# Hill's I/D Prescription Diet - $$ for corn?



## WynterCote (Feb 15, 2010)

My dog has had runny poops since I've gotten her (covered in other posts). She was started on Royal Canin, then we switched to Blue Buffalo LBP, then to Nutro Max gentle digestion, and it just got worse and worse over the months. She also tried to eat her poops often. When she was recently overnight at the vet for her spay, they gave her Hill's I/D and no problems. So we got a bag and its been lovely pooping ever since  Best I've ever seen from her.

But I'm confused, this food seems horrible! Mostly corn with chicken by-products and still VERY expensive. Why does it work? Is there a special ingredient? (listed below) I noticed it's wheat-free, but so was BB. It's certainly not grain-free.

Ground Whole Grain Corn, Brewers Rice, Dried Egg Product, Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Pork Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Powdered Cellulose, Dicalcium Phosphate, Chicken Liver Flavor, Iodized Salt, Potassium Citrate, Choline Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Chloride, Dried Beet Pulp, Soybean Oil, vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), Taurine, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), preserved with Mixed Tocopherols & Citric Acid, Rosemary Extract.

Protein 26.2 %
Fat 14.1
Carbohydrate (NFE) 50.3
Crude Fiber 2.7
Total Dietary Fiber 8.7
Soluble Fiber 1.2
Insoluble Fiber 7.5

Calcium 1.04
Phosphorus 0.79
Sodium 0.45
Potassium 0.92
Magnesium 0.095


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

Wow is the a horrible ingredient list. I really don't have an answer to your question, but hopefully someone will. I just can't believe how bad pretty much every single ingredient in the food is. I don't even want to know what you're paying. 

Maybe your girl just has a sensitive stomach and needs a limited ingredient formula. I know both wellness and natura (california natural) make basic formulas for dogs with allergies. Maybe you can look into that. I just wouldn't be comfortable feeding that until it's a very last option.

http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/categories.aspx?pet=dog&cat=3

http://www.naturapet.com/brands/california-natural.asp


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

That's why I switched my cat to RAW from the SD I/D!!! I thought...why am I feeding a carnivore corn and ground up chicken heads and feet?

however, I will saw that these prescription diets have a purpose. If she had problems with that many types of food I would say she has an allergy to something that is common in the foods. Personally, I'm very happy with the RAW diet for all my animals. And it's not nearly as expensive as the SD or grain free foods, even with all the supplements.


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

I/D is a very bland, highly digestible food and that's why it works for some dogs. If it works, don't knock it.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

Elaine said:


> I/D is a very bland, highly digestible food and that's why it works for some dogs. If it works, don't knock it.


There are plenty of bland formulas that you can feed other than chicken head and corn formulas. I listed two (wellness simple solutions and california natural). I think both are worth a shot before continuing the science diet garbage. Science Diet should be a very last option. Feeding that stuff just cant be healthy.


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

The non-presciption foods are not as bland and digestible as I/D. I/D is healthy and balanced, you just don't want to look at the ingredients. When someone has a long standing GI problem that resolves on this, leave them be. If it works, don't knock it.

If they want to try something else, they can. Other foods are definitely going to be cheaper, but they chance throwing off the dog's digestion again and who knows how long it will take to get it back under control.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

If they were happy with the food they wouldn't be asking.


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## Relayer (Apr 29, 2010)

Purina makes a similar Rx food called "EN". It has a similar ingredient profile and while I don't care for feeding grain foods, it was literally a life saver for my senior Rhodesian Ridgeback in his last two years of life. I swear by EN if they simply can't handle anything else.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

Elaine said:


> The non-presciption foods are not as bland and digestible as I/D. I/D is healthy and balanced, you just don't want to look at the ingredients. When someone has a long standing GI problem that resolves on this, leave them be. If it works, don't knock it.
> 
> If they want to try something else, they can. Other foods are definitely going to be cheaper, but they chance throwing off the dog's digestion again and who knows how long it will take to get it back under control.


They haven't even tried another bland diet. All they've tried so far are BB and royal canin. Why not even give another bland diet a shot before settling with the worst formula (on paper at least) that you can feed.

Plus, i don't see what's so extraordinarily bland about whole grain corn, brewers rice, dried egg product, and by-products that you couldn't get with a higher quality bland formula like wellness simple or california natural.



Jax08 said:


> If they were happy with the food they wouldn't be asking.


Exactly - good point


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

My old vet sells science diet. My new vet sells purina rx. They said that SD had to many quality and consistency issues.

