Hi All,

When we got our puppy (11 weeks today), he was on Puppy Chow. On the advice of our vet, we've been switching his food to Science Diet LB puppy for the last couple of days. Well, after doing a little research I've found that Science Diet isn't the best either!

Should we continue with the Science Diet and switch to something like Nutro Natural Choice when we switch to adult food? I hate to switch him again so soon.

Help! Why do vets recommend something that isn't truly the best?

Thanks,
Lora

$$$$$$ is the reason. Remember vets have about a day's worth of nutrition training while in vet school and the various dog food companies come in and tell them why their foods are so great. So actually we prolly know more about dog nutrition that most vets.

No SD isn't necessarily a great food, but it works for some dogs. Check the ingredients. Does this food have chemical preservatives? If so, then I wouldn't feed it anymore and make the switch to something that uses a natural preservative. Though I'm not a Nutro fan, I would prolly feed that before I would feed a SD product.

Thanks, Labby.

I'm not sure if it has chemical preservatives or not -- I'll check later.

What would you recommend?

Auggie has *terribly* itchy skin! When we first got him last week, he had a lot of white flakes on his skin. Poor guy! I've been thinking about including an egg and some carrots, apple and yogurt in his diet. Vet said that the SD would help with his skin. Hmmm.

If it were me, I would probably go ahead and make the switch now. I know many have had good success with Eukanuba LB Pup, and many do well with Nutro products (although we flaked on them). Your flakes aren't going to go away overnite, but I don't think the Scienc Diet is going to help either.

You can always donate your leftover food to the humane society, they will be thrilled to have it.

Suzie

I had the same experience with out vet. He recommended Science Diet. After asking questions on this board and researching dog foods myself I found that Nutro LB puppy was the best for us. It has far better ingredients than the Science Diet. Although, that is my opinion and you might find a food that better suits your needs.
As for itchy skin make sure it isn't a skin condition. I only say that because my best friends' Mother in Law breeds labs. They brought home a new puppy to use as a stud about 1 year ago. Well, now they can't breed him because he has a rare skin condition that seems to affect Labs. * I in no way am diaganosing your puppy* I just want to give you some info in case the itching doesn't stop. And this just isn't flaking that I am talking about it is constant itching. Hope you find the right food for your sweet pup!
Melissa

Thanks. I just didn't know if it was OK to switch his food and then go around and switch it again right away. I didn't want to upset his little tummy.

I think the itching has gotten a little better. He still bites his tail and paws -- just not as frequently. I think the Science Diet IS better than the Puppy Chow. Hmmm.

If you guys think it's OK, I'll switch him over to something else.

Thanks again.
L

Also If you do choose to switch make sure that you just don't do away with the science diet and start on something new right away. Do it gradually. Add a little of the new food along with the science diet for a few days. Then add a little more of the new food until you have just the new food. That helps the adjustment for their tummies. When we switched Montana over from Science Diet to Nutro he didn't have loose stools even once. And he seems to LOVE the taste of the Nutro much more than the science diet.
Good luck in your decision. And if you have time on the health and nutrition board there is a lot of discussion on who feeds what kind of food.
Melissa

Thanks, Melissa. We've been gradually switching from the Puppy Chow to the SD -- I think we're old pros! The poor little guy, first the major change of moving in with us, then we change his food and now we're going to change it again! :)

Sounds good! Let me know how he does on the new food! Good Luck!
Melissa