Is it true Science Diet is REALLY bad for animals?

Question

My coworker at our pet supply store swears Science Diet is the devil. She said it's really fattening and has too many byproducts. It's basically junk food to them. I figured since the animal shelter gave me a free bag of Sci Diet with my adopted kitten, they recommended it, and I've read that vets also recommend it.

So..... is she just crazy or is she on to something?

What dry dog food do you feed your puppy/dog?

Answer 1

It is a crappy food, read the label. Corn is a cheap filler (FIRST ingredient in some of their formulas!) and some of their formulas are mostly grains. Corn and 2-4 grain sources means your dog isn't getting what they really need, meat. You can do much better for the price. Hills (and Iams and Eukanuba) should spend more on the ingredients and less on advertising, their foods are not any better than grocery store dog foods.

Surprise surprise, most Vets (and shelters) know nothing about animal nutrition. Going to a Vet for nutrition advice is like having your dogs surgery done by the girl behind the counter at a pet shop. Vet school nutrition class consists of a seminar put on by Science Diet, THAT is why they think it is a good food.


I feed Royal Canin Sensible Choice. Natural Balance by Dick Van Patten is an even better choice, it just isn't high enough protein for my breed, although it would be for most breeds. I have spent alot of time analyzing and comparing food labels.

Answer 2

I work for a shelter and that is all we feed our animals cats and dog. I personally hate the stuff! I clean dogs and cats everyday before working in the office and what a mess. I can tell when we run out of science diet nad feed the dogs something else. The poo is solid! When the dogs are on Science Diet the poo is runny,we feed each dog 2 cups a day and cats 1 cup gotta watch it though the animals really put on the weight!. The dogs also eat their own poo. That tells ya something! We get our Science Diet free from the company in exchange we must advertise we "only feed Science Diet" have posters all over the place and Science Diet gives us donations monthly for feeding their food. It is a double edge sword for us we are non profit so. It is GREAT we get free food We get thousands of dollars a month from Science Diet free but I feel it is crap made of fillers and known carcinogenics. I can get a free 50lb bag from work monthly but I do not take it I feed Blue Buffalo.

Answer 3

There are two formulas of Hills Science Diet. The first can be purchased over the counter. Its perfectly fine for animals according to my vet. The second formula of Hills Science Diet is a prescription formula that is strongly recommended by your vet if your animal has any health problems. I have a pug who has trouble with bladder stones. I have to feed her "canine c/d" for the rest of her life so that this problem does not come back. Since this food is made from the same makers of science diet, it is hard to believe that the maker of this food would put out an unhealthy product.
Your friend may be misinformed when it comes to the quality of science diet. If you work in a pet store, chances are the people from Nutro got a hold of your friend and told her that products like Iams and Science Diet are bad for animals because animal byproducts are their first listed ingredients. All I can say to that is its not harmful to the pet...and chances are its more palatable than the high protein ingredients in Nutro. Just talk to your vet and see what they recommend.

Answer 4

VETS GET A 40 PERCENT PROFIT ON WHAT THEY SELL.
THEY ARE NOT PET NUTRITIONISTS, THEY ARE PET DOCTORS.
SCIENCE DIET IS A VERY CRAPPY FOOD ALONG WITH FOODS YOU BUY AT FARM SUPPLYS AND GROCERY STORES. IT IS LOADED WITH JUNK THAT IS ACTUALLY POISON TO YOUR PET. THERE IS EVEN INGREDIANTS IN PET FOOD THAT ARE THE SAME AS IN ANTIFREEZE.
IF VETS TOLD YOU THE HEALTHY FOODS TO FEED LIKE INNOVA, CANIDAE, SOLID GOLD, CALIFORNIA NATURAL, WELLNESS THEY WOULD NOT ONLY LOOSE PATIENTS THEY WOULD LOOSE MONEY.

When looking for a kibble dog food make sure that you have meat protein as the first item, if it lists by-products AVOID IT. there is a big difference between chicken necks which is a chicken by-product (good nutritional value) and chicken feathers which is also a chicken by-product (poor nutritional value). Avoid ANY food with BHA, BHT or ethoxyquin as a preservative. Don't just look at the pretty picture on the bag with the advertising. READ the list of ingredients. There are dog foods out there that are usable and some that are just a way for granaries to get rid of their "leftover" stuff. the manufacturers' bottom line is to make a profit and YOUR bottom line is to feed a healthy food to your dog. If you can find a food that list HUMAN grade ingredients - great. A lot of the dog food ingredients in the "general" dog food world has food that has been "denatured" so that it is not usable for humans. ( to be denatured it can be sprayed with any thing from creosote to formaldehyde for preservation )

preferred choice of dog foods - not in any particular order:
tHEY ALSO MAKE CAT FOOD, WHAT I HAVE SAID GOES FOR NOT JUST DOG FOOD BUT CAT FOOD ALSO
Natural Balance
Wellness5 by Mother Hubbard
Wysong:
Flint River Ranch
Canidae
Eagle Pack holistic
Best In Show
Azmira
Solid Gold
Timberwolf Organics
Sojourner Farms
INNOVA
California Natural

Answer 5

Your coworker is correct, but not only about Science Diet. Any kibble is is not a good diet for your dog. And the byproducts, most of what goes in the front end comes out the back.

