Spoiler alert...the answer is no. Prescription dog food is expensive. Despite the cost, it's really not much different than non-prescription kibble. Neither are a good choice if you want your dog to live the longest and happiest life possible.
Kibble does not actually meet the nutrient needs of dogs. Dogs are descendants of wolves and have 42 teeth designed to survive and eat prey not pellets. Think about it, if dogs lived in the wild, they would survive by being an omnivore - eating other animals and plants. If we try to replicate this ancestral diet that, the closest we can get is feeding raw or home-cooking, both are superior options to kibble, especially if your dog has been prescribed a prescription.
Although very convenient and affordable, It is highly processed and made literally by the truckload, also giving it a very long shelf life. It is produced at extremely high temperatures in facilities that are not well-regulated. Even scarier, any kind of food that is prepared like that at really high temperatures (think barbecuing, grilling, roasting, baking, frying, sautéing, broiling, searing, and toasting) contain high levels of AGEs, or advanced glycation end products, compounds formed in the body when fat and protein combine with sugar. When these AGEs accumulate in high levels, they increase the risk of many diseases, cause inflammation in the body and quite simply cannot be properly digested, creating even more inflammation, which creates sickness. Learn more about AGEs here.
Prescription kibble is made the same way as typical kibble and made with similar nutrient-less ingredients.
Let's look at the ingredients in. Hill's Science Diet Adult Small Bites Chicken & Barley Recipe Dry Dog Food. The cost is about $75 a 35lb bag.
Here are the problems:
- Cracked Barley, Whole Grain Wheat, Whole Grain Sorghum, Brewer's Rice: These are highly refined grains that spike blood sugar. Frequent blood sugar spikes (like at each meal), create insulin resistance and inflammation and can cause diabetes.
- Whole Grain Corn, Corn Gluten Meal: Corn is genetically modified and also a carbohydrate, which combined with the other grains further contributes to insulin resistance and inflammation.
- Chicken Liver Flavor, Pork Flavor: This is not actually liver, which would be very healthy. It is some mystery flavor of chicken and pork that manufacturers are not required to specify. These are typically highly processed.
- Soybean Oil: This is a refined seed oil that is high in Omega 6, which will create inflammation in the body.
- Dried Beet Pulp: This is a by-product of sugar beets and is highly processed and genetically modified.
- Remaining Ingredients: Vitamins and chemicals that have been added to the food because the way it is processed literally strips the food of all nutrients.
Now let's take a look at the ingredients in prescription Hill's Digestive Care. It costs about $115 for a 27.5lb bag.
Here are the problems:
- Brewer's Rice: This is listed first, which means there is a significant amount of it in there. It is a carbohydrate and highly refined, which will spike blood sugar and create inflammation and disease over time.
- Whole Grain Corn & Corn Gluten Meal: Corn is genetically modified and also very high in carbohydrates, which will spike blood sugar
- Chicken Meal, Egg Product, Chicken Fat: These are not the highest quality protein sources and certainly not what nature intended to optimize digestion
- Chicken Liver Flavor, Pork Liver Flavor: This is not actually liver, which would be very healthy. It is some mystery flavor of chicken and pork that manufacturers are not required to specify. These are typically highly processed.
- Soybean Oil: This is a refined seed oil that is high in Omega 6, which will create inflammation in the body.
- Dried Beet Pulp: This is a by-product of sugar beets and is highly processed and genetically modified.
- Remaining Ingredients:. Vitamins and chemicals that have been added to the food because the way it is processed literally strips the food of all nutrients.
Unfortunately, there isn't much difference in terms of ingredients between your typical kibble and prescription kibble. There is no way the Digestive Care blend will actually fix digestive issues, because their ingredients are the same as regular kibble, which are extremely inflammatory and fail to meet the nutritional needs of dogs. If you are going to feed kibble, you may as well feed non-prescription and save a few bucks.
Kibble, prescription or not, will not create a healthy dog. If your dog is chronically ill, feed raw or home-cooked. Work with an integrative veterinary who will help you identify and heal the root cause, instead of prescription kibble that will cost you more money and not work.
So if your dog eats kibble, it is a great time to change their diet. If feeding raw is too expensive, try feeding a home-cooked diet. Please click here to learn more about what to feed your dog. If your dog is sick and you need some guidance on helping them feel better, please visit Bobzilla's Happy, Healthy Life Made Simple.