# Royal Canin......should I be worried?



## pippersmom (May 21, 2012)

I've been doing a lot of reading about this brand of food because the nutritionist put Pipper on the Royal Canin weight control temporarily until she figures out exactly the best option to feed him to help prevent more bladder stones. She believes a prescription diet will be better than home cooked. I know a lot of vets will recommend the Royal Canin urinary SO. I found this web site with complaints about Royal Canin and I don't know what to think. Is this site for real? It has me scared. 

Top 136 Complaints and Reviews about Royal Canin Pet Foods


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## Chardy (Oct 30, 2008)

If you are interested there is a yahoo group that is called k9kidneyDIETgroup that has a ton of information regarding oxalate stones and diets. The founder of the "Fuzzer Diet" owns the group. It is very well moderated and has a wealth of information.


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## shellbeme (Mar 1, 2011)

I do not like royal can in, I do not care for their business practices or the direction they want to go. That said, I do not give a hill of beans about that website. That website puts up a front like it is some kind of official entity and it is nothing. I give zero credit to that website and its contributors. I would check the fda and BBB websites if I wanted input like that.

If I had a dog with a special need I would likely do as the nutritionist advises, and I might also see if I can get the opinion of a holistic nutritionist as well. 

There is nothing wrong at all with you sticking with royal canin if that is what you and your nutritionist decide is best.


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## maggieh (Dec 16, 2007)

I don't know about the complaints, but look at the ingredients - brewers rice and corn are the first two ingredients and salt is high up on the list. 

If you look at the vet literature very closely, there's no research that says this is a magic formula for urinary problems. So, my dog with a history of crystals, including Ca Ox gets lower protein (addiction), grain free, lots of water, and Tonkle Tonic once a month. We had a urinalysis done Monday as part of her annual wellness Check and no crystals of any kind. 

I will not use a prescription diet - I would take the medical records to a nutritionist and get a custom diet to home cook before feeding the RC.


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

If you don't want to feed it, then tell the nutritionist to formulate a diet or refer you to someone who can. There is NO reason to force you into feeding a commercial food. 

That said I feed Royal Canin and have for many years. Roo does GREAT on the SO.


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## Chardy (Oct 30, 2008)

This is a very good article and has some information you asked about

DogAware.com Articles: Calcium Oxalate Stones


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## Madeleinesmommy (Nov 30, 2012)

I honestly haven't had a great experience with RC urinary C/D food. Our one dog had so many tummy issues on it like the worst gas and diarrhea ever.


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## harrysmom (Sep 28, 2007)

My dogs have been on Royal Canin hepatic for several years. I feed the food as a supplement to a homemade recipe that was developed by a nutritionist. My bunch has done extremely well on the food and they all seem to love it. In my opinion, you do what you think works for you and what you feel comfortable with. For us, it's the best option.


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## Ann Mother (Dec 18, 2013)

There have been lots of complaining about their dog food. But it is worse for their cat food. They have some controversial ingredients in their food. I would rather make food which I can guarantee the ingredients for peace of minds sake.


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## edelweiss (Apr 23, 2010)

harrysmom said:


> My dogs have been on Royal Canin hepatic for several years. I feed the food as a supplement to a homemade recipe that was developed by a nutritionist. My bunch has done extremely well on the food and they all seem to love it. In my opinion, you do what you think works for you and what you feel comfortable with. For us, it's the best option.


:aktion033::aktion033:
:goodpost:


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## edelweiss (Apr 23, 2010)

Ann Mother said:


> There have been lots of complaining about their dog food. But it is worse for their cat food. They have some controversial ingredients in their food. I would rather make food which I can guarantee the ingredients for peace of minds sake.
> 
> If you are going to make food, please be certain it is nutritionally sound for the medical issue you are facing. It is best to work in conjunction w. a qualified nutritionalist in such cases.


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## pippersmom (May 21, 2012)

edelweiss said:


> Ann Mother said:
> 
> 
> > There have been lots of complaining about their dog food. But it is worse for their cat food. They have some controversial ingredients in their food. I would rather make food which I can guarantee the ingredients for peace of minds sake.
> ...


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## aksm4 (Nov 28, 2011)

Becky was diagnosed with Liver shunt and is doing great on Royal Canin Hepatic .....


