I am curious as to why dog owner feed Science Diet when it's an awful food?

Question

This is not, in any way, meant to be a mean post but Why is this? I always seem to see or hear from people and posters that Science Diet (Same with Purina and Iams) was recommended by their vets. Do they not look at the back panel of the food or research the brand? I am also amazed that some vets seem to have done no research on the dog food they are recommending to their clients. I think that is their obligation, so they can ensure they are recommending the best food possible for these pets. I am amazed to see how many loving dog owners feed their babies a food with no nutritional value and with some of these terribly horrible ingredients inside...Not everyone is perfect and I know most are not even aware of the dangers so....How can we better educate these pet owners of the problems with feeding a poor food? How can we help?

Old Roy? Even better ::rolls eyes:: Poor dog!

Well then. Please explain to me how Science Diets's ingredients are superior than other brands or what I choose to feed? For all of you who want proof, give me some. Anyone can say"I'm a vet" and "I'm a vet tech" Just because your a vet or a vet tech does not mean you have received appropriate training in nutrition. My father has been a vet for 28 years. I am very knowledgeable on my dogs food and it's ingredients. I would be feeding my dog such a high quality food if that were the case. I'd be running o walmart and buying Purina. The of us who do feed 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.

One thing that you neglected to mention that 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%"

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.

At the end of the day it's all what we choose to feed. At the end of the day it's what is better. Sure there are a 100 brands claiming to be good. But what is BEST? That's what really counts. I'll stick to Canidae and stick to recommending like nutritionally good food and you can stick with SD. I'll stick to the best top five and even seven ingredients and pass on the top 5 SD offers. I'll know in my heart my dog is living a longer, healthier life.

For the last poster, I feed Canidae.

Here are my bands top 5 ingredients: Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Brown Rice, White Rice, Lamb Meal.

Here is top 5 for Science Diet lamb and rice (dog):

Lamb Meal, Brewers Rice, Rice Flour, Ground Whole Grain Wheat, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum.

Compare the labels yourself if you would like :) Canidae is a great food!

Kooney - Your complete post is false. Do your research on Lamb Meal and Chicken Meal and get back to me. As for me not doing my research, well that's just an uneducated statement isn't it? Because you have no idea as to the extensive research I have done on Canidae. Thanks for trying though!

Answer 1

I work at a pet store. That's my only qualification. We don't recommend Science Diet, because it's not AS high quality a food as some foods. It is not the worst out there, however. Iams, any Purina product or other grocery store brand of food is going to be far worse. Maybe at one time, Science Diet was the best food, but it is not anymore. Why? Science Diet relies on corn as a main ingredient - dogs can't even digest corn, and it is one of the leading causes of food allergies in dogs. Other than that, it's meat by-products, preservatives and the like. I don't mean to say it's a horrible food, because it isn't. But everytime I talk to someone who's dog has a food related problem, it seems like if they're feeding one of the premium (non-grocery store) brands, it's always Science Diet. Why do vets consistently recommend it? Because Science Diet funds veterinary schools and offers incentives to vets to recommend them.

The best dog (and cat) foods available today are ones that avoid corn, wheat, meat by-products and so on. Nutro is a decent brand for what is commonly available, but if you can find Wysong, Natural Balance, Canidae, or (the best) Solid Gold, even better. Does Science Diet research the best nutrition for dogs? Maybe so. But why then do they continue to use corn as a main ingredient when it's useless for canine nutrition, and even detrimental in some cases?

Answer 2

You know, I'm really astounded by all of the ridiculous statements folks make with regards to pet food. I'm totally with the folks who say that Science Diet, Iams, etc, etc are perfectly fine to feed your dog.

There are PLENTY of facts to back this up, too.

Ok, first off. Dogs are NOT obligate carnivores. They are actually omnivorous, and are largely scavengers. Most wild dogs (including domestic ones) will eat off of a carcass that has been rotting in the sun. Mmmm, tasty. Many dogs find something irresistible about herbivore feces. Mine has a particular fondness for Canada goose feces. Believe it or not, as gross as it is, he gets nutrients from that. Herbivores cannot get all the nutrients out of the plants they eat...plants are just hard to digest. Geese, especially, have shortened digestive tracts, so they eat and poop a LOT. So, passing that plant matter through another digestive tract (say, for example, a dog's) allows the second animal to extract some nutrients from it.

