hills i/d dog food

Question
QUESTION: Our vet has our dog on hills i/d canned for sensitive stomach. She is allergic to beef products..What would be a better food for her?? She seems to do well on it but I have read some alarming articles on this food and others.

ANSWER: Hi Charles,

Not sure what you mean by sensitive stomach - was there a specific diagnosis? Does she have diarrhea, vomiting - any other allergies? Intolerance? IBD?


Here are the ingredients in the i/d:

Ground Whole Grain Corn, Brewers Rice, Dried Egg Product, Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Pork Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Powdered Cellulose, Dicalcium Phosphate, Chicken Liver Flavor, Iodized Salt, Potassium Citrate, Choline Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Chloride, Dried Beet Pulp, Soybean Oil, vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Taurine, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Ethoxyquin (a preservative).

Not something you want to feed longterm, for sure.
This is jus a lower fat, bland diet with pretty dreadful ingredients; I'd suggest a home made diet, formulated for her needs. Is that an option for you, before I expand on the idea?

With some more information I can help a lot more.
Catherine

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: We know she does not do well with beef..She would go thru spells of not eating but would look for grass...and barf up the grass with yellow foam.About once a week.These spells usually lasted for a day and she would snap out of it.She has been on i/d for a couple of years..We also leave a small dish of Iams dry food..The vet has us feeding her two times a day with a late snack thinking she needed something on her stomach.She is doing well on this schedule but I am concerned about keeping her on the i/d canned food...Also want to change the Iams dry food to something better..Hope this helps you help me..Also would like to know about the Blue food..It sounds good!!

Answer
I'm not sure what the Blue food is?  Is this the Blue Buffalo?
http://www.bluebuff.com/

Some of the foods I like include Natural Balance, Innova, Canidae, Wellness, Fromm, Timberwolf Organics and Merrick's, but many of these may be too rich for your sensitive dog. Wellness makes a line called Simple Soultions that oculd be good for her, worth a try anyway!  www.oldmotherhubbard.com
California Naural make some excellent foods as well, you might take a look at some of them as well:
www.naturapet.com

I have very little to go on but I'm hoping this will get you looking into some premium foods, as both Science Diet and IAMs are very...problematic. :)
Catherine