what are your opinions on Science Diet dog food

[jessick]

I have been feeding SD light kibble to my beagle/border collie cross for the past several years and have been very happy with the results. She has a beautiful coat, is a good weight and seems happy and healthy. Lately I have started adding a 1/3 of a can of Wellness to her diet as she is getting older (she is 8 1/2 now) and like the idea of the more 'naturel ' ingrediants. As much as I would like to switch to a completely 'holistic' diet for her, I simply can not afford it right now, and I get SD at a reduced price. I have heard the good, the bad and the ugly about SD and would be curious to know how you all feel about it?
thanks in advance

[Prin]

Honestly? There's a lot of corn in it and other corner-cutting ingredients (like stool hardeners) that are only there for the benefit of the company's wallet. I don't want to be too mean about it if you can't afford better, but just know that probably more than half of the nutritional content is ending up in your poopie bag...

[jessick]

Ah yes, corn is one of the 'bad' things I have heard about. But why is it so bad? Its a vegetable right? think corn on the cob?

[Rottielover]

Dogs have a very hard time digesting it. just like people. It is a very cheap filler, that has no nutritional value. Honestly the food is CRAP

[jessick]

Ok, help me out here. When I was growing up (several years ago ) SD was considered a premium food. What changed? I know it is no longer considered 'premium' but have to believe it is better then either Purina, Iams or maybe even on par with Nutro??
Way back in the day I fed my dog Dr.Ballards, so by feeding her SD, I thought I was doing her a favour!!!!!!
thanks in advance

[Lucky Rescue]

But why is it so bad? Its a vegetable right?

Dogs and cats cannot digest or utilize corn. Therefore it passes right through their systems and gives no nutrition whatsoever.

It's put in cheap dog food to bulk it up and keep the price down. It's not really economical either, since you have to feed so much more than you would of a better brand.

[Rottielover]

research in nutrition....holistic was not as popular back then because no one knew anything about it, it bwas always better. All the stores that you went to never carried such foods I am sure, so why would some one push a product outside their market.

[Prin]

It's still known as a premium food. So are Purina One and Eukanuba, until you research and find out there are other foods out there that use real ingredients.

Corn is not digested (or at least around half of it isn't), so it ends up all in the poop. It boosts the numbers, as corn has a certain amount of protein and a lot of carbs, but those numbers don't mean anything if your dog isn't digesting the food.

It also has other ingredients that are less than ideal. Like beet pulp. Beet pulp secretes a toxin that constricts the blood vessels of the colon, paralyzing it temporarily. This causes a sort of constipation, which hardens the stool. So even if your dog should have diarrhea, the colon can't pass it through till the toxin wears off. By then, it's solid and you think your dog is healthy.

You have looked at holistic foods already, right? You see the lists of ingredients they DON'T have? (They like to brag). You can use those as a place to start when you're researching. Like Wellness says, "No by-products", so you look up by-products and see why it's better to avoid them.

There are quite a few threads in the dog food forum where we discuss ingredient lists and what to look for and what to avoid. You should lurk around for a while.

[rainbow]

There are quite a few threads in the dog food forum where we discuss ingredient lists and what to look for and what to avoid. You should lurk around for a while.

I agree...lurking around is very informative.

[wdawson]

if memory serves me , science diet is not that much cheaper than what i now feed , solid gold.......but for a little while i did feed science diet i thought that if the vet sold the prescription version then the retail must be good......hang around here awhile and your eyes will be opened about pet food.

[Prin]

Yeah, you tend to have to feed less if the food is more digestible. The food will be more expensive per bag, but the cost will be offset a bit by the difference in quantity fed (although probably not completely- but then again, you'll probably have less vet bills too. Your dog will be healthier overall).

[LavenderRott]

Well, here is the ingredients list for Hill's Science Diet Light Adult Kibble:

Ground Whole Grain Corn, Soybean Mill Run 16% (source of fiber), Chicken By-Product Meal, Peanut Hulls 10.8% (source of fiber), Corn Gluten Meal, Soybean Meal, Chicken Liver Flavor, Soybean Oil, Dried Egg Product, Iodized Salt, Potassium Chloride, Flaxseed, vitamins (L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Vitamin E Supplement, Dicalcium Phosphate, L-Lysine, Choline Chloride, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Taurine, L-Tryptophan, L-Carnitine, preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid, Beta-Carotene, Rosemary Extract.