If your animal has consistent severe diarrhea then it can cause other health problems. As I said, these Rx formula's definitely have their place. 

Any cat food I tried to switch Cracker too, we were right back at square 1 with him on antibiotics. I held my breath when we switched him to RAW and he's never been better. 

If you decide to take him off of it, you'll need to do alot research and know when to throw in the towel if it doesn't work. I've not had any problems switching our dogs to RAW. But they did not have problems to start with.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

The dried beet pulp might be helping the stools, but it is pretty far down there. I would wonder if you were having a problem with chicken fat as this has pork fat. But all that egg product makes me wonder if that can be. 

i am not a nutricianist. If your dog is doing good on this, I would leave her on it until you have several months of her at proper weight and without a GI issue. And then try to switch to something with a better reputation and some sameness in the ingredients. Be ready to switch back though if it does not work. That is if you really want to switch. 

Funny how everyone says up and down that corn is not digestible, and here it is in its glory in a formula specific for digestion. Maybe, just maybe there is another story that is rarely read about corn.


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## Relayer (Apr 29, 2010)

selzer said:


> Funny how everyone says up and down that corn is not digestible, and here it is in its glory in a formula specific for digestion. Maybe, just maybe there is another story that is rarely read about corn.


Corn is used in this case as an agent to bulk up the stools by absorbing the excess fluids. It's basically a benign sponge. Not meant to be, nor is it digestible.


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## WynterCote (Feb 15, 2010)

Elaine said:


> When someone has a long standing GI problem that resolves on this, leave them be. If it works, don't knock it.


I'm very grateful to have come across Hill's I/D. It's done wonders for Shya so far. And if that's all that ever works, then I'll go with it.

However, I'm not entirely comfortable feeding a corn based diet and one that lacks a veritable protein source. She's still a puppy, so whatever I choose now, is going to be her main diet for quite a while. I feel that no matter how domesticated our dogs have become, their nutritional needs probably more closely resemble that of a wolf as opposed to a hen.

I've printed the ingredients for California Natural and Wellness (thanks Lucy Dog). I'll compare to Hill's and then maybe give one a try.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

selzer said:


> Funny how everyone says up and down that corn is not digestible, and here it is in its glory in a formula specific for digestion. Maybe, just maybe there is another story that is rarely read about corn.


If this was a reputable dog food company like orijen/champion, i'd agree with your statement, but this is science diet. The same company who uses by-products and a bunch of other junk and pays off vets to sell their stuff at premium prices when clearly their product is far from premium. 

Just because science diet puts a controversal ingredient in their digestible formula, doesnt make it a digestible formula. I wonder why corn isn't added (let alone the main igredient) to the wellness and california natural ingredient list on their allergy formulas? I'll trust wellness and the natura products way before i trust anything science diet puts out.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

This seems to be a good forum for food information.

Dog Food Nutrition Forum


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## Rott-n-GSDs (Jul 7, 2010)

Elaine said:


> I/D is healthy and balanced, you just don't want to look at the ingredients. When someone has a long standing GI problem that resolves on this, leave them be. If it works, don't knock it.


Umm... how is it "healthy and balanced?" The only reason why someone wouldn't want to look at the ingredients is because they prove it is anything but healthy and balanced. The only way to tell if a food is healthy and balanced is to look at the label (ingredients and nutritional information).

If I fed my dog cardboard, he'd probably have nice poops, too... and he'd be getting almost as good nutrition as these bogus prescription diets (IMO). Sorry... but it's a hot button for me.  My vet is constantly pushing Science Diet on me.

To the OP: how old is your dog? If your dog is a growing puppy, you want to be careful feeding a food that has virtually no protein that comes from meat... most of the protein comes in a form that isn't easily usable by the dog.

Personally, I feed raw, and do recommend it, but there are also some good kibbles out there. How long did you give each food before deciding it wasn't working? Sometimes even with a slow transition, certain dogs seem to require several weeks to a month on a food to show true results. With Luna, a slow transition simply meant a longer period of diarrhea. If I switched her over "cold turkey," she'd get diarrhea for a few days and then be okay. (Pure canned pumpkin usually helped with that).


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

I started Arwen out on Dads Puppy -- yupp total garbage, corn, by products, you name it. 

Through the course of her life, we switched to Diamond, and nutro, and Canidae. We gave up corn and wheat and soy. We tried grain free. We did Raw. Of all my dogs, Arwen was the one who had an iron stomach -- never had GI upset, never colitis, she could literally eat anything. 

