[artsycourtneysue]

Cozi had stomache issues(constipation, etc.) about a month ago and after bringing her to the vet, he put her on a perscription diet for a couple of weeks.... and it worked wonders.

It was Royal Canin I/D wet and dry.....after those 2 weeks I was told to put her back on her old food which was just pedigree puppy. I tried to transition slowly but she just didn't like the new food and I had been wanting to get her onto a better quality food so I bought Royal Canin Small Breed dry food.....for some reason our petsmart doesn't carry any wet food in that brand and the vet said " oh just give her dry and she will eat it, no need for wet food"- LOL....after a week of wasting food and having her protest and be hungry, I finally just bought more of the perscription wet food to mix in.....

She LOVED it... My question is....is there anything wrong with keeping her on this special lowfat perscrption diet??? Or at least just the low-fat wet food to mix in a bit?????

 

[BFF]

Personally, I'm not a big fan of Science Diet. I know every vet has some, if not exclusively in their shop (including mine). I don't see this as a vet preferred product, but as a price that cannot be turned down (or some sort of offer from the manufacturer). I could be wrong, so someone who works at a vet could help out with that perception.

Look it up on the web and see if this is what you want. Every dog is going to need and want something a little different. I think as long as they are happy to eat, have a good coat, build strong muscles, and have vibrant energy, you are on the right path. I think the sign of a poor quality food is skin problems or allergies.

 

[BFF]

I meant to add that I am glad Cozi is feeling better.

 

[Olie]

You can mix in a good quality wet food, several brands make wet. It does not have to be the same as what you are feeding for dry so long as it is a similar mix of ingredients for the sake of getting an upset belly again. I have went down this route with 3 dogs so this is based only on my experience.

Also I think at some point the dogs become a little picky and they try to hold out in hopes we feed them the yummy soft! I would at some point put your dry food down, if the dog is not eating - pull it up until the next feeding and eventually he will eat. And the science diet brand I am also not a fan of.

 

[Aida-Christine]

I don't think there is anything wrong with keeping her on the food. My cat was prescribed the the I/D cat version of the dry when she had an allergic reaction to some medicine. She liked it so much and the vet told us it was fine to leave her on it. I/D is designed to have the very basic food needs without all the extra chemicals and flavor enhancers added to name brands. It's designed primarily for animals with food allergies. So it's probably healthier than most name brands anyway.

 

[bigpoodleperson]

I wouldnt call it "healthier", but it wouldnt hurt to add some of the I/D in with her meals if she really likes it.

The I/D is specifically made for intestinal problems (hence the "I"/D). So if it is working well for her then great! We have some clients on it for life and their dogs do/look great. If you can find a different canned food that she can tollerate then go for it.

Most vets carry Hills for the prescription foods. We have and sell those, but we dont sell or recommend Science Diet. Alot of vets do though because they think its a good food (most of the time it is Hills or Purina teaching/sponsering their nutrition lectures. In the lecutres they focus more on percents, minerals, etc then actual ingredients. Vets know their nutrition, not their ingredients!

 

[Marian]

I was in PetSmart the other day, talking to a woman who I thought was a PS employee. She asked me what I feed Teddy and I told her Wellness Core (which PS does not carry, btw). She started telling me all this BS about how it was an adult food and not good for puppies and that they need more than just protein, blah blah blah. You know, like I haven't thoroughly researched this issue for myself. Then she turned a little and I saw that her shirt had a Hill's patch on it. The conversation ended there as I excused myself. She gave me a pamphlet, which I stuck in my bag and will throw away when it's time to clean out the junk.

Sometimes I find that you just have to feed them whatever they will eat. I'm trying to switch my cat from Fancy Feast to something more healthy, but he just loves the Fancy Feast so much. I think I finally found a Blue that he will eat. If he won't, I'll just continue with the FF. He really hasn't suffered any health problems as a result of the FF, so I'm not going to obsess over it if he won't eat the Blue.

 

[Mister]

If she is constipated there are easier more natural ways to fix it by simply giving her a few teaspoons of canned pumpkin a day. It works as a stool softener and will also firm it up if she gets diarrhea. It works wonders. Science diet and pedigree are both lower end foods full of fillers and by products. You would be better off going with a higher quality food and the canned pumpkin. You dont have to go as far as grain free food but at least check the first three ingredients and make sure meat is the first or at least the second ingredient. You dog will be a lot better off. Hope this helps.

