Has anyone tried Hills prescription diet Z/D

[nikkinack]

The vet wants me to switch Lily and Kingston to Hills prescription diet Z/D due to allergies. They were both on Prednisone but now that summer is over and they are still having issues the vet said it is definitely the food. I am nervous because once on the food they can have nothing else or it will change the results so no treat or anything. I was just wonder if anyone has used this food, and did it work well?

[Julie1760]

My vet suggested the same thing for my Bichon.....she wouldn't eat it. I even went and got the canned to mix with it but it was like a gel...it was gross!!! It was very expensive. I am sticking with Natures Variety....I was told by Dr. Davis to keep her on this and only feed venison or rabbit. She said the only thing that might cause problems is the eggs...so we are feeding only the venison for 2 months and see if she gets better....so far she is itching less and is slowly getting her hair back on her legs where she chewed it all off.

[LuvMySissy]

Nikki - is the vet saying what specifically in their food they are allergic to? There are several great allergy formulas out there that have much better ingredients than the Hills. I would try the Natural balance Fish and Sweet Potato or the Duck and Potato formulas first. Hope this works for you. Freeze dried raw is another great option.......

[linda44]

I have one with severe food alergies. So I have all seven of mine on the zd. The rest get chicken also, the one with the really bad alergies eats in a different room. So far its worked.

[marcerella02]

Personally, I woudln't put my dog on that. It is not a great food and many vets push it because they are paid to sell it.

Like Jodie said- there are many great allergy formula foods out there- Natural Balance makes many allergy formulas. You want a food that is either fish based or has an "exotic" protien like vennison or duck.

I would try that first and see how it goes.

[nikkinack]

Originally Posted by LuvMySissy

Nikki - is the vet saying what specifically in their food they are allergic to? There are several great allergy formulas out there that have much better ingredients than the Hills. I would try the Natural balance Fish and Sweet Potato or the Duck and Potato formulas first. Hope this works for you. Freeze dried raw is another great option.......

We know that Kingstons main issue is Fish. We do not know exactly what they are allergic to that is the reason for this food. I would give them this food for 3 months and then every month after that we would introduce something new like chicken, potato and so on. I would like to do the allergy test but the vet said the 200$ one is not very accurate and the the good test would cost me around a 1000 for both of them. If I have to do the test I will but we are going to try to figure out the problem this way first I think. I wanted to switch to a food like you suggested but the vet said ZD will make the process quicker due to the kind of protein and the way the dog processes it. But I am open to suggestions.

[Breny]

Nicki, do you want to try the Life's Abundance? Allergy sufferers have had great success with it. I have review posted on my website. Let me know if you'd like to try.

I'm sorry your babies are having issues! Good luck!

[ashleere]

I have tried it. Buttons was on it for a few months and he still had issues. I switched him to raw, and bathe him in Minksheen once a week. He has been on raw fro 3.5 months and his hair has grown back and hi isn't itching. I also leave out NB potato and duck for something crunchy.

[amandawash]

How did your vet decide it is food allergies? Just because it is no longer summer does not mean that they can't have environmental allergies such as dust mites, cotton or even humans (yes, that's extreme but not impossible).

Have you talked with your vet about Atopica? It is a non-steroidal medication that calms the immune systems response to allergens. It's just another option to consider.

[chestermama]

I persnally would not feed anything from hills, usually if the prednisone helps that means it is not a food allergy. Chester has allergies they come and go with the weather and things in the air. I also use grizzly salmon oil on his wet food at night and that helps, I will also just rinse him off in the tub in case anything in the grass especially if it is wet.

[Ellie May]

z/d® ULTRA Allergen-Free Canine
Ingredients
Water, Hydrolyzed Chicken Liver, Corn Starch, Powdered Cellulose, Soybean Oil, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Citrate, DL-Methionine, Choline Chloride, Iodized Salt, Vitamin E Supplement, Taurine, Ascorbic Acid (source of vitamin C), L-Threonine, Zinc Oxide, Ferrous Sulfate, L-Tryptophan, Beta-Carotene, Thiamine Mononitrate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Calcium Iodate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Riboflavin, Sodium Selenite, Folic Acid.

z/d® Low Allergen Canine
Ingredients

Dried Potato Product, Hydrolyzed Chicken Liver, Potato Starch, Soybean Oil (preserved with BHA, propyl gallate and citric acid), Hydrolyzed Chicken, Powdered Cellulose, Calcium Sulfate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Glyceryl Monostearate, Iodized Salt, Choline Chloride, vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Chloride, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), DL-Methionine, Taurine, preserved with Mixed Tocopherols & Citric Acid, Beta-Carotene, Rosemary Extract.

z/d® ULTRA Allergen-Free Canine
Ingredients

Starch, Hydrolyzed Chicken Liver, Soybean Oil (preserved with BHA, propyl gallate and citric acid), Hydrolyzed Chicken, Powdered Cellulose, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Glyceryl Monostearate, Potassium Chloride, Iodized Salt, Choline Chloride, vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), DL-Methionine, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), preserved with Mixed Tocopherols & Citric Acid, Taurine, Beta-Carotene, Rosemary Extract.


