keeping my dog on canned ID for GI health and IAMS low residue dry food

[Nancy Sweet]

My dog will be 2 in June. He had numerous GI issues for the first year of his life, including chronic loose stools and vomiting. I tried several different foods and nothing seemed to help. The vet would put him on the canned ID food whenever he got really sick and he would be fine, while on it. Eventually, after hundreds of dollars in vet bills and blood tests, the vet suggested I leave him on the canned ID mixed with IAMs low residue dry food. Since doing this 6 months ago, he has been fine. The food is very expensive and seems very bland. I am trying to decide if I should stay on this or try to switch him to something else. He is doing so well, I hate to rock the boat.The vet has told me that he is getting all the nutrition he needs, but I would really like to switch him to regular food. I wondered if anyone has been in this situation. I would appreciate the feedback.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Just to help strengthen your resolve, I just looked at the ingredients in Iams low-residue veterinary formula dry food:



Corn Grits, Brewers Rice, Chicken By-Product Meal, Chicken, Fish Meal, Dried Beet Pulp (sugar removed), Natural Chicken Flavor, Dried Egg Product, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E, and Citric Acid), Calcium Carbonate, Brewers Dried Yeast, Potassium Chloride, Fructooligosaccharides, Monosodium Phosphate, Fish Oil (preserved with Ethoxyquin), Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Choline Chloride, DL-Methionine, Flax Meal, Ferrous Sulfate, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Oxide, Ascorbic Acid, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Rosemary Extract, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of Vitamin B2), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (source of Vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of Vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplelment, Potassium Iodide, Folic Acid, Cobalt Carbonate

This is an Rx Food????? That costs $3.00 per pound? For corn grits and by-products and the waste materials that are swept up off the floor at a brewery? And ethoxyquin used as a preservative????

Let's review those ingredients:
from The Dog Food Project:
Ethoxyquin 6-ethoxy-1,2-dihydro-2,2,4-trimethylquinoline. Antioxidant; also a post-harvest dip to prevent scald on apples and pears.

Originally developed by Monsanto as a stabilizer for rubber, Ethoxyquin has also been used as a pesticide for fruit and a color preservative for spices, and later for animal feed. The original FDA permit for use as stabilizer in animal feed limited use to two years and did not include pet food, but it falls under the same legal category. It has never been proven to be safe for the lifespan of a companion animal.It has been linked to thyroid, kidney, reproductive and immune related illnesses as well as cancer, but so far no conclusive, reliable research results either for the safety of this product or against it have not been obtained. Monsanto conducted research years ago, but results were so inconclusive due to unprofessional conduct and documentation that the FDA demanded another study. There are currently several studies underway to determine whether Ethoxyquin is safe or not, and until those studies are completed, pet food suppliers may continue to use Ethoxyquin. This is how things stand after about 6 years, and no new details have emerged so far.

Chicken Byproduct Meal AAFCO: Consists of the dry, ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs, and intestines -- exclusive of feathers except in such amounts as might occur unavoidably in good processing practices.

Chicken byproducts are much less expensive and less digestible than the chicken muscle meat.The ingredients of each batch can vary drastically in ingredients (heads, feet, bones etc.) as well as quality, thus the nutritional value is also not consistent. Don't forget that byproducts consist of any parts of the animal OTHER than meat. If there is any use for any part of the animal that brings more profit than selling it as "byproduct", rest assured it will appear in such a product rather than in the "byproduct" dumpster.

Brewers Rice Also appears in ingredient lists as ground Brewers Rice.

AAFCO: The small milled fragments of rice kernels that have been separated from the larger kernels of milled rice.

A processed rice product that is missing many of the nutrients contained in whole ground rice and brown rice. Contrary to what many pet food companies want to make you believe, this is not a high quality ingredient, just much cheaper than whole grain rice.

[Rory]

I am going to chime in because my dog had major GI issues for the first 9 months of her life. I would first echo the others' opinions and stop feeding the RX diet. There is only 1 situation in which I might consider using I/D food, and that would be if I had very serious concerns about a protein allergy and it was my last resort. The hydrolyzed protein is not just easier to digest, but the body does not recognize it as its original protein source (i.e. chicken is not recognized as chicken) so it would not provoke an allergic reaction. But again, this would be after a regular elimination diet.

 

Here is what I did for my dog's GI issues: I found a limited ingredient food with a single protein source (check the food group list for options), and added digestive enzymes and probiotics 2x per day (both human grade). Won't work for every dog, but it might be worth a try. Good luck!

[Christine & Camus]

Nancy, Camus has had problems with digestion for a year and I finally found a diet that works for him. After his gastritis attack the vet recommended I stop giving him yogurt and Camus no longer liked pumpkin - I was at a loss so I tried non-dairy based probiotics before each meal.  This is what he eats x2 daily:

Kibble:  Taste of the Wild salmon formula

Canned: Wellness - 95% protein Lamb formula (the salmon canned was too rich for him ) can lasts ~ 3 days.

Probiotics

The only treats I give him are Zukes.  His stomach is now quiet, no more loose stools, no more gas, no more GI issues at all!!  He has been on this diet for 3 weeks, so far it is working.   

[Paul]

Thanks for this. Abby our 22 month old goldendoodle has now had diarrhea and vomiting five times in the past year. She has had multiple courses of Flagyl and we keep being told to feed her the Hill's I/D.
Last week her stool came back positive for Clostridium Perfringens toxin; but no other findings.

I am concerned about all the use of Flagyl and would like to get her on a regular diet.

Do you mix the kibble with the canned food, or feed them separately. Can you advise as to quantity of kibble? Abby is 50lbs and very active.

Thanks so much!

Paul

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Hi Paul,
This is a very old discussion, more than 6 years old, and a lot has changed with dog food and tools for treating the issues you mention, including healthy, limited ingredient diets (not RX) and probiotics. It would really be best if you started a new discussion here in the Food Group, so we can address your questions and perhaps offer some help for Abby.