any pros or cons to science diet? is it worth the extra money?

Ah...no. No, definitely not worth it, IMO.

There should be more information in the diet section or if you use the search function. I'm sure you'll turn up tons of stuff.

I have heard and read many bad things about Science Diet, but it is the brand that my breeder used and I have been feeding it to my lab for over 2 years. It agrees with him and he is doing great on it, so I like it.

It's a waste of money. It's mostly corn and contrary to science diet's crap about dogs being able to digest corn... dogs are carnivores. They need meat, not corn.

Go to Petsmart and get blue buffalo, or go to a specialty pet feed store and pick up california natural. Better food, less expensive than science diet, corn free.

Science Diet is crap, read the ingredients.

I have a cat who gets crystals in his urine, and his vet recommended science diet CD....its garbage. I feed my cat raw now and he hasnt had a blockage in 3 years.

Agreed.... some say that the "prescription" food that is specialized to help certain problem areas is actually pretty okay, but general SD food is pretty generic. And no, dogs cannot digest corn very well. Neither can humans.

But a lot of vets, when in vet school, get free products and other things from Science Diet, so they learn to praise SD at every turn.

:) But it is truly up to you, the owner! Good luck.

Only if it works...but there are better foods available...with more meat proteins.

There are better foods available for the same price.

Science Diet would be the last food I'd feed to my dogs. As said before read the label. My dogs seem to do very well on Eukanuba.

The search button is a wonderful thing.;)

I am not going to bash Sceince Diet because other than loose stools it has been a pretty good food for my 2 dogs, they are healthy and their coats are incredible, again the only issue I had with them was the loose stools,I am in the transistion of switching mine from SD Nature's Best to Kirkland which I really believe has much better ingredients, But time will tell, I am giving the Kirkland 6 weeks to see how they do on it.

Jim

This is a great site for finding a good food.

www.dogfoodanalysis.com

Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul is comparable in price but would be a better choice if you are trying to stick to a certain budget.

No *dog food* is worth it...IMHO

There are far better foods on the market.

But truthfully, there isn't a company out there that I would put total faith in.

But there are much better foods with higher good quality meats that will serve good nutrition when added in with fresh foods from your own table.

Science Diet would be the last food I'd feed to my dogs. As said before read the label. My dogs seem to do very well on Eukanuba.

I just picked the ingredient list for Euckanuba Large Breed Adult food:

Ingredients
Chicken, Corn Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Ground Whole Grain Barley, Chicken By-Product Meal (Natural source of Chondroitin Sulfate and Glucosamine), Chicken Flavor, Dried Beet Pulp, Dried Egg Product, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Fish Meal, Potassium Chloride, Brewers Dried Yeast, Fish Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Salt, Flax Meal, Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Choline Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Fructooligosaccharides, Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate), DL-Methionine, Dried Chicken Cartilage (Natural source of Chondroitin Sulfate and Glucosamine), Vitamins (Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), Vitamin E Supplement, Beta-Carotene, Rosemary Extract.
Calories:
349 kcal/cup
Caloric Distribution:
This information not yet available.

Available Product Sizes: 20.0 lbs Bag
40.0 lbs Bag
44 lbs Bag

Nutrient(percent)Crude Protein not less than23.00 % Crude Fat not less than13.00 % Crude Fat not more than16.00 % Crude Fiber not more than5.00 % Moisture not more than10.00 % Vitamin E not less than140 IU/kg Omega-6 Fatty Acids not less than2.4 %* Omega-3 Fatty Acids not less than0.3 %* Glucosamine not less than375 mg/kg* Chondroitin Sulfate not less than35 mg/kg* *Not recognized as an essential nutrient by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles.
Related Products


Healthy Extras Adult Large Breed Biscuits (http://www.eukanuba.com/EukGlobal/US/en/jsp/product/productDetail/Healthy%20Extras%20Adult%20Large%20Breed%20Biscuit s.jsp?id=1032)

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This information is not yet available.


I would say this food is somewhat comparable with Science Diet, Iams, Purina and some other supermarket dog foods, IMHO. With only 349 k/cals per cup, I am not sure you really getting your moneys worth compared to a dog food like Innova that has 504 k/cals per cup. You could feed a lot less of the Innova and your dogs will be getting a premium dog food from a well respected manufacturer and without a doubt your cost would most likely be the same as what you pay for Eukanuba. Your dog is thriving on Eukanuba, but it may thrive better on a premium food. Corn is the 2nd ingredient in this food, so there is a lot of corn in this food besides the chicken, it would be better if it was chicken meal rather than chicken. Your paying for the moisture in the chicken that has no nutrional value, chicken meal is the ground down meat of chicken excluding any moisture. Your dog would also have smaller stools with the elimination of corn which dogs do not digest.

My vet recommended it after Eukanuba wasn't working for my dog. Dakota lived to over 14 years. I guess that says something! But I will probably feed my new pup Cal Natural-the breeder had him on Nutro Max, which I don't want to stay on.

I think their specialized prescription diets have their place and value, but I wouldn't feed their regular food as an everyday diet.

bearsowner, thanks for the heads up on Eukanuba. I've been giving them the Performance food when competing and during hunting season and they have done real well on it. I'm sure there's better food out there but I've been hesitant to change. Is the Eukanuba Performance food the same as the Large Breed Adult food?

