5 Things to Know When Feeding Your Dog Hill’s Prescription Diet
The Importance of Precisely Balanced Nutrition for Dogs
Balanced nutrition is vital to the overall health and development of dogs, regardless of their age, size, breed, or health status. At K9Reproduction, we understand that pets with certain health conditions can benefit from specialized nutritional support offered by Hill's Prescription Diet portfolio.
How Hill's Prescription Diet Dog Food Works
The Hill's Prescription Diet brand includes foods aimed at helping veterinarians manage a range of health conditions for dogs (and cats). Our Prescription Diet foods have undergone extensive testing to ensure they meet the nutritional requirements for the specific health condition(s) they are recommended for.
Nutrition can play a crucial role in managing certain conditions. Some examples include:
Gastrointestinal issues: For symptoms such as soft stools or vomiting.
Skin or food allergies: For symptoms associated with environmental or food sensitivities.
Weight management: For pets diagnosed as overweight or obese.
Joint health: For symptoms like slowing down on stairs or not jumping onto the couch.
Oral care: For symptoms like bad breath or tartar on the teeth.
Aging: For symptoms consistent with age-related behavior changes, like pacing more at night or seeming more disoriented.
Your veterinarian plays an important role in recognizing subtle conditions that can benefit from therapeutic nutrition.
How Veterinarians Use Body Condition Scores for Dogs
Veterinarians check their patients’ body condition scores almost every time they see them. Monitoring for changes in both a dog’s weight and body condition score provides vets with more information than either measure does by itself.
Your Vet Can Determine If Your Dog Needs a Hill's Prescription Diet
To determine if your pet should eat a Hill's Prescription Diet food, your vet will start with a thorough physical exam and ask you questions about your dog’s lifestyle and behaviors.
After the exam, they may recommend additional diagnostics (such as blood work, cytology, urinalysis, or diagnostic imaging) to help properly diagnose your pet and rule out other conditions. This will help your vet formulate a comprehensive care plan, including a nutritional recommendation.
Hill's Prescription Diet and Obesity in Dogs
When it comes to weight loss, it’s important to look at everything the pet is eating during the day. The easiest place to start is cutting out any extra calories like treats and table scraps.
However, most pets that are carrying excess weight do not benefit from caloric restriction from treats alone. In fact, just feeding a pet a smaller amount (or fewer calories) of their normal food is not recommended and may lead to nutritional deficiencies.
Several Hill's Prescription Diet foods are specifically formulated to help your pet lose weight. Wherever you see “Metabolic” or “+ Metabolic,” this means that the food contains our synergistic blend of fibers from fruits and vegetables that activates the body’s natural ability to burn excess fat rather than store it.
This means that your pup’s metabolism will act more like the metabolism of a lean pet while ensuring that their nutritional and caloric needs are being met.
Results with Hill's Prescription Diet
Every pet and health condition is unique and may respond differently when fed Prescription Diet foods. However, Hill's performs extensive research and clinical studies to create specific and relevant product claims for Prescription Diet products.
Always talk to your veterinarian about their expectations and any important milestones to look for when giving your pet a Prescription Diet food.
Work with Your Veterinarian When Introducing a Hill's Prescription Diet
It’s important to work closely with your veterinarian when switching your pup to a new food. Your veterinarian will help you determine how much your pet should eat based on the specific food and your pet's ideal weight and lifestyle. You’ll work together to create a feeding transition plan prior to switching to the new food.
It’s important that the feeding transition is slow and gradual to ensure that your pet will eat the new food and reduce the chances of any GI upset. We recommend seven to 10 days to fully transition to the new food—but for pickier patients, it may take longer.
Therapeutic nutrition can play an important role in managing your pet’s health. These foods have undergone extensive testing to ensure that they are precisely balanced and are an appropriate part of your veterinarian's treatment plan to manage your pet’s health condition.
Since these foods are only fed under the recommendation of your veterinarian, be sure to ask at your next appointment if Hill's Prescription Diet product is right for your pet.
Hill's Prescription Diet FAQs
Do I need a prescription for Hill's Prescription Diet? Prescription Diet foods do not require a traditional prescription, but they do require a recommendation and approval from a licensed veterinarian. Schedule an appointment to ask your veterinarian to assess your pet’s health and nutritional needs.
How long can a dog be on Hill's Prescription Diet? Your veterinarian will advise what feeding plan is best for your pet’s nutritional needs. The majority of Prescription Diet products are suitable for long-term feeding.
How long does it take for Hill's Prescription Diet to work in a dog? Every pet and health condition is unique and may respond differently when fed Prescription Diet foods. However, Hill's performs extensive research and clinical studies to help demonstrate the efficacy of many Prescription Diet products.
Always talk to your veterinarian about their expectations and any important milestones to look for when feeding a Prescription Diet food.
My pet is picky. Can I mix in other foods with the Prescription Diet food? Never feed or supplement other foods without checking with your veterinarian first. When your pet is eating a Prescription Diet, it is important to feed only that food for optimal compliance with your veterinarian’s treatment plan.
If you’re worried that your pet will crave more variety, talk to your veterinarian about what other flavor or form options (such as dry, stew, or pâté) are available.
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