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## wkomorow (Aug 26, 2011)

Kathy, ultimately you need to decide what you are comfortable with. The truth is that nutrition is in its infancy as a discipline , and each day recommendations for what is best and what is not changes. Furthermore, each dog is different and responds differently to various food. If you look around you will see that there are complaints of one type or another about any food. Some dogs do well with dairy and with grain, as do some humans, other dogs not so well. Some dogs love peanuts, other are allergic, just like humans. A one size fits all just doesn't work. With a special needs dog, you try to find a routine that works and each day you hope and pray some little thing does not come along to upset things. 

RC has been in the news lately because of less than stellar activities in the Ukraine and in Russia. As a company, they have not show compassion or a sense of corporate responsibility expected from a North American company. It bothers me that I need to use RC hepatic. However, Lucky has THRIVED on RC hepatic. I went from one sick dog to a robust (maybe too robust - he is getting a little chubby), energetic, and playful dog, whow gobbles down his food each day. He get 1/3 cup each day and I supplement with dairy, grains, and veggies. I have tried other foods and they just do not work for him.

Good luck.


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## edelweiss (Apr 23, 2010)

I have hear nothing negative about RC hepatic---in fact, quite the opposite. It may not be the SM fav but it is well received by people who have used this particular one. I even know of one breeder who feeds w/RC---so as Walter & Deb said, go for what is right for you!


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## pippersmom (May 21, 2012)

Ok I am so happy to hear that lots of people here are using Royal Canin with no problem. I am just assuming thats what Pipper will be put on since he is temporarily on the RC weight control. We use canned and add extra water to it so that he is getting water since he drinks very little. He LOVES it. I am also giving him ( on the advice of nutritionist ) cantalope and honey dew melon for treats and I put pureed melon mixed with water and frozen into tiny ice cubes into his kong for him. He loves this too. The nutritionist is also working out a diet with more fruits and veggies that are low oxalate. 

So do you think these bad reviews about making dogs sick aren't true. I probably need to learn not to believe everything I read.


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## shellbeme (Mar 1, 2011)

pippersmom said:


> Ok I am so happy to hear that lots of people here are using Royal Canin with no problem. I am just assuming thats what Pipper will be put on since he is temporarily on the RC weight control. We use canned and add extra water to it so that he is getting water since he drinks very little. He LOVES it. I am also giving him ( on the advice of nutritionist ) cantalope and honey dew melon for treats and I put pureed melon mixed with water and frozen into tiny ice cubes into his kong for him. He loves this too. The nutritionist is also working out a diet with more fruits and veggies that are low oxalate.
> 
> So do you think these bad reviews about making dogs sick aren't true. I probably need to learn not to believe everything I read.



I have come to realize that we can't believe everything we read. I am not certain any of the reviews on those websites are real. What I have also found is 99% of the 'OMG This food made my dog sick!' posts turn out to be unrelated to the dog food in the end. So honestly, we should stop running every time one single person has an issue-and trust what results we see in our own homes. There is also the added fact that dog food may effect one dog differently then it does another.


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## mss (Mar 1, 2006)

My larger Malt (or mix--not sure), Butchie, has been on Royal Canin SO for over a year. He doesn't seem to have any bad effects from it. As far as its effectiveness against calcium oxalate, he had some crystals on a recent exam, up from zero last year, so I have re-started adding more distilled water to the kibble in hopes that the additional fluid will help.


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## elly (Sep 11, 2006)

My Ellie who had liver disease was on Hills L/d and K/d and did very well. She started having issues with her pancreas do to her liver so I had to contact UC Davis to formulate a special food to meet her unique needs. Home cooking worked well for a while but she was a very sick dog. If what you are feeding is working I would go with that. Right I am struggling with canine caviar. Do not like how the company is handling what happened to Marg but Edgar and Mercedes need a low protein food and they are are both doing well on the special needs.


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## elly (Sep 11, 2006)

shellbeme said:


> I have come to realize that we can't believe everything we read. I am not certain any of the reviews on those websites are real. What I have also found is 99% of the 'OMG This food made my dog sick!' posts turn out to be unrelated to the dog food in the end. So honestly, we should stop running every time one single person has an issue-and trust what results we see in our own homes. There is also the added fact that dog food may effect one dog differently then it does another.


I agree:thumbsup:


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