Dogs don't digest corn or soy well, so there go 4 out of the first 6 ingredients. Meat by-products of any type are the crap that the butcher or slaughter house can't sell to anyone else. Things like feathers, beaks and feet, in this case. Peanut hulls? Who in the world would willingly eat peanut hulls. SALT is listed as the 10th ingredient!! I don't even think that salt is in my dog's food!

Sorry, but this stuff would never make it in my front door. I think I would buy Purina or maybe even Ole' Roy before I bought this. (I haven't read the ingredient list from Ole' Roy lately.)

Yes, Science Diet was a premium dog food 20 years ago. Then, if I am not mistaken, the company was sold to someone who was more concerned about making money then making good food. It is highly touted by vets because they make money for selling it in their office and with a semester or two of nutritional education, they are willing to buy whatever the SD rep is selling.

[Prin]

Just to clarify- meat by-products in dog food are not just beaks and feet. They're rotten or decaying bits of meat too. ANYTHING not sold to humans goes in the food.

Oh and looks like there isn't any beet pulp in there. Big surprise...

[LavenderRott]

Originally Posted by Prin

Just to clarify- meat by-products in dog food are not just beaks and feet. They're rotten or decaying bits of meat too. ANYTHING not sold to humans goes in the food.

Oh and looks like there isn't any beet pulp in there. Big surprise...

With that much corn, soybeans and PEANUT HULLS, who needs beet pulp?

[Prin]

Yeah... Beet pulp is too good for this food.
Everything in there is a byproduct of human food processing (except the first corn...).
For example: Soybean Mill Run, Chicken By-Product Meal, Peanut Hulls, Corn Gluten Meal, Dried Egg Product...

Ew... There is nothing in there that a dog would find in the garbage and eat. It's all stuff he'd pass over digging for better stuff. Peanut hulls?!

[Cymba's friend]

I read this and just have to join in, since corn IS not a good food for dogs: it is very high glycemic index, it is very empty in terms of quality nutrition, and I am sorry to sound ironic, but to quote Dr. Guindon whom I visited once (homeopathic vet, also advisor of this board): " you have a dog, not a cow. And you are under nourishing your dog with the Hills PD you are using". Although some veggies (quality veggies!!) are important to dogs, if the first ingredients listed are all vegetable based (e.g. corn) and worse, bad-cheap-vegetable based (like SD is, as well as many Hills products or other commercial products) then you are under-nourishing your dog and he is lacking important quality animal proteins. He introduced me to Wellness and also taught me how to read labels.

I would love him to voice his opinion on these matters, as I found he had great information, good knowledge and once he told me his opinion, it made " horse sense", or "dog sense" in this case.

[jessick]

Thank you everyone for your replies. Time to start researching another food for 'my little girl' Can I get your opinions on whether or not dry or canned would be better for her at this stage. Like I said she is a 8 1/2 year old fixed female beagle/border collie cross who has battled her weight all her life. She is a perfect 60-65 lbs right now and I do not want that to change. She LOVES the canned Wellness I have been adding to her food for the past several months now. As well, I have always given her eggs, either fried or scrambled when I have them and since reading other threads on here would even consider throwing in chicken, turkey or fish any time I was having it. One thing I know for sure, she hates fresh vegetables , would cooked/steamed vegetables be okay for her?
Again , thank you, I only want what is best for my dog

[joeysmama]

Corn is produced so cheaply that even the corn sold for human consumption is not all that ideal. I still eat it, my family likes it, but I don't usually think of it as eating something good for us. So I would imagine the corn that goes into dog food would be an exceptionally poor quality food.

[rainbow]

One thing I know for sure, she hates fresh vegetables , would cooked/steamed vegetables be okay for her?

Yes, check out the "fruit and veggie thread" in the General Forum.

And you`ll find lots of good information right here in this forum about what dog foods are best.

[Prin]

If you can afford canned, by all means, try it out.

Merrick also makes great canned foods.
http://www.merrickpetcare.com/
(click on "entrees")