Alternative to Hill's Prescription Diet W/D for dogs?

Question

My vet is recommending that I feed my 13 year old, 70 lb dog Hill's Prescription Diet W/D because my dog has a high level of fat in her blood and crystals in her urine. That food is pretty pricey, so I'm wondering if there's a less expensive food that would address those problems. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Answer 1

Science Diet is NOT a substitute for w/d. Like the other poster said, there are other brands of prescription diets, but all are expensive. I had a Newf on w/d for FIVE years and I don't want to know what I spent total. But, it WORKS.

Last I knew w/d had a LOT of peanut hulls in it. Does that make it a bad food? No. Does it make the vet bad because they prescribe these offds? No. These foods are for SPECIFIC conditions, not for general feeding. People can lay off the "vet kick-backs" and "corn rant" now. These diets have let a lot of animals live a more normal life and have their purpose.

For some conditions, the 17% cellulose is the KEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is NOT found in other foods!!!

Answer 2

Think about this for a moment, a vet is paid royalties to encourage people to buy these expensive brands like Hills Prescription Diet. Ask your vet what the first ingredient is in the food? Is it corn? Have you ever seen a dog or a wolf grazing in a corn field? NO! They are meat eaters! Look into a NATURAL raw diet. I guarantee your dog will loose the fat and be healthier!! Besides that it is way cheaper than all of these commercial foods! Just check it out! Also if you are not comfortable feeding raw meat try Natural Balance. You can find it at Pets Mart

Answer 3

W/d is a great diet for what it sounds like your dog needs it for, there are other brands for this problem but they are pricey too. If you feed science diet properly, then it doesn't take very long to resolve your dogs problems and you can switch to one of their other diets. If your dog has crystals and is overweight, it will cost alot more in vet bills if you don't address her problems sooner than later. A diet change sounds cheaper to me than trying to maintain long term health issues when they can't be maintained by diet anymore

Answer 4

Any prescription food is always expensive, there are two other brands to look into that may or may not be cheaper. There is Purina OM and there are a few different foods by a place called Royal Canin (No E on the end)formally known as IVD. other than that you might be s.o.l. Sorry.

Answer 5

the ingredients in WD
Ground Whole Grain Corn, Powdered Cellulose 17.1% (source of fiber), Chicken by-product Meal, Chicken Liver Flavor, Soybean Mill Run, Corn Gluten Meal, Soybean Oil, Dried Beet Pulp, Soybean Meal, Iron Oxide, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Sulfate, L-Lysine, Vitamin E Supplement, Choline Chloride, vitamins (L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), preserved with BHT, BHA and Ethoxyquin, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Taurine, L-Carnitine, L-Tryptophan, Beta-Carotene.

you might notice that these are the exact same ingredients in all their other products... prescripotion and regular...

what i would suggest is look for a brand called california natural, its a chicken and rice based kibble with very minimal ingredients while still being well rounded, its a high quality kibble, but most places it costs much less than the perscription diets that the vet gets paid to push.

ideally for a dog in yours condition you want a bland diet of chicken and rice with the nessicary multivits, and LOW sodium.

good luck


as a side note:
dogs cant digest corn, it comes out the same way it goes in, in small amounts corn is fine as added fiber but has NO nutirtional advantage in a kibble, if its anywhere in the first 10 ingredients you might as well be feeding your dog cardboard...
chicken "biproduct meal" is boild feet, beaks and feathers, with any other "not fit for human consuption" thrown in...its then boild and ground up (the meal part)
your dog food should NOT contain biproducts, chicken, or chicken meal is fine by chicken byproduct meal is translated into english as "all the crap we couldnt sell"

your paying big bucks for cardboard...the only difference between WD and regular hills foods is the added chicken liver and added celulose (fiber) both or shich are easy to add yourself to any kibble that dont have them already.

Answer 6

science diet. =]
i feed my dog this, and she is in nice condition. the food u now need is going to be pricey. science diet is pricey, but at least ur dog will be better. =] hope this helps!