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Are any of your dogs on prescription dog food from the Vet~? I took my dog in for his yearly shots earlier today. I bought his bag of the food he's on and questioned about the high protein. The response I got was that they saw a lot of dogs that had G.I. upsets with such food given, such as mine.
For over a year, my dog has been on "Blue Buffalo". For quite a while, he's not really wanting to eat it and I have had to mix wet food to human food in it, like baked potato in his dry. So, with the Vet's suggestion I took a sample thinking it would be a small baggie full. Nope, she gave me a 5 lb of Iam's low residue at no charge. What do you all think~?
Have you read the ingredients? Vets are paid to push that food by the company. They are trained in medicine, not nutrition, in vet school. I wouldn't give my dog that stuff, it's the equivalent to Ol' Roy or Beneful. I go to my vet for medical advice, not nutrition. Though mine is a huge proponent of raw so it seems he didn't fall for the prescription thing after all.
as mak said, read the ingredients, its no better than feeding your dog animal flavored cardboard...
most vets get very little nutritional training in vets school, and what training they do get is provided by "nutritional expert" science diet reps typically (no wonder they push the stuff right) the vets office also gets a certain percentage ontop of the profits for any "perscription" food sold.
the average mark up for dog food is 1.5% (so if it cost the vet $8 a bag they will sell it for close to $12, then ontop they get whatever pre-determined % after sales from the company (the vet i sued to work for got an additional 15% of his gross monthly sales as incentive for carrying and seling the food.
any vet that takes the additional nutrition courses taught independantly (not by dog food reps) like the vet i use now, refuse to carry the stuff...
our vet refuses to carry it because she says its no better than feeding your kid cardboard.
mine also advises raw or gives a list of locally available good foods.
We get the hydrolyzed protein diet from the vet (z/d) for my older dog. She loves it, her allergies are helped a lot, and she makes very little poops bc there is not a lot of waste product filler in there.
you know that hydrolized simply means "boiled the nutrients right out of it" right?
and powdered cellulose? thats the same stuff they make cardboard out of!
so youve got startch (unidentified) heavily boiled chicken and chicken liver...and a butt load of salt! sounds yummy!
Corn Grits, Brewers Rice, Chicken By-Product Meal, Chicken, Fish Meal, Dried Beet Pulp, Chicken Flavor, Dried Egg Product, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Brewers Dried Yeast, Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Chloride, Fructooligosaccharides, Monosodium Phosphate, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate [source of Vitamin B1], Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement [source of Vitamin B2], Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride [source of Vitamin B6], Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), Fish Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Choline Chloride, Flax Meal, DL-Methionine, Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate), Ethoxyquin (a preservative), Rosemary Extract
First two ingredients ... a grain that dogs can't digest and a grain that has no nutritional value. Main meat source is a by-product, aka it's all the parts that can't be sold for human consumption. Ethoxyquin is considered a hazardous chemical ... so why would you feed it to your four-legged friend?
That dog "food" belongs in the trash, not in the dog dish.
It's really made a difference with her skin, she has a great coat, she's energetic and bright-eyed (at almost 10 years old), and we tried a WHOLE slew of other things...even the organic dog food had multiple ingredients that she tested as reactive to on her RAST. We researched the deficiencies and supplement with other pure ingredients.
The fact is, with over 30 separate allergies (several of which are to a variety of intact protein molecules), the hydrolyzed (which actually means broken down into component amino acids) diet is the only one that has been successful.
For those of you that keep finding fault with the above foods, what do you recommend? I'm not going to cook for my dog so I'd like a low cost solution...canned food.
The top allergy for most pets is corn and chicken yet in so many of the prescription diets to treat pets with allergies have either or both ingredients? Doesn't make sense does it? Vets get all their education regarding food from the companies that visit them. Oddly enough in Vet School, you aren't taught one thing about nutrition. I suppose being able to fix medical emergencies is a bit higher up on the priority list but it is still quite disappointing. When you do find a vet with a lot of food knowledge, they are the ones that investigated on their own and don't rely on kickbacks from Purina, Mars, and Procter & Gamble.
I would recommend Weruva Canned. Make sure you get the varieties with Pumpkin them as it helps to soothe the stomach. But, before you start any new food, try boiling chicken and rice (I boil the chicken first until it is done) then add the rice along with a boulion cube or some Chicken Seasoning (low sodium) according the the directions on the rice package. I make a large batch, and then just shred the chicken (it comes out very moist and this is easier than cutting up pieces) and store in containers or baggies in the refrigerator. I do this for a minimum of five days with anyone who has what I would define a sensitive stomach - those with diarrhea mostly...
Then, I have them fast for 24 hours and then start the Weruva. Another thing to try is Goat Milk - Raw Goat Milk. I was told to get it for my parents cat that I am watching over the holiday. She had horrible Diarrhea and I didn't want that to last. Turns out she hates Goat Milk, but my dogs love it (it is low lactose and is a great source of probiotics) - if that isn't something you can get, you can try ordering a Probiotic powder like Fasttrack and adding that to food. It does make a difference.
Just some ideas...no food works for all animals but I would stay away from the Prescription diets. They are expensive and unnecessary.
Please keep us posted!
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Doesn't make sense does it? Vets get all their education regarding food from the companies that visit them. Oddly enough in Vet School, you aren't taught one thing about nutrition. I suppose being able to fix medical emergencies is a bit higher up on the priority list but it is still quite disappointing. When you do find a vet with a lot of food knowledge, they are the ones that investigated on their own and don't rely on kickbacks from Purina, Mars, and Procter & Gamble. 
