| Ellie May | 07-31-2008 03:55 AM |
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pettysmith
(Post 2149212)
I have an 11 year old yorkie in excellent health that spent the first 8 years of his life on Hills I/D because of a sensitive stomach. I even had to buy the canned I/D, cut it into cookie sized rounds and bake it for a long time at a very low temp (which made it crunchy) to make his treats. It was the only thing that kept his poop normal and kept him from vomiting. After 8 years I switched him to Hills Sensivitive Stomach diet and he ate that for the last 2 years. He seems to have finally outgrown his sensitivity and since getting a new yorkie puppy last year they are both now on Innova. I will not argue that Hills is not one of the best foods on the market and I do not feed my dogs their regular diets. However, I believe there are some cases where the veterinarian knows best, has your companions best interest and health at heart, and is not out to take your money. I am and have been the manager of an animal hospital for 11 years. I have never heard of any veterinarian getting "paid" for selling Hills products. In fact their suggested retail is only a 15 to 20% mark-up over what we can buy it for, and most vets do not make much money selling their products. Just be sure to find a veterinarian you can trust and put your pet's health in their hands. They are the ones who have been to 8 years of school to become a veterinarian and have the expertise and experience to diagnose what is wrong.
| Interesting post. I definately agree with what I bolded. Hills, while not anywhere near what I'd consider a good choice of food, is sometimes necessary. Unless the client is willing to talk to a nutritionist and homecook, prescription diets are sometimes the best option.
As for vets always knowing best because they have gone to school for so long, even Ellie's vet admits that she didn't learn much about nutrition at all and it just isn't her area... Vets do get free and very reduced food from pet food companies in vet school and most, if not all, of the nutrition classes/seminars are taught by dog food company representatives (especially Hills). Vets get used to the idea of feeding it in vet school because it is cheap for them and then they go on to recommend it. Even on YorkieTalk, MyFairLacy is studying to be a vet and has said this is true.
So I don't generally trust just a regular DVM about nutrition but sometimes your dog needs a prescription diet and nothing can be done about that unless you want to do something like homecooking, which is great, but some people just don't want to.
I think after things settle down, there will be other foods you can go to.
Did this happen right after you opened a new bag of Wellness? | 