A dog's dinner
March 18, 2016 7:30 AM Subscribe
What dog food can I use to replace Hill's Prescription I/D Gastrointestinal formula?
My adorable just-shy-of-a-year puppy has a very touchy tummy. After bouts with diarrhea and many trips to the vet including blood work, ultrasounds, and rounds of treatment with metronidazale and having her on it during those flare-ups, I started feeding her Hill's Prescription I/D Gastrointestinal canned/wet food as her regular food with my vet's ok (the canned variety). I had her on Wellness Core Small Breed Puppy kibble, but she really didn't like it (would refuse to eat for days); I suspect it upset her stomach quite a bit as it also gave her wicked gas. I've looked on various dog food review sites and there is a lot of conflicting information, but there seems to be a consensus around "you are basically murdering your dog by feeding her Hill's!!!!!" I want to make sure she is getting excellent nutrition while ensuring that it doesn't bother her stomach. I've asked the vet, but they just say that the Hill's is fine, though of course they are also a distributor for it.
Anyone have recommendations for/experience with food that is similarly easy on dogs with touchy tummies, but has better ingredients/nutrition than the Hill's? Ideally, I'd like to give her a mix of canned (she LOVES it) with a bit of kibble for her teeth. She's a nearly year-old 12/13 lb Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. She goes to doggie daycare on a farm, so is quite active/runs around quite a lot in addition to regular walks and play. In a perfect world, I'd hand prepare chicken, rice, sweet potato, etc., but I don't think that is going to be realistic on a daily, long-term basis.
My adorable just-shy-of-a-year puppy has a very touchy tummy. After bouts with diarrhea and many trips to the vet including blood work, ultrasounds, and rounds of treatment with metronidazale and having her on it during those flare-ups, I started feeding her Hill's Prescription I/D Gastrointestinal canned/wet food as her regular food with my vet's ok (the canned variety). I had her on Wellness Core Small Breed Puppy kibble, but she really didn't like it (would refuse to eat for days); I suspect it upset her stomach quite a bit as it also gave her wicked gas. I've looked on various dog food review sites and there is a lot of conflicting information, but there seems to be a consensus around "you are basically murdering your dog by feeding her Hill's!!!!!" I want to make sure she is getting excellent nutrition while ensuring that it doesn't bother her stomach. I've asked the vet, but they just say that the Hill's is fine, though of course they are also a distributor for it.
Anyone have recommendations for/experience with food that is similarly easy on dogs with touchy tummies, but has better ingredients/nutrition than the Hill's? Ideally, I'd like to give her a mix of canned (she LOVES it) with a bit of kibble for her teeth. She's a nearly year-old 12/13 lb Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. She goes to doggie daycare on a farm, so is quite active/runs around quite a lot in addition to regular walks and play. In a perfect world, I'd hand prepare chicken, rice, sweet potato, etc., but I don't think that is going to be realistic on a daily, long-term basis.
My brother's dog had a very sensitive stomach as a puppy--poo blowouts like you wouldn't believe. He had her on special prescription food for a while that really didn't seem to make a whole lot of difference, but then he got some probiotic powder packets to mix into her food that got everything right again. He switched her off the prescription food but kept the probiotics up for a while and now she's doing great.
Ask your vet if they can recommend a probiotic for her.
posted by phunniemee at 7:51 AM on March 18, 2016 [4 favorites]
Ask your vet if they can recommend a probiotic for her.
posted by phunniemee at 7:51 AM on March 18, 2016 [4 favorites]
I am not a fan of Hill's. 15/20 years ago they were the only game in town for limited ingredient diets and they spent a lot of money making vets believe in them. Now you can buy much more limited ingredient and nutritious foods at any pet store.
I agree that elimination diet is good start. Apparently my dog can't eat beef. Our first vet recommended the I/D for the same sorts of problems and wouldn't work with me on finding out the root of the issue. The new vet was much more open to trying to find out exactly what it was that was causing the distress. And now I have a dog that can't eat beef or greenies and 99% of his GI issues are gone.
