Feeding the Diabetic Dog Non-Prescription Food (border collie, vet, science, diet)

[mistyriver]

We have a 10 year old pug who eats Science Diet W/D dog food and gets insulin twice a day. He's done fine with the W/D and though it's quite expensive, he's a pug, so a bag goes a good long way.

We accidentally ran out last weekend and since our regular vet was closed, we tried to buy it from PetsMart (the vet section).
They won't sell it without our vet calling their vet (and charging us for the time, of course).
Which is ridiculous on the face of it anyway..you'd think they'd just need a prescription.

Anyway..does anyone know of people feeding their diabetic dogs regular dog food?
We feed our border collie and Great Pyrenees, "Taste of the Wild" which is a very good quality grain-free food (Science Diet W/D on the other hand has lots of grain products in it).
Human diabetics eat normal food...how about dogs.

When we ask the vet about it we get the "Science Diet is best" line. Any why not...they're making a nice profit on it.

[steelstress]

If your vet won't recommend a "back-up" food, then perhaps you can consult with a holistic vet. Yeah, they're a bit more expensive, but I think it would be worth it. YOu already have a diagnosis, you just want to know what else would be good to feed your dog. And you're right, the SD W/D has a lot of grain, which even a healthy dog doesn't need.