Hyrolized Foods

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

RX RX RX Foods ... If all the food trials require a hydrolized food, why don't some of the better companies make these choices?

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Ok, now I'm more confused than ever ... I just went and pulled my invoices from when we did the food trial.  The original food was RC Diet hydrolized HP.  Lucy wouldn't eat it.  So, the vet said to bring it back and he would swap for a different one.  The new product was Canine RC Diet VP (Venison and Potato).  Here are the ingredients in that?  Is this the same as a hydrolized food she is talking about?  The original food trial was a different Dermatologist that I didn't like.

Ingredients

Dried potato, venison meal, coconut oil, potato protein, hydrolyzed soy protein, natural flavors, vegetable oil, fish oil, monocalcium phosphate, DL-methionine, calcium carbonate, salt, choline chloride, taurine, vitamins [DL-alpha tocopherol acetate (source of vitamin E), L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), biotin, D-calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin A acetate, niacin supplement, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin supplement, folic acid, vitamin D3 supplement], trace minerals [zinc proteinate, zinc oxide, ferrous sulfate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, copper sulfate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite, copper proteinate], rosemary extract, preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Murphy isn't crazy about the HP either.  I add one to two tbsp of Wild Callings Rabbit (no carb just the rabbit) as a topper and then he eats it.  Murphy would not be able to tolerate the RC VP...too much in it and the only thing that is hydrolyzed is the soy protein.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Jane is right, there is plain old (not hydrolyzed) venison in the VP. (That's what the "V" stands for, venison, as opposed to an "H" for hydrolyzed in the HP formula). 

And that "natural flavors"...um, that can be from animals, too. Or anything, really.What kind of animals? We don't know, and the vet doesn't know either. In fact, the salesman who sold it to the vet doesn't even know. 

I don't blame you for being confused. If venison didn't work for her before, why would it would now? 

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

When she ate this before she actually did well.  We got her to stop itching and proceed with the food trial.  But then after the food trial when we put her on the Natural Balance Venison Limited Ingredient she started flaring again, and so we went to Chicken which was the one thing she didn't react to in the trial.  However, back then they weren't looking at the environmental components of her allergies and we were right in the middle of the summer season.  it was only after all this and her still reacting that we had her tested for environmental.  So now I don't know what to do.  They only reason I can think to change food would be to try and fix the anal gland issue.  At this point I guess I really have no idea what she is allergic to because there is the environmental factor as well.  There is a NB Venison and Potato, but isn't that going to have the same anal gland issues?  There is a Zignature LI Kangaroo, but I don't know if that will fix them or not.  Any thoughts?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Maybe I'm missing something, but if she did well on the Royal Canin PV (not VP, lol), why not have just continued with that? Why go to Natural Balance venison, or kangaroo, etc? Were her anal glands okay on the PV? 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

For what it's worth, Murphy has serious anal gland issues.  At one point they were so bad that he had to go under anesthesia to have them cleaned out.  Since the change in diet he has never even had to have them expressed.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Oh, and the Royal Canin HP should help with the anal glands; it's loaded with cellulose. I know it helped Jane's Murphy with that. 

[Ann Kendig]

Karen, could you tell me the name (again) of the probiotic you have Jack on and where to purchase? I did start both Pepper and Duke on a probiotic from the vet but thought I'd try what you use. Is Jack on any Pepcid or Prilosec? Anyone else have their dogs on it long term?

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Murphy is on Pepcid daily and probably always will be.  His probiotic is VSL3 which I learned about from Karen and my IMS....and I get it at my Pharmacy.  It comes in powder or capsules...I use the capsules.

[Ann Kendig]

Thanks Jane. : ). What is his dosage of Pepcid? 10 or 20 mg and how often. What is his weight?

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

He's on 10 once a day and he weighs 68 pounds....that's his maintenance dose.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Jack is on Zantac; 75 mg twice a day. I buy the generic, which is ranitidine. He's been taking it for 4 years. And the probiotic is VSL#3, as Jane mentioned.

Many vets sell Fortiflora, a probiotic made by Purina which contains unnamed animal flavoring that can actually make things worse. There are some vets that do sell iFlora or Proviable, both of which are good probiotics for dogs, but they don't come close to VSL#3. 

I buy the VSL#3 at CVS. You want the capsules, not the sachet. And you need to go straight home after you pick it up, because it MUST be kept refrigerated.