Here are the ingredients for all three Z/Ds.
If this was the "only" thing that worked if my dog had severe allergies, I would probably go with it because if they are itching that much, it is a quality of life issue. This food is unique because the protein is hydrolyzed but there are reports of it not working for some dogs. It looks like liver is the main meat in these and that seems excessive. First, I would try whatever else you can get your hands on.

What foods have you tried so far and how long did you keep them on them?
It is so hard with regular dog food because they are so complex that it is very difficult to find the allergen. Have you looked into the Natural Balance line or the Cal. Natural line (which I'm sure won't work because a lot of it contains rice)? How do you feel about homecooking? Then you can pick a novel protein to start with and a grain they have never had and do your own elimination diet?

[luvfla]

Keegan used to chew his paws constantly & the vet said it was probably allergies & put him on benadryl. Thanks to YT, I switched to NB venison & sweet potatoes. He may chew once a week but I don't think it is allergies that makes him do it.

[nikkinack]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

z/d® ULTRA Allergen-Free Canine
Ingredients
Water, Hydrolyzed Chicken Liver, Corn Starch, Powdered Cellulose, Soybean Oil, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Citrate, DL-Methionine, Choline Chloride, Iodized Salt, Vitamin E Supplement, Taurine, Ascorbic Acid (source of vitamin C), L-Threonine, Zinc Oxide, Ferrous Sulfate, L-Tryptophan, Beta-Carotene, Thiamine Mononitrate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Calcium Iodate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Riboflavin, Sodium Selenite, Folic Acid.

z/d® Low Allergen Canine
Ingredients

Dried Potato Product, Hydrolyzed Chicken Liver, Potato Starch, Soybean Oil (preserved with BHA, propyl gallate and citric acid), Hydrolyzed Chicken, Powdered Cellulose, Calcium Sulfate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Glyceryl Monostearate, Iodized Salt, Choline Chloride, vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Chloride, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), DL-Methionine, Taurine, preserved with Mixed Tocopherols & Citric Acid, Beta-Carotene, Rosemary Extract.

z/d® ULTRA Allergen-Free Canine
Ingredients



Starch, Hydrolyzed Chicken Liver, Soybean Oil (preserved with BHA, propyl gallate and citric acid), Hydrolyzed Chicken, Powdered Cellulose, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Glyceryl Monostearate, Potassium Chloride, Iodized Salt, Choline Chloride, vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), DL-Methionine, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), preserved with Mixed Tocopherols & Citric Acid, Taurine, Beta-Carotene, Rosemary Extract.


Here are the ingredients for all three Z/Ds.
If this was the "only" thing that worked if my dog had severe allergies, I would probably go with it because if they are itching that much, it is a quality of life issue. This food is unique because the protein is hydrolyzed but there are reports of it not working for some dogs. It looks like liver is the main meat in these and that seems excessive. First, I would try whatever else you can get your hands on.

What foods have you tried so far and how long did you keep them on them?
It is so hard with regular dog food because they are so complex that it is very difficult to find the allergen. Have you looked into the Natural Balance line or the Cal. Natural line (which I'm sure won't work because a lot of it contains rice)? How do you feel about homecooking? Then you can pick a novel protein to start with and a grain they have never had and do your own elimination diet?

I am not apposed to home cooking I am just worried that they will not get everything in their diet they need. They are now on solid gold wee bits which they love but they both itch. I have also tried NB Small Bites™ Potato & Duck Dry Dog Food Kingston started wheezing on this food they were on it for 2 months. When Lily was younger she was on Innova and seemed to not have itching problems but after a while she just refused to eat it.

[nikkinack]

Originally Posted by amandawash

How did your vet decide it is food allergies? Just because it is no longer summer does not mean that they can't have environmental allergies such as dust mites, cotton or even humans (yes, that's extreme but not impossible).

Have you talked with your vet about Atopica? It is a non-steroidal medication that calms the immune systems response to allergens. It's just another option to consider.

The vet said since lily is still have such an issue even with the bitter cold weather that it is more than likely food related. Thank you for the suggestion of Atopica I have not heard of this before, Lily had to be taken off of prednison due to some reactions.

[nikkinack]

I am not sure if it matters where they itch but Lily only itches her arm pits and Kingston only itches his face.