Science Diet

SD isn't that bad. I mean, I got my dog from the shelter, and he seemed to be fine withit then, so I continued to buy it. He is a three year old shnowser-terrier mix, and he is very active and loveable. So the food seemes to be decent. The reason I gave it a 4 star is because he is always hungry. He will wolf down his food, then go look for more. But otherwise, it's good.

Please do some research and don't feed your pets foods that have CORN, wheat, soy and bi-products in them! You are paying TONS for a very non-nutritious food.

Vets recommend it because Hills helps pay for vet school. Then, when the new vet graduates and starts “practicing” Hills calls them up and asks them to return the favor and to promote/carry their food.

I will not use a vet that promotes their food. I suggest that people start taking labels of holistic foods to their vet and asking them to educate themselves so that they can actually help pets!

Good foods: Blue Buffalo, Canidae, Solid Gold, Pinnacle, Wellness, the Natura products, Ultramix, Acana, Orijen and many more. Read your labels! No corn, wheat, soy or bi-products!!!!

Feeding this "food" to your dog is cruel and inhumane punishment.
Vets should be ashamed of themselves for taking profits over the care and well being of thier pets and concerned owners.
Most of these posts are accurate, so please be warned.
There are many excellent foods out there.
Iams, Eukanuba, ProPlan, Nutro, are all poor foods and Hills Science is the worst of the bunch.
For a list and review of some excellent foods please check out this web site... dogfoodanalysis.com
It is a great site for honest reviews of dry and can food.
Some good 5 and 6 star foods are Nature's Variety, Wellness, Canadea, Merrick, Blue Buffalo, California Natural, Solid Gold, TimberWolf, Innova, and many more.
Many of these are the same or lower price than Hills.
Please go to this site and see, and for the health of dogs all over, please spread the word.
Check out my profile for a pic of my 2 dogs that I care for very much.
By the way I feed my dogs Natures Variety.
What is good about these foods is that they pack a lot more protein/calories per cup of food.
About 450 qualitiy calories per cup vs about 350 empty low nutritional cals per cup of the Hills. So you can feed less food, thus working out to the same price as some of the cheaper foods.
For dinner they get 1/2 a can of Merrick canned food w/ their dry.
Merrick canned foods are rated 5 stars and there foods look human grade (especially there Wilderness "Buffalo" and Venison blends)
If your dogs do well on Chicken based diets, an Excellent chicken based food is Canadae. (And best of all.. a 40lb bag goes for about $32.00)
Your dogs will thank you if you make a switch to one of the above listed alternative foods.
Don't forget, check out the website above and spread the word for all dog kind :)~

http://content.theamericandogmag.com/index.php?opti on=com_content&vi%20ew=article&id=286:why-do-you-really-need-a-prescription-for-your-dog%20s-food&catid=43:nutrition&Itemid=9

My dog would not touch this food! I tried it because we were told it would imporve his teeth. Yeah, not going to happen. This food smells bland even to me. Dooie will not eat it.

I started my boxer on SD and then I bought into the hype that SD was garbage. I switched to several of the CORN, SOY, and BY-PRODUCT free brands and that's when my troubles began. Loose stool after loose stool I decided to switch back to SD!! Problem solved, my boxer is doing great!! I mean if you really think about just because your dog doesn't agree with SD it doesn't mean it's garbage. Not for my boxer anyway!! Some people don't do milk, it doesn't mean it's garbage right? Just go with what your dog does great on and quit bashing other brands!!!

Can not stand this company. All they care about is making money. Sure its vet recommended but that is only because they sponsor the vet schools and hills is the company that gives vets their nutritional education. So of course they are going to explain why corn is so good and by products are good as well. Its a bag of corn! Actually I work at a vet clinic and the one time this vet rescued a pigeon and the bird actually ate science diet I think it was their i/d formula so what does that tell you? They also are making alot of money because it does not cost them much to make their food as it is filled with cheap ingredients. Yet they charge the same amount as Orijen! I think Id rather feed a species appropriate food like Orijen thank you very much. Daisy my one papillon will eat anything but one day at work there was some science diet kibble spilled she took off to eat one and actually spit it out!!!! Probably because she is a carnivore and prefers the taste of meat to that of corn! I at work see lots of dogs on this food and they all seem to have skin problems and allergies. Over weight issues. I have seen a five year old dog I though was 15 it looked and acted ancient. Their stool is enormous on this food. shih tzu's stool is bigger then my moms boxers stool!!!! And you can actually see whole kernels in their stool. Thats because there is no nutrtional value to corn we poop it out whole just like dogs do.
Read this article alot of these formulas use sawdust. Cellulose and powdered cellulose is sawdust.
http://content.theamericandogmag.com/index.php?opti on=com_content&view=article&id=286:why-do-you-really-need-a-prescription-for-your-dogs-food&catid=43:nutrition&Itemid=9

