Hill's Science Diet K/D Dry Dog Kibble

$90 for a 40 pound bag now.

It was about $45 for the 40 pound bag late last fall.

Damn.

My cat was on it for awhile. It was filled with absolute junk, and it turned my previously skinny cat fat.

for dogs with renal disease. It is low fat, low sodium, low protein, low phosphorous and ph controlled. Renal dogs are notoriously finicky eaters and often have to be enticed to eat.

My dog was a renal failure dog at five months of age. One vet recommended at the time that he be euthanized. His best prognosis was "wait and see."

We have tried a variety of foods including other prescription diets, some organic diets, home cooked and human grade foods, and even some raw foods. He does best by far on the K/D.

He has eaten the K/D for the past several years and during that time all of his blood values have been within normal range. That was not true with most of the other diets we tried. For treats he gets things like apple slices and baby carrots which he loves. He's really doing pretty good for a senior dog who easily could have been euthanized as a pup.

I guess I'll figure out a way to eat cheaper so he can have the food he needs.

My cat was on a Hill's prescription food for IBS, which he never had before eating recalled Nutro a couple years ago. He ended up doing better on Evo, and it has cleaner ingredients.

My dog has done very well on the K/D. He has not done so well on the other diets we have tried.

We have tried a variety of foods including other prescription diets, some organic diets, home cooked and human grade foods, and even some raw foods. He does best by far on the K/D.

Most dogs do not show signs of kidney disease until over 70% of their kidney function has been permanently lost. The diets which are formulated for them are medically necessary. They are ph controlled because of the tendency of renal dogs to become acidic. They have very low levels of phosphorous because phosphorous has been shown to cause additional loss of kidney function in renal compromised animals. Protein levels can cause higher BUN. Sodium cause water retention which requires the kidneys to work harder.

I'd be delighted to try some more of the organic diets - PROVIDED they were formulated for renal dogs. That means they need to be low sodium, reduced protein, very low phosphorous and ph controlled. There are very few organic diets that are formulated to meet even a few of the dietary requirements of renal dogs. Apparently, the makers of these organic foods are ignorant of the potential market for organic prescription diets.

A "cleaner" organic diet which does not provide what is medically required is not an improvement. In some ways it's like saying that candy made from raw sugar is better for a diabetic than a chef salad.

I wonder what the cause is. I use Nutro Lamb and Rice and the price of that has held steady. Agway has it for 439 for 40 lbs

They are not the best quality pet food. They give a lot of money to vet schools and supply the vet practices with lots of free samples. Ask the vet if he would feed it to his own dog.

There are better quality foods, but they are pricey...but considering what you are paying for Science Diet, they may not be that much more.

The only actual food in that is egg white and pork liver.

Ingredients:
Water, egg white, corn starch, pork liver, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols, and citric acid), sucrose, flaxseed, dried whey, chicken liver flavor, caramel color, taurine, minerals (calcium carbonate, calcium sulfate, potassium chloride, magnesium oxide, salt, ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), beta-carotene, vitamins (choline chloride, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, ascorbic acid (a source of vitamin C), thiamine mononitrate, niacin, calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement).


http://www.hillspet.nl/adult/products/product.aspx?pid=89&packform=Can&sc_lang=en-GB

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http://www.pet-grub.com/pet-health/chronic-renal-failure.pets

I feed the dry kibble not the canned stuff to which you linked.

The ingredients are:
"Brewers Rice, Pork Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Dried Egg Product, Flaxseed, Corn Gluten Meal, Chicken Liver Flavor, Powdered Cellulose, Calcium Carbonate, Dried Beet Pulp, L-Lysine, Potassium Chloride, Potassium Citrate, 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), Choline Chloride, Iodized Salt, Calcium Sulfate, Vitamin E Supplement, L-Threonine, Taurine, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), L-Tryptophan, Magnesium Oxide, preserved with Mixed Tocopherols & Citric Acid, Beta-Carotene, Rosemary Extract."



BTW, my vet does feed Science Diet to her own dogs - and as I have mentioned several times I have tried multiple other diets with my dog including homecooked human grade and raw foods, organic foods and other prescription diets. Part of the issue is feeding the food that maintains the best renal function. For us that is the k/d supplemented with some raw fruits and veggies and a few things like vanilla wafers and various carbohydrate items.