Interesting statement about "prescription diets"

[AbbyK9]

I happened across this quote by chance (source below) -

Some, like the new y/d formulation, are billed as a “prescription diet," a marketing term trademarked by Hill's. Legally, there is no such thing as prescription food.

http://news.vin.com/VINNews.aspx?articleId=20102

[Rerun]

I can't answer to the truth of that statement, but I've often questioned it. I have wondered if it's a marketing technique to help the vets and the company make more of a profit. Although, I do have to wonder if people start self diagnosing and feeding a specialized "prescription" diet, if it would/could cause a negative impact on the dog. Setting aside the fact that the dog might not be receiving proper vet care for, say, a kidney problem, if your dog DIDN'T have a kidney problem, but you thought it did - would feeding the kidney diet cause it harm?

Regarding many vets selling things as "prescription" only, it's actually not the case. You CAN buy things like antibiotics, etc, from the US on sites such as amazon that are sold under different labels but do not require a prescription.

[msvette2u]

I don't believe all vets are that stupid or evil, I guess. SD isn't much of a company but I do believe they have certain formulations that are designed to help with certain illnesses.
But when one of our Dachshunds developed kidney failure (mild/early) due to ibuprofen toxicity, our vet simply recommended we use a good quality diet food. We chose Avoderm "lite" as it was 18% protein.

As far as harmful diets, people probably do it all the time without SD even being in the picture. They feed the wrong diet to growing puppies, or feed way too much food for the size of dog and activity level of the dog they are feeding.

Also to my knowledge, clinics keep the "prescription diets" back in the back, not out in the front for anyone to buy, and I've never seen it at the pet stores. That alone would reduce someone diagnosing their dog themselves (perhaps incorrectly) and purchasing a "prescription diet" for it.

[Rerun]

I don't see anyone saying vets are supid or evil, and where the diets are kept certainly depends on your vet. Both of the vets I go to have them out front on shelving units, and the petsmart here with a banfield vet clinic has an entire isle of the food (canned and dry) on store shelving near the vet. Of course, you need the "prescription" to purchase it, but it's there for everyone to see.

[Shaina]

Yes, Petsmart has the whole section for it - when you try to check out at the register it requires a card your vet gave you, which many people who try to buy it don't have (which is very frustrating to both the customer and the employee!). Used to work at Petsmart, blahblahblah.

[msvette2u]

That's interesting. In any of the clinics we have visited, if they sell SD, they have their plain or non-prescription diets out in the front but keep the others in the back.

Just curious though...since a vet is more likely to recommend a "bogus prescription diet" if you need one, what do you consider them?

[ponyfarm]

Just had this conversation with my vet as my dog is on the ID..and its helping him quite a bit. Anyway, the reason its called "prescription" has something to do with the amount charged and the sales tax. Not because a dog could overdose or something, like you might associate w/human prescription meds. Nothing really to do with the food..per se!