Canine z/d® ULTRA Allergen-Free has BHA! WTH????

 The holistic vets I've been to have carried Hills prescription diets. You wanna know why? There's science behind them, and veterinarians are scientists. There's also the problem that most folks aren't willing/able to prepare a diet that would work for the dog. In the case of Z/D, an elimination diet might work. It might not, though, and for a dog with anaphylactic food reactions, if Z/D works, you feed Z/D (I know a dog who is in this predicament... the food really *doesn't* work for him, but he doesn't die when he eats it).

I don't really like prescription diets. My dogs have done extremely poorly on them, over the years, BUT most folks aren't going to go to the silly extremes that I will. And they do work, for the most part. If you're used to looking at a dog on low end food, they do not make dogs look bad at all. The opposite, really. Dogs on J/D have amazing coat (it's got a TON of EFAs). Dogs on R/D shed pounds like it's nothing. W/D really helps control diabetes and pancreatitis. They have a place.

When i had kayCee in for a minor ear infction--was just starting, thanks to mold--my vet was checking her over and he found her one kidney was normal length, but about twice as thick as a normal one usually is.  I paniced, of course.  Since 60% of goldens die of one form or anothr or cancer, i am thinking a tumor.  I took her in later and he did ultraound, urinalysis, took x-rays of each kidney.  The ultrasound showed nothing amiss other than a larger than usual kidney and the other one was slighly larger.  No tumor, no lesions, nothing out of the ordinary except size.  THEN HE TOOK AN E-RAY OF EACH KIDNEY TO HAVE PICTURES ON FILE IN CASE SOMETHING CROPS UP LATER AND HE DID NOT CHARGE ME FOR THE X-RAYS BECAUSE THIS WAS "HIS IDEA" TO HAVE THEM ON FILE.  Had i gone to a human doctor and he had done this you can bet your last dollar I wold have been charged for my x-rays.

 Eight years ago my one golden was hit in the face by a ratle snake and my vet did not charge for the serum, which is very expensive.  At the time we had some personal medical bills and he knew it.  And if you want to see him MAD, just try skipping giving your dog heartworm pills, don't give puppy shots, etc.  More than once he has laid into people who refused to give puppy shots and then brought their puppy in with parvo, etc.  There is no way my vet wants to keep dogs sick so he can make more money.  he is about the only vet in the entire area that gives 3 year vax instead of every year becuase he fills dogs are being over vaxxed.

 And he does prescribe Science Diet when he thinks it is necessary, and if he feels it is necessary, i will use it.

micksmom

anytime he had food or treats with any of these preservatives, the hot spots and ear infections returned

But have a look at the usual list of food ingredients in the brands that accompany these preservatives.most are not good foods... And most have many allergenic ingredients.

I'm not doubting that your dog may be allergic to those preservatives,i'm just saying that the brands that use them in the first place usually dont have the best ingredients..

fishndog

Most of the SD line of products is SNACK FOOD FOR DOGS... tastes real good .

I think most of the SD foods wouldnt be palatable at all,they are full of grains and not something that my dogs would enjoy eating at all.Infact i wouldnt even bother trying as i know they would turn their noses up! 

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jessies_mom

fish n dog

 Vets make money on sick dogs..   

 

   Is that how you feel about your vet? My vet is like Sandra's; when Jessie's had an ear infection and finished the medication he rechecks her ears and doesn't charge. He is always willing to take the time to answer any questions I have and I'm certain he really cares about my dog.
 

unfortunately not all vets are as nice as yours...the last time i went to a vet my dog 12yr old jack rus was attracted by a korean jindo that got away from his yard and thought my dog was trespassing(since we were walking by) he got my russ in the leg and had him hanging in mid air i got him to the vet and said they he would be fine next thing you know i had to go pick him up because the ppl who owned the other dog didnt want to pay $2000 and i didnt have the money to pay either (i was a high school student and i found him on the street not that that has anything to do with it i loved him and my parents dont have that kind of money either) long story short i get there crying my eyes out cuz they charged me over 1200(with out the med i paid 100 more for antibitics and they charged me $20 for a E-color that was worth $5) i didnt have the money they said i couldn't have him until it was paid full and they would keep charging me for each additional day he stayed so i had to get a care credit card and empty out the little college money i had then when i asked them why it cost that much since he was in a over crowed hospital and he was there less then 6 hrs! they told me alot of BS and gave me a BS list of all the things they did for him which i knew was a lie! he was there for 6 hrs and they charged me for 3days of IV and X-rays that i never got and a photo they took of the wound that was so blurry you couldn't see what it was! so in the end i went home with a dog that was in so much pain that he bit me for the first time when i was trying to apply the medicine. so i am not saying that all vets are out to get you but the ones that are make the good ones look bad....

In the end my jack russ passed away of old age but before he passed he had a bad limp(i felt really bad since because that was all i could do for him.. he was a boy dog and he couldn't lift his leg up any more but he would try and get pee all over himself . 

That is so sad.. It is to bad those people didn't HAVE to pay that bill so your dog could bne treated as needed.

   I'm so sorry that happened to you. It sounds like you haven't been to a vet for a long time. You may want to look around for one you like and get to know them so if an emergency like this happens again you can take your dog to someone you can trust. Some members have worked out payment plans with their vet when their dog needed expensive treatment.

  Back on topic; Like I said, I threw away the z/d when I read the ingredients and after looking up BHA on the net it definitely is something I wouldn't want to have in my dog's food. However, I know someone who has a 14 year old border collie who is very healthy ( taken for walks an hour a day and chases frisbies) and has eaten Alpo most of his life and fed Science Diet occasionally. It's not a diet I would recommend but it works for this dog.
 

I've been feeding Hill's z/d ultra allergen free canned food to Jake now since April.  No paw infections at all.  He hasn't had any ear infections either, just some inflammation in the ear, but no infections.  I only feed the canned food and the canned food has no BHA or any other perservations.  I hate giving him this food every day, twice a day, but he loves it and it seems to be helping.  I wouldn't feed the dry because of the BHA in it.  I wish I could give him another brand of dog food, and when I try, he starts scratching.

I wish I could give him another brand of dog food, and when I try, he starts scratching.

   Shelly; you can find out which foods your dog's allergic to by adding them to the z/d. Chicken is a good one to start with since it seems to be a common food allergen; Jessie's allergic to it. If you mix a little EVO canned chicken or just add a small amount of cooked chicken to his food for 2 weeks and it doesn't cause any problems, then he's probably not allergic to it. If he has more ear infections or paw infections (Jessie used to get nasty ones) then you want to avoid dog foods with chicken. You can use this method for different meats and grains, keeping a record of which foods cause problems. Only test one food at a time; 2 weeks should be long enough to know if he's allergic to the food or not.  It will take several weeks but you'll  know which dog foods to avoid and which ones are safe.