It really makes me wonder if I bought into the Dog food Review and Dog food project and was sucked in by some of the pricier brand names, like solid gold, chicken soup, canidae, wellness. 

With all there label talk, there is no way to predict anything about the quality of the ingredients used, the stability of the formulae, the condition that the food is stored and shipped in, the testing done on the product and ingredients, where it is actually sourced from. 

We have been through some pretty crappy recalls. I dodged Diamond as I was feeding lamb and rice at the time and not corn. I got nailed with the corn gluten when I was feeding Nutro. Perhaps some of my dogs had severe damage from that. I cannot prove it. 

Right now, there are vitamins and supplements being recalled. 

At some point you either have to trust someone or prepare food yourself out of ingredients you purchase for human consumption. 

Maybe some of these crappy foods and crappy ingredients are not quite as crappy as the pet food industry has made them out to be. Maybe.


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## Gib Laut (Feb 21, 2010)

Relayer said:


> Corn is used in this case as an agent to bulk up the stools by absorbing the excess fluids. It's basically a benign sponge. Not meant to be, nor is it digestible.


BINGO!

I guess the issue I have with this "prescription" diet would be that it really does not address the underlying problem. The dog is experiencing digestive upset for a reason; whether it's a food intolerance, bacterial imbalance, inability to digest processed foods or something otherwise. Simply giving corn as a source of fiber to bulk loose stool just masks the problem, doesn't actually heal it. I would be interested in seeing if dogs using these types of diets could be transitioned to an unprocessed raw diet, allowing them to consume foods in a natural state, with greater bio-availability and digestion.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Gib Laut said:


> BINGO!
> I would be interested in seeing if dogs using these types of diets could be transitioned to an unprocessed raw diet, allowing them to consume foods in a natural state, with greater bio-availability and digestion.


It worked for my cat who was diagnosed with IBD as a kitten and spent 4 years on SD I/D. And then I read the label....


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## Gib Laut (Feb 21, 2010)

Jax08 said:


> It worked for my cat who was diagnosed with IBD as a kitten and spent 4 years on SD I/D. And then I read the label....


that's the kind of results I find fascinating. I have heard and seen some great results with IBD dogs moving to a more species appropriate diet. But, none were eating a special "prescription" diet before hand that allegedly had fixed it all. That would be an interesting study to see!....not that we ever will! Thx for that personal experience.


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## Relayer (Apr 29, 2010)

Gib Laut said:


> that's the kind of results I find fascinating. I have heard and seen some great results with IBD dogs moving to a more species appropriate diet. But, none were eating a special "prescription" diet before hand that allegedly had fixed it all. That would be an interesting study to see!....not that we ever will! Thx for that personal experience.


As I mentioned earlier in the thread, my old boy that passed away in January did exceptionally well on the purina EN. We spent a fortune on diagnostics, all manner of feeding/foods and absolutely nothing worked. If not for the "sponge" qualities of the high corn content (and I think they may do something to enhance the corn's ability to absorb) in it, he would have died soon. He really got a brand new lease on life for his last two years because of that food. In some acute cases, it may be the only answer.


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## WynterCote (Feb 15, 2010)

Rott-n-GSDs said:


> To the OP: how old is your dog? If your dog is a growing puppy, you want to be careful feeding a food that has virtually no protein that comes from meat... most of the protein comes in a form that isn't easily usable by the dog.


My dog is 6 months now.

I'd really like to find a decent dry kibble before trying raw, because 1) I don't know where to begin with raw, and 2) I travel a lot with her and kibble is so easy to pack up and go.


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## Rott-n-GSDs (Jul 7, 2010)

Relayer said:


> As I mentioned earlier in the thread, my old boy that passed away in January did exceptionally well on the purina EN.


I have never really studied the Purina (or Royal Canin) prescription diets. As far as Hills is concerned, I studied the k/d food when Apollo started his liver/kidney issues and I discovered that Hills is the only company that still advocates a super low protein diet for kidney disease. The other companies that make prescription food have it right: moderate protein, low phosphorous. I was horrified when I read the label on the k/d and discovered it had such low protein, and no meat whatsoever. What would've happened if I'd chosen to give my 1.5 year old Rottweiler (a growing large breed dog) such a low protein food?

Instead, I continued his raw diet, his levels returned to normal, and I returned the food to my vet... right after she got done telling me the k/d food caused the improvement.