 

[Reesmom]

I've used the pumpkin and it does work. I switch my dogs around on things I add in their dry food. Sometimes some gravies, or a good quality canned. Lately I've been adding a tbsp on raw hamburger and warm water. My toy, who is very picky, loves it. There are plenty of options out there.

 

[bigpoodleperson]

I love canned pumpkin and find it very helpful. However, i would not feed a food to my dog all the time that required him eating the pumpkin to keep his stools nice. That is a bandaid to me and a sign you should switch the food as that is the root of the problem.

 

[partial2poodles]

Does anyone here subscribe to the Whole Dog Journal??? Every Feb they come out with current healthy foods etc. However, there was an article last year about the fattiest dry dog foods. Wellness CORE was at the top. That's what I was feeding my newest cat and I was wondering why he was gaining so much weight. I thought he was just making up for being an alley cat outdoors. BY THE WAY Science Diet foods are rated very very poorly by Whole Dog Journal....too "grain"-y...cheap low-cost ingredients at a very high price. NO THANKS

 

[taxtell]

Personally, I'm not a big fan of Science Diet. I know every vet has some, if not exclusively in their shop (including mine). I don't see this as a vet preferred product, but as a price that cannot be turned down (or some sort of offer from the manufacturer). I could be wrong, so someone who works at a vet could help out with that perception.

Look it up on the web and see if this is what you want. Every dog is going to need and want something a little different. I think as long as they are happy to eat, have a good coat, build strong muscles, and have vibrant energy, you are on the right path. I think the sign of a poor quality food is skin problems or allergies.

Not my clinic! LOL
We hate Hills/Science Diet.

 

[bigpoodleperson]

What brand of Rx foods do you guys use? My vets are just so comfortable with Hills Rx foods and have seen them work well that they have no desire to switch or add.

 

[LuckyPoodle]

Yea, Hill's on not the best brand out there, but there are worse. With that being said 2 of my dogs are on Hills RX foods and have been for a long time. Zoe has been on I/D for close to 4 years now - she has a super sensitive tummy and this food is the only one that will agree with her. Sammi, who is 8 years old has been on R/D for 5 years, he has gall bladder diease and this is one of the only foods that will work for him. Sometimes, you have to forgot all about quality and go with what works for the dog if there are issues involved.

 

[taxtell]

What brand of Rx foods do you guys use? My vets are just so comfortable with Hills Rx foods and have seen them work well that they have no desire to switch or add.

Honestly we don't carry much food, but we have a mishmosh of Royal Canin (IVD) for allergy dogs (Duck and Potato, etc) some Purina (UR) and some Iams.
For some reason my vet HATES Hills more than any other brand. Royal Canin has some ok Rx stuff, the allergy line is fairly decent. The S/O is a good bandaid for urinary stuff.
He doesn't prescribe any bland diet aside from fasting and canned pumpkin (or sometimes chicken and yogurt for cats).

I admit I feed our clinic cat Wellness Core and Orijen Dry instead of anything we carry, though.

 

[artsycourtneysue]

Such good responses-thank you! I get to the point where I can't decide if I'm being too picky...she likes the food now...I'm doing royal canin small breed, and some royal canin wet RX. She likes it a lot, but her stools have gotten smaller!??! I can't tell if she is just eating less or if it's a problem??? It's funny, this is the first time that i've started out with a dog without a yard so I'm always walking her/paying attention to stools now. Before, who really knew what was going on!

 

[bigpoodleperson]

Haha! Thats why i dont look at my dogs stools! I know when he has a problem, but if he is acting fine then i dont worry. Smaller stools are just fine as long as she is not having trouble passing them. If she is eating it and doing well then i would leave her alone for now.

 

[Locket]

Mitch has just started on prescription Medi Cal and it's all just filler. Horrible ingredients and expensive too. Hill's Science Diet isn't any better and is even MORE expensive. I can get 15 lbs of Orijen for $45.00 and I paid $31 for 7 lbs. of Medi Cal.