The combined characteristics of PRO-VET ULTIMATE makes this ration useful in the treatment of various canine disorders. Food hypersensitivity and atopy often co-exist in dogs and it is difficult to distinguish definitively between the two conditions. PRO-VET ULTIMATE makes it possible to treat both patients with food hypersensitivity and those with atopy.
Chopping proteins into smaller peptide fragments decreases their antigenicity. This principle extends to dogs with food hypersensitivity. Dogs with hypersensitivity towards soy protein developed pruritis upon ingesting the intact protein, but did not do so with hydrolysed soy protein.
PRO-VET ULTIMATE is hypoallergenic diet which contains hydrolyzed proteins which have been used as an elimination diet. So far elimination diets with hydrolyzed and parent proteins have not been compared directly, but based on data for elimination diets with intact and hydrolyzed proteins it could be suggested that hypoallergenic diets as PRO-VET ULTIMATE with hydrolyzed proteins is more effective than those with intact proteins in the management of food hypersensitivity.

Atopy and food hypersensitivity often go hand in hand and have similar clinical signs, but skin disorders caused by inhaled allergens will not react to hypoallergenic protein sources. The treatment of atopic dermatitis involves the suppression of chronic inflammatory reactions in the skin. PRO-VET ULTIMATE contents eicosanoids formed from di-homo-gamma linolenic acid and from eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) so that PRO-VET ULTIMATE has an anti-inflammatory properties.

Double blind, placebo-controlled experiments by dogs with atopic dermatitis have shown that supplements of both borage oil, which is rich in gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) and fish oil, which is rich in EPA, lower the severity of pruritis, erythema and self-trauma. Good results have been obtained with a diet rich in both fish oil and borage oil. PRO-VET ULTIMATE contains about 0.5% borage oil and 5% fish oil. The efficiancy of PRO-VET ULTIMATE was tested in four clinics using a double blind, placebo-controlled design. After 10 weeks on the diet, the scores for pruritis and erythema had decreased to about half, while the control treatment had no influence. According to the owners the diet had improved skin condition by 60% of the dogs. Clearly, a substantial number of the patients with atopic dermatitis will improve after feeding PRO-VET ULTIMATE enriched with suitable amounts of fish oil and borage oil. However, there will be great differences in individual responsiveness.

By dogs with idiopathic chronic colitis or inflammatory bowel disease, the feeding of a hypoallergenic diet as PRO-VET ULTIMATE based on a hydrolyzed protein source caused a significant decrease in clinical signs. Ingestion of fish oil may be expected to further improve the clinical condition through its anti-inflammatory activity. By humans with ulcerative colitis such a positive effect has been demonstrated.

In patients with heart failure the development of anorexia and cachexia probably is mediated by increased levels TNF and IL-1 in the blood. A placebo-controlled study in dogs with heart failure showed that dietary fish oil lowered the plasma concentrations of TNF and IL-1 and counteracted cachexia. The amount of fish oil administered was equivalent to 1.3% in a dry food.

Dogs are able to synthesize taurine, but a deficiency may develop through a metabolic disorder in combination with low intake. Dogs are also able to synthesize carnitine, but analogous to taurine deficiency, a carnitine deficiency can also develop. Dogs with cardiomyopathy associated with a low carnitine concentration in heart muscle may show improvement after carnitine supplementation. In a randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind study it was shown that heart function and survival of dogs with cardiomyopathy and low plasma levels of taurine had improved after supplementation of a combination of taurine and carnitine. Using PRO-VET ULTIMATE all patients could successfully be weaned off medication. To treat cardiomyopathy, the appropriate doses of taurine and L-carnitine in a dry diet appear to be 0.15 and 0.075%, respectively present in PRO-VET ULTIMATE.