Hill's I/d or Royal Canin Gastorintestinal

[sarabz]

Which do you prefer and why?

 

Royal Canin is slightly less expensive but the feeding guide suggests much higher quantities. Either way we are going to have to move to 3x a day feedings when possible as she just doesn't want to eat that volume of kibble at once.

[NeylasMom]

Not sure why you're considering them, but Hill's has a new GI formula I just learned about today from the vet behaviorist who presented on the gut biome at a conference I was at today. You might consider it as well:

https://www.hillspet.com/dog-food/pd-gastrointestinal-biome-canine-dry

If you're just looking for something to help her system, another option could be a non-Rx diet and a course of Purina Calming Care:

https://www.proplanveterinarydiets.com/products/calming-care-dog-probiotic-supplement/

(Disclaimer: I am not a vet and don't play one on TV )

 

[sarabz]

Thanks Ongoing management of the pancreatitis, the vet I trust more suggested the Royal Canin, and with the Hills as the other option.  

[NeylasMom]

Usually you're just looking for low fat for pancreatitis I believe. I don't think you need a Rx diet to accomplish that. But you could always start her on one and then consider switching later. I'm not a huge fan of the ingredients, but they can also be pricey.

 

I realize none if this is helpful or a response to your actual question. 

[FiveRoooooers]

I can’t address your question either Sara, but would this interest Bella?: pulverized kibble mixed with her choice of Ensure, yogurt, egg or egg whites, oatmeal, sweet potato. Two of my boys had acute pancreatitis and did well on low-fat items, non-prescription. 

[GreyTzu]

All I know is Dessie just went through an issue and she LOVED Royal Canin ID.  Hope this helps. 

[sarabz]

9 hours ago, NeylasMom said:

Usually you're just looking for low fat for pancreatitis I believe. I don't think you need a Rx diet to accomplish that. But you could always start her on one and then consider switching later. I'm not a huge fan of the ingredients, but they can also be pricey.

 

I realize none if this is helpful or a response to your actual question. 

Thanks! I'm not convinced that she needs a prescription diet either but after having asked the question of what can she have/what fat percentage,  the answer was one of two prescription foods. 

[sarabz]

9 hours ago, FiveRoooooers said:

I can’t address your question either Sara, but would this interest Bella?: pulverized kibble mixed with her choice of Ensure, yogurt, egg or egg whites, oatmeal, sweet potato. Two of my boys had acute pancreatitis and did well on low-fat items, non-prescription. 

Thanks Jan! I'm sure she would love it but given other factors, I'm trying to make feeding her as easy as possible.  What kibble did you use? I asked my vet practice what "low fat" meant and received a prescription in response.  

Edited May 6, 2019 by sarabz

[JohnF]

I have always given Royal Canin Gastro Intestinal diet to Peggy when she has an upset.  But apart from one time when she nearly died from bad chicken, she has never needed to have more than six cans of it. Like 3 to get her stable and the remainder incrementally reducing by adding back normal food.  You can buy cases of it on line much more affordably.

[FiveRoooooers]

I’d have to look for the exact formula (neurons, sigh) but it was either IAMS or Purina with 20/8 protein/fat ratio. 

[sarabz]

Thanks Jan.

[cmc333]

Not sure about normal pancreatitis, but with diabetic dogs who have/had pancreatitis, the rule of thumb is always less than 10% fat content.  There's another thread on here where I mentioned some UK and some US dog foods that have worked well for dogs that have had pancreatitis and diabetes.  I would assume the fat content has to be as low as possible whether or not the dog is diabetic.

[cleptogrey]

check out these:https://www.solidgoldpet.com/product/holistique-blendz-with-ocean-fish-meal/  6% fat

https://www.hillspet.com/dog-food/sd-canine-adult-light-dry  8.4% fat   i had felix on one of the OTC hills for a while there are other varieties with low fat content as well. it seems as if the vets want the fat content as low as 4%, that's when i started cooking.

[Hubcitypam]

As we all know I have huge issues with Hill's ingredients.  Powdered cellulose can be cotton bolls or sawdust.  again - Natural Balance Ultra Light or Fat Dog.

Edited May 6, 2019 by Hubcitypam

[sarabz]

Thanks all! I appreciate all of the thoughts and know I've been starting & abandoning threads on this lately, just trying to juggle Bella's health with what is sustainable from both a nutritional balance and ability to maintain perspective. Given that I'm working on starting a business, my husband travels for work, we've got a young child, aging parents, family health issues and, you know, life, it's not sustainable to come up with something too complicated that can't be easily passed on to a dogsitter or another person in the event of an emergency. 

The good news is that she's now off of all the meds relating to the pancreatitis attack and is down to her thyroid med & gabapentin. I have to admit I was a little skeptical about needing a thyroid med because of the notoriously low levels GHs have anyway but wow did that make a difference within 48 hours of restarting it. She's back to playbowing for walks and meals and is generally her bossy old lady self again, as she should be. Starting to pee in the house more frequently but we can manage that with paying more attention to her.