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## Rott-n-GSDs (Jul 7, 2010)

WynterCote said:


> My dog is 6 months now.
> 
> I'd really like to find a decent dry kibble before trying raw, because 1) I don't know where to begin with raw, and 2) I travel a lot with her and kibble is so easy to pack up and go.


Luna had diarrhea issues before starting raw. For some reason, grain free kibbles just didn't seem to agree with her. She did do very well on Wellness Super5mix Large Breed. It has grains but is still a pretty good food, IMO.

Others have suggested Orijen... I think it's a good food but do not have personal experience with it.

I have instructed friends to switch to Acana Provincial (grain free) and their dogs did fantastic on it.

ETA: Oh, and I will admit that I've used Hills i/d to switch kibbles. It is definitely bland... and helps with the transition. When Luna was on a food that caused her to have cannon butt, I immediately stopped the kibble and used i/d to transition to the new kibble. I just don't like using i/d long term.


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## Gib Laut (Feb 21, 2010)

WynterCote said:


> I'd really like to find a decent dry kibble before trying raw, because 1) I don't know where to begin with raw, and 2) I travel a lot with her and kibble is so easy to pack up and go.


Not trying to push raw on you, but this is the place for help with that kind of diet if you want it.....although kibble may be easy for transport it may not be what's easy for the dog to digest and really, raw is not that difficult. I travel with raw (perhaps not as much as you travel I don't know), you just need a dog lunch bag with ice packs to carry your container of frozen that you packaged. As far as kibble, Orijen is what I think is the next best thing. You have to realize though, moving to a food like that will take the dog weeks (at least) to transition. It is VERY different from grain based foods and you would have to be willing to stick with it for some time.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Gib Laut said:


> that's the kind of results I find fascinating. I have heard and seen some great results with IBD dogs moving to a more species appropriate diet. But, none were eating a special "prescription" diet before hand that allegedly had fixed it all. That would be an interesting study to see!....not that we ever will! Thx for that personal experience.


The full story on my cat....

I brought him home from Kansas to PA as a kitten at about 12 weeks. Mom and I can't remember how old he was exactly and she tossed his papers. I kept him on the same food that Mom had him on but he developed diarrhea and eventually there was blood in it because we couldn't get it stopped. Trip to the vet...antibiotic for the irritation and I/D...every time I tried to transition him off the I/D we were right back at square one. He had all sorts of test run for parasites and the end diagnosis was IBD and to keep him on the I/D. The I/D worked. There is no doubt about that. Which is why I say, there is absolutely a time and place for these diets.

Fast forward 4 years...I switched GSD to RAW. Starting learning a bit more about diets and cringed everytime the price went up on the I/D. I just trusted my vet so didn't bother to look at the ingredients until one day....and then I decided to switch him.

He has not had a problem since. In fact, he's never been better. Cats are tricky for RAW diets. There has to be taurine and the calcium/phosphorus level has to be just right. But I feel it was well worth it!


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

WynterCote said:


> My dog is 6 months now.
> 
> I'd really like to find a decent dry kibble before trying raw, because 1) I don't know where to begin with raw, and 2) I travel a lot with her and kibble is so easy to pack up and go.


You can buy dehydrated RAW food for when you travel. I think it's Honest Kitchen. Or you can pack RAW in a cooler.


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## blackviolet (Jun 17, 2010)

What about the Wysong Prescription diets?


Wysong Digesome - Prescription Pet Food for Digestive Health



http://www.wysong.net/prescription-cat-dog-foods.php


And if you want to do raw, but are worried about travel, The Honest Kitchen, Wysong, and other brands have dehydrated meals that you just add water to. Or you can get something like See Spot Live Longer, and then buy some fresh meat whenever you get where you're going to add it to.


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## WynterCote (Feb 15, 2010)

Gib Laut said:


> Not trying to push raw on you, but this is the place for help with that kind of diet if you want it...


I'm very open to learning about diet right now. You are not being pushy. And thanks, you prompted me to do some preliminary reading on raw. It totally makes sense biologically, but it also seems like it's going to take a lot of delicate planning to get it right. By this I mean balancing types of meat, organs, fish, etc. Supplements or no supplements. Veggies or no veggies. Where to get it, etc. There's not many butcher's around here. Is a grocery store ok? There's also the strangeness/icky factor to get over  But it may be something I'll try in the future.

Anyhow, Shya's getting to the halfway point in her bag of Hill's. I'll go pick up Wellness or California Natural today and start the mixing process. Thanks everyone for the advice.


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

WynterCote, your puppy is 6 months? I apologize if this has been asked before...

