Proper pet nutrition is more than just diet choices for the healthy pet. It’s even more important to properly feed the sick pet or those with chronic diseases. What you put in your pet’s food bowl can help, or harm his ability to cope with illness.
Peek into your average veterinary office and you’ll likely
find one or more brands of therapeutic diets- foods created to manage pet
specific pet health conditions. Veterinarians prescribe therapeutic diets to help
pets with kidney disease, diabetes, pancreatitis, weight loss or heart disease.
Special digestive diets may focus on hypoallergenic ingredients, fiber content
or fat levels. Some diets prevent or
dissolve mineralized stones in the urinary bladder. There are even diets to
keep the spring in your arthritic dog’s step, and diets to aid in treating pets
with cancer.
The grandfather of veterinary nutrition was Dr. Morris who in
1940 designed a diet to improve longevity of his dog, Buddy, who was a
seeing-eye dog battling kidney disease. His efforts led to the introduction to
Hill’s K/D diet, a favorite diet used today for dogs and cats with kidney
dysfunction. Today many more diets and conditions are addressed by companies
such as Science Diet, Royal Canin, Purina and Iams.
As a veterinarian I recognize the value that therapeutic
diets lend to managing my patients’ health. But my strongest testament to their
value is as a doggie momma who feeds a therapeutic diet to my own dog, Magnum.
My Labrador Magnum suffers from food allergies with frequent
facial skin infections, bad skin odor, scratching, and unpleasant gastrointestinal
signs with diarrhea and flatulence. After several diet trials with various hypoallergenic
diet approaches, he now thrives on a rabbit based therapeutic diet by Royal
Canin. His doggie kisses are sweeter smelling now, he’s content, and he isn’t a
walking gaseous explosion anymore.
But be prepared to dig deeper in your wallet for therapeutic
diets. The research behind these foods will cost the consumer more than average
pet foods. Just look at the example of Magnum’s food- this diet runs $86 for a
25 pound bag of dry food. This sure isn’t cheap. But the investment can pay off
in lower medical costs and fewer veterinary visits, justifying the additional
cost. In Magnum’s case, we are able to
avoid continued treatment of skin infections, thereby avoiding medication use, and
he is spared incessant itching.
Some pet owners turn to home cooked diets in order to avoid the
costs of therapeutic diets. Without guidance and veterinary nutrition analysis,
pet owners may risk shortchanging their pet’s nutrition. One research study
identified that over 90% of home prepared diets for sick pets failed to be
nutritionally adequate. Quality ingredients aren’t cheap and a well-produced
home cooked diet often ends up costing far more to prepare than commercially
produced therapeutic diets.
If your veterinarian recommends nutritional management with
a therapeutic diet, discuss all the options with your doctor. Inquire about
different brands and sizes of food packages available as many options are
available. Get your money’s worth on these diets by following your veterinarian’s
recommendations. Avoid mixing therapeutic diets with regular foods- this only hinders
your pet’s results and give you a false sense of saving money by making the
food last longer.
As for Magnum, I choose to feed him his therapeutic diet and
avoid popping pills into him. That’s my gauge of a therapeutic diet success- food
that serves like medicine in the doggie bowl, but without the hassles.
