Dog food brand pusher?

Just a thought. When I took my little Reggie & Laci to the vet because of blood in their stools, the vet did tests but she also took them off the Royal Canin and Nutro Natural Choice Puppy Bites that I had them on and put them on Science Diet. She has lots of displays with Science Diet products in her waiting room and even sells it to the public. Could she have done this just because she's getting a commission on the sales from Science Diet? Or do you think she really feels it's a better product? I must be sounding suspicious icon_nwunsure ??? I do like my vet. She came highly recommended and each time I take the pups to her with a problem, there is genuine concern and she does run tests that seem appropriate. They have not been very excited to eat lately, so I changed them back to Nutro alone. They are eating better, BUT they still have blood ocassionally. The breeder told me to feed them a tablespoonful of pumpkin a day and this would make their poo harder and get rid of the blood. I just started it yesterday so there hasn't been enough time to tell.

Help again!h*lp

Pumpkin is a nice to feed -- lots of roughage and it can help with diarrhea -- but I don;t think blood in stools is generally due to stools being too soft (especially not in young dogs!). Plus the kibble you have been feeding is good quality and would provide plenty of roughage. Some dogs just get a bit of blood in their poops and sometimes in the first year or so then their stomachs seem to get a lot less sensitive (we have lots of members whose puppies have all sorts of problems with eating and the runs and generlly it fades away as they get older).

Blood can be due to so many different things. It should always be checked by a vet but most vets will note that sometimes, dogs just have a bit of blood and it isn't a major concern. Same wth cats. I have a dog and a cat that both get upset stomachs from time to time and both occasionally have a small bit of blood in their stools and the vet says some are just like this.

You are right in guessing the vets get commissions off science diet -- they do. But Science Diet make regular foods as well as special dietary foods. If your vet prescribed a special diet by Hills, then maybe that would be appropriate to whatever she was concerned about? Otherwise I cannot see any benefit to Hills over Nutro or Royal Canin and indeed the ingredients list is generally considered to be a bit inferior. Hills isn't the worst thing to feed but a lot of us feel it is very expensive for so-so quality.

My vets will also sometimes advocate Hills for this or that -- which I politely say no to. Some vets are encouraged to actively sell the food, too.

To be honest though the 'big commissions on Hills' that some claim vets get simply is not true. I know from dealing with some wholesalers that one area where any retailer does NOT make much money is kibble. The markup is actually very small for a lot of foods. It definitely isn't a big profit item. But it does bring some extra cash in of course!

The pumpkin is doing quite a trick! I haven't seen blood in their stools for days! cl*p Laci's poo has definitely even bulked up, but there are times it is still very soft, mostly right after she eats. Reggie's cough, however, is getting worse. I'll post the rest of that with the other thread I started.
Thanks!