# Newbee question: alternative to Hill's prescription i/d?



## HawaiianEye

My Yorkie/Snauzer mix, 10 year old nuetered female, has developed tendancy to pancreatic inflamation. 
The Hill's perscription i/d has proved to help very much. 
But as you may know, it is through a vet's perscription only and thus very costly! 
(Especially here in Hawaii, where you are at their mercy! lol!)
So, what if any, have you found to be a viable alternative to this brand of diet?
Thank you for your knowlegable input!
Aloha!


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## CorgiPaws

Unfortunately, anything "comparable" is going to be just as awful as the Hills food, but I would definately seek a different solution. This food has no named meat source, and when the best thing a food has going for it is chicken by-product meal, that's a huge fed flag. 

Ingredients:
Ground Whole Grain Corn, Brewers Rice, Dried Egg Product, Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Pork Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Powdered Cellulose, Dicalcium Phosphate, Chicken Liver Flavor, Iodized Salt, Potassium Citrate, Choline Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Chloride, Dried Beet Pulp, Soybean Oil, vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Taurine, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Ethoxyquin (a preservative). 


That being said, I can recommend a couple of things that might be great alternatives for you. 
Have you considered a home prepared bland diet? Raw or cooked, home preparing your pet's diet is the only way to accurately pinpoint the true problem ingredients, and give you the peace of mind of knowing exactly what they're eating. Please join us in the raw section for further information and advice if you're interested in learning more.


If that's entirely out of the question, I recommend a higher quality bland diet. California Natural is as high quality "bland" commercial kibble as you can possibly find. It's leaps and bounds better than the Hills stuff, and definately more affordable. 
If that's unavaliable in your area, you might want to look into Wellness Simple Solutions, Merrick Back to Basics, and lastly Natural Balance L.I.D. In my opinion, none of these are as good as the Cali Nat, but all are better than Hills, and all of them are gentile on the tummy. Of those, I'd use the L.I.D. last, as I find it to be the lowest quality of the options.

I am sure you'll get recommendations for grain free foods. I will throw my two cents out there, that grain free foods are very rich, and DEFINATELY need to be taken with caution with a dog that has a history of sensitive tummies. I do NOT recommend going grain free at this point in time. 


I hope this helps. Please feel free to post any further questions, and keep us posted.


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## Ruffrider25

HawaiianEye said:


> The Hill's perscription i/d has proved to help very much.
> But as you may know, it is through a vet's perscription only and thus very costly!
> (Especially here in Hawaii, where you are at their mercy! lol!)
> So, what if any, have you found to be a viable alternative to this brand of diet?


I came here last week looking for a alternative for Hill's Perscription I/D when my dog had a stomach issue and my vet kept pushing Hills Perscription/ Science Diet on me. I've read about California Natural that CorgiPaws mentions below and it sounds like a great food.



CorgiPaws said:


> If that's entirely out of the question, I recommend a higher quality bland diet. California Natural is as high quality "bland" commercial kibble as you can possibly find. It's leaps and bounds better than the Hills stuff, and definately more affordable.


Not sure which Island you are on but I did a search here: Where to Buy Natural Pet Food - Parent Company of California Natural and from a zip code located in Oahu, 96782, and it showed 3 store carrying the Natura brands of foods. If your on Oahu I'm sure one of the fantastic :tongue: interstate H's will lead you to one of these.

Ohana Doggie Daycare
611 Cooke St
Honolulu, HI 96813
(808) 791-3647

Petland
4400 Kalanianaole Hwy
Honolulu, HI 96821
(808) 734-7387

The Kennel Shop
98-080 Kamehameha Hwy #1
Aiea, HI 96701
(808) 484-0094


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## azul99

*My 3yo terrier/dachshund mix is on California Natural*

and has done very well on it. We did a "magical dog food tour" prior to trying California Natural, and it has made a huge (positive) difference.


