Is Science Diet OK? Trying to decide on the best dry dog food.

[littlelizzy]

I have been feeding Science Diet to Lizzy & Cutter for years, but now I am wondering if I should change. After watching the Newlyweds tonight I saw that Jessica Simpsons dog trainer told her not to feed anything with corn product. Of course that is the first ingredient in Science Diet. Just wondering what others are using, and any opinions on Science Diet would be great.

[orinskye]

didnt know she had a dog???? anyways, i feed toby eukanuba petit, i think corn is like the 4th ort 5th ingrediant though..... any thoughts on eukanuba while we are asking questions about food?

[Bentley'sMom]

I have friends who have done a lot of research on dog food and this is what they tell me. A lot of dogs are allergic to corn, wheat, and soy (corn being the most likely) so you should try to avoid these ingredients. The primary ingredient should be a "meal" (such as "lamb meal"), not a byproduct. I wouldn't ever get a food that has chicken in it unless it is organic (no chemicals). Apparently most chicken farms have so many chickens that they can't keep track of the ones that are sick so they just put antibiotics in all of the feed. This means that the chicken ends up being full of chemicals that aren't good for us to eat. We humans also eat these chemicals, but we only have chicken a couple of times a week so it is not enough to do any damage. A dog, on the other hand, usually eats their food multiple times a day and having these chemicals in their system can eat away at their stomach lining and cause damage (sorry I can't remember what kind of damage). I feed Bentley Solid Gold brand food. The natural store that I purchase it at also carries California Natural, Eagle, Prairie, and Innova, which are also good brands. Hope this helps, I am just starting to learn about all of this myself

[Chelsie1978]

I used to give mine science diet,but it gave them gasses,it was awful Now they are on Eukanuba small and proplan.I mix them together and they LOVE it.Also,their poop smelled TERRIBLE whilst they were on science diet..all in all it was a smelly experience..lol.

[Babbie]

You can also offer the lamb and rice formula! Science Diet, Eukanuba and Nutro have it (that i know of)

[lickthestar]

I feed Archie Neura 95% Lamb wet food. I can get this one at Petco, and He LOVES it. It's 95% human-grade lamb, and 5% vitamins and minerals. All his friends who come to visit (Boxy (pomeranian) and Zelda (beagle mix)) come over and just eat his food. Not only that...the cats from next door come over and eat it too! For dry food, we give him Eukanuba Petit, which he likes to munch on sometimes. I also give him Innova Dry food sometimes. I'd rather him eat the Innova, but he's used to the Eukanuba since he was a baby so it's hard to wean him off of it. Plus, it's in tiny bits while the Innova is big triangles.

I recommend the following foods, which Archie has liked and is good for him:

- Innova (probably the best stuff you can get your dog. The dry and wet food are the same ingredients so you can save $ by feeding your dog the dry and just mix with a bit of water)
- California Natural (same company as Innova, but you can get lamb and rice),
- Neura 95% (which is what Archie eats now comes in lamb, beef, turkey, chicken, veal and puppy formula all with or without brown rice. There are absolutely no fillers in this),
- Wellness (same company as Neura, but Archie doesn't like the texture of it. It feels a little bit more watery and Archie likes his food in chunks. Wellness has different flavors like duck, fish, venison, all of which Archie is not really used to eating. He likes beef and lamb),
- Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lover's Soul (great stuff with loads of vegetables, etc. Slightly expensive, though, and I found a little harder to buy in bulk)
- Merrick (probably EVERY dog's favorite. The meals are human grade and smell good. The only downside is that it's extremely rich for a little dog. These come in great flavors like Wingaling which has bone marrow, Mediterranean Banquet which is lamb chunks, chick peas, apples, etc. in a lamb sauce) Again, this is slightly expensive, but I saw the dry foods now too.

All the brands I have listed have no fillers like corn, soy, etc. and the meat they use is human grade. I read and researched so many dog foods when I first got Archie and I went to every pet health food store in town to get him the best stuff. Also, when you feed your dog the good stuff, they tend to eat less of it than they would the other stuff, so you're really spending the same amount.

P.S., I would not feed my dog Eukanuba wet food because that contains by products and "meal" as the first ingredients.

[feminvstr]

If you read their ingredients it is just a fancy expensive package for cheap dog food....by product and corn are two of their main additives which are the things you should stay away from.

I use Royal Canine puppy food until my yorkies are two years old then change to Royal Canine yorkshire terrier...it has been made specially for them!

I was talking to NuVet the other day funny she said the reason Science diet is sold in all vet offices is because they make money off the product and make money on the vet care needed for the animals that eats it.

Kimberly

[lucynfred]

I use Science Diet, actually, for all my dogs, but Luca Dean is given meat baby food, Nutrical and a vitamin E supplement as well. The baby food adds more good, highly digestible protein. my other two are larger mixed breeds. They have the glossiest coats you could ask for and no poo problems. Nor are they allergic to the corn. Since there's no problem, I don't try to fix it. They get a lot of table scrap "supplements" too though. And Dermacaps, a vitamin E and cod liver oil supplement. I think the dog food conundrum depends a lot on how much you are willing to spend for a high protein, low-by product food or how willing you are to supplement. Science Diet is highly palatable to my pets, and that's a top priority. I'd rather supplement with stuff that's affordable and that I control -- chicken, eggs, vitamin E, Nutrical, some olive oil and vegetables sometimes -- this gives my animals more variety along with their standard, everyday food. It is good to avoid corn in general though. It doesn't add a lot of what a dog needs -- which is mainly digestible protein and quality fat products. That's my two cents worth -- hope it makes sense.

