Other options for puppy placed on Hills Prescription i/d?

 Maybe some California Natural chicken and rice puppy food? That's bland. Natural Balance potato and duck? I hope your baby's tummy feels better, soon.  It's hard to be a sick puppy!

 Thanks for the suggestions.  I was actually looking at some of the Natural Balance formulas - my older dog did well on those up until any dry dog food proved too difficult to digest.  I'll have to take a look at the California Natural.  The vet is hoping he doesn't need to stay on this formula longer than a bag, I'm just wondering if I can make it a little more palatable by cutting it down with something just as easy to digest.  I have fundamental issues feeding a food that's mostly corn by volume. 

 Lots of things would be far better than Science Diet, which is IMO one of the lowest quality "premium" brands there is.

 I wanted to suggest if you have a young puppy who is already having digestive issues you should look into adding a probiotic/digestive enzyme supplement to his food every day. Such things often seem to turn into endless cycles if left to traditional vet care.

  Dogzymes area  good brand: http://www.naturesfarmacy.com/store/results.php?keywords=dogzymes I'd suggest the paste to use as needed (when his poop is bad) and the Digestive Enchancer as a daily supplement.

 I don't feed Science Diet - he's only (very temporarily I should add) on i/d for diagnostic purposes.  Even my shelter dogs wouldn't willingly eat Science Diet when it was provided free with adoption, and then I learned to look deeper into my dog food ;o)  This is why the formulation of i/d makes me so hot...there's little of any value in it.

There is a chance the digestive problems are still related to the high numbers of intestinal parasites he was battling when I got him - BYB, never wormed, not the cleanest area they were whelped in - but I will look into the Dogzymes because probiotic support is always beneficial even when healthy.

I agree with Jennie, perhaps california natural canned formulas.

I had good experiences with the i/d canned with my girls in cases of severe tummy upset and pancreatits. THey really like the food and it's pretty decent as far as science diet goes- ingredient wise anyway.

Good luck with your pup.

 Hills RX diets are not remotely the same as regular Science Diet. They're clinically proven to help with certain conditions, and are VERY exact. Unfortunately, they can't always be replicated, outside of a lab. They do work, extremely well, for certain dogs.

 

In any case, though, I think a bland kibble (or even homemade chicken and rice, short term) would be a fine alternative to a short term bland diet.

The ID canned is essentially rice, soy protein (shudder), egg, chicken liver, and a multimin premix. For just the time it takes to rebuild your pup's gi, I woul just homecook a similar mix (sans the soy!). Pork kidney is better than chicken liver (better balance for a dog). It takes about two eggs per 10 pounds of puppy (whipped in blender complete with shell). Then one ounce of organ per twenty pounds of pup or so. Add rice to that until your pup isn't acting starving, lol. About a cup cooked per ten pounds (cooked until mushy) is a good starting place but it will vary wildly as your pup's system gets better at working. Definitly add a probiotic (that's different from an enzyme supplement). Don't use yogurt or other dairy products until you have a better idea of what is causing the trouble. Exposure to dairy at this poi t while her system is on high alert, can give you real headaches down the road.

Perhaps there's some confusion as well... I guess I didn't specify that he's on i/d dry kibble.  I don't feed canned at all.  I do seem to have found a way to encourage him to accept the new food though - a little fish oil to help his coat sprinkled on the kibble apparently gives it enough flavor for his tastes.

Unfortunately, while homecooked would be great, I'm a full time student with a small baby and a husband that works 12hrs+ a day.  I'm lucky *our* dinner gets made most nights!   Not to mention I have no idea where in the world I would even be able to buy a pork kidney in the entire metro area.

artinhappiness

Unfortunately, while homecooked would be great, I'm a full time student with a small baby and a husband that works 12hrs+ a day.  I'm lucky *our* dinner gets made most nights! 

 

  It's good that you found a way to get your pup to eat the i/d; while the ingredients aren't very appealing, the food is carefully formulated to be very easy to digest, which is what your pup needs right now. I  belong to a Yahoo group called K9 Kitchen, which is for those who cook for their dogs and for others concerned about canine nutrition. I home cook for Jessie, who has chronic pancreatitis, but some of the members use the Hill's prescription foods and their dogs do quite well. If this food works for him, I wouldn't be in a hurry to change to something else; good luck.

I think you should keep doing what you are doing.  It's not anyones place here to tell you it's not a good food.  Your dog has an issue and this is a prescription diet.  I wouldn't change anything without talking to someone qualified.  This problem isn't one you want to mess around with. 

 

willowchow

I think you should keep doing what you are doing.  It's not anyones place here to tell you it's not a good food.  Your dog has an issue and this is a prescription diet.  I wouldn't change anything without talking to someone qualified.  This problem isn't one you want to mess around with. 

 

 

^This

Although I know how many feel about Hill's on here, now is not the time to be fiddling around with a bunch of different foods against vet recommendations IMHO.

You could see if the vet will sell you some canned and you can mix that in if you continue having trouble getting him to eat the kibble.  Jack was on the canned i/d after his bowel obstruction surgery and it really helped his tummy get back on track.

willowchow

I think you should keep doing what you are doing.  It's not anyones place here to tell you it's not a good food.  Your dog has an issue and this is a prescription diet.  I wouldn't change anything without talking to someone qualified.  This problem isn't one you want to mess around with. 

 

 

I wasn't looking for folks to tell me it was wasn't a good food - I was looking to see if there were any similar "gentle" formulas that people may have had luck with in place of i/d.  Perhaps I wasn't a clear as I should have been in my original post - at the time I wrote it, I admit I was frustrated and had a hungry puppy wanting his regular food.  I'm sure it works for some, but neither of my GSD mixes have ever done well on it - there's been zero change in Bear other than the fact he's now constantly acting hungry. That said, he's only on the prescription diet for this single bag - and I do have him eating it now.  My curiosity at this point is just to see if I should change him to something like Natures Balance or California Naturals in lieu of keeping him on the Blue Buffalo once we're back on his regular food. I do have an open dialog with the veterinarian, but like any doctor (I do the same with all of our people docs!), I like to go armed with my options in hand to discuss and open that dialog with a focus other than "anything other than what you sell".

 

 I would put him on a simple formula, if he seems to have a touchy tummy. Blue is great, but it is a busier food.