Food Confusion for puppys

[Phil B]

Hi all,
Just a quick question regarding Science Diet for pups. My 3 1/2 month old loves the food and has a very shiny healthy looking coat, is active and playful with good solid poops and occasionally has a little gas, but not enough to be a problem. I did a search here and the last post about S.D. that came up was in 2004. Now I have read the ingredients and yes, there is grain in the food but again, she looks healthy and seems to have to be good with her stools. After reading thru the posts here I am thinking of switching to Canidae as it seems to be highly regarded here. I just dont know if its a case of the old "dont fix if it aint broke" thing. My vet says to keep her on it but they sell Hills products so I dont know how much I trust that. Have they improved the S.D. formula since 04 or should I just get her off it? I get compliments on her coat and overall appearance quite often so i'm just a bit confused. Thanks for any insights you can bring. :)

[lengel]

I had problems with Science Diet over time both with my dogs and my cats. IMO, it would be best to switch now rather than have issues down the line. Allergies and intestinal issues became the problems with my guys. A whole lot of vet bills (from the vet who sold Hills) and finally figuring it out with the assistance of a holistic vet convinced me that I should start with the best instead of trying to repair or manage the damage.

[Shelby427]

Science diet is crap food that is expensive. Don't use the mentality of "if it ain't broke don't fix it" this is food we're talking about. Sure you can live on McD's, but should you? NO. Canidae is a great food for the price. Uses human grade meats, no fillers etc.

Imagine how much nicer her coat will be when she's on a meat based food? If she's doing just OK now, she'll thrive on a better food. Lots of good choices out there. Shelby my 4 year old is on Canidae ALS, while Hudson my 1 year old greyhound/mastiff is on California Natural.

[Shane]

Another vote for upgrading to Canidae or pretty much any premium food over SD. If anything, I think SD has gotten worse over time.

[Phil B]

Thanks for the replies. I guess using the analogy of "dont fix if it aint broke" wasnt really the best one to use. I am just concerned that in changing her food I may cause problems. I do want a good nutritional content for her in a store bought food. I absolutley believe its best to switch now while she's young to avoid potential problems down the road. I just find it odd that she doesnt just look ok, but I've had people ask me what have I been adding to her food to get her coat to look so healthy. LOL. I am going today to buy her the Canidae brand food. Is the Chicken and Rice or Lamb and Rice as good as the standard ALS? Again, thanks for the help. ;)

[AngelBunny]

You are wise to listen skeptically to your vet's recommendation about what to feed your puppy. Vets don't study nutrition in school. They study how to heal sick animals. Just as you wouldn't expect your dentist to fix a broken leg, don't expect your average vet to provide helpful advice on canine nutrition.

There's a great deal of info on dog food--the good, the mediocre, the awful--here in Nutrition and Grooming.

I'm with the SD-is-awful-food camp.

[brunie's mom]

Originally Posted by AngelBunny

You are wise to listen skeptically to your vet's recommendation about what to feed your puppy. Vets don't study nutrition in school. They study how to heal sick animals. Just as you wouldn't expect your dentist to fix a broken leg, don't expect your average vet to provide helpful advice on canine nutrition.

There's a great deal of info on dog food--the good, the mediocre, the awful--here in Nutrition and Grooming.

I'm with the SD-is-awful-food camp.

Oh, but they do take Nutrition courses in vet school, and surprise!! The books are all written by Hill's (Science Diet), and the big dog food companies donate huge amounts of money to the vet schools, and also supply vet students with one large bag of SD for their dogs and cats, while they are in school. When they get out of vet school, they are deeply brain washed that Hill's, Iams,etc. is a great food and great companies.

I'm with the other's, Science Diet is a poor quality, over priced, grain based food. You could do so much better for your pup, and you will have to feed less and clean up far less poop.

Gina

[fbkeays]

I know I have commented on Science Diet since 2004 and pretty sure it was just a few months ago, maybe late 2007. SD/Hills is nothing but crap and it isn't even good crap. It is the science of making a diet from floor sweepings and nothing more. Some of the ingredients really are nothing more then floor sweeping or what comes out of the machine when they clean it.