Last vet visit my vet recommended large adult Science Diet for my 4 m/o puppy. Why? I'm feeding her Canidae.

Question

I went to the vet for my 4 month old Scottish Terrier to the vet for her last set of shots a couple days ago. My vet asked what I was feeding my dog so I told him I was feeding her Canidae - All Life Stages. My vet told me that Canidae is un-healthy dog food and that I should swap my precious Scottie on to Adult Large breed Science Diet formula. What is my vet going on about? I want Kara to be as healthy as possible and considering that Scotties are prone to skin problems, I want to feed her the best possible food to maintain her health. Is Candiae really bad food? Kara's breeder was feeding her dogs Solid Gold but that's more expensive and slightly less quality than Canidae. Kara is only a small pup and he wants her to be fed LARGE ADULT food! I don't understand why. He is said it's much better because it was formulated by vets to keep dogs at optimum health. I'm also feeding my 9 year old arthritic Labrador Canidae and I'm a bit wary of changing her food as this is so good for her.

So, what do you people recommend? I'm only going to swap to Science Diet if Canidae is really as bad as my vet says it is. My Lab has bad arthtitis and also has mild elbow dysplasia and I think Candiae as amazing food for her especially. Kara looks very healthy; beautiful black shiny coat, bright green eyes, pink gums and white teeth. I also have a 3 year old male Sheltie with PRA and skin allergies. My vet told me that swapping to Science Diet will totally rid Max of his skin allergies. To trust the vet or not? My sister has a 4 year old Golden Retriever who she fed Science Diet for 4 weeks and he got servere skin allergies from it. When she swapped foods to Innova EVO, his allergies went away.

Answer 1

Science Diet is crappy food and should not be fed to any dog! Canidae is a fantastic brand so forget about switching foods. Your vet is crazy if he is suggesting you feed a small breed puppy, large breed adult formula! The only reason why he is suggesting you swap to Science Diet is because 99% of vets sell it! Dump that vet and get one that understands that whether formulated by vets or not, it's RUBBISH! Canidae is a very natural dog food with very natural, human grade ingredients so it will work wonders for dogs with allergies and dogs who are more prone to allergies. Also, if a vet is willing to lie as much as that one (eg. feeding Science Diet to your Sheltie will rid him of his allergies completely when it will make them WORSE), I would make sure he even completed all his schooling as that's just complete lies! I'm surprised he didn't say it will rid him of PRA, too! So, don't change the food - CHANGE THE VET!

Answer 2

We're feeding Canidae All Life Stages also, we have a 7 year old Lab, and an 11 week old Lab - they both love it!
Vets will always recommend you use the product line they are selling, but don't be fooled! Prior to getting our 11 week old, we were feeding Iams/Iams equivalent. But we needed a food they could both eat that was the proper nutrition for both stages - Canidae is it! We did a lot of research before we chose Canidae, and asked a vet we completely trust, several shelters and pet stores for their recommendations also. We did ask at Petsmart if there was a food for all life stages and we were told NO! Of course, that is because they don't sell Canidae :p
Hands down - stick with Canidae! (and find a new vet!)

Answer 3

When a vet recommends store brand foods (and this includes Science Diet) simply smile nod and forget it. You are feeding a very good quality food..don't change. Canidae is far from being an unhealthy food..it is far superior to Science Diet or any other store food.

Vets often aren't familiar with the better foods..they don't have the training in nutrition & foods since their studies are general not species specific..the classes they have take in everything from cats to rats, dogs to hogs. Vets only know what reps tell them and they tend to recommend foods they are familiar with.

Vets that are familiar with quality foods (and thankfully more of them are begining to be) will recommend foods such as Solid Gold,Canidae, Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul, Wellness, Merrick, Innova just to name a few.

One of our area vets no longer sells Science Diet except for prescription diets..they now sell Solid Gold,The vets where I work and all the techs except one don't feed any store brand foods at all..we feed Canidae, Wellness, Chicken Soup...So continue to feed a quality product.

Answer 4

Canidae is excellent -- Science Diet is crap. I'll just bet your vet sells Science Diet out of his office, huh? If he is, he's a distributor, and makes a profit -- the more food sold, the more money he makes. Stick with Canidae, dump your vet. Email me if you'd like, I have a list of dog foods and their grades -- Canidae graded an A+, Science Diet got an F.

