Colitis / Hills ID food

So ever since we've had Zeus, we've always had problems with trying to find the perfect food for him and he's never sat right with anything.

Over this year, he's had Colitis and it's flared up a number of times (giving him really bad poos, he stops eating and seems to be in pain). Last week, we took him to the vets again, and they said the Colitis came back and suggested we move him onto 'Hills i/d Canine Gastrointestinal Health' dog food, which comes in wet and dry (http://www.hillspet.com/products/pd-canine-id-canine-gastrointestinal-health-canned.html).

Has anyone ever used this? Or does anyone have any experience with Colitis and have any other suggestions on how we can improve this condition?

Aww poor Zeus I hope he's feeling better soon, sorry I've no personal experience but I'm sure someone will pop along shortly who can help, I'm sure janeys Moo is on a hills diet but for her joints perhaps she can help.

I used it after Dempsey had his stomach operation and it was alright. It's a very bland food, so it's good for recovery, but in itself, it isn't a good food.

Have you thought about trying him on a raw diet?

Caryll wrote:I used it after Dempsey had his stomach operation and it was alright. It's a very bland food, so it's good for recovery, but in itself, it isn't a good food.

Have you thought about trying him on a raw diet?

I did have a look at the ingredients and there's so much in there, so wasn't too sure about it. However, the vets have nothing but good things to say about this.

I did think about a raw diet, as I've read on here a number of times that it solved many tummy/digestion problems. I just don't know where to start, how much it would cost, etc.

Janey, I understand you feed Moo with Hills. What do you think of it?

Yes Moo is on the JD diet for her arthritis and I really rate it, she has a great coat and whether it was the food or a mixture of supplements she hasn't limped since last year, her poos are always firm, not huge and she has a vast amount of energy (as do all staffs lol) it is a little pricey but it works for us

That's great, thanks. Think I'm going to try this as a last resort, if it doesn't sort his digestion/tummy problems out then my next step will be raw.

Just done some reading on Hills I/D and according to dogfoodanalysis.com, it states:

The main ingredient in this food is corn. Corn is a difficult to digest grain, which limits its nutritional value for dogs. We consider this to be a low quality ingredient. It is also commonly associated with allergy and skin problems. We prefer not to see this grain used in dog food. Corn appears on the ingredient list as corn gluten meal. This is the "dried residue from corn after the removal of the larger part of the starch and germ, and the separation of the bran by the process employed in the wet milling manufacture of corn starch or syrup, or by enzymatic treatment of the endosperm". In plain English, that which remains after all the nutritious bits have been removed. Brewers rice is a further low quality grain and by-product, as is egg product.
This food uses by-products as the sole meat-related ingredient. Chicken by-product meal - a very low quality ingredient. This is defined as "consisting of the ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs and intestines, exclusive of feathers, except in such amounts as might occur unavoidable in good processing practice".
Soy fibre is further filler. We prefer not to see the use of any form of soy in dog food as this is an ingredient of low quality and commonly causing allergy problems.
We note also the use of chemical preservatives - ethoxyquin. This chemicals is banned from use in human food due to being carcinogenic.

The one that scares me the most is the mention of ethoxyquin and that its carcinogenic (can cause cancer).

Janey, or anyone else, what do you think? I'm really trying to find a decent food for Zeus which will help his digestive/tummy problems but everytime I find something, somethings wrong with the ingredients.

As I said not all favour it but it has worked for us Xxx

We had a bad experience with colitis in our old boy Simba, please try NatureDiet this is a wet food not dry but completely cleared it up and he lived the rest of his long life on it with no problems whatsoever.

Thanks for your advice, Harry's mum. I've actually fed Naturediet as a mixer to Zeus in the past but not as a main meal. I've switched him onto Symply as I have met a number of people who said that when they switched their dogs onto Symply, they didn't have a flare up of Colitis. So fingers crossed, but Naturediet will be my next option!

Good luck hope you get it sorted:) 

I've actually just had a conversation elsewhere over the hills ID food which was prescribed for a dog with colitis, and they dog is now very ill and it has basically made all his symptoms worse. Owner is furious and taking the whole lot back.

Not the first time it's happened either....

I've just been told by my vet to try Purina EN or HA for colitis. I have ordered it but not tried it yet as his poos seem to not be too bad at the moment but if he gets another bout, I will try just for 8 weeks as recommended to see if it works. Only trouble is, my dog also has allergies (lots of ear infections if he is given anything with cereals etc in) so am reluctant to use this food due to low level of goodness in it and corn but I also can't see him upset with colitis. My vet said these two and one Hills product are the only three that are truly hypoallergenic. Most other brands say they are but not. These brands are apparently the only ones that have years of research behind them. Has anyone used this?