2009

Science Diet prescription foods are nothing but a marketing money maker for Hills. There is zero nutrition in that product and the ingredients are very low quality. Return or throw out the food and cook some boiled ground beef or chicken and rice to rebalance Pans tummy. Add some all natural canned pumpkin as well. This will help to bind the stool. I own a natural pet food store and spend loads of time educating customers on nutrition. Add a good digestive enzyme. After a couple days he will improve.

I have also given my dogs Imodium tablets to help get severe bouts of Diarrhea under control. It is safe to give to dogs.

I had a cat named Pan about 20 yrs ago. First time I heard anyone else use that name for their pet. I love it!

Kathy

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Olie

· #3 · Dec 1, 2009

Nigel said:
Science Diet prescription foods are nothing but a marketing money maker for Hills. There is zero nutrition in that product and the ingredients are very low quality. Return or throw out the food and cook some boiled ground beef or chicken and rice to rebalance Pans tummy. Add some all natural canned pumpkin as well. This will help to bind the stool. I own a natural pet food store and spend loads of time educating customers on nutrition. Add a good digestive enzyme. After a couple days he will improve.

I have also given my dogs Imodium tablets to help get severe bouts of Diarrhea under control. It is safe to give to dogs.

I had a cat named Pan about 20 yrs ago. First time I heard anyone else use that name for their pet. I love it!

Kathy

Wow thanks - jumping in on thread. I am having a hiccup with this very thing. Any digestive enzyme?

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Nigel

· #4 · Dec 1, 2009

I prefer The Wholistic Pet product or OptaGest by In Clover.

Both are very high quality natural products.

Kathy

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desertreef

· #5 · Dec 1, 2009

I agree with Kathy! It is shame how they are pushing such low quality 'food' on the dogs that need so much more when they are in trouble.

Enzyme wise... depends where in the country you are located I'm sure as some products are found more readily in other areas.
If you find Animal Essentials local... I would suggest their product. (their line is wonderful, including tinctures)

Once the stool is back to normal, be sure to feed a quality dog food/s.
Hope he's better soon!
Karen

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Marian

· #6 · Dec 1, 2009

It's not just Hill's that's making a fortune, the markup the vets charge for this food has to be astronomical.

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roxy25

· #7 · Dec 1, 2009 (Edited)

vacheron Interesting you are mentioning this. Enzo too had diarrhea but not from coccidia ( sounds like pan has it to me also)

I agree with everyone I just gave Enzo chicken and rice until his stool harden. Some times I give him imodium if its real bad. I remember a long time ago when I had my GSD's I think they both got coccidia both had diarrhea like crazy. I found this anti diarrhea product at the pet shop and it worked. ( of course I forgot what it was called)

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vacheron

Discussion Starter · #8 · Dec 1, 2009

Thanks alot. I thought so! I boiled some boneless chicken thighs and a pot of rice this morning. Smelled so good I had a bowl with a little salt and butter! I have some immodium and will give him some in the afternoon. He vet also gave me some flagyl tablets for the coccidiosis infection. I am going to give the food back.

Thanks for the complement on his name. I thought it fit him to a T. Pan is the Greek god of all things wild and was known as a mischief maker. Pan surely is wild and a mischief maker!

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vacheron

Discussion Starter · #9 · Dec 1, 2009

Oh Desertreef and Nigel: Pan eats Evo red meat formula supplemented with raw ground turkey and chicken. Both my boys eat better than I do!!

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Poodle Lover

· #10 · Dec 1, 2009

Nigel said:
I prefer The Wholistic Pet product or OptaGest by In Clover.

Both are very high quality natural products.

Kathy

I have to second OptaGest by In Clover, that stuff is amazing. That and some boiled chicken or beef with rice should do the trick.

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bigpoodleperson

· #11 · Dec 1, 2009

It's not just Hill's that's making a fortune, the markup the vets charge for this food has to be astronomical.

I would just like to stop in and play a little devils advocate here.

First off, the markup on the food really isnt that much. The vets have to actually buy the food, and it is expensive to buy. They have to do their standard markup to stay in buisness.

Second, i am not a fan of Hills (Hate science diet!!), but the prescription foods DO have their place. Do they come with the best ingredients? No! Do they do their job well? Yes. For tummy upsets i prefer to home cook a bland diet instead of feed the Rx. I have seen pancreatitis dogs that cannot live on anything but W/D (tried other brands and very strict homecooking but kept have reoccurances). I have seen dogs with severe stones not need surgery because the food broke them down. I have seen severly allergic dogs not do well on anything else but the Rx food.

At my clinic we carry the hills Rx foods (not anything else). We only put pets on them that need to be on them. For regular diets we hand out a list to every client of high quality brands and where they can find them in our area (foods like innova, evo, solid gold, etc). We support clients who feed raw or homemade. Just wanted to chime in that there are two sides to every story.

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