An alternative to hills prescription food

[Imdoingitnow]

Hi our Labrador puppy was put on hills prescription food zd after weeks of diarrhoea and digestive problems - he's been on it a month and it's turned things around - he's not had diarrhoea since and he eats his meals with gusto and he seems a happier calmer dog.

But a 10kg bag costs £94 from the vets!, eek!!- it's worth it to have a healthy happy dog and the vet has said we could keep him on this food indefinitely, but if we could find it cheaper we'd be happier.

Does anyone have any ideas or recommendations

Have you tried looking on ZooPlus?

My cat is on "prescription" food and it's much cheaper there than it is buying from the vet directly.

You'll get it a damn sight cheaper than that online, in the short term. If it's worked well, I'd be inclined to keep him on it for a wee while at least to let things settle.

Has the vet done any allergy tests? Assuming no specific allergies ... in the longer term, you could try VERY gradually adding something like Arden Grange Sensitive fish and potato, maybe, to see if you can switch him with no ill effects.

Thanks both of you.
@Whitney168 no allergy testing but one of the key ingredients in the hills zd is hydrolysed protein as protein is a trigger in young dogs with sensitive stomachs.

Hills z/d appears to be out of stock most places. Dont know if they are changing the formulation and that's why its in short supply

Zooplus says back in stock in November. It can be set to email you when it's back in stock

We've always fed burns - they have a sensitive version though I feed the fish one

Viovet have limited stock and it’s £65 for 10 kg .

Our older dog had pancreatitis and is prescribed a similar food made by Royal Canin. It is outrageously expensive but he loves it and is back to eating and feeling well.

It also gets bad reviews on the pet food sites which to be honest is now making me doubt the reviews and their basis.

We have tried a comparison of the ingredients of other premium but less expensive and apparently better foods, but they trigger problems again.

The only other one he loves and doesn't trigger him is Chappie. It gets even worse reviews.

I am telling you all this to suggest real caution in changing the food. I think it is the hydrolyzed protein also as it is easily digested.

Interestingly enough we have had shortages of the Royal Canin here too.

Buying it online will be much cheaper.

Purina HA is also hydrolyzed food

If you have a dog with gut issues I second not changing food if you have one your dog is ok on. You can spend lots of money and your dogs health can deteriorate in the trying.

If your dog needs hydrolyzed food chappie, burns, raw or main stream food will only upset them unfortunately.

@Floralnomad

Viovet have limited stock and it’s £65 for 10 kg .

Still says dispatched in 5-10 working days so it available immediately. Think the smaller bag was faster

We get another type of Hills pet food (c/d food) from Medicanimal. It's delivered every 6 weeks (14kg I think) automatically and costs about £50 - considerably cheaper than it was at the vets!

Royal Canin do a chicken and rice which might be suitable, but it's expensive.

Chappie do an extremely cheap one - so unless you need to avoid chicken give it a try. My friend who has a large breed dog with a very dickie tummy swears by it.

This site

www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk

has really good info about the ingredients and nutritional level of just about every dog food you can think of

Hydrolysed foods are a totally different class of food to a sensitive or chicken and rice formula. Their proteins and carbohydrates are broken down in to components far to small to cause allergic reaction. You can do food challenges once a dog has been stable on a hydrolysed diet, but these should be single ingredients to identify what they are sensitive too.
Food allergy blood testing is extremely unreliable and really not worth it at all.

We really rate Millies Wolfheart. We rotate the salmon and the turkey. The ones for more active dogs I find make the bowel movements to firm.

Our dog has IBD and was on the Hills ZD before having to move to the Hill ID low fat due to pancreatitis. Definitely cheaper online than at the vets - we get ours from Pet Drugs Online. I think we pay around £55 for a 12kg bag.

Raw feed!

My digestive issue dog is a new pup since.

www.bitiba.co.uk/shop/veterinary/dog_vet_food_supplements/hills_prescription_canine/zd/469711

10kg bag for £54.99 delivered.

I use this site to buy my cat her renal food. It was recommended to me by a vet nurse and their stuff comes in a LOT cheaper than the vet!

Thanks everyone. I've got lots to research

@BitchOfAnItch

Raw feed!

My digestive issue dog is a new pup since.

and would make a dog who needs a hydrolyzed diet extremely unwell.....

My girl has pancreatitis. She was on hills for a year & the insurers always paid up. But she hated it & put on loads of weight. She’s now on tails which she prefers & her weight has come down.

@dudsville

We really rate Millies Wolfheart. We rotate the salmon and the turkey. The ones for more active dogs I find make the bowel movements to firm.

We also feed Millie's Wolfheart. Our boy has a v sensitive stomach and is prone to pancreatitis - he was mostly better on the Hills prescription food, but since switching to Millie's (touch wood) he hasn't had another flare-up :)

Never, ever buy from the vet except in an emergency.

My dog is on Royal Cannin sensitivity food (chicken and rice) for her sensitive stomach, I buy it online from Pets at Home and it's nearly £1 cheaper a tin than the vet charges.

It keeps her stomach and weight stable and she really enjoys it. She's on it for life now and is thriving.

Update: DPup has been back to the vets this morning. His poos have go a bit loose and mucous -ey this weekend and. He woke me at 5 30 this morning desperate to go out and did about 4 runny poos and then he slept on his bed but he didn't seem himself. We're also a bit concerned by the colour as they're a very dark greenish black.

The vet did bloods and a stool sample. He's got antibiotics and something for gastritis in dogs. He's to stay on the hills prescription food and the probiotic granules It's now wait and see what the results say.

Sorry about typos. Sorry to go on about dog poos!!