Changed Food After Lots of Research, but now...
 

Hi! For 15 years now my Yorkie has driven me nuts over her food & stomach problems. I have spent hours and hours online trying to figure out the very best food I can feed her with her digestive problems, and I thought I found a winner (I still think I made the right choice, just second guessing myself), but she sure seems sick (diarrhea and vomited once). She was fed Hill's I/D for years after her vet said she had Pancreatitis, then a new vet took her place several years afterwards and said she didn't think she had that, but had a less severe digestive problem I can't think of at the moment, but to stay on the Hill's I/D, which they conveniently sell by the ton. After hours upon hours of research, I changed her to Natural Balance Sweet Potato & Fish in the can and kibble. I saw online a few minutes ago I should have changed her over slowly and I didn't. Besides that, do you all think I made the right decision? The first time I fed her the Natural Balance was the first time in a long time I didn't get "the look" like she was thinking "You eat this crap." Please give me your thoughts, and thank you for allowing me into your group...my Yorkie is my baby and I hate thinking she feels awful. Thank you :).

Josh

Seeing as your baby has a sensitive stomach, it could possibly be that her tummy was not ready for such a drastic change. Any chance you can go back to feeding her the old food and slowly introduce the new one? I'm glad she liked the new food. I hate that look, like you stole something from them.

Tummy!
 

Hi - I have a picky eater that after 2 yrs all of a sudden was getting sick on treats (everything all natural). My vet who does not sell (or at least to me) Hills SD but mine is sensitive tummy & skin for smalls- I add water & sometimes finest shredded cheese been 6 weeks so far so good. I do hear bad things about GSD so I was thinking of going to a limited food such as Merrick small plates. My friend has the brother (he throws up constantly) & is on that doesn't add water or cheese & is doing great - good luck & you sound like a great mom!

Honestly if I were you, I would've kept her on the Hills if she was really doing good on it. The fact she had both diarrhea and vomiting on the new food would very much steer me away from it. For some reason, her body cannot handle it.

To make the Hills more appetizing for her, you could do things like sprinkle Parmesan cheese or low-sodium broth on it and/or add in a bit of a food-topper by adding a little canned/moist of some other brand/type on top of the food or mixed in.

I have always been a huge advocate of, "If it aint broke, dont fix it"....if she was eating the Hills, and you know how picky she is with food, just stay with what has worked well all these years.... The vet told you to continue with the Hills, she was eating it right?....just go back to what was working for her all these years....hopefully, she will go back to her food with no issues.

Have you tried canned pumpkin, broiled chicken, probiotics, goat's milk, or digestive teas?

I'll be the dissenter here, and say I think you did the right thing going off Hills. I also think wet food is superior to dry food for several reasons, including that dogs enjoy it more! I have a degree in human nutrition, and I think that human and pet food is moving in a better direction in terms of re-embracing whole, unprocessed foods we were meant to eat and moving away from the way we have been eating for the last 50 years or so, a way which has caused more illness and obesity. That said, I can see from this board that many people have dogs that live long, healthy, happy lives on various brands, including Hills, and IT'S A DIFFERENT MATTER when the dog has a special condition and may need special prescription food. I completely agree that food changes should be made slowly though.

I'm really lucky with Moxie. I can rotate wet and freeze dried raw food, raw food (and very rarely kibble), different brands (I like Weruva, Stella & Chewy, Primal, Zignature, Nulo, I And Love And You), dog appropriate people food (say, mashed up chicken and broccoli and sweet potato) and it never causes a problem. On the rare occasion, she does have stomach upset, I'll use probiotics, goat's milk, etc, and they have always worked so luckily I haven't needed to try anything further like medication or prescription food. She naturally has an iron stomach (she eats the nastiest things and is fine, I mean vomit on the street :(:eek:) but I'd like to think the food brands I've chosen are good for her overall health and helps her immune system, stomach stay strong. When I first rescued her, she had thinning hair, dry patches on her ears, diareah, and reverse cough/ sneezed more. Changing her diet helped with all of these things.

ps. Party Animal is also a GREAT wet food

Remember when a vet prescribes prescription food it is for a reason and really should only be changed after talking to a vet. Prescription hills dog food saves dogs lives. We also must remember humans nutritional needs are different then dogs nutritional needs and we have to remember they need different stuff. I have a dog with IBD and goats milk made her vommit a lot so you have to becareful trying that kind of stuff with dogs that have stomach issues.

Thank you for all the replies. Also, I was a little upset about the whole situation at the time and left a few things out. My Yorkie, Zoee, never liked the Hill's I/D-soft, hard, or mixed. I would give it to her, and instantly, get the "look" and it makes me feel so bad because I want to give her a food she loves and is healthy for her as well. I'm doing really good if I can get her to eat the Hill's I/D once a day, and if she does eat it it's just because she is starving and has no other options. She'll walk away from it time after time for an hour or so and sometimes she will go back and nibble at it but usually leaves it unless she has already missed a meal or two. After everything I have read online about Hill's dog food being full of fillers and other stuff dogs don't need, simply put, I don't want to feed it to my baby and I don't think my current vet is thinking of my baby Zoee's best interest. However, I am. I have since started mixing in the Natural Balance with the Hill's and it seems to be going a little better. I have also read Royal Canin may be another good choice....from what I have seen, their are LOTS of better choices than the Hill's and I want away from it at all costs as long as my baby doesn't get too sick. Thank you all again for all the help...I sure do appreciate it.

Josh

Hey Josh! I understand it can make you very worried to see your little one not eat. I know I wouldn't be comfortable doing nothing while my little one skips meals. :(

Another suggestion might be to get another vet's opinion. If you're uncomfortable with the decisions your current vet is making, and you feel that your current vet doesn't have Moxie's best interest in mind, it might be time to find recommendations for a new vet. one that will troubleshoot ideas with you on how to get Zoee to enjoy a food that is safe for her to eat. Hearing that she purposefully skips meals has me worried! Especially if you've seen she has a bigger appetite with a different food.

Prescription hills vs the regular non prescription is different but if she's no eating you might need to try a different prescription food for the same thing like Royal Canin.

When Sammy would not eat my vet recommended I called the company (science Hill). I spoke to a rep who gave me suggestions that would make sammy interested in the food but not compromise his health. One I remember was the water from a can of tuna -- I ate a lot of tuna sandwiches for a while:rolleyes: to get the water lol. There were other suggestions too.

I also got recipes for homecooking from a vet nutritionist --

About 3 months past my vet changed from science hill to royal canne and sammy did like it a bit better.