Is Science Diet dog food really bad?

Question

I've read a lot of posts on here saying that Science Diet dog food is not good. We feed it to our puppy, and she seems to like it and is healthy. But should we stop feeding her Science Diet? I am really curious to know why so many people don't like it.

I've seen many people say that vets only recommend it because they get paid to endorse it, for example. But I'd like to see some opinions backed up by actual proof, please. I want to make sure I'm feeding our puppy the best food possible. :)

Answer 1

If she likes it and is doing well on it, she will probably be fine. My parents' first cat lived to be 18 on Purina cat chow and a few table scraps.

Science Diet, like Iams and Eukanuba, has been very well marketed, but these "specialty foods" are not necessarily better than some other brands. Look at the ingredient lists--lots of filler like corn meal.

You might want to go to a specialty pet store and look at some of the "natural" foods. Meat should be high on the ingredient list (you probably know that the ingredients are listed in descending order, so the first ingredient makes up the highest percentage of the food) and fillers like corn meal should be lower on the list. And get on the internet and do some research--but remember that every food company's main business is, of course, to sell their food.

You can also ask your vet, but also ask him or her to be completely honest with you--Science Diet and other companies do often give vets good deals to endorse their food. Not that Science Diet is bad--but you might find something that is better for your particular puppy.

And if you do switch foods, be sure to do it gradually, mixing the new in with the old for awhile, so your puppy has an easy time adjusting to it.

Also like Alyssa's answer--and I feed my dogs and cats Chicken Soup. Used to feed Canidae, Nutro, and Felidae, which are also excellent, but more expensive than CS.

Good luck!

Answer 2

I have a friend that is a vet, their office gets a 40 percent profit the products they sell. When people talk about dog foods there is so many debated answers and opinions. People want to believe that science diet is the best because the vet recommends it. well, just because the vet recommends it does NOT mean it is a good dog food. Vets are pet doctors NOT pet nutritionists.
I had a sheltie that was fed science diet for the first 9 years of her life, she had allergies going on all the time and was give to me because the people could not take it no longer. They kept it on science diet because the vet said it was the best food for her and her allergies were not associated with the food.
I took her off of the crap and put her on a all natural diet of raw.
the dogs allergies cleared up and she never had to see the vet again for any health reasons. she lived another 13 years happy and itch free. she died of old age. (natural causes)
If the vets recommended the good foods they would loose money, the dog would never have to go to the vet for other than their regular shots.
Just liike doctors for people. One doctor will prescribe something then another doctor will say it should of never been prescribed. There are vets out there that will steer you in the right way as nutrition is concerned , but then there is others that are out for the money, AND THAT IS A FACT.........Like i said, my vet is a friend of mine, he is the one that steered me in the direction of the natural raw diet, he told me that the commercial dog foods on the market including science diet is a big factor in the cancer in dogs, allergies, digestive disorders and etc. He bluntly told me the food people are feeding their dogs are killing them.
Now there are great dog foods on the market that do not cost much more than science diet, a few are innova, canidae, solid gold, california natural, wellness, artemis. and dick van pattens formula. There are more and this is just a few.
If you love your puppy and want it to live a long healthy life get it off the over rated, expensive, junk food science diet.

You are never going to get everyone to agree on the subject of dog food. Everyone has their own opinions and alot of people trust the vet because they are the vet, but that is not always the best way to go when it comes to NUTRITION>

Answer 3

If you're really interested in learning more about what's in different dog foods, I highly recommend The Dog Food Project: http://www.dogfoodproject.com/

Read some of the articles linked on the left-hand side of the page including Label Information 101, Ingredients to Avoid, Identifying Better Products, and The Yuck Factor.

Then read the ingredients label on your dog's food and make your own decision about it. You'll probably be able to see pretty easily why people don't think it's the best food out there. The one advantage you do get with some of the brands like Iams, SD, and Eukanuba is that they do long term feeding trials with their food, whereas most of the smaller companies cannot afford to do so.

My personal opinion is that you should feed the food that works best for your dog, your dog likes, and is the highest quality your money can afford. If that happens to be Science Diet, it's Science Diet.

Answer 4

find yourself a natural vetrinarian and ask him, I switched over to one and he switched her food to a Solid Gold product, the other option he gave me was a raw food diet which I have many friends that now have their dogs on it and it is amazing the difference in their coat, breath, digestive system etc. I think most highly commercialized dog food is crap. I had a top vet tell me that she recommends IAM's because "they come to all of the conventions", well duh, thats called advertising. Anything with a grain/cereal base is not going to be the best possible food for your dog. Meat should be the primary ingredient on the back of the bag. I know everyone argues over dog food brands but I think your best bet would be to find a natural vet that is not in the business to get wealthy but is more interested in helping out your four legged friend lol! I'm not preaching at all I just can believe the difference in my own dog since I took her off "grocery store" lol dog food!