Maybe you don't figure it out and the I/D works and that's what you do, if that is the way it had worked out for me that's what we would have done. But I don't think Hill's makes a very nutritious food (corn is the #1 ingredient and frequently the #3/#4 ingredient as well) so I'm all for trying to find alternatives.
posted by magnetsphere at 8:25 AM on March 18, 2016
I agree that elimination diet is good start. Apparently my dog can't eat beef. Our first vet recommended the I/D for the same sorts of problems and wouldn't work with me on finding out the root of the issue. The new vet was much more open to trying to find out exactly what it was that was causing the distress. And now I have a dog that can't eat beef or greenies and 99% of his GI issues are gone.
Maybe you don't figure it out and the I/D works and that's what you do, if that is the way it had worked out for me that's what we would have done. But I don't think Hill's makes a very nutritious food (corn is the #1 ingredient and frequently the #3/#4 ingredient as well) so I'm all for trying to find alternatives.
posted by magnetsphere at 8:25 AM on March 18, 2016
It's really hard to know what will agree with your dog, unfortunately, a lot of it is just trial and error. You might try a sensitive stomach formulation of a brand you like. Here's a search on Chewy.com for sensitive stomach dog food.
One thing I'll suggest is kefir (the unsweetened, nonfat kind). I give my dog a couple of tablespoons of that every day and it really helps his digestion a lot. He doesn't have a particularly sensitive tummy, but as a lab is prone to eating all sorts of disgusting things before I can pull him away. The kefir maintains a healthy gut flora and helps him digest things.
posted by schroedingersgirl at 8:29 AM on March 18, 2016
One thing I'll suggest is kefir (the unsweetened, nonfat kind). I give my dog a couple of tablespoons of that every day and it really helps his digestion a lot. He doesn't have a particularly sensitive tummy, but as a lab is prone to eating all sorts of disgusting things before I can pull him away. The kefir maintains a healthy gut flora and helps him digest things.
posted by schroedingersgirl at 8:29 AM on March 18, 2016
I had my dog on the most expensive "natural" food and he got really sick, skin problems, wretching, serious joint pain etc. So then I changed everything around. I read everything I could but couldn't find a consensus on what kibble I should feed him and I ended up using Purina Beyond. He tolerates it fine so I will keep using that because I can't make his whole meal from scratch. This is what I give him and he is thriving:
1 cup kibble
water
about 1/4 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin (and I hide a bit of tumeric in there)
about 1/4 cup canned mackeral or canned salmon (for the calcium in the bones primarily) at first I was worried about the salt content but he seems to be doing fine on it so I think good outweighs bad
I microwave this for 1 and a half minutes. I don't think he will eat it if I don't microwave it. I know, he's spoiled. but I'm just so glad he eats it all every time. He loves it warmed up. He thinks I'm "cooking" for him.
then I add about two tablespoons of kefir
I agree with the other poster that kefir seems to be the most important thing I do.
I also put a cod liver oil capsule in the food before I microwave it (or he will find the un-melted capsule and spit it out on the floor)
Since I have been feeding this way he has had zero joint pain and no other problems
posted by cda at 8:43 AM on March 18, 2016
1 cup kibble
water
about 1/4 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin (and I hide a bit of tumeric in there)
about 1/4 cup canned mackeral or canned salmon (for the calcium in the bones primarily) at first I was worried about the salt content but he seems to be doing fine on it so I think good outweighs bad
I microwave this for 1 and a half minutes. I don't think he will eat it if I don't microwave it. I know, he's spoiled. but I'm just so glad he eats it all every time. He loves it warmed up. He thinks I'm "cooking" for him.
then I add about two tablespoons of kefir
I agree with the other poster that kefir seems to be the most important thing I do.
I also put a cod liver oil capsule in the food before I microwave it (or he will find the un-melted capsule and spit it out on the floor)
Since I have been feeding this way he has had zero joint pain and no other problems
posted by cda at 8:43 AM on March 18, 2016
How is the farm set up? I mean, unless the dog and dog-walking areas are rigorously separated both from the rest of the farm and the surrounding countryside, I would expect that your dog is eating a variety of delicious poops from whatever else lives on the farm and whatever wanders in to eat farm-stuff. This doesn't mean to stop using them necessarily; it sounds like a great place.