When was the last fecal run? Worms and parasites can cause lots of GI problems. 
Was a giardia antigen test done?
Has GI bloodwork been done - 12 hour fast - through Texas A/M? The GI Lab to rule out SIBO small intestinal bacterial overgrowth

I had poopy puppies last year (wormy puppies from GA) and used California Natural formulas with them to help their guts heal. 

Though I do know that those Rx foods can help in ways that other foods do not. 

But in a six month old puppy, I'd want to know what was the deal with the runny poops before doing anything, especially depending on the frequency of that happening.


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## WynterCote (Feb 15, 2010)

JeanKBBMMMAAN said:


> When was the last fecal run? Worms and parasites can cause lots of GI problems.
> Was a giardia antigen test done?
> Has GI bloodwork been done - 12 hour fast - through Texas A/M? The GI Lab to rule out SIBO small intestinal bacterial overgrowth


The vet suspected worms or parasites, but the several tests over the course of her puppyhood were all negative (after the initial deworming from her breeder). I don't know what kind of test was done for giardia. We were given meds for that before the results of the first fecal test. They called a few days later and said everything was negative and did not want to keep a pup on metronitazole (sp?). We asked about blood work when we took her for her spay last month, but the vet pushed us to try this Hill's food first, and then if we still want blood work, we can set up another visit. I'd like to rule out SIBO and also a pancreatic insufficiency. Although the Hill's is 'working' now, it could just be masking an underlying problem. I feel like that's going to be difficult to convey to my vet.


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## Gib Laut (Feb 21, 2010)

WynterCote said:


> I feel like that's going to be difficult to convey to my vet.


Then how about a second opinion!?.....try one of these, no need to feel any loyalty if you are not getting the help you want, find someone you don't have to work at to convey your concerns....

AHVMA Home Page


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Keefer was on z/d ultra (with hydrolyzed proteins - we tried the i/d first, but it did nothing for him) for a few months when he was about WynterCote's pups age. He had giardia and SIBO, and had loose stools for awhile before we figured out the source of his problem. Until he was diagnosed we had no idea if he had a food intolerance or allergy, and even after we found a medical cause we didn't know if that was ALL that was going on since he still had loose stools while on flagyl and tetracyclline. Even with the medication he couldn't form good stools on his regular food, which at the time was Natural Balance. 

I cringed at the ingredients and the price for the z/d, but it was like magic. I switched him to it over a couple of days, and by the second day on 100% z/d he had perfect stools for the first time since we brought him home. He had nothing but that while we finished treatment for the medical stuff, no bully sticks, no treats - I used his kibble as training treats in his obedience classes. I also had him on the B-Naturals digestive support supplement. 

About a month after treatment ended I slowly switched him back to the exact same food he had been on previously, and he was fine, no problem with his stools at all. I continued the digestive supplement for awhile after that, but eventually discontinued that too, and he's still able to eat anything, years later. It wouldn't be my first choice, but it worked for us at a time when nothing else did. I'm pretty sure we tried a bland homecooked diet of chicken and rice briefly too, but that didn't help either.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

a note about some parasites. You can have several clean fecals and still have worms. Hooks I think attach to the intestines and only shed eggs some of the time, so you can either run a gross amount of fecal exams, or worm them just because -- which is what many people do. 

Just a thought.


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## arycrest (Feb 28, 2006)

Elaine said:


> I/D is a very bland, highly digestible food and that's why it works for some dogs. If it works, don't knock it.


I agree - if it works don't knock it!!!

I know whenever I've posted about Kelly's success when he was on the Eukanuba Low Residue diet for SIBO the food police have come out in force knocking the diet. But it worked for him! He was on it a couple years total with a failed attempt to wean him off the food after about 4 - 6 months. Then after another 18 straight months back on the L/R he was weaned off of it successfully, and went back to a regular diet able to eat anything and everything any of the other Hooligans eat including greasy burgers from McD's and ice cream from 31 Flavors.


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## Rott-n-GSDs (Jul 7, 2010)

To the OP: If you do ever want information about a raw prey model diet, just let me know.  I've written a marathon "how to" post/article about it. I remember how stressful it was when I started... I thought it was so complicated but once I started, I realized it wasn't bad at all. 

Regarding prescription diets... I think the most important thing to remember is many of them (particularly the "bland" diets) weren't necessarily created for dogs to be on long term.... they are generally prescribed during after an illness/surgery, etc.