Expensive. Low quality ingredients. False marketing.

I feel very confused. I want to feed my dogs better food but when I do they get very ill.

Currently my 2 bichons are on SD and doing well. When ever I tried to switch them over to a higher grade dog food (Wysong and most recently, Blue Buffalo) they get very sick (vomiting, bloody diarrhea, excessive tear stains, self chewing).

I gave it 3 stars because, while I dont like the quality, my dogs seem to do better on this food. I wish I could find a food that doesnt make my babies sick and is better quality then the SD.

sigh...

This company is disgusting. The vets promote this food because it causes a lot of problems with the dog, which leads to more vet visits. This leads to more money for the vet and Hills. My vet put our dog on Science Diet and they would not eat it. I have a yorkie and a poodle. I told the vet they wouldn't eat it and he said they would when they got hungry enough. I guess if you are starving you will eat anything.



When they did eat the food, they started to eat their stools. I Googled this and it said dogs ofter eat their stools if they are lacking nutrition or are hungry. Needless to say I will never feed my dog this garbage food again.

The reason why people knowledgeble about canine nutrition and ingredients always trash Science Diet is because the labels lists low quality ingredients and lots of chemicals! I would like to point out It is likely that this brand contains the toxic perservative, ethoxyquine. The toxic effect of ethoxyquine is cummulative and will result in liver problems in your dog! The label does not state that it contains ethoxyquine because the manufacturer does not have to list ingredients not specifically added by them (the ethoxyquine is added to the rendered animal fats by the rendering company possibly in very large concentrations-- nobody keeps track). I have used Hill's Z/d for my very allergic dog to stabilizer her so I could do food challenges and determine her food allergies. This food was a Godsend for this purpose, however, the fatty acid profile and low protein content make it unsuitable for long-term use. This formula probably does not contain ethoxyquine because it has plant source fats to avoid animal antigens, however, I can't be sure. Sue

Having used Science Diet for over 20 years I can say it works and works well. I have used it for large dogs to small dogs and cats and never once had any issues with it. My cats are currently on Natures Best. For those who think Nutro is better look up thier history on products being recalled. No thank you!!! Science diet is made in the USA and is safe. Ask your vet if they get kick backs from science diet and they will laugh at you. Mine did and yes I asked and they do.My vet does recomend Science Diet. Holistic has no deffinition by AAFCO its up to the company to decide . Human Grade isn't approved by AAFCO either. I could go on and on. I will be sticking to science diet for my pets. Not to say its the best for every pet since they are all differant and have differant needs but from my experiance it is for most. If you want the truth pull out an actual Vet book and do your research.

I have 2 puppies, a Malshi-(Maltese-Shih Tzu) and a Cavachon (Cavalier King Charles Spaniel-Bichon Frise). They are both under 18 lbs and very adorable. Needless to say, they are very important to me. The breeder I bought them from gave me Hill's Science Diet original formula for puppies, and I thought that meant I should buy it for my 2 pups.

Negatives: I noticed that they both started defecating more, and by more I mean 4 times a day, in considerable amounts. They both would gulp down the food and then scrabble around for food the rest of the time. They acted like they were extremely hungry, even though I would feed them snacks in between meals. I thought that them constantly looking for food was normal, until I asked other dog owners whose dogs did not seem constantly hungry. The ingredients are horrible for dogs, poor quality, and full of fillers. You can see a break down of the ingredients, and perhaps a better dog food for your pup here: Dog Food Analysis

Positives: The dogs like this food, but then