How to get dog to eat prescription food?

Question

My chihuahua was just diagnosed with kidney stones. Aside from the surgical option, my vet said that some types of kidney stones can be dissolved in 3-6 months by eating only Hill Prescription Diet S/D. I served it to my dog today, but he will not eat it. I feel sad for him, because he is signaling to me that he wants to eat, but he will not touch this food. I normally serve him regular dry kibble daily and small amounts of wet Beneful a few times per week. This prescription food is canned, but it looks dry and gross with no texture. Any ideas on how I can get him to eat it, or do I just need to make him "starve" until he is desperate enough to eat?

Answer 1

Unfortunately, s/d is not the most palatable diet from Hills. However, it is important that you stick with the prescription food - it is a prescription and contrary to what most people on here think, if there is proof (ie. radiographs) then your doctor is doing what is best for the pet not looking for some kickback (Hills doesn't having a kick back for putting an animal on a prescription diet, or any real kick backs that I know about).



You probably do need to slowly introduct the food and not just give the s/d. Most likely, you can not add anything after you've made the switch (ie the gravy someone else mentioned) because the food works by altering the pH of your dog's urine to desolve the crystals. Adding other things to the diet unfortunately can make it so the food isn't working at all and surgery will become your only option. Make the transition over a week and if you are still having problems, here are a few options.



1. Ask your vet about another diet. Hills is only one of three (I don't count the Iams/Eukanuba brand since not many vets carry these prescription diets) prescription diets. Purina and Royal Canin both make urinary stone disolving diets. I, personally, see a lot of success from Royal Canin's Urinary SO. Your dog may accept one of these better than s/d.



2. There is a homemade version of s/d. You'll have to ask your veterinarian (or email me if he/she doesn't have it and you have to choose this route) for the recipe, but there is a home made diet version of s/d that your dog may take better. The recipe is made by Hills to mirror the action of s/d. They have a lot of home cooking recipes for thier prescription diets which is very useful for a picky eating dog.



3. Go to surgery. Your vet didn't just look at your dog and say, hey, I'll make some money and sell this food because I can. Your vet found a legitamate problem and has given you your options: a prescription food or surgery. I'll admit some vets are all about making money off the client, but this is the same path we offer our clients so its not like its uncommon. (This is pretty much written towards all these people on here who think the vet is the devil)



I hope you can get your dog to eat the food and that it works for you. I've seen some remarkable results with using a stone desolving food so it is definately worth the effort so keep trying. BTW, in case someone suggests this, there is no kibble form of s/d, only canned. Good luck!



PS. remember to measure the number of weeks the dr. wanted your dog on the food starting when your dog is completely on the diet, not including the days you transition. also, treats are a big no no on these prescription diets because they can counteract the food! so you'll need to get him on the diet and nothing else.

Answer 2

Most of the time it is recommended that you make the transition between foods over a few days. So maybe start with most of his normal food, and add a little of the prescription food, and slowly increase the amount of prescription food until it is all of what he gets.



Many animals don't like abrupt changes to their daily food (If you were used to eating lots of meat, and then someone decided you needed to lay off the meat and only eat high fiber foods, you probably wouldn't be all that happy about it, especially if you didn't understand the rationale of it being medically necessary).



This is also the best way to introduce any new food to minimize disruptions in your pet's GI-tract.

Answer 3

I'm going to assume she gave him Hills Science Diet I/D food, that's usually what my vet recommends when my dog has gastroenteritis. Did your vet rule out a parasite? Worms? Giardia? Parvo? Let's hope she did, in this instance I personally would boil white rice and boneless skinless chicken, cool them down and mix pieces of boiled chicken in with the white rice, this is very bland and even a dog not well will eat this. Then I suggest you add in a few tablespoons of 100% pure canned pumpkin, if it's not stress related it will clear up his diarrhea. Remember, he could have diarrhea due to the stress of a new home and environment. The best thing you can do is make sure that you put this dog on a schedule so he knows what to expect on a daily basis it'll help settle him in quicker, having an erratic schedule will stress him more and then it's nearly impossible to clear up the diarrhea. If you find the pumpkin doesn't clear his diarrhea then you will know that it's stress related and you'll have to adjust accordingly. In the meantime the white rice and boiled chicken will help put something in his stomach, once he starts eating again transition in the dry kibble slowly until he's back to eating regular kibble. Good luck

Answer 4

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Answer 5

I've had experience with that and feel the same way about having to serve it to my dog. I guess it's "tough love" that we do it for our dogs.



There are some dog "gravies" that you can puy at PetsMart that you can pour over it.



As your vet if it's ok to mix a small (small!) amount of another regular (non-prescription) Science diet wet food with it to make it more tasty.

Answer 6

I havent known too many dogs that WOULD eat that crap. It is MY belief that vets push it off on their cleints because they sell it right there in the clinic and get a kick-back for doing so. My vet suggested that my dog would eat it "as soon as she gets hungry enough". Well, my dog was in kidney dysfunction and making her starve in order to force her onto Science Diet could have been detrimental to her health. There was no way in hell I was going to starve my dog just so she'll eat what he sells. If it were ME, I would toss the Science Diet. Kidney stones often begin with inflammatory bowel disease because the intestines are unnable to absorb and eliminate calcium and other minerals that form the stones. My dog was also small and I gave her Pepcid (under a vets order) 10mg once a day to ease the IBD. Then I fed her a diet of cooked chicken (shredded). Sweet potatoes and canned (but unspiced) pumpkin are also good for IBD. Anyway, limit his calcium and sodium intake and, if you dont want to try the cooked chicken diet, consult with your vet about another alternative food. My vet tried to tell me there is no alternative to Science Diet and wouldnt listen to me when I told him my dog wouldnt eat it. She once went 3 days without eating a single bite before I finally got pissed at my vet for trying to make it MY fault. He kept saying it was good stuff but I kept telling him it isnt "good" if she wont eat it!! I've only known ONE dog that ever ate that stuff and he was a laborador that would eat ANYTHING. Good luck.

Answer 7

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Answer 8

Add a little warm water to make it softer,when he's hungry he will eat it,he will not starve he will let you think he will.The food a better option then surgery.Hang in there he will eat.

Answer 9

it depends...