Prescription Foods

[stk78]

Just curious if any folks here have experience/advice regarding prescription foods. Our little man was recently diagnosed with chronic IBD, and our vet recommended the Hills Prescription I/D diet. The dry food comes in at about 25e per 2K bag, and the wet food cans are about 3e each. This is an insane amount of money for feeding a 15k little dog! The vet is unfamiliar with any alternatives, but I’m sure there must be some out there. Has anyone else dealt with IBD using a whole foods/holistic approach or a different, more reasonably priced brand? I’m not entirely convinced that Hills is the best food out there (just slickly marketed to/by vet practices). Of course we’ll do whatever it takes to keep Muggins healthy, but I’d love to hear if anyone else has had success in treating this problem without completely breaking the bank.

Thanks!

[ash]

One of my lot suffers from Colitis (a form of IBD) and I have found that the best food to have her on is Royal Canin Sensitivity (it is a prescription food). It’s also brilliant for dogs that have infections or just general upsets for short term, but can be used as a long term food and my lady is doing brilliantly on it. We initially tried Hills I/D and it didn’t agree with her as much as her current food. RC Sensitivity comes in both wet and dry – I have my lady on dry only. I have a neighbour who also has a dog with IBD who is on this food and she’s flying! I cannot recommend it enough.

It is pricey though. Your best bet is online, there is a great site (http://www.medicanimal.com) that has lots of prescription foods (and regular foods) for cheaper prices than most vets charge, definately worth a look. As always, it’s cheaper to buy in bulk and keep an eye out for offers to cut down on the price. I generally pay around €40 for a 6.5kg bag (I would buy a bigger bag but I only have one dog on it and I don’t want it going off), they don’t need very much of it per day so it does last a good while. I think the 15kg bag is near to €80 (as far as I can remember) and the 1.5kg bag is about €12. It is well worth the money because it is such a good solution, and long term at that, to such a bad problem.

Good luck!

[wiv]

Have you heard of Burns? I had my dog-mini schnauzer, on Hills but I was in the vets every 2/3 months with him because he had stomach upsets, I tried Orijen next as it got a great review on dogfoodanalysis.com, he LOVES it but again, I had him at the vets 2 days ago with an upset stomach.(although I’m keeping my boxer on it as he’s doing really well on it) He’s on the id canned food at the moment but when he comes off it I’m going to try Burns, it also gets a fairly good review on the site..
My friend has her springer on it for years and he does well on it.

[DogsBestFriend]

Whilst thankfully none of our 3 have IBS, two of them are on a prescription diet in the Hills range. As my previous threads viz Hills will verify, we had our doubts initially about Hills resulting from information we had seen on another site. However, as 2 of them had quite a serious weight problem , once I had contacted Hills direct and received a reply from them (posted on previous thread on the boards), we decided to go ahead and give it a go. I have to say, we have had no problems with the RD (which they started on initially to get to their target weights) and they are now thriving on the WD, which is basically a maintenance food. I agree with all concerned that Hills is expensive – we pay roughly 62.50 for 12k bag of the WD, however, when I had the dogs on what I could only admit now to have been supermarket muck, it was costing me a whole lot more as I was supplementing the cheap nuts every day with a protein (usually chicken, fish or meat) and a carb (usually brown pasta / rice) and of course veg as well – no wonder they ended up with a weight problem! Whereas at least the dearer brands are a complete food and you dont have to worry about them not getting their nutrients etc. The 12k bag lasts our two roughly a month so when you work out the daily costs and break it down, its not so bad. I agree wholeheartedly that it is cleverly marketed but there again what product nowadays isnt…… Regarding alternative therapies / treatments, I am sure there are a lot of vets out there that do it. I know one of our vets has additional qualifications in this area, also I have heard that Fox Vet in Finglas Village does alternative therapies but I will stress that I know nothing about Fox and wouldnt be able to say I would recommend. I’m sure if you do a trawl on the net, it should yield tons of results for you. I’m sure when you find the right food for your dog it will make a huge difference to his health. Good luck!

[stk78]

Thanks for the tips and suggestions! I’ve tried a number of hypoallergenic foods in the past, and the problem has only become worse over time. Such a bummer. I will try to locate that homeopathic vet, and see if maybe we can go another route. In the meantime, the super expensive Hills food seems to be more or less maintaining the balance, so until a better option presents I guess we’ll stick to it for the moment.

[buzzsmom]

Buzz did not have a stomach problem but developed mucky eyes and dropped his coat to the point of being nearly bald on his chest and under his arms .I thought it was food related and at the time I was feeding him Pedigree Chum both wet and dry .Several trips to the vets and a recommendation of feeding him with the special tins which are rice and chicken at 3 euro a tin. I decided to cook for him and every two weeks I would cook up 3 kilos of lap of lamb and roast chicken and i would let them cool to remove the fat and mix with veg and rice. Freeze them in portions it is a messy job but much cheaper and you know what they are eating. It solved his problem and once it settled I moved him on to Hills wheat free .

[jojo20]

I also feeling your pain. Annabelle was on messy cheap Aldi wet tinned food with nuts previously and since being weened off it has developed that most awful upset tummies.
We are also on ID which was 72 euro for 12kg bag and since she a big dog it dont go far believe me. My poor pockets are a upset as her her bum
Iv has Luaths or Robbies also suggested to me however I dont like thoughts of Robbies as it wet and cant be good for her pearly whites. And am too scared to try Luaths as her poor tummy has had enough.
Chicken and rice boiled is great but not ideal for nutrients.

If you get any advice from an Holistic vet please do post up. Some vets just ID as an easy option i think. As annabelle gets skin irritations also they suggested ZD which is even more expensive!

Vicious cycle eh!

[LuvMyFurKids]

I have no idea if this will help your fur kids upset tummies and bum’s but I Rossi is a great dane lurcher cross and great danes are renound for their sensitive digestive system….my vet wanted to put Rossi on meds for the rest of his life as a puppy and neither me or my bank balance were happy with this so I did a bit of asking around and came across a powder called Kaolin ….its a natural product and used mainly in the horse world …..I sprinkle two teaspoons on each of his meals and wet it slightly…..it worked a miracle Rossi no longer had the runs and is a much happier dog all round. Plus my bank balance loves it only €6.95 per kg bag and that last for months and thats using it for a 43kg dog….

[justineemoe]

I’m fostering a cat with IBS. I have her on a raw meat diet mixed in with Hills Sensitivity. I got advice from a DID’s homoeopathist vet Tom Farringdon who advised that I add two things to her food; Psyllium husk (to provide fibre) and a probiotic powder – which I got in the health food shop, in order to re-introduce good bacteria to the gut. We have been making progress and the cat, who was skin and bone when I got her (she’s 17 yrs old). She is now putting on weight!

I know someone else who had a cat with chronic constipation. She was an old cat and the vet suggested the best thing to do would be to have her PTS. However the addition of Psyllium husk to the cat’s diet turned the situation around. The message is that alternative / herbal remedies can work really well in animals so don’t rule them out.

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