Answer 6

eating dried food for pets is not humans eating total and protein drink 3 times a day instead of real food.
Of course it is not good.
Thena again if you like the birds in your backyard you may have to comprimise.

Answer 7

Science Diet contains the following incredient in all of its formulas

-CORN: this is a cheap filler that most animals are allergic too, has no nutritional value.
-BY-PRODUCTS: the feet, feathers, beaks, organs, and any other product not fit for humans consumption. These have NO nutritional value.
-BHA/BHT: these are PROVEN cancer causing chemical preservatives.
-WHEAT: another cheap filler that is a common allergen.
-SOY: another cheap filler that is a common allergen.
-"MEAT" or "ANIMAL ingredients: these include; euthanized cats and dogs, diseased farm animals, restaurant grease, expired meats from the grocery store, roadkill, and so on.
-PEANUT HULLS: peanut shells, cheap filler with no nutrtional value
-EGG PRODUCT: egg shells, and undeveloped eggs not fit for human consumption.

Anyways, this list can go on and on.

Here are the facts about vets which should be made public to everyone so people like yourself do not continue to be taken advantage of:

THIS IS WHAT I WROTE TO A VET CONVINCED SCIENCE DIET IS THE BEST FOOD...THEY PICKED THIS AS A BEST ANSWER...

""1. Number one and MOST important is that the MAJORITY of vets will tell you that they receive little to no training in nutrition. This is NOT a myth because vets will admit to this. Granted, there are vets emerging these days who specialize in holistic healing so they tend to have a more comprehensive knowledge about the benefits of food and our health. Think about it this way...if you have nutritional problems does your doctor deal with them or do they send you to a nutritionist? Traditional medicine does NOT deal with nutrition as a prevention method. I have studied Health Promotion and Disease Prevention and trust me, I'm critical of doctors as well as vets.

2. I don't think most people recognize is that ALL of nutrition courses in the Veterinary colleges in the US are funded by Science Diet!!!! So, they tell you what to believe and then you go out and preach it. If Natura (makers of Innova) were funding these courses then you might actually understand the benefits of using whole fresh ingredients in pet foods instead of by-products of diseased animals and low quality grains.
"Hill's has spent a generation cultivating its professional following. It spends hundreds of thousands of dollars a year funding university research and nutrition courses at every one of the 27 U.S. veterinary colleges. Once in practice, vets who sell Science Diet and other premium foods directly from their offices pocket profits of as much as 40%"

3. The MAJORITY of people who feed good quality foods that use human grade ingredients DO do their research and that is why they know that foods like Innova, Wellness, Solid Gold, etc are far superior to the mass produced products.

4. Most disturbing to me is the fact that if you are claiming that vets truly care about a pets health WHY do the vet prescription diets STILL have BHA and BHT in them? These are CANCER causing chemical preservatives!! I would NEVER put my pet on a food that still has such an ingredient in it. It is horrible. Even if you don't look at the other bad ingredients in the food, it still has chemical preservatives in it.

5. The last point that I want to make is that vets DO make a huge profit on pet foods. I have been in the pet food industry for a long time both as an employee and now owning my own business. I sell Natura pet foods and I can tell you that the average pet food retailer makes NO money on pet food (it comes from accessories). While the majority of vets mark up their foods 40-50%, retail stores only make about 5-15%. So, when I tell people that I am in the pet food business because I truly care about pet nutrition and disease prevention, I can say that because I know I will never get rich, I just want to make sure people can access good quality food. If vets truly cared about pet health, WHY are they putting people in the poorhouse with their unbelievably high food prices? Really they should be selling them at cost.

I have a great deal of respect for vets as medical professionals but as health promoters, there aren't too many that have justified to me that they really care about the nutrion/prevention side. Personally, I think that end should be left to those who work with pets on a day to day basis and not just when their sick.""

So, obviously the vet who read this realized perhaps she had been wrong in promoting foods like Science Diet. the problem is is that pet food companies will keep producing these foods until they get pressured from the public.

Anyways, to prevent my continued rambling on this huge issue, here are the top foods that I would recommend:
Innova, California Natura, Karma, Wellness, Evolve, Solid Gold, Merrick, Fromm, Canidae.

Answer 8

she might be right to much of anything can be bad for animals and people i suggest feed your pets to different foods or many 1 monday a different kind tuesday

Answer 9

No, it is not bad. I would trust my vet. it is the vets reponsibility to choose the best type of food for your new animal, or in this case, a kitten. whatever your vet recommends, i would choose the vet's decision

Answer 10

I think she just doesnt' like it.... I have no idea hun.
I heard it was good for them..........
Vets recommend it. And I wouldn't think they would recommend something bad.
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