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## SaltyDog

Although I'm not a fan of Science Diet, your dog may be on this for a specific purpose as you've stated.

I'm not discouraging trying Cali Natural and I certainly hope the same outcome happens with trying it, but be advised that the Science Diet might be the cure for the pancreatic inflamation.

Unfortunately, sometimes the lower grade food wins out over the better quality food due to physical conditions of the dog. Science Diet may not have the greatest ingredients list, but it does help correct and sustain ailments.


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## CorgiPaws

SaltyDog said:


> Unfortunately, sometimes the lower grade food wins out over the better quality food due to physical conditions of the dog. Science Diet may not have the greatest ingredients list, but it does help correct and sustain ailments.


Science Diet does not cure ANY ailment, it only masks the symptoms, that's why dogs generally are on it for life once they're on a RX diet. 
Under NO circumstances is staying on Science Diet (ESPECIALLY long term) the best thing for any dog ever. 

There are far superior ways to approach that ailment, without feeding a food that is primarily corn with literally NO quality meat in it at all. 

Even dogs with digestive upset are still carnivores. :wink:


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## JayJayisme

The OP stated that the dog suffers from pancreatic inflamation, i.e. pancreatitis. That is far more serious than digestive upset. But CorgiPaws is right, SD just masks the problem at the expense of something else (usually nutrition) and it doesn't cure anything. 

Unfortunately pancreatitis can be very serious and is often provoked by rich foods. The dog probably does better on SD because it's not rich at all being mostly grains. Unfortunately it offers little nutrition to your dog.

If my dog suffered from this and I wasn't already a raw feeder, I'd probably opt for very gently cooked fresh, lean meat (skinless if poultry) combined with some sort of good quality, low fat, bland kibble with plenty of bone meal. Your dog needs lean protein and bone. The ultimate solution would be a diet of lean, raw, meaty bones but as this is the kibble forum, I'll shut up now. :biggrin:


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## CorgiPaws

JayJayisme said:


> The OP stated that the dog suffers from pancreatic inflamation, i.e. pancreatitis. That is far more serious than digestive upset.


WHoops, should have re read the post, sorry! i/d is commonly given to pets experiencing digestive upset, so I mistakingly made a generalization. :redface:


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## SaltyDog

I did type sustain didn't I......wait.....yep....I did.


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## HawaiianEye

*appreciation!*

Thanks for the replies!
After the pancreatitus diagnosis, my vet took "Georgie" off dry kibble.
Informing us that was part of the problem, besides fatty canned foods and
rich people food scraps.
And since we've used Hill's i/d, the flair-ups have subsided to nil! Yay!!
The prescription style marketing ploy of Hill's i/d, gives people the illusion of 
justified costliness.
I don't agree with this style of sale presentation.
It is not medicine. It has no "healing" properties. 
But it puts no extra stress or burdon on Georgie's digestive system. 
I am certain there are other canned foods of equal or similar nature, no? 
I will look into these forums for further info on home mixed diets.
But if this clarifies my direction, please, I would enjoy further comments!
Thanks!


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## Unosmom

So from what I understand, your dog has to be on a low fat diet?

Because SD is 26% protein and 14% fat and California Natural is 21% protein and 11% fat. Seems like a far better option. 

Also are you giving her digestive enzymes and fish oil?

Also, what about wellness core reduced fat, its 33% protein and 9% fat, I heard that dogs with pancreatitis do best on grain free diet.


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## HawaiianEye

*I was noticing...*

Most of the suggestions so far (with a few exceptions), are dry dog food.
I am searching for canned. Thank You.
I may need to research the home made type!


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## SaltyDog

Check this out

Natural Dog Food | The Honest Kitchen

If you are going to spend the money on canned, then for sure buy this.

A 10 lb box makes 43 lbs of food.

Based on what you are saying about pancreatitis, I'd recommend Thrive....but I'm not a veterinarian :smile:


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