# Alternative to Hills LD



## maria2day2003 (Oct 12, 2012)

I have a 3 yr old Maltese. Several months ago he had emergency surgery to remove bladder stones that completely blocked the flow of urine. Based on the type of stone, the vet said he had a liver shunt, and said the ONLY food on the planet that I can feed my dog is Hills Prescription LD. It is RIDICULOUSLY expensive. I love my dog dearly, but $60 for a 17 lb bag??? Does anyone know of an alternative?


----------



## boxerlover876 (Dec 31, 2011)

Thw first thing I thought of was either homecooking or raw.


----------



## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

Here is Monica Segal and Jean Dodd's liver diet. If this diet meets the same goals as the prescription diet I would use it in a flash!
http://www.monicasegal.com/liver-friendly-diet.html


----------



## Daenerys (Jul 30, 2011)

boxerlover876 said:


> Thw first thing I thought of was either homecooking or raw.


My dog Legend has a calcium oxalate bladder stone and this is what I do (raw). This type of stone requires surgery because it will not dissolve on it's own. If this is the type of stone that your dog had, check out this link: http://dogaware.com/articles/wdjcalciumoxalates.html

I chose to feed a raw meat diet because of the section at the bottom about low-oxalate foods. If your dog is at high risk for recurring stones, I might seriously consider the stuff mentioned under "supplements" and "Preventative medical treatment".


----------



## zhaor (Jul 2, 2009)

The idea with any of the hills prescription diets is to restrict certain nutrients to lower levels than what's normally found in dog foods. So logically the only alternatives are homemade diets where you can customize it however you want. Just so happens that proper homemade diets are also much much healthier than any hills product and probably cheaper since the prescription stuff is way overpriced.

That liver diet Kathyy listed would be a good place to start. It's nice that it meets the NRC minimum nutritional requirements.


----------



## shellbeme (Sep 9, 2010)

Hi there  I have a couple maltese myself! Love them to death!

When it comes to dogs with special dietary needs, personally, I would either stick with what the vet recommends (and you can always get a second opinion) or I would see a holistic vet to set up a home cooked diet. I would not try home cooking without some type of consultation, it's more than slapping a few ingredients together.


----------

