Skip to content

Royal Canin Early Cardiac prescription food

Basenji Feeding
  • Does anyone out there have experience with or knowledge of this prescription food? Our cardiologist just suggested this for the basenji we just rescued. She's been diagnosed with Pulmonic Valvular Stenosis and we inquired about a diet recommendation. Actually, what I had hoped for was some guidance in terms of what to look for - high in x, low in y, none of z. Instead I got a recommendation to put her on this prescription diet, and I was unable to get additional information including an indication of whether this food will make any significant difference to her prognosis.

    I'll do some research and compare the nutritional analysis of this food to some others, but I'd love some information from anyone who has experience with this. On the other hand, I'm hoping no one else has had to deal with this issue in their basenji…

    Thanks in advance for any information you can provide.

  • The product website gives information about what nutrients it uses and why they are supposed to be important for cardiac disease.

    http://www.royalcanin.us/products/productdetail.aspx?ID=67

  • Right now there is not enough basenjis in the OFA database for our breed to have statistics published.

    You may want to consider submitting an application for your girl, http://offa.org/cardappbw.pdf There is no charge for Affected dogs. It would help the breeding community get statistics so we know if it is a problem that we need to start checking for more regularly. You can choose to make the results public so others with related dogs know or to keep the results private but the data would be used to update the statistcs that we get on the breed overall.

  • Sorry to be so long in thanking you Ivoss. As you can imagine, I'm spending lots of time reading about this condition and treatment/diet options. Your help is much appreciated.

  • Here's some nutritional information as well if that helps:

    Ingredients:
    Rice, menhaden fish meal, chicken fat, rice gluten, chicken meal, cellulose powder, natural flavors, potassium chloride, fish oil, choline chloride, arginine, calcium carbonate, salt, taurine, vitamins [DL-alpha-tocopherol acetate (source of vitamin E), L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), niacin, biotin, riboflavin (vitamin B2), D-calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin A acetate, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid], L-carnitine, trace minerals [zinc oxide, ferrous sulfate, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, sodium selenite, calcium iodate], preserved with natural mixed tocopherols, rosemary extract, and citric acid.

    Guaranteed Analysis
    Crude Protein (min) 22%
    Crude Fat (min) 14%
    Crude Fiber (max) 5.6%
    Moisture (max) 10.5%

  • Thanks Wizard. From what I've read, the formula contains specific things that are meant to improve heart function in cases where the problem is less severe than the one we're dealing with. While it may not be the miracle we'd like to find, if it will give us more time with our sweet girl, I'm all for it. I've completely lost my heart to her in just a few weeks and I'm going to do all I can to keep her here and healthy for as long as possible.

    One concern I have is that the calorie count is low and the recommendation for her weight is 2.25 cups per day - that's a cup more than she's eating now. I'll have to monitor her weight carefully and watch for any weight loss. She's not an active girl, but I would like to put a bit of weight on her and I certainly don't want her to lose any.

  • I don't go by the bag recommendations, they usually aren't correct for most dogs, usually too much sometimes too little but rarely correct. Keep an eye on her and feed according to how she looks. If she is looking a bit thin add more if she is putting on weight cut back.

  • I agree with Lvoss - those are recommendations only you have to go by your breed, your dog. I fed my previous basenji a different version of Royal Canin and found I had to decrease the recommendation almost by half - he gained weight pretty quickly on it. So try it and make adjustments as necessary.

  • Thanks to you both, Ivoss and Wizard. This isn't my first basenji, but it's my first time with health issues like this. Ivy just came to me the weekend before Thanksgiving and she's a treasure - the sweetest little lady ever. I want to do the best I can by her and I want her to be with me for many years to come, despite the cardiologist's bleak prognosis.