An often overlooked but very reasonably priced formula by a well-respected company is Healthwise by Natura (Innova, EVO, California Natural). It sells for $36.50 for a 35 lb. bag in my area. So, IMO, Science Diet is not worth it ingredient-wise at any price.

HealthWise Chicken Meal & Oatmeal Formula Adult Dog Food is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for all life stages.

Extra Information:
Calories 1705 Kcal/lb
Calories 3650 Kcal/Kg
Calories 453 KCals/Cup


Ingredients:
Chicken Meal, Oatmeal, Brown Rice, Chicken Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols, a Natural Source of Vitamin E), Pea Fiber, Flaxseed, Natural Flavors, Salt, Herring Oil, Potassium Chloride, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Betaine Hydrochloride, Vitamin A Supplement, Niacin Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Beta Carotene, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Biotin, Folic Acid), Minerals (Calcium Carbonate, Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Calcium Iodate), Lecithin, Rosemary Extract

Guaranteed Analysis %:
Protein 25
Fat 15
Moisture 10
Fiber 3.8

Healthwise is a very good and decent grain based dog food made by Natura, one of the most trusted manufacturers of premium and super premium dog food. Anyone on a budget should really look into this food, calorie wise, it is a real bargain.

bearsowner, thanks for the heads up on Eukanuba. I've been giving them the Performance food when competing and during hunting season and they have done real well on it. I'm sure there's better food out there but I've been hesitant to change. Is the Eukanuba Performance food the same as the Large Breed Adult food?

No it is Not the same, the performance is a little better then there Standard formula...Tater was on Eukanuba Performance up until a few days ago (we are switching him to Canidae ALS formula,way better ingredients and he doesn't need the high fat content right now). Tater did really well on it, he really did....But there is something about chicken by product that just doesnt sit well with me. :puke:

bearsowner, thanks for the heads up on Eukanuba. I've been giving them the Performance food when competing and during hunting season and they have done real well on it. I'm sure there's better food out there but I've been hesitant to change. Is the Eukanuba Performance food the same as the Large Breed Adult food?


Yes and no, the Perfomance uses chicken-by-product meal as its 2nd ingredient, which in itself is a questionable ingredient, anything that is a "by-product" IMHO is questionable. Saying that, most likely, but not sure, the Perfomance may have more meat in the food than the regular Large Breed variety. But, also, the Perfomance food is still using corn meal as a filler, corn is undigestable and serves no useful purpose in dog food. Also the Performance ingredient list shows "beet pulp" which some say is a questionable ingredient. "Fish Meal" is listed also in the Perfomance as it is in the Large Breed variety, what species of fish? I would like to know what kind of fish my dog is eating, is it salmon from Alaska or sun fish caught in the local lake.

Bascially all Purina did was move the Chicken-by-Product meal up to the #2 spot in the Performance variety, which should mean there is more of this than in the Large Breed variety.

It is still a grain based food, corn, sorghum and rice are right up there at the top of the ingredient list.

IMHO, dogs thrive better on meat based foods.

But if your dog is thriving on this food and has no issues with it, it is up to you to decide if you want to keep feeding it or maybe go up a level to a meat based and better quality food...

We had lots of problems with SD - found better foods that agreed w/ my dog for less.

We started both of our pets (chocolate lab and cat) on SD. After much research we switched to Evo. We also found out that our vet also feeds her dogs and cats the same food as we do.

No Science Diet here! :o:

This is a great site for finding a good food.

www.dogfoodanalysis.com

Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul is comparable in price but would be a better choice if you are trying to stick to a certain budget.

This site is great - it was my food search that lead me to this site. SD gave my pup horrible gas:eek: We feed California Natural now and are really pleased.

Way better foods for same price with way better ingredients! I use natural balance and he loves it!

I've never bought SD either. But on my recent adoption, the rescue group gave me a couple of small bags of the puppy food as that is what they were feeding him. I have to say, he has a very shiny coat and poops are firm. I know there is more to nutrition than just getting those 2 results, but that does say something I guess. But it does seem pretty expensive for a product that is front end loaded with corn. And I'm not a corn basher, I just don't want quite so much of it.

Some of the products recommended here like Natura, simply are not offered in all areas. I would have to pay freight which makes these products pretty darn high. So some of us have to try and find a middle of the road food that works but might be snubbed by others.

Our previous Black Lab was on Science Diet and turned gray from his shoulder to the tip of his tail. We switched to Nutro and he turned Black again.

Maybe a food allergy, maybe not

I've never bought SD either. But on my recent adoption, the rescue group gave me a couple of small bags of the puppy food as that is what they were feeding him. I have to say, he has a very shiny coat and poops are firm. I know there is more to nutrition than just getting those 2 results, but that does say something I guess. But it does seem pretty expensive for a product that is front end loaded with corn. And I'm not a corn basher, I just don't want quite so much of it.

Some of the products recommended here like Natura, simply are not offered in all areas. I would have to pay freight which makes these products pretty darn high. So some of us have to try and find a middle of the road food that works but might be snubbed by others.

I had my dog on ProPlan Performance for 2 large bags and he had the best coat ever and shed the least! Like you, I don't mind some corn in dog food. My dog loves corn on the cob and popped corn.

you could save tons of money and feed Nutra Nuggets and have the same quality as SD general foods.....in fact the NN Lamb is corn free......but for the same price as NN and half the price of SD you could feed Kirkland C/R or L/R

http://www.nutranuggets.com/products/nutra_nuggets/dogs/dry_food/