Your vet should be willing to work with you to find what the issue is. If not, there are other vets.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:21 AM on March 18, 2016
Your vet should be willing to work with you to find what the issue is. If not, there are other vets.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:21 AM on March 18, 2016
Response by poster: Thanks for all of the feedback so far. Just to clarify re: daycare. 1. Her stomach issues predate her time going there. 2. It's not a working/actual farm. It's a dedicated dog daycare on fenced-in property with tons of attendants watching the dogs that I shorthand as farm, but "dog ranch" is closer to the mark.
posted by HonoriaGlossop at 9:28 AM on March 18, 2016
posted by HonoriaGlossop at 9:28 AM on March 18, 2016
I had two dogs get hookworms at the same time a few years ago, and it sent their stomachs totally out of whack. The only thing that finally got them back to normal (and off prescription food) was a probiotic. We used Proviable, which we got from the vet but you can get from Chewy.com now. There's also FortiFlora but that has never worked for my dogs.
posted by radioamy at 9:35 AM on March 18, 2016
posted by radioamy at 9:35 AM on March 18, 2016
Oh also have you tried adding something to her food to bulk up her stool? I add powdered unflavored psyllium husk (same ingredient as Metamucil or Citrucel but without the flavoring agents) to my dog's food which helps a lot.
posted by radioamy at 9:37 AM on March 18, 2016
posted by radioamy at 9:37 AM on March 18, 2016
Add canned pumpkin to what ever food you end up deciding on. About a tablespoon for a medium sized dog. This was recommended to me by a vet as the fibre absorbs the excess water in the poops if they are runny or helps with constipation if they are blocked up, there is also apparently some natural hormones or something that help calm the stomach as well. You want the plain pie pumpkin with no spices etc in that you can find at the supermarket or just boil up & mash your own.
I have a dog prone to HGE (a life threatening condition) if he gets stomach upsets too badly he can actually bleed to death, so I'm super focused on keeping his stomach as calm as possible.
He gets Orijen dried dog food in the morning & a bland diet mix I make up myself on my vets recommendation using cooked chicken thighs no skin or bone, rice & dog friendly veggies(including the pumpkin puree) with a blob of plain yogurt or cottage cheese on top. It works out cheaper than any wet food that actually worked for my dog to do it this way. I freeze it without the yogurt into serving sizes.
If you decide on a wet food brand I'd suggest you add the pumpkin puree & yogurt/cottage cheese to it.
posted by wwax at 10:13 AM on March 18, 2016
I have a dog prone to HGE (a life threatening condition) if he gets stomach upsets too badly he can actually bleed to death, so I'm super focused on keeping his stomach as calm as possible.
He gets Orijen dried dog food in the morning & a bland diet mix I make up myself on my vets recommendation using cooked chicken thighs no skin or bone, rice & dog friendly veggies(including the pumpkin puree) with a blob of plain yogurt or cottage cheese on top. It works out cheaper than any wet food that actually worked for my dog to do it this way. I freeze it without the yogurt into serving sizes.
If you decide on a wet food brand I'd suggest you add the pumpkin puree & yogurt/cottage cheese to it.
posted by wwax at 10:13 AM on March 18, 2016
My dog has a very sensitive digestive system and we eventually landed on a diet of pureed mixed veggies and brown rice, plus well-drained ground beef. We tried turkey a few times instead, but it made him throw up.
The vegetables we use vary a lot, but we use butternut squash, sweet potato, pumpkin. broccoli and carrots the most.
I'm pretty skeptical about kibble cleaning teeth, and our vet says our dogs' teeth look great on this homemade diet.
If we need to feed kibble for whatever reason (traveling, in between batches of homemade food), he seems to tolerate Bil-Jac sensitive solutions well for a day or two.
posted by Squeak Attack at 11:49 AM on March 18, 2016
The vegetables we use vary a lot, but we use butternut squash, sweet potato, pumpkin. broccoli and carrots the most.
I'm pretty skeptical about kibble cleaning teeth, and our vet says our dogs' teeth look great on this homemade diet.