Where am I going with this? Being omnivores, dogs are designed to eat all sorts of things. You folks who say that dogs cannot digest corn are full of goose feces. What facts do you base that assessment upon? Some kook on a website telling you so? Your boss at the pet food store that deals with crazies? Sure, corn is a potential allergen. But you show me a dog that's allergic to corn and I'll show you 5 that are allergic to chicken and 5 more that are allergic to beef. ANYTHING in an animal's diet is a potential allergen. Just because some people are allergic to peanuts doesn't mean peanuts are bad for ALL people. That would be crazy talk.

Corn provides a TON of carbohydrates. Any animal (including obligate carnivores) can digest carbohydrates. The digestive systems of all animals are VERY similar to each other and could not vary to the extent that dogs could not digest carbohydrates. Amylases are the class of digestive enzymes that break down carbohydrates. Dogs possess FOUR different isoenzymes of amylase, of those, more than 50% of isoenzyme 3 are located in the dog's pancreas, and isoenzyme 4 is located in ALL tissues. So, you can't tell me dogs cannot digest corn.

There is some fiber in a corn kernel, but the fiber is only in the outer shell of the kernel. The soft interior of the corn kernel (the part that pops in popcorn) is pure carbohydrate. Still, even fiber is beneficial to any animal's diet.

Additionally, show me where it's required that a dog eat meat to survive. Dogs can synthesize their own taurine in varying amounts depending on the dog, so the meat argument flies out the window. What dogs need are carbs, fats, and complete proteins. These can be obtained through a variety of sources...not just from meats.

I want to see some REAL scientific sources demonstrating how bad various ingredients really are.

Answer 3

Science diet is not an "Awful" food. Old Roy is an AWFUL food! Science Diet used to be a top quality food, but as the industry goes along, they find better and better ways to produce food for pets. Top quality foods on the market today include Nutro Ultra, Canidae and Innova. Unfortunately, not everyone can afford these brands and are stuck with purchasing a brand found at their grocery store. Be grateful people actually buy food for their pets, as I have seen some come in emaciated from lack of feeding.

Answer 4

If I had a chihuahua, I would never feed it Science Diet. It's loaded with filler. Find a better puppy food like Wellness.

Answer 5

I am curious as to what kind of actual medical proof you have for your claims. Do you know the actual nutritional needs of a dog? Have you studied it? Other than random info you've read on the internet that could have been written by anyone? Because I have not only researched it on my own, I have taken college courses in it, and listened to several of the most famous veterinary nutritionist lecture on the subject. And do you know what they recommend? Buying a well respected, well researched, balanced diet (like the 3 you mentioned, as well as Royal Canin) . I think I'll trust the opinions of a highly educated doctors over yours. Hopefully others will too.

Answer 6

Ol' Roy is the worst dog food you can give a dog, it has as much nutritional value as cardboard does.... I think the vets get a discount buying science diet and then able to sell it full price off of their shelves. It has chicken as its main ingredient, unlike other dog foods have corn in it as their main ingredient. I hope this was helpful! I use Purina High-pro for my doggy and it has beef as its main ingredient and its not that expensive... Whatever you feed your puppy just look at the ingredients and whatever it names first than is the main ingredient... stay away from dog foods that have corn or wheat as its main ingredient (its used as a filler)

