# Problems with Purina EN and looking for alternatives



## iamslotman (Jan 8, 2013)

hello.... I am new to this site and would like some advice regarding our dogs diet. Cody is a 3 year old large chocolate lab. He unfortunately got into the trash after hurricane sandy caused us to discard all food contents and we learned weeks later that a toothpick had punctured his intestines. Thanks to a fantastic vet he was saved by removing 2' of his intestines but I was told he would have to stay on canned purina en for life. Two problems we are facing is the cost of the food ( it's about $28 for 12 cans, and more importantly the noxious odors Cody emits all day and night. It's been a month and I hoped he would adjust but he can empty a room at any moment. He gets about 2 1/2 cans a day and he always seems starving following us with those hunger eyes. I have his mom here too and a large back yard so I haven't seen what his stool is like when he goes out. I am hoping to find a less expensive food that he can digest easily with less gas side effects. thank you for caring.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

Well that is a fairly low fat and low fiber food. It uses coconut oil for a lot of the fat and has high amounts of fish oil and added zinc.
http://www.purinaveterinarydiets.com/Product/ENGastroentericDogFood.aspx

If you found a simple canned food with low fiber and fat you could supplement with some coconut and fish oil. Or perhaps a kibble that is soaked so it is soft would work.

All that is if he truly cannot go back to normal food. Usually they can do just fine on normal food after surgery.


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## WestieLove (Jan 29, 2012)

Sounds like he was a very lucky boy. I can see why your veterinarian wants him on a food that'll be easily digested and less likely to upset his system. The high protein grain-free diets that are normally recommended around here are probably going to cause him a lot of GI upset... just a heads up if that's what your looking to try... 

Try talking with your veterinarian about Medi-cal Gastro low fat OR Hill's I/D. Its an similar food to the Purina EN. Personally, I've never had trouble when feeding the Medical Gastro Low fat (dry and canned formulas) and its the one I prefer to use. I prefer Medi-cal/Royal Canin to other veterinary brands. You can ask about wetting down dry food to make it into a mash as this may be more cost effective for a big lab. 

However, $2.30 is not unreasonable cost per can but I can understand that gets costly feeding a larger size dog. He is a lab and they love to eat... he'll probably always look at you with hunger eyes. As long as he's not underweight/loosing weight he is fine! 

Fallow him around and see what his stools look like but those are some alternatives you can discuss with your veterinarian. There should be no problem having them order in one of those formulas for you if they don't already carry them.


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## iamslotman (Jan 8, 2013)

thank you all for the care and the fast answers. Cody is indeed lucky we found such a great animal hospital. (Grady Animal Hospital, Sayville NY). We only had met them because we did some volunteer work with Hurricane Sandy relief and he donated a large storage area for sorting food and clothing donations. Sometimes you feel the aura of good people and it was closer to home than our usual vet so we tried them because Cody was so weak. X-rays showed nothing wrong and what started as a basic look-see surgury turned into over a 3 hour procedure. Dr. Mark ended up removing all his intestines and removed 2' of dead intestines and reconnected the good ends. The toothpick had punctured him twice and in the 2 weeks until we noticed his illness, toxins had leaked and loads of scar tissue built up. He cleared his work day and stayed with Cody along with his wife and young child way past business hours till the anestesia wore off and Cody could go home. I think many other hospitals would have put him down. To top that, he capped his bill at the original surgery estimate and gave me a payment plan that was great. Anyone on Long Island that wants a great vet should look them up. So, Cody is now back to full crazyness and along with his mom ( who we rescued a year after we rescued Cody (newborn) (she was returned to the shelter because she escaped often) so now we have a mother and child reunion and somehow she is half his size but looks identical. Dr mark suggested we keep him for life on the Purina EN because he fears more scar tissue buildup or kinks in his tract and this is easily digestable. Poor dogs stomach squeals all the time and he seems to enjoy emptying a room at his discrection. We also have a pro-biotic treat he gets everyday to help suppliment his digestion. I am hoping to find a different food that he can digest with less side effects and less cost. Besides Cody and Brandy, we have a rescued SunDance the cat and Katie and Polly (pot bellied pigs) so we have a large feed bill. The Royal Canin is $32/12 cans so that would be more expensive. I don't mean to sound cheap, but my wife works while I am on disability and I wouldn't do anything with food to endanger Codys health and all of Dr Marks hard work. Maybe I could compromise and find a dry low fiber low fat food that I could moisten as you suggested and use that in a 50/50 mix with the EN so he gets less side effects? I will call around today. thanks again


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## Hambonez (Mar 17, 2012)

EN does come in a dry food - so maybe it would be an option to split the food 50/50 dry and wet? Two of my cats eat Rx food for urinary crystals, and the cat food is about $2 a can too, so I get you on cost! It's junk too, but it's better than another urinary obstruction, so we go with it. You might also want to shop around to lower the bill - the markup on that food is pretty high, and around here, there is a SIGNIFICANT difference if I buy it at my old vet v. my new vet. (Old vet is like $20 less for cans/bag of dry - so I make a special trip)

For digestion - I wonder if something like Prozyme would help with the digestion issue? It's digestive enzymes (designed for animals!) that you stir into the food like 15 minutes before feeding it and it starts to break it down so it's easier to digest. I had a cat with pancreatitis and it was one of the things we did to make food easier on his belly.


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## iamslotman (Jan 8, 2013)

this is a short video of Cody and his mom Brandy reuniting after a year


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## RedGermanPinscher (Jun 22, 2012)

May be something like California Naturals might help, alot of their formulas seem to be Low in fat & fiber.. http://www.californianaturalpet.com/products

Great video!!!!


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## WestieLove (Jan 29, 2012)

Ask your veterinarian about feeding a wetted down dry food (Purina EN, Medical Gastro, Hills I/D). This would probably make a dry food, even Rx, cheaper to feed. You can also shop around to different veterinarians for price.


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## Judy2Day (Jan 19, 2013)

We have started feeding a food called 4 Health which can be purchased from Tractor Supply Co. Our dogs coats are beautiful, and they love it. Has anyone else tried 4 Health?


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