Answer 5

Canidae is high quality food. Yes, the vets get grant money, research money and a piece of the action when they sell Science Diet, or as they say in the trade "incentives" We had our pups to a university in March, right after the recalls for Iams. The "specialist" there told us to put our dogs on a "high quality" kibble like Iams. They had no answers for me when I asked about the recall. Then I told them my dogs were staying on the commercial raw diet they eat now. I tried every kibble, including a Science diet prescription. Finally, my own vet was convinced that 100% raw was the way to go. In 2 days, months of problems resolved. It isn't the way to go for everyone. Every dog is a little different. But, Canidae, Eagle Pack, Sold Gold, EVO, Nature's Variety are all high quality foods. One Science Diet prescription food is 28% peanut hulls. We switched vets shortly after that I told the woman it was unnatural to feed a canine peanut hulls and I didn' t care what experts or vets or the company claims, my dog wasn't eating peanut hulls. Never mind me paying about $1.25 per can for peanut hulls.

Answer 6

HANDS DOWN CANIDAE!!!!!! My breeder feeds Canidae to all her dogs. You are right ! Keep your dog on the Canidae. Vets are supplemented with extra perks for pushing certain brands of foods. I have talked to people who had health issues with their dogs until they found Canidae. Don't give in. You are feeding a holistic food with less fillers, chemicals, and yet having 24% protein, and vitamins. Would you want to eat what's on some of those dog food labels? Not me!

Answer 7

Keep on with the Canidae..Science diet is the crappy food..It is full of fillers, and far less nutritious..My dogs have never been so vibrantly healthy as since i switched to Canidae 3 years ago.
My oldsters are rejuvenated, and my pups have grown nicer than ever..Science Diet teaches the nutrition class at Veterinary schools..
this is the ingredient list from Science diet Large Breed Adult>
ingredients
Ground Whole Grain Corn, Chicken By-Product Meal, Soybean Meal, Animal Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Soybean Oil, Chicken Liver Flavor, Dried Egg Product, Flaxseed, < the rest are vitamin and mineral supplements, colorings and preservatives.>

Edit: this holistic supplement will really help your dogs with allergies> http://springtimeinc.com/product/88/2

Answer 8

the Vet is full of CRAP !!!......Canidae is a GREAT food, and rates 5 stars of a possible 6 stars on one survey, and rated 112 of 100 possible points, that's an A+ on another survey !!!.....it has all natural human grade ingredients, all made in the USA, in their own factory, no fillers, no additives, no corn or wheat, and is recommended by many breeders !!!...i used to feed my dogs Purina dog chow, and upgraded to Purina One, Lamb & Rice on my vets advice, and have switched to Canidae since all this recall stuff started !!! i researched dry dog food for 5-6 hrs one day, and Canidae is one of the best dry dog foods available!!!!! its all life stages, can be fed to puppies, young, regular, senior, and dogs even needing to lose weight !!!......my two dogs like it, & my JRTerrier loves it !!!...i would go even further!! i would report your vet to the state dept.of licencing in your state, complaining of his bad and biased advice !!! save some other poor pet owner, having to follow his biased advice, because he sells Science Diet, and do terrible harm to their pets!!! this vet does not deserve to practice in my opinion !!! I am a retired CPA, & CFP & detest people who practice un-professionally !!! they should be run out of their chosen profession !!! report this vet to the state board of Veterinary medicine, and any other authorities you can !!!

Answer 9

Wait till she's a year old. All dogs are matured at 2, but are considered adult enough for adult dog food at 1, safely. that is when their bodies change and mature to more adult than puppy.

Answer 10

Well, for one thing, a lot of vets have a contract with Science Diet and sell it in their office. It is a good food, but it is mostly for helping a dog to gain or loss weight. The truth is, I don;t know much about the food you are using, i have never even heard of it. I use Iams and recommend it and also Purina One or Pro Plan. Rule of thumb when selecting a dog food, especially for a puppy, check the ingredients and the amount of protein that the food supplies. IF the first ingredient is not a Meat, but instead like Corn, corn meal, or rice, then pass it by, that is the main ingredient for the food and is mostly a filler. You will find that Purina and Iams both have a meat as the first ingredient and also, both have a crude protein of about 26%. For a puppy, that is growing and needs the protein, this is ideal.