Dog Food Prescription Diet

The dog food prescription diet was born almost 70 years ago when a veterinarian named Mark Morris, Sr. decided to change a sick dog’s diet instead of prescribing medication. The patient had a form of kidney disease, so Mr. Morris simply created a diet that would go easy on the dog’s kidneys. And guess what? It worked!

A dog food prescription diet, also called a “therapeutic” diet, is only available through your veterinarian and is used to treat a specific disease or disorder. It is often used in conjunction with other forms of holistic treatments to allow the dog’s body to naturally heal itself.

Common dog food therapeutic diet questions include:

Can a healthy dog eat them?
What conditions can be helped?
Which companies make them?
What form do they come in?

A prescription diet can be much more expensive than regular dog food, but it’s worth it! Look at it this way: What would you be spending on a prescription drug that may just be helping the symptoms and NOT the actual ailment?

You’ll know you’re looking at a dog food prescription product if the label explicitly states that it must be prescribed by a veterinarian. There’s no use looking in your local pet store, as you won’t be able to buy any without the involvement of your vet or animal hospital – and for good reason.

Can a Healthy Dog Eat a Dog Food Prescription Diet?

You should ONLY feed your dog a therapeutic diet if directed to do so by your vet and only for a prescribed Dog Food Prescription Diet amount of time. Therapeutic diets have different levels of nutrients than are needed by a typical dog, so feeding them to healthy dogs could throw their body out of whack.

For example, a vet may prescribe a low protein diet for an older dog suffering from kidney failure. If you were to feed that same diet to a growing puppy, it would be extremely detrimental as protein is the most important nutrient for proper growth.

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Conditions Helped by a Dog Food Therapeutic Diet

Age related disorders	Hypertension
Bladder health	Immune response
Blood glucose levels	Intestinal disorders
Blood pressure	Kidney conditions
Cancer	Limping or mobility problems
Dental hygiene (gum disease, plaque, tartar and fresh breath)	Liver problems
Diabetes	Renal disease
Digestive problems	Skin conditions
Food allergy and food intolerance	Urinary health
Healing	Weight control
Heart conditions	.

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Companies that Make Dog Food Prescription Diet Products

The three largest manufacturers of therapeutic diets for dogs are:

Hill’s Pet Nutrition is the largest– they call their brand “Prescription Diet”
Eukanuba Veterinary Diets (Iams Company)
Royal Canin Therapeutic Diets

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Types of Prescription Diet Products

Therapeutic diets come in canned, dry and biscuit forms.

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Back to Food and Treat Topics from Dog Food Prescription Diet

Dog Food Prescription Diet

Can a Healthy Dog Eat a Dog Food Prescription Diet?

Conditions Helped by a Dog Food Therapeutic Diet

Companies that Make Dog Food Prescription Diet Products

Types of Prescription Diet Products

Dog Food Prescription Diet References