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Vet authorized diets are typically needed only when a pet has specific health issues, but learning about how they're different from "normal" foods can help you be a more well-rounded pet parent.
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I would try hills z/d ultra or royal canin anallergenic (an even more restricted version). Ensure also she is not receiving any additional treats, flavored tablets, bones, table scraps or raiding any garbage bins. She may also require prescription medication to resolve the current flare up. A home prepared diet may be an option but would have to be formulated with the help of an expert nutritionalist and can only comprise of novel ingredients (foods she has never eaten before such as kangaroo/venison/sweet potato etc - these are very difficult to supplement sufficiently and are very expensive to maintain in the long term)
Updated on August 12th, 2025
Thank you for submitting your question regarding Grandpaw. All prescription diets need to be prescribed by veterinarians. They are specially formulated for medical conditions. There are specific cases in whichh they can and cannot be feed. For example, a prescription kidney diet will be restricted in protein levels. This would not be appropriate for a young growing puppy. Prescription urinary diet are generally high in fat and salt. This can be contraindicated in patients with heart disease or a history of pancreatitis. These diets do not contain drugs, but are used to treat specific medical conditions. I hope this information helps!
Updated on August 12th, 2025
Prescription diet A/D is high in calories so it may not be the most suitable diet for long term. You have to monitor Coco's weight to determine when this food needs to be discontinued. Also it isn't necessarily a puppy food, so it's best to go back to his normal large breed puppy diet primarily and then if you want to mix in just a few tablespoons of the A/D to keep him interested, that may be completely fine until he reaches sexual maturity and no longer has high calorie food demands, which is typically around 8-12 months of age in large breed dogs. I hope this helps!
Updated on August 12th, 2025
If you are buying the prescription diet directly from your vet I would recommend looking at an online pet pharmacy to see if they carry the food. Often times these places can offer bulk discounts to purchasing cans and may also have a lower price available than your vet can offer. Your vet can send in the prescription for you so that you can then purchases there. Some other brands such as Royal Canin, Eukanuba and Pro Plan also offer prescription urinary diets so if Science Diet is too expensive, you may want to price shop and see if the other prescriptions available would work.
Updated on August 12th, 2025
The best type of food for a dog with food allergies would be a prescription hypoallergenic diet such as Purina HA or Hills z/d - these are diets that are specially formulated to avoid any proteins that can cause an allergic response, and can be ordered online with a prescription from your veterinarian. If you need an over-the-counter option, some dogs with food allergies do well on Natural Balance limited ingredient diets - these don't work as consistently as prescription diets do, but are often less expensive so can be a reasonable alternative option if needed due to cost.
Updated on August 12th, 2025