Vet suggested Iams instead of Wellness or Solid Gold because of...
 

Ian has had a few episodes with diarrhea since yesterday, and went to the vet this morning. His regular vet wasn't there, but the "sub" suggested giving Ian Iams, instead of Wellness. She felt that is would help harden his bowel movements, and make them a firmer texture.
I have never fed Ian anything but premium holistic foods and an a little concerned about Iams because of what I've read.
What do you think?

I switched Brandy from Iams to Solid Gold because of what I have read on Yorkie Talk. She hasn't had any problems. Did the vet say why Iams was better ?

Tibbe eats that now and he has very normal stool but since joining here, am thinking of finding him a better food next time I go to the pet store. I want him to have the best food. I've been reading articles and posts here about better quality foods and that is what he should have.

Our dogs have been eating Iams for about 2yrs. My adopted female is 10yrs and that is all she has ever had. However I am always open to something more healthy. Is there a link on the forum about food? If so could someone post it to me please?

I just searched in the "Diet and Nutrition" I think it is called Forum and went to the Library for articles to read.

I have never heard one good thing about Iams.

I personally avoid anything connected to Iams due to their cruelty of animals:
IamsCruelty.com

I would think only a "few" episodes of diarrhea would not warrant a complete diet change. You might try giving him a bit of cooked pumpkin (no spices), or some cooked chicken & rice (cooked very soft).

I found this link about Iams.

Iams ProActive Health Adult Dog Food Review and Rating

The vet said because of the fiber content of Iams.:confused:

That's what I was thinking as well. I did give him about a tablespoon of boiled rice (1/2 jasmine brown and 1/2 jasmine white) when he got home from the vet because he had to take that medicine. He loved it!! He hasn't had a bowel movement since. My hubby thinks we should try Iams to see how he does on it for about two weeks. :confused:

My two eat Wellness super 5 mix , small breed. Never had a problem with their stools> But, my Shih Tzu looks like she can put on a pound or two, so thinking about adding EVO to their diet. My yorkie Suzi has no eating problems. She is even bigger then the Tzu.

Personally, I wouldn't switch to IAMS. Stomach problems could be cured another way- have you tried one of the limited ingredient diets from Natural Balance or the Simple Solutions from Wellness? You can try out different protein sources. You could try adding your own fiber- like canned pumpkin or something.

If a vet recommends prescription diets, I usually recommend listening to them- but just telling you to switch from a high quality food to a grocery store food to firm up poops sounds like it is coming from a vet totally uneducated about nutrition.

Have you tried other sources of fiber ? pumpkin or green beans. Also you can try some apple as it has pectin in it & works really for either poos that are too soft or too hard. Or you can use Metamucil Free & Clear as it is safe for dogs and I have a rescue that has to have it with every meal.

It is the beet pulp that keeps a stool solid...you add that to any food...

That does not make much sense as Iams are right around 4% fiber on all the formulas I checked (wasn't sure which Iam's the vet wanted you to use) and are Solid Gold Just a Wee Bits and Wellness Super 5 Mix for Small Breed are also at not more than 4% fiber.

I feed Solid Gold Just a Wee Bits now and have been for several months now. The pups seem to like it fine and I LOVE it. The ingredients are great, the kibble size is tiny, it is an All-Life-Stage food, and it is available locally for me! :)

I would tell him that these are all 4% fiber and you would prefer to use a Premium food instead of Iams (which is at best a mediocre one).

I also very much agree with Maui Girl in her advice not to make major feeding changes for just a few bouts of diarrhea and try the pumpkin or beet pulp instead. If they had been doing well on a Premium brand before and this is just a recent problem, then I would think it even more important NOT to change the food as you investigate other varibles that might be causing the trouble. Could just be a normal little germ that they could pick up in the back yard or from another friendly dog lick. :) Good luck and I hope things get solid soon!

Not to hijack your thread but how much oatmeal.. added to some canned food? Regular or flavored? Thanks..:)

Beet pulp is a filler I stay away from. It is known to also cause tear staining. I am no expert but beet pulp is not necessary for firm stool.

