[Vicki P]

My approx. 2 year old lab mix has been eating Hill’s I/D for the last year and a half, and I’d like to try and wean her off of it and on to something that doesn’t require a prescription. The reason why we have her on the i/d is because she had a pretty nasty case of giardia when we first adopted her (she was approx 8-10 months old), and I think it fried her digestive system. After she was clear of the giardia, we tried her on at least 5 or 6 kinds of food, both rx and non-rx, but they all gave her pretty severe cases of the runs. We finally landed on i/d which controlled the diarrhea beautifully. She has been on it now for about a year and a half, so I’d like to try and roll the dice and get her onto something else. Plus my pup sheds a lot, and I question whether she’s getting enough nutrients. She’s always eating grass voraciously.

And yes, she does have allergies. We had her tested since she was literally licking her paws bald and getting frequent ear infections. She’s now on benadryl twice a day, and she’s no longer licking her paws at all (been stable for almost a year). She’s allergic to black ants and grass, of all the random things…

We didn’t test her for food allergies at the recommendation of my vet (can’t remember why, I think he said they’re not very accurate in dogs).

Our vet said there were rx hypoallergenic foods, but at the time that we had her tested (a year ago), he recommended that we remain on the i/d since we had finally sorted out her (severe) stomach issues.

So if anyone has any suggestions about where I can start to find an alternative, I’d appreciate it!

[Susan]

Hi, I found a few kibbles last night called Lupa Hypoallergene Sensitive 20\8 or Lupa Hypoallergene Sensitive 24/10, I don’t know if its sold in America its sold thru Zooplus…or try the “California Natural” hypoallergenic limited ingredients Lamb & Rice it has just 4 ingredients, so less chance of any problems, a few people have just put their itchy sensitive stomach dogs on the California Natural Lamb & Rice & its working.. If you join this Face Book Group “Dog Allergy International group” look in the files for “Foods & Links for limited Ingredient *Kibbles * Wet * Raw” all foods have their links so you can look at the ingredients & fat% fiber% etc https://www.facebook.com/groups/dogallergyinternationalgroup/

[Susan]

Is she on the Hills I/d Gastro or the Hills I/d Low Fat Restore?? when you do look for a new food try & find a food with the same amount Fat% Fiber % & Protein % & limited ingredients also the only problem is the amount of soluble fiber, insoluble fiber & crude fiber that is in the I/d vet diet that you’re feeding…I have all the fibers % of both I/d kibbles….but need to know which I/D you’re feeding..

[LexiDog]

When you do get her switched over, try adding a digestive enzyme/probiotic/prebiotic supplement to help aide digestion.

I use Herbsmith Micro Flora Plus.

[Vicki P]

Thanks all so much for the advice! Susan — my dog is on the hill’s gastro i/d.

[Pitlove]

I just wanted to point out how similar the ingredients in these 2 Science Diet formulas are. One is the prescription your dog is on and one is a food you can find at any pet store without a prescription

http://www.hillspet.com/products/pd-canine-id-canine-gastrointestinal-health-dry.html

vs

http://www.hillspet.com/products/sd-canine-adult-sensitive-stomach-and-skin-dry.html

both meant for “sensitive stomachs”

None of the ingredients that are in your dogs food need a prescription at all, but you are paying the premium price for a prescription food only meant to aid in disgestive health..

Point being, there are many budget friendly ways to help your dogs tummy. Amy A made a great point about adding the supplement/pre and probiotics. Your dogs stomach is sick which is why she has digestive upset. Putting healthy bacteria back into her gut will allow her stomach to become healthy and be on any food she wants without the runs.

You can defintely start with something LID to ease her off the prescription diet. I would really consider adding the some type of probiotic like kefir or plain yogurt and a supplement because when you take a dog from a food like Science Diet to a higher quality food that has biologically appropriate ingredients (not corn and brewers rice) they need all the help they can get adjusting to the better quality food.

Nature’s Variety makes a really good LID food. Natural Balance while I dont like the food does as well. LID diets tend to be a little lower in protein and other things as well which is what Susan mentioned about keeping the levels similar as to not shock the system. If your dog has been on the same food for the better part of her life that is also contributing to the sensitive stomach.

This video from holistic vet Dr. Karen Becker might also help you too

• This reply was modified 9 years, 5 months ago by Pitlove.
• This reply was modified 9 years, 5 months ago by Pitlove.
• This reply was modified 9 years, 5 months ago by Pitlove.

[Anonymous]

“Our vet said there were rx hypoallergenic foods, but at the time that we had her tested (a year ago), he recommended that we remain on the i/d since we had finally sorted out her (severe) stomach issues”.

I would continue to work with your vet and get his approval regarding changes.
Check out what Wysong has to offer http://www.wysong.net/ prescription and nonprescription, some formulas are carried at Chewey’s http://www.chewy.com/s?dept=dog&query=wysong&nav-submit-button=Submit+Query

My dog with a sensitive stomach and allergies does well on Nutrisca salmon and chickpea http://www.chewy.com/dog/dogswell-nutrisca-grain-free-salmon/dp/35031

Eating grass sometimes indicates that the dog has an upset stomach….proceed with caution.

[Vicki P]

This is all great information. Will definitely continue to work with my vet (we love them!), but right now one of them is on maternity leave and the other is out of the office so I need to wait before I can consult with either of them.

I originally had a suspicion that our pup had a hard time digesting fats, but perhaps protein is actually the issue.

I’m going to investigate all of these suggestions presented here and also consult with our vet. I’m just glad to have a place to start, since there’s so much information out there — started researching, and it made my head swim!!!

[Anonymous]

Another thing to confuse you 🙂 The homeopathic views http://vitalanimal.com/kibble-dogs-only/

and http://www.homeovet.net/content/lifestyle/section1.html

Recipe for homemade (if you are interested) there are some good tips in General Guidelines http://www.homeovet.net/dynamic/php/downloads/dog-c8470f2c75dbe4b683205c3919ee2310/dog_diet_complete.pdf

[Pitlove]

Your dog certainly could be different, however a normal healthy dog can efficently process a species appropriate protein, meaning animal meat and not corn. There are different sources of proteins that are used in commercial dog foods that while they are a source of protein they do not digest as well because they are not species appropriate. The rX food your dog is on contains protein, however the sources are corn and by-products which are not sufficent sources of protein. The by-products are the least of the problem because if paired with whole meat wouldnt be terrible, its the abudance of corn and rices that are difficult to digest.

I would highly consider a commercial raw diet. A little different than what L M suggested, however the maker of the commercial raw food usually works with a holistic vet ( i know Darwins does) to make sure all the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, etc are in the food at the proper levels, where as when you make the food yourself you need to be able to formulate those levels on your own which if you are new to it can be much more scary.

Despite recipes and all that, you still need to be careful when preparing your own homemade raw diet.

[Author]

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