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## WynterCote (Feb 15, 2010)

Update: We are at 1/3 Wellness Super5Mix chicken and 2/3 Hill's... poops are good! And she really loves the Wellness! I can use it as training treats  

Still interested in trying raw in the future. We were excited to hear about a small butcher shop in the neighboring town. Maybe they'll sell scraps? Also, there's been some good deals on chicken at Big Y, 88 cents / lb for thighs and drumsticks. Would store brand or Purdue chicken be ok for the raw diet? Just trying to plan and price things out. Thanks.


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## DangerousBeauty (Jul 8, 2010)

WynterCote said:


> I'm very grateful to have come across Hill's I/D. It's done wonders for Shya so far. And if that's all that ever works, then I'll go with it.
> 
> However, I'm not entirely comfortable feeding a corn based diet and one that lacks a veritable protein source. She's still a puppy, so whatever I choose now, is going to be her main diet for quite a while. I feel that no matter how domesticated our dogs have become, their nutritional needs probably more closely resemble that of a wolf as opposed to a hen.
> 
> I've printed the ingredients for California Natural and Wellness (thanks Lucy Dog). I'll compare to Hill's and then maybe give one a try.


I haven't read all the posts so this may have been asked, if so I'm sorry to be redundant. 

Did your vet recommend you keep your dog on i/d long term? Sometimes we would recommend dogs be on SD temporarily to aid in healing for different conditions.


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## WynterCote (Feb 15, 2010)

DangerousBeauty said:


> Did your vet recommend you keep your dog on i/d long term? Sometimes we would recommend dogs be on SD temporarily to aid in healing for different conditions.


The vet did not say anything about long term. In fact, our vet has never seemed overly concerned with the diarrhea. (I feel like I am sometimes pushing her to look further into it, but that's another topic. I'll be getting a second opinion if it starts up again.) We suggested trying the Hill's because the vet reported that her stools were fine when she stayed overnight for her spay. They feed Hill's after surgery. The vet said we could try it, so we got a bag and things have been good thus far. So, this has basically been our experiment. But I appreciate your insight about maybe doing the Hill's long enough for healing to occur. I will certainly consider a longer trial on the Hill's if the Wellness shows any negative signs.


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## Jax's Mom (Apr 2, 2010)

Rott-n-GSDs said:


> To the OP: If you do ever want information about a raw prey model diet, just let me know.  I've written a marathon "how to" post/article about it. I remember how stressful it was when I started... I thought it was so complicated but once I started, I realized it wasn't bad


Please share! 

And to the OP... I sometimes feed my dogs Imodium to cure their diarrhea... that doesn't make THAT good food  just a thought, be more cynical


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## DangerousBeauty (Jul 8, 2010)

WynterCote said:


> The vet did not say anything about long term. In fact, our vet has never seemed overly concerned with the diarrhea. (I feel like I am sometimes pushing her to look further into it, but that's another topic. I'll be getting a second opinion if it starts up again.) We suggested trying the Hill's because the vet reported that her stools were fine when she stayed overnight for her spay. They feed Hill's after surgery. The vet said we could try it, so we got a bag and things have been good thus far. So, this has basically been our experiment. But I appreciate your insight about maybe doing the Hill's long enough for healing to occur. I will certainly consider a longer trial on the Hill's if the Wellness shows any negative signs.


If the Wellness is working I would stick with that. I would get a second opinion if you do have anymore problems. You should never have to push your vet to care for you dog! That is what you are paying them for! Good luck!


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## Gib Laut (Feb 21, 2010)

WynterCote said:


> Would store brand or Purdue chicken be ok for the raw diet? Just trying to plan and price things out. Thanks.


Many people feed grocery store meats. That would be ok to do. I still think it's WAY better than just processed pet foods! It really is a matter of personal choice. I do not feed grocery store meats, but I also will not eat that myself. I choose to purchase when I can (which is most of the time, though chicken is a tough one to source) appropriately fed with no hormone, no antibiotics and non-feed lot meat (and eggs). For me, it's for moral, ethical and health reasons. It takes some calling and visiting to farms, markets and butchers, but once you get a list of providers you're good. 

Glad it's going well for you!

PS if you ever watch Food Inc. you probably wouldn't eat Purdue chickens ever again!!lol.....


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

This site has a good list of co-ops for RAW. You may be able to join a co-op or look for a yahoo RAW forum in your area. That will greatly reduce the cost because they can get items in bulk. Also, look for a Sustainable's program in your area. This group picked up meat that is outdated at Walmart's and other stores. The meat is still good, just the date went out so they can't sell it.


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