Better alternative to Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Canine Gastrointestinal Low Fat??
 

My doctor suggested Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Canine Gastrointestinal Low Fat food for my baby to possibly help with some digestive issues she may have. Is there a better alternative to this that doesn't have by-products in it?? Thanks for your help!

Answer to your question: No! This product is one of the very best prescription diets you can provide for your pup. Royal Canin products are scientifically formulated, and then tested extensively to provide evidenced based clinical trials on dogs and cats before it is ever available to consumers. Their quality control is second to none.

Even with the chicken-by products in it?? I was fine with the food until I read the label and saw that. We have always given her hollistic organic food with no by products in them and for some reason I just don't feel okay giving her this. I'm looking for a food that is easily digestible (possibly for pancreatitis but we aren't sure yet) that doesn't contain by products. Can anyone give me any suggestions besides home cooking?

Would you be able to share the name of holistic organic food that you have been giving? I have been feeding Wellness but because of the by-products that you are talking about I'm trying to make the switch to home cooking. At the moment I do not know of any dry food brands that do not contain by-products (even on the five star dog food list). However, you might like "The Honest Kitchen: All Natural Dog Food - Dehydrated Pet Food | The Honest Kitchen . There are no by products in this food. I tried it for my yorkie and she loved it but her poops were very large on it so I didn't continue with it.

What do you REALLY know about "by-products"? Are you thinking hooves and horns and teeth ground up and added to the food?
Today, pet owners want to be more informed when it comes to what they feed their pets. But there’s also a lot of misinformation out there when it comes to ingredients like protein sources, grains, fillers, gluten and by-products. So what do these ingredients really mean for your pet? Let us tell you.

Contrary to popular marketing messages, chicken listed first on a label is not an indication that the diet contains more protein. Ingredients must appear in descending order of their weight in the diet. The total weight of the ingredient includes the water content. And since chicken meal is chicken with water and fat removed, it weighs less than chicken but actually can contain a higher percentage of protein

What Do You Need to Know About By-Products?

Misinformation about by-products in pet food is widespread, and many people believe that by-products are bad for pets. The Association of American Feed Control (AAFCO) defines chicken by-products as the ground, clean parts of the chicken, which include internal organs, bone/cartilage and other parts. Royal Canin only uses high-quality by-products, like hearts, livers and lungs. And when processed properly, by-products provide valuable nutrients for the pet. They are excellent sources of quality protein, vitamins and minerals and can help contribute to a balanced nutritional profile. At Royal Canin, we take great care in selecting and processing by-products for our feline and canine diets. We only use suppliers whose offerings are up to our strict standards, and our intensive food testing program double checks both quality and safety in our raw materials and finished goods.

Thank you for this! Honestly when I hear by-products that is exactly the first thing that comes to my head. I was thinking feet and beaks and bones and who knows what else. Reading all that I now realize I was severely misinformed.

There are many, many people that think the very same thing! Unless your particular pup has some adverse reaction to an ingredient in RC, this food is completely nutritious and totally balanced, with all aspects of your pups needs, being more than adequately met. The grains used are also powdered so they are completely digested and nutritionally beneficial.

I have tried innova evo small bites, wellness, blue buffalo, and a few others. We usually stick with the innova or sometimes the wellness because the innova can sometimes be harder to find. The 5 star dog food list is always what I have went by when I was looking for things but I didn't realize wellness had by products in it. Now after reading this thread I feel like I was very wrong about by products.

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer this for me YorkieMom! I'm going to go ahead and start her on the RC now and I don't feel guilty about it anymore! I definitely wasn't well informed on this at all.

RC is a good food, and a good brand. But if you're just dealing with general issues, nothing serious (i.e. pancreatitis, etc), I wouldn't think you'd necessarily NEED to be on an RX food. I'd be curious why exactly your vet is suggesting this.

You could probably find a somewhat simple food with ingredients you are happier with. But a lot of the newer holisitic foods aren't all they're cracked up to be anyway.

It is for now just general digestive issues. Is there a simpler food for general digestive issues that you would suggest I could try before this? He at first thought it could be pancreatitis but after a couple tests he doesn't think that this is the case. So he doesn't think she NEEDs to be on it right now and he gave me a medication for her to take for a few days and if not better in a week or two then he wants me to start the RX food.

My Zoey is on Royal Canin Gastro Low Fat canned and kibble. I read the ingredients and was very unhappy but she loves the food and has not had any problems with her tummy since being on the food. I would suggest you give it a try.

:thumbup: Totally agree! RC is an excellent choice for both regular and RX foods. Mine are all on the Hydrolized Protien formula and have finally stopped a lll their previous issues.

Sometimes we as people think that we know what is best for our dogs when really we don't because there systems are different then ours and require different things so we need to leave that up to vets and vet nutritionists. If you are worried about it you could talk to a vet nutritionist.

Pao had just a bout of pancreatitis and after being in the ER on IV fluid for a couple of days, blood panels, xrays done is sent home with meds and Royal Canin prescription food. He won't eat the Hills i/d and the vet tech told me most finicky dogs will eat the Royal Canin Low Fat Gastro food and she was right. He loves it.

Pancreatitis can be a serious issue. Dogs can die from an acute pancreatitis. If your dog has had one, please be careful in what you are feeding to prevent another attack. We have fed Royal Canin for about a week now. His stomach has settled and I can actually see him feeling a lot better and happier.