Answer 7

Well, you can start by giving us some scientifically researched FACTS as to why you would say they are "terribly horrible ingredients inside". I, as a health conscious label reader and kennel operator for several years, understand what you mean. Dogs aren't chickens (corn). Sometimes people are finding the most readily available and reasonable lesser of evils that's on the market. Vets are like Doctors who promote based on whatever free samples and biased research is sent to them. I have heard that Purina and Iams are good dog food. Personally, if corn is the first ingredients and there's not any real meat products instead of merely by products, I pass it up. Dog food is so expensive that paying for junk isn't an option when you raise dogs and it's actually cheaper to buy real meat products but it's not fast or convenient due to storage and prep time. Beef, beef liver, chicken, chicken livers, blood and bone meals, fish, and other products make for a good feed base. Food colorings, chicken feathers (dogs don't eat them in the natural except one or two by accident) and corn are not healthy for dogs. The corn only gives them some roughage. They seldom eat corn in the natural either at least not as a main diet. Give people more info along these lines but don't take it to the extreme because most folks can't afford gourmet and do not take care of their own health to the extreme or even the basics of getting five fruits and vegetables a day. I hardly have time or energy to use my juicer so do you think others are going to go buy the best dog "health" food when we don't afford ourselves the vitamins WE need?? Doubtful! If it is on the shelf and they know which is best to use, you might affect the purchasing decision of a few. I suppose you could encourage your favorite dog food manufacturer to do a campaign that includes recommendations through the vet's offices and in the eye of the general public through coupons and other advertising. It's really their job to do that in the first place. Word of mouth does work on a smaller scale such as at this site or in your local neighborhood. Sign up to be a distributor or convince your local coop stores to carry and promote the food with the backing of the company and that might get you somewhere. Everybody loves a free sample also! That's my two cents!

Answer 8

Scientific FACT: Dogs are carnivores.

FACT: Science Diet contains corn.

FACT: Dogs being carnivores CAN'T digest corn.

FACT: Dogs NEED meat in order to survive. Not a food full of soy and corn.

I have done my research, I continue to do research, and I fully agree with the person who posted this question.

FACT: Veterinarians receive very little nutrition education, and what they do recieve is taught by major dog food companies. You can't tell me there is no bias in that education.

I personally prefer raw feeding, but I recommend a few high quality foods as well. Science Diet, Purina anything, Iams, Eukanuba, definately Ol Roy, and most of your better known brands, are NOT on the list of foods I'd recommend.

Answer 9

As a vet, I find it appalling that some owners refuse to listen to our recommendations regarding food for their pets, and instead listen to people like you that obviously have done no formal scientific research on pet foods.

As a vet, I spent a couple of months working with a pet food company in vet school, learning about the diets and the way they are formulated. You show me scientific research that states that Science Diet is a poor food for dogs. SCIENTIFIC research - that is the only research that matters in this field. If it is a peer-reviewed article and actually says that this brand of food is bad for dogs, you show it to me and I will read it, and maybe you will make an impact on me.

Pet food companies have put MILLIONS and BILLIONS of dollars into research on what dogs and cats need in their food. No one else does research on this. Dogs do not need ingredients, they need NUTRIENTS. The ingredients you see listed on the bag provide the nutrients the dog needs.

NOT ALL DOGS can do well on these foods, but many dogs can, and it is just fine for them. Some dogs with allergies or gastrointestinal problems need different foods, and that is ok. But just to say that Science Diet has no nutritional value and horrible ingredients is ridiculous, especially if you have no formal nutrition or veterinary training to base this remark on.

INTERESTING

I find absolutely NO difference between the ingredients YOU list for canidae, and the ingredients listed for Science Diet. Both lists include sources for carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. How is one source of protein different than another?

IN ADDITION - Your first ingredient is a CHICKEN product?!?!?! This is one of THE most allergenic ingredients in dog foods!!!

Have you taken classes on pet nutrition in veterinary school - no you have not. Maybe your father the veterinarian has. But that was 20 years ago. Small Animal Veterinary Nutrition classes are no longer taught by dog food companies.

And hey- get a Canidae, Innova, or Wellness rep to come to my hospital and talk to me about their foods - maybe I would carry them if they would. But they WILL NOT come - it is all based on competition.

I'm glad GOOD owners would rather listen to me, with years of experience and research behind my back, than YOU, with essentually nothing of consequence to back you up.

Answer 10

feeding chicken meal, etc.. is like feeding by-products to ur pet. why feed something half as good as the real thing? i agree with the mochalatt.. on this. how is ur food better than science diet? personally i dont feed science diet because one of my cats cannot handle some of the ingredients. i feed her eukanuba sensitive stomach because 1-my vet reccomended and 2- she can handle it. why should people listen to u. ur not a vet. u have not even done research on the food u feed ur pets. its no different than science diet