Answer 5

It is not terrible. But it is not the best by any means. They use an excess of corn in all of their formulas, and corn is not an ingredient dogs need in their daily diet. It is a filler, and very cheap for the producers of kibble. Your dog can be healthy on it, but can be much more healthier on a higher-quality kibble, such as Natural Balance or Merrick. SD costs much more than it should for what ingredients they use. You can get Merrick for 25 bucks for 20 pounds, a much better deal.

Answer 6

The reason that people are telling you that Science Diet is a bad food, is because it is. Here are the first three ingredients in their puppy food: Ground Whole Grain Corn, Chicken By-Product Meal, Soybean Meal (directly from their website)

Corn and soy are two of the top causes for digestive issues in dogs with sensitive stomachs. Also, soy can cause dogs to have terrible gas!

A high quality food will have two meats (or a meat and a meat meal) as two of the first three ingredients. Wellness, for example has deboned chicken, chicken meal, and oatmeal as the first three ingredients in their puppy food. See the difference?

Answer 7

Katslookup and Alyssa said it right! The quality (or lack there of) is in the ingredients.

Science Diet is like feeding you children hamburgers and hot dogs every day. It isn't going to kill them and they will like it, but it isn't very healthy for them either. Switching over to a high quality, human grade ingredient food, like Wellness or Chicken Soup, would be much better for your puppy.

Answer 8

Ok i'd like to say a few things first! NO: Eukabana or IAMS these are animal tested, like feeding your dog its mother ok, I do reccommend Science Diet, my cat and dog have been on it for a year now and their teeth and general health have improved greatly, if you don't like Science diet My Dog and Natures Gift are good reputable brands providing adequate nutrition. I hope you find what your looking for and remember to BOYCOTT IAMS PET FOOD

Answer 9

I got my information about Science Diet endorsing vets from the source- a coworker used to work for a vet, and she witnessed the whole thing firsthand. Vets ARE paid off to support Science Diet. Why else would every vet in the world offer it? No dog food is so universally perfect that every single vet would endorse it that way. When I suggest foods, I have a list of about 8 that I give, because while they're all good, there's probably a certain brand and formula best suited to each dog.

Next, consider the way to rate dog foods. The first ingredient should always be real meat. There should by no by products, and if there is meat meal, it should be after all real meats. Let's examine a bag of Science Diet:

Brewers Rice, Ground Whole Grain Wheat, Chicken Meal, Soybean Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Animal Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Chicken, Peas, Carrots, Soybean Oil, Chicken Liver Flavor, Dried Beet Pulp, Iron Oxide, Flaxseed, Dried Egg Product, Iodized Salt, Potassium Chloride, L-Lysine, Choline Chloride, 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), Dicalcium Phosphate, Vitamin E Supplement, Calcium Carbonate, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid, Magnesium Oxide, L-Tryptophan, Beta-Carotene, Rosemary Extract.

Where's the real meat? At #6, preceded by grains, fillers, and meals. Never a good sign. In addition, there are only 3 whole unaltered ingredients in the whole bag. Also a bad sign.

Now let's look at another brand (Wellness)
Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Oatmeal, Ground Barley, Ground Brown Rice, Tomato Pomace, Rye Flour, Canola Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a natural source of vitamin E), Tomatoes (natural source of Lycopene), Rice Bran (from brown rice), Whitefish, Natural Chicken Flavor, Carrots, Spinach, Sweet Potatoes, Apples, Blueberries, Flaxseed, Ground Millet, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Chloride

Real meat as the first ingredient, good start. Lots of whole, unaltered fruits, meats, and veggies. Also a good sign.

And one more (Chicken Soup)
Chicken, turkey, chicken meal, turkey meal, whole grain brown rice, whole grain white rice, oatmeal, potatoes, cracked pearled barley, millet, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), duck, salmon, egg product, flaxseed, natural chicken flavor, kelp, potassium chloride, salt, choline chloride, chicory root extract, carrots, peas, apples, dried skim milk, cranberry powder, rosemary extract, parsley flake. Vitamins and minerals.

Lots of meats near the top of the list, lots of whole fruits and veggies, fish, egg, etc.

So if nothing else, just reading the bags proves that most brands are far superior to Science Diet, which lends proof to the fact that vets are paid to endorse it. Why would someone who went through 8+years of vet school not be able to analyze dog food properly? Because it's all about the money.

I suggest you try a new brand, here's a list you can research:
Artemis, Avoderm, Canidae, Chicken Soup, Blue Buffalo, Canine Caviar, Merrick, Fromm, Innova Evo, Wellness, Wysong, Verus, Timberwolf Organics, Nutro Ultra, Organix, AgarX. Good luck!

Answer 10

Science Diet dog food is ok. Not the best, but ok.
You could try Nutro Natural Choice. It is a better dog food.