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:
| 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 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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top)
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
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