[shireyak]

I too have done much research on corn.....not the best choice. I give gracie Authority lamb and rice dry ( I get it at Petsmart) It's made with real lamb and contains NO corn, and No animal by-products. She loves it. I had a hard time finding a puppy chow that had lamb, rice and no corn, no by-products, and was highly-digestible and contains antioxidants and Omega fatty acids for coat.........I'm sold on this product.........and it's very small kibble to boot

[shireyak]

I also supplement with many vegetables (she begs for carrots and green beans), and give her the occasional boiled chicken meat, cheese, etc. I like to keep her diet varied oh, I almost forgot........Authority liver treats

[littlelizzy]

I started my dogs on the Science Diet because that is what my Vet pushed on me. I am starting to realize that it was most likely to help pad his wallet. He also told me I should not buy from pet stores because there dog food is not as fresh as his.
I am so glad that I have found this website. It is so refreshing to get advice from people who are only trying to do what is best for their dog, not make a profit. This was my first post and I just wanted to say thank yall so much for all of the great advice. I will be reading all of the older threads in hopes of expanding my knowledge on Yorkies. I will also be making a trip to my local Petco to check out some of the different foods that have been recomended.
Thanks again,
Kim

[yorkipower]

My recommendation is to get a hold on the Whole Dog Journal's (go to their website) annual ranking of dog food. They are an indpendant journal that does a testing of all major commerical dog foods every year. They look for whole foods, no- by products, and a number of other critiera. I buy dog food based on thier rankings and my own research (I've read some books on dog nutrition). I also rotate dog foods because I've come to the beleif that no single dog food can be "complete" and feeding one food for a long time can result in too high levels of some vitamins and minerals while not enough of others. It makes sense. Chicken is a different form of protien than meat. Each animal has a differnet source of nutriants and a different metablism. Natually, nutrition from a chicken product is going to be different(not better or worse, just different) than one from a meat product. Anyhow, here are foods I have given my dogs that both they and I like:

Merrik (dogs love this one but a bit high in fat)
Azmira
Wysong
Solid Gold
Newman's Own Organic
Royal Canin (I find this is a very fatty food so I feed it sparingly)
Pinnicle
Natures Variety
Wellness

Lickthestar has recommended a number of great foods!

I do not feed Eukanuba, Science Diet, IAMS, MIghty Dog, Benefial (or any other Purina product) but I'll let the surveys of Whole Dog Journal explain since it's too long an explanation for a post! lol.

[yorkipower]

Hey guys who shop at petco and petsmart - just a tip

There are a number of internet dog food companies that are MUCH cheaper and have a much bigger selection. I use http://www.petfooddirect.com
They have a number of ultra premium dog foods that petco and petsmart do not carry and even with the shipping, they come out to be much cheaper than either of those two stores. Plus, there's the added conveniance of having the food delivered straight to your home (you can even have it arranged to be shipped automatically each month).

Another option - Foster & Smith has a highly rated store name dog food and they will also do the automatic shipment too.

[lickthestar]

I was lucky to find 3 or 4 pet health food stores around, and I fed Archie different things to see what he likes. I do agree that food does need to be switched around once in a while (not everyday!). i think after a while, you'll get a sense of what you like and what your pet likes. Once you get them on the "good" stuff, they won't eat the foods with the fillers, etc. Archie won't touch Pedigree or anything like that anymore.

Also, just because something is good doesn't mean your dog will like it. For example, Archie didn't really like the Newman's Own, Natural Balance and he hated Canidae. I began to realize that he's not a big fan of chicken, duck or fish. He likes lamb, beef and veal. He'll eat turkey if there's nothing else. He also has consistency issues---he doesn't like foods that are watery (the cottage cheese consistency foods), but he likes it if I can cut it up into chunks for him, not mush it in his dish.

You have to remember that yorkies are really picky dogs. In general, they will eat what you give them if they have no choice, but I'm a believer in compromise. I'll try to give him what he likes as long as I approve, too.

And one final thing...with Science Diet, I think they do what the pharmaceutical companies do to get the doctors to prescribe certain drugs, as opposed to others. Read the ingredients and you'd be appalled. I've had a vet say it didn't matter what you fed your dog so I changed vets. You might just want to try and ask your vet what they feed their dogs. I bet it won't be Science Diet. I found out that Archie's new vet feeds her dog Innova and Wellness.

Thanks for recommending Whole Dog journal! It looks great!

[Ilovebaby]

I feed Baby Bil-Jac dog food which I came to know about from my breeder. She reccomended it, and since Baby was allready eating it, I guess I have just stuck with it. The first ingredients are chicken, chicken by-product (organs only), and then corn. So maybe it isn't good? Heck I don't understand? But I also feed her the Ceasar soft dog food, but only about evey other day.
Mindy and Baby