Suggested Topics

  • Raw food

    Basenji Feeding
    28
    0 Votes
    28 Posts
    16k Views
    L
    We switched our 2 boys to raw from kibble about 6 months ago. The switch came because we were simply exhausted from walking them 3 times a day because they had loose stool (we don't have fenced in yard, so we need to walk them to go to the bathroom). Our vet recommended more fiber in their diet to help with loose stool. This intuitively just didn't resonate with us. Basenji are one of the most ancient breeds of dog… why on earth would more fiber be a solution to their problem (I know the theoretical why, but logically it was counter-intuitive)? We read many sources or literature on the raw diet and thought this would be a good switch for them. Again, they are an ancient breed so moving toward raw foods seemed appropriate and logical. It took that about a month for them to get really accustomed to eating raw chicken quarters, rabbit halves or pork shoulders but now they have no problem gulping their meal right down, bone and all (for those of you who don't feed raw, gulping is a normal behavior and bone is an essential part of the diet). Their digestion issues have vanished and we've even seen marked improvement in their destructive behavior. Two super happy boys now, two super happy Basenji owners!!
  • Dog food

    Basenji Feeding
    22
    0 Votes
    22 Posts
    20k Views
    kah211glhK
    I was feeding my Basenji brand blue and she started getting crystals in her kidneys. With the recommendation from my pet store owner (Pet Ranch), switched to Nature's Variety Instinct RAW. Withing 2 months…all crystals are gone. Now Basenji, Rotty, and Puppy Mastiff/Pitt all get Nature's Variety. Their coats are very shiney and teeth are so white.
  • "human" food or dog food?

    Basenji Feeding
    30
    0 Votes
    30 Posts
    17k Views
    P
    I once had a pup under treatment at the Bristol Veterinary hospital. When they finally sorted the problem I was told now you'll be able to give him real food meaning kibble!1 I always feed raw and whatever but never complete dog food. Having said that it seems that over here we get a new dog food manufactutrer every month and all claim that theirs is the best!!
  • Puppy Food

    Basenji Feeding
    3
    0 Votes
    3 Posts
    3k Views
    lvossL
    The biggest difference in most puppy foods and small breed foods is the fat and protein contents. I have one that needs the higher calories found in the small breed and puppy foods. If he has a sensitive stomach then you will need to transition very slowly to any new food and he may not transition to a new food.
  • What Food And How Much??

    Basenji Feeding
    22
    0 Votes
    22 Posts
    10k Views
    MacPackM
    Topper,12; Nicky 10, ; and Eddie 8 all eat a combination of 3/4 EVO by Innova, and 1/4 regular adult Innova. We free feed, dry kibble is down all the time, but I think I put about 3 cups out a day, some days they eat it all but some days I don't add kibble at all. Mine do get a bit of whatever we have for dinner, mostly veges, they love all veges as long as they are cooked, especially broccoli and sweet potatoes. IT acts as an appetizer, as soon as they finish their plates they run to the kibble bowls to finsih their dinner. We used cheaper grocery store foods for many years but I felt my dogs deseerved a better quality food so tried several premium brands and settled on Innova. Then when they came out with EVO, I slowly added that but when I went 100% EVO, their poops were a bit loose, so we re-added the regular Innova and it seems to suit them perfectly. Eddie's coat was very coarse when we rescued him, he is soft and silky now. Even though it costs about twice as much as the cheaper stuff, I know they are getting good nutrition and their coats glow and their teeth are clean, so it is worth every cent to me. We are what we eat, and if we eat 'animal by products' (hooves, bones, feathers and even sawdust in some) sprayed with flavors and dyed with food colorings, we may be saving money now, but inviting health probelms in the future. Just MHO, but strangers compliment my dogs on their gloss and vigor! Anne in Tampa, off the soapbox
  • Bad Foods…

    Basenji Feeding
    23
    0 Votes
    23 Posts
    15k Views
    B
    [image: 03.gif][image: 09.gif][image: 10.gif] Here's the link for them all. http://www.scaashanghai.org/funstuff_cleaner.shtml