Science Diet Light Small Bites

[CarolC]

This may not be interesting to anyone but me, but anyway...for years I have posted how much I like Science Diet w/d dry kibbles for incontinent dogs. They like the food and it is low fat and generally healthy, and the stool quality is excellent and low odor for a dog who may be doodling in the house. I was in a situation this summer where I needed more dog food, and I was especially busy this summer, and sometimes my vet is out of the w/d. Or more accurately, they will only have the huge bags, which not only do not fit in my kibble container, but I do not want such a big bag open for a house with very small dogs because we don't use it that fast.

So I called Science Diet to see if they could recommend one of their store varieties that would be like w/d dry. They said they could not, as w/d is a prescription diet and there is nothing else like it. However, I am not using it for prescription purposes exactly, more for general health and stool quality, but they stuck to their script. I understand where they're coming from, but stil...

So I scoured their website, looking at ingredients in all their many varieties of dog kibble, and finally decided that, at least at the time I was doing the research (things do get reforumulated from time to time), the one that was closest to w/d dry was the Science Diet Light Small Bites. I tried it and am very happy. Number One, joy of joys, it has the tiny little kibbles (cat sized) that w/d USED to have (maybe back in the 90's?) before they enlarged them. That is great for tiny dogs and dogs missing teeth. The stool quality seems the same. The dogs like it. I think it is a little cheaper. And I don't have to keep making extra trips ("Come back Monday") to get the small bags of w/d at the vet when they are out and waiting for a delivery. I'm really happy with it, and am planning to transition to it as our main kibble. So I still recommend the w/d for incontinence, but the Light Small Bites is a great alternative for the reasons listed, especially if you used to like w/d better before the kibbles got so big.

[critters]

You might also find something comparable at PetSmart or even the grocery store that you may not need an Rx for. Glad you have an alternative, anyway! What a nuisance!

[Xkapuax]

because of this post i've been wondering about diet for my dog. i feed him Taste of the Wild brand and wondered if maybe i should switch him over to something that would help with his poop. he's been decent about pooping outside but sometimes when i work he'll poop and it's usually fairly.. sticky..

[CarolC]

You might want to ask the vet about it? In many cases I would say it would probably make life easier to switch him. On the other hand, he is recovering from FCE so hopefully his incontinence will begin to improve. But the other thing is, he is part Great Dane and they are more susceptible to bloat. Bloat can happen for unknown reasons, it is not fully understood, but it has sometimes been attributed to stress or diet in an attempt to explain it. So it might be good to ask the vet. Perhaps the vet would recommend a gradual transition. I would think this is something you could ask the vet without having to make an appointment. Since he was recently seen, the vet can probably advise you over the phone.

Were his stools soft on the Taste of the Wild when he used to go in the yard before?