Does anyone else think Science Diet cause bad breath?

Question

We recently switched from Natural Choice dry food for puppies to Science Diet and noticed a chance in her breath. It obvious that the cause is Science Diet just by smelling the bag and food itself.

Has anyone else noticed this?

Anyone have any opinions about Natural Choice dry food for pups?

Oh, I do give her canned food mixed in.

Answer 1

What you will notice if you read the ingredients is that Science Diet is mostly corn - not meat.
This is not good food for puppies or dogs - the first ingredient on the food should be meat - not corn or grain.

Switch to better food for your dog - Canidae is very good, or something of that quality.

Answer 2

I've used Science Diet for years and have had very healthy dogs. It's an excellent food. No bad breath. A sudden change in diet can cause stomach upset.

Answer 3

Exhibit A: Ingredients Chicken, Ground Whole Grain Corn, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Ground Whole Grain Wheat, Chicken By-Product Meal, Soybean Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Animal Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Brewers Rice, Chicken Liver Flavor, Soybean Oil, Flaxseed, Potassium Chloride, Iodized Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, 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), minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), DL-Methionine, preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid, Beta-Carotene, Rosemary Extract. Notice: A- the high corn content- have you ever noticed that humans don't digest corn? Well, dogs don't either- this is wasted filler! B- the "by-products"- there is never anything good in a by-product- this is the crap they sweep off of the floor. C- Notice corn- and then corn gluten- if you add these together, they are more than likelty the highest ingredient. D- the first ingredient is chicken- the ingredients for a dog food are weighed BEFORE being processed- so, chicken is listed as the top ingredient, but once it's cooked, it will shrink- add that in with the double corn content, and there is probably a very minimal amount of chicken in there. E- chicken liver flavor? WTF? Why not use the real thing? As for raw- I feed 1 of my dogs raw- and I feed a pre-packaged raw diet. Feeding raw, and doing it right, is about more than just tossing some raw meat their way- they still require a balanced diet. You can follow a program such as BARF (there are many good online resources for it)- you can purchase books on feeding a home-made diet- or you can go with pre-packaged raw- We use the pre-packaged for convenience. It has everything in it she needs. The benefits I have seen from feeding her raw are: a.) She no longer scratches her face until it bleeds because of an allergic reaction to corn, rice, wheat, potatoes, or oatmeal. b.) Her usually THIN hair has gotten very thick and more poodley accurate. c.) Her fading/silvering hair has darkened to a lovely dark brown d.) The amount of waste I'm picking up out of the backyard has been cut in about 1/2! (A standard poodle with the poop pile of a pom!) Hope this helps!

Answer 4

Yes, Science Diet did the same thing Iams did. They started out as a quality brand and once they built up a good reputation they began using cheap fillers without notifying the consumers. It is one of the worst brands I've come accross now. If you are concerned about price I would recommend Canidae because it is reasonably priced but contains only one filler (brown rice) so you don't have to feed as much. You really do get more for your money plus you can order it for the same price as buying it in the store.

Answer 5

Oh, yes. I have a Doberman Pincher, Huski, and a Basset Hound. We used IAMS and switched to Science Diet. Soon after the switch, we noticed the same thing. A few weeks later our dogs came down with a horrible stomach flu that was caused by the change.

Answer 6

It's very likely.. Science Diet isn't a good quality food at all. Look at the ingredient listing.. All sorts of things in there that have no business being in dog foods..

Answer 7

That could well be the problem. I don't agree with any dry dog food as the only thing dogs get. Dogs are carnivores, like us, they need meat!!!!!!!! Give a little dry dog food but give him canned meat as well. Never liked science diet food and we were told by the receptionist at our vets that Chappie all in one food was just as good at a fraction of the price. Dry dog food is great for owners because it is so easy to feed but it's not great for the poor dogs who are expected to eat it. People will tell you that if you leave food down long enough the dogs will eat it, of course they will, if they don't eat they'll starve, doesn't mean they like it, they just want to live!

Answer 8

I switched to Science Diet & now my dog's breath can be smelt from at least 5' away. It is so disgusting.

Answer 9

all commercial petfood will make your dogs breath smell eventually, because of the rubbish its made with it will cause tartar on your dogs teeth, why not switch to a raw diet, its what your dog would have eaten, its sounds a lot more complicated than it is, its often cheaper than supermarket brands and so much better for your dog,

Answer 10

Usually, which too long for me. I think it depends on the guy and his face though. Certain guys can easily pull off long hair and other folks can't.