Good luck sweetie with Ian...I would not feed Iams...linked way too closely to tons of animal cruelty. Pumpkin, rice & chicken, and maybe some Pectin from the vet could help. Reesie just went through a bout of diareah and that's what helped him.

Hugs-
Viv

Pectin works well for Taycie too. Taycie has an extremley sensitive stomach and something so little can set her off for days. If you are looking at a diet change, I would try a limited ingredient diet that has helped Taycie tons!

Currently she is on Pinnacle duck and Potato and doing fantastic. I have looked at a few Natural Balance LID diets that I know many members feed here. I know many have had wonderful results with it:) I am going to be trying a few of the flavors to rotate with Miss Taycie:)

Oh I think someone also mentioned Wellness Simple Solutions too.... Those would be good too!

Vets don't always know what's best in terms of nutrition, it's not what they're trained to know. My vet recently told me that the reason Harley got sick was because he was getting too much protein because grain free foods have more protein. I checked the bag of Now! when I got home and it was only 24% protein. it was lower than the crap he suggested.

my theory is some vets are sponsored to sell these foods that aren't the best. If a vet doesn't suggest this diet they risk losing sponsorship and other perks offered by these massive companies.

I never trust my vet 100% on nutritional things, I always do my own research before making a decision.

I have to agree with the last statement about Veterinarians not knowing there stuff when it come to nutrition. The Clinic i work at has 5 Doctors, and not a single one knows anything about nutrition. One of them has been doing alot of research trying. But i know way more about nutrition from all the reading and research i have done for my own dog. So, its true, they dont come out of vet school knowing anything about nutrition. ANd they all want to sell everyone science diet, cause thats all they know at my vet. And the science diet reps come and have meetings with them and convince them of how wonderful it is. But they havent even heard of half the other foods.

I wouldn't switch to Iams, it's got corn (cheap filler not at all nutritious for dogs) and I don't think their protein source is "human quality" like the Wellness u are using and other holistic brands. I'd do the boiled chicken and rice with some pumpkin for a few days then try intergrading your regular food back in. If there's still loose stool, try switching to another holistic brand. I worked as a vet tech for a long time and he only recommended holistic brands unless there was a medical need for a prescription diet and even then he always had the owner add a whole food suppliment to the food, because even those such as Hills or Science Diet weren't nutritious enough and had fillers. I learned ALOT working there about canine nutrition and dietary needs and trust me - stay far far away from any commercial, grocery store brand, stick with something holistic always. I have no clue way so many vets recommend such crappy pet food, it makes no sense.

I know the vets here get a kick back on Science Diet and probably do with Iams. I would stick with the better foods. IMO, neither one of the foods are good.

My daughter works at a feed store and she would never recommend Iams. It is not a very good food. Has a lot of fillers and by products. I would never feed this food.

It does.. thanks so much!

Mine love a little organic pumpkin on their food - couple of times a week. It does add fiber.

But if you add too much; then it can lead to diarrhea, so I stick with about 1/2 tsp for Lucy

Thank you all for this information!!!!! Very helpful!!!:)

Iams wouldn't be my first choice or recommendation, but there may be more reasons than just this one why your vet could be asking you to feed it. Maybe there are other concerns here...

I think I read that Wellness is being fed now. Heard a lot about stool issue from that brand... I think if it was just a couple days of loose stool, it's fine to choose another "holistic" food or try this one again.

But there are many vets who don't care about selling food. They don't want to stock it. They make very little money off of it. They don't necessarily love the companies. They recommend them because they are obligated to (by their patients). They have helped a lot of dogs. RX foods are stocked at the vet office taht I spend a lot of time at. They don't like having to stock it. They don't make much off of it. They don't get great deals on it for their own dogs. In fact, I know a vet who tried to get a deal on a name brand dog food for her own dog. She was able to get it cheaper at the pet store than what she could order a bag for through her office.