hills z/d ultra - Page 1

have people had a lot of success on hills z/d ultra when every other hypoallergenic limited ingredient or grain free, pre/pro biotic and enzyme enzyme supplements did not work?

There appears to be only 4 real ingredients, Starch? Starch of what plant? That is important.
Answer below

Ingredients

Starch, Hydrolyzed Chicken Liver, Soybean Oil (preserved with BHA, propyl gallate and citric acid), Hydrolyzed Chicken, Powdered Cellulose, Lactic Acid, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Glyceryl Monostearate, Potassium Chloride, Iodized Salt, Choline Chloride, vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), DL-Methionine, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Taurine, preserved with Mixed Tocopherols & Citric Acid, Rosemary Extract, Beta-Carotene.

Actually i found a different listing of products for same food,
Ingredients:
Dried Potato Product, Hydrolyzed Chicken Liver, Potato Starch, Soybean Oil (preserved with BHA, propyl gallate and citric acid), Hydrolyzed Chicken, Powdered Cellulose, Calcium Sulfate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Glyceryl Monostearate, Iodized Salt, Choline Chloride, vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Calcium Carbonate, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), DL-Methionine, Taurine, Ethoxyquin (a preservative), Beta-Carotene.

So this is bacically Potato, Chicken, Soybean oil and cellulose (Sawdust)
Here's a review i found on this product
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php?product=1078&cat=7

This is an extremely low nutrient food relying on potato by-products to hold it together and hydrolyzed chicken liver/chicken as the primary source of nutrition. Soybean oil provides a small amount of additional low quality protein. We note, however, that soy is one of the most common causes of food allergies in dogs and in this instance is preserved with a chemical (BHA) that is believed to be carcinogenic.


Powdered cellulose is filler - better known as sawdust. The food uses a further chemical preservative, ethoxyquin, which is banned from use in human food due to the belief that it is carcinogenic.


Overall, this is a very low quality product. It is a prescription food that is not intended for long term use and does not have a macronutrient content adequate for adult maintenance. For food allergies and intolerance, there are far superior mainstream products available - without the accompanying chemicals.
Hope this helps
Fry

why is it so expensive and why does every vet i talk to claim it works so well? I agree the ingrediant is garbage.

Hills makes Science Diet, which is, in my opinion, the worst food you can feed your dog.

My moms Golden was on SD, and taking her OFF of it actually SOLVED her skin issues.

it sure wouldn't work for one of mine........who is terribly allergic to chicken.  :(
pjp

Destiny, what's the problem with the dog? Gimme the long version. Email if you want- that way I can attach some of my bookmarks easier. Tell me what the issue is, how/when it started, and what all you have tried. Tell me stuff that you think doesn't even matter. Sometimes you miss things when you're too close to the situation that can more easily be seen by an outsider looking at the situation w/a fresh mind and no preconceived notions. 

"why is it so expensive and why does every vet i talk to claim it works so well? I agree the ingrediant is garbage."
Because Hills Supports the vet schools and give them added incentives to offer their products that caused the problems in the first place.
That would be like Renolds selling Marlbro cigs to you and then selling "Healthy cancer curing cigs" to you after you start having problems.
My vet and i would "Discuss" "the merrits of this very pratice" when i worked for him. But he needed a way to help pets with problems and "Prescription foods" are one of the ways they have come up with to help pets. Seems like double dipping to me.
Fry

Coupled with the fact that it tastes lousy too, if most dogs are to be
believed !!!   I asked similar questions about Hills on another thred
recently.

Would have thought that plain ol' DIY  chicken n white rice could be 
just as effective in most cases needing a non-allergenic gastric
'holiday';   if the rice is too much 'grain',  use some boiled mashed
potatoes instead.

My experience with Hills z/d Ultra

my working dog was imported from Germany by the US government.  He spent about 7 months in the kennels at Lackland AFB before he began his training and when he was assigned to me, he was about 70 lbs.  He was working dog lean and right about 2 years old.  Over the next 4 years, I struggled with his weight and persistent vomiting and his intermittent diarrhea.  Under the care of my general practitioner veterinarian (who also saw all our other departmental dogs), we did every diet trial under the sun to try to eliminate possible allergens.  We tried metronidazole, tylan powder, probiotics, acidophilus and low doses of prednisone in 1 month trials, but nobody ever suggested raw.

We eventually made our way to UC Davis veterinary hospital on a referral to a specialist.  My vet suspected Inflamatory Bowel Disease but the only way to know for sure was to look inside.  UC Davis did Lapriscopic exploriation of his GI tract and found ulcers all throughout- from his esophagus to the lower intestines.  UC Davis gave him a difinitive diagnosis of IBD and he was prescribed Hills z/d Ultra and daily doses of prednisone. 

The day I brought him home from UC Davis, he weighed 61 lbs.    He was retired due to the illness.  My general practioner vet felt that the daily stressors of him going to work, exassorbated his IBD problem (I wholeheartedly agreed).

It was explained to me that his body rejected the protiens in the foods he ate.  Each new diet trial we did worked for a week or two but eventually the old symptoms resurfaced. His body was literally rejecting any nutrient he ate.  The z/d is basically pre digested protiens- broken down in a laboratory environment (this is likely where the cost comes in).  The protiens are broken down to their lowest molecular level and then put toether into a kibble so that it can be mass produced for dogs with such needs.  My dog lived on this diet for a year. ONE WHOLE YEAR.  along with daily doses of prednisone.  He looked awful, his coat was dry and brittle but he did maintain a better weight, stopped throwing up and his diarrhea subsided. 

I could hardly stand to see him look so bad.  If you saw him, you would think he was an old dog.  So, I did another trial on my own. 

After a year, I titrated him off of the prednizone and I slowly began to incorporate raw meats into his diet. He tolerated it very well.  I slowly increased the amounts of raw and lowered the amount of z/d.  Now, well over year after his coming off prednisone. I no longer feed him z/d at all.  He is fed a completely raw diet.  His coat is smooth and silky, he has normal stools and does not vomit and best of all, he weighs about 78-80 lbs.  He looks, acts and feels better than ever.   

My opinion of z/d ultra.

It worked when nothing else I tried did.  Of course the higher doses of prednisone contributed to its success also.  It is worth a try.

Camilla

Destiny4u,

I would take Jenny up on her offer to help.  She has helped me out more than once with diet/health issues.

Darcy