Hill's ID Diet

[Roni & Roxy]

My vet recommended trying Hill's ID Diet for my 10-month old Roxy, who has been a very finicky eater of late. She has vomited bile several times in the last week because she has an empty stomach and just isn't interested in food. She has been eating Blue Buffalo Large Breed Puppy (chicken and rice) since we got her at 8 weeks, and has had no problem. We've been mixing that with Blue Buffalo canned puppy food for quite some time now, too. But for the last few weeks, she's just not interested. She doesn't act sick at all, and the vet said she's not dehydrated and he doesn't feel any kind of obstruction. She has regular bowel movements.

So I was wondering if anyone else has had good results with ID Diet.

[Stephanie and Ragley]

I'm just waiting for Karen to chime in here...No one on here will ever recommend either Hills or an Rx food from the vet. There are tons of discussions on this that you can read through. Check this one out:

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/why-you...

[Sally S Miles]

If I had a minute I would dig up the link - but suffice it to say that anything made by Hill's is garbage - sorry, that's my 2cents worth.

Take a nice look at the food listings - yes Blue is supposed to be a decent food, but a lot of pups have problems with it. Grain free is totally the way to go and rice is a grain.

Provide food for fiteen minutes, what doesn't get eaten comes up until next meal. If they are hungry they will eat - unless the food causes upset and they can't tell you. Bile is a normal product that happens on an empty stomache - only worrisome is regular. 

Ditch the Science Diet

[Anne & Mr. Haley]

Haley was about that age when he stopped showing interest in food. Coincidently his vet suggested I swich him to adult food. He has been a vjgirous eater ever since.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Hill's is owned by Colgate-Palmolive, a huge multinational corporation which outsources not just the manufacturing of the food but the ingredients and even the purchasing of the ingredients. There is no quality control whatsoever, and this kind of third party brokering is what led to the deaths and permanent illnesses of thousands of dogs and cats throughout the USA in 2007. It was because of this that many dog food websites and groups like this one started, and many new privately manufactured dog food companies came to be. You do not want to feed your dog a brand that is owned by a huge corporation. You want a company that only makes dog food, orders the ingredients themselves and not through brokers, knows what is in there and where it came from, and does not keep the information secret from the consumers.

There is no nutritional curriculum required in veterinary school; whatever education vets receive in vet school is sponsored by Hill's Science Diet and Purina. These companies also sell their foods through vets. Not only is this a cinlfict of interest, but your vet's information about the food comes from the very people who sell it. This has been researched and publicly documented by Marion Nestle, PhD, professor of nutrition and widely regarding as one of the leading authorities on both human and canine nutrition.

Yes, your vet receives kickbacks from Hill's.

I strongly urge you to ignore any advice your vet gives you about dog food. Medical issues, yes, dog food, no. My vets and i have agreed to disagree on this issue.

The ingredients are cheap, and the quality control is non-existent, even in the Rx foods.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I wouldn't feed my dog any Hill's product if they not only gave it to me for free but paid me to use it. 

Your puppy is not sick and there is nothing in Hill's i/d that would help her if she was. No medicine, nothing therapeutic, and the ingredients are garbage. 

You are right, the vomiting is due to having an empty stomach.

Sally has given you good advice regarding feeding and also regarding trying a grain-free formula. 

There are dozens of discussions here about trying to get picky eaters to eat. It becomes more urgent and worrisome if the lack of interest in eating causes a health issue like vomiting. But switching to any Hill's food will not solve the problem. 

If the vomiting occurs mostly in the a.m., try giving her a biscuit or two in the evening before bed. 

At Roxy's age, she can be switched to an adult food, and you do not need a "large breed" formula in any case, unless her expected adult weight will be over 85 or 90 lbs.

If Fromm's is available in your area, you might try their 4 Star line. These foods usually appeal to most dogs, and there are a dozen different formulas designed to be rotated from one bag to the next to provide variety and help keep picky eaters interested. 

Acana Singles might also be a good choice for Roxy. Or if you want to stay with Blue Buffalo, try their grain-free Wilderness line. 

[Roni & Roxy]

Thanks for the great advice! I just returned the ID Diet to the vet (which they refunded, thankfully) and picked up a large bag of Orijen Large Breed Puppy. I already opened it, so I hope it was a good choice. You said that she doesn't need Large Breed food, but it probably won't hurt, right? I wish I had read this first...I do like the idea of different formulas to be rotated to keep her interested. Maybe I'll try that next time. Also, I have half the bag left of the Blue Buffalo Large Breed Puppy...I'm thinking of mixing it with the Orijen so as not to waste it.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

If you haven't opened the Orijen yet, I'd return it for the regular Puppy or even the regular Adult formula. But no, it won't "hurt" her.

I would not mix the Blue Buffalo chicken and rice formula with the Orijen. It defeats the whole point of feeding a high quality, high protein, grain-free food like Orijen. Your feeding amounts are also very different as the Orijen is higher in calories and you feed less. Transition over a few days time, and then I would just go with the straight Orijen, and bite the bullet on "wasting" the half bag of Blue, lol.

Roxy may very likely try to just pick out the Orijen anyway. :)  

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

It's possible that a local shelter may take the half bag of Blue too if you're willing to donate it.  

Also some pet stores will take back opened bags.  My local pet store returned a bag of large breed we accidentally opened.  They just sent it back to Champion foods with the message that our dog didn't like the food :p

[Gail and Bailey]

Good idea about donating the unused food to a shelter!!  I have donated treats and unused foods to a shelter and they do not care if it is open.