If we need to feed kibble for whatever reason (traveling, in between batches of homemade food), he seems to tolerate Bil-Jac sensitive solutions well for a day or two.
posted by Squeak Attack at 11:49 AM on March 18, 2016
I have had good luck with natural balance limited ingredients chicken and sweet potato. I also give yogurt with morning food and fortiflora to evening meal. I have also gotten good results with pumpkin and proviable recommended above.
posted by BarcelonaRed at 3:37 PM on March 18, 2016
posted by BarcelonaRed at 3:37 PM on March 18, 2016
My dog's stomach troubles and itchy skin both got much better when we switched her to a grain free diet. She does well on a combination of any Taste of the Wild canned food and kibble except the ones with salmon (it makes her gassy).
posted by superna at 5:47 PM on March 18, 2016
posted by superna at 5:47 PM on March 18, 2016
You may find Dog Food Advisor's ratings and detailed analysis of dog foods' ingredients helpful when evaluating options.
posted by superna at 5:53 PM on March 18, 2016
posted by superna at 5:53 PM on March 18, 2016
I also have a dog prone to digestive issues. We use the Hill's (as recommended by our doctor) when she has a flare up (diarrhea or vomiting, typically). For regular food, she did okay on Taste of the Wild for a couple months, then she had a bad reaction to it. Then we tried Wellness for a little while. Again, after a few months she was reacting badly to it.
For close to a year now, we've been feeding her Castor and Pollux Organix (chicken and brown rice formula). This is the longest we've gone without her having any digestive problems. (Not counting the time she threw up because she ate something gross while on a walk.)
I did all sorts of reading about various dog foods during this trial and error period. Ultimately, we gave the Castor and Pollux a shot because a friend who has a couple dogs said her dogs did very well on it.
That particular Castor and Pollux food is not grain free (although some other varieties are), but we decided that she seemed to have problems on the completely grain free foods (TotW and Wellness). Of course, YMMV and this is going to be a decent amount of trial and error. However, I definitely decided we didn't want to stay on Hill's, even though our vet also said she could stay on the Hill's GI formula that we purchase from them.
Oh, and this probably goes without saying, but every time we transitioned between foods, we did over the course of about a week, gradually increasing the amount of the new food and decreasing the old food in each meal.
posted by litera scripta manet at 9:31 AM on March 19, 2016
For close to a year now, we've been feeding her Castor and Pollux Organix (chicken and brown rice formula). This is the longest we've gone without her having any digestive problems. (Not counting the time she threw up because she ate something gross while on a walk.)
I did all sorts of reading about various dog foods during this trial and error period. Ultimately, we gave the Castor and Pollux a shot because a friend who has a couple dogs said her dogs did very well on it.
That particular Castor and Pollux food is not grain free (although some other varieties are), but we decided that she seemed to have problems on the completely grain free foods (TotW and Wellness). Of course, YMMV and this is going to be a decent amount of trial and error. However, I definitely decided we didn't want to stay on Hill's, even though our vet also said she could stay on the Hill's GI formula that we purchase from them.
Oh, and this probably goes without saying, but every time we transitioned between foods, we did over the course of about a week, gradually increasing the amount of the new food and decreasing the old food in each meal.
posted by litera scripta manet at 9:31 AM on March 19, 2016
Response by poster: Thanks everyone! Slowly introducing Castor & Pollux and adding a dollop of yogurt. So far, so good, but early yet -- fingers crossed!
posted by HonoriaGlossop at 12:00 PM on March 25, 2016
posted by HonoriaGlossop at 12:00 PM on March 25, 2016
« Older Best Resources to Teach a 6 Year Old to Read? | D.C. public elementary schools. Lay it on me. Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
Also, is it possible she's getting into something at the farm daycare (which sounds awesome, by the way!) that she shouldn't be? Some dogs in general, but especially puppies, are prone to snapping things up and eating them without even giving it a thought and there could be a source of *something* out there that she can't resist but is causing g/i distress.
posted by Ufez Jones at 7:44 AM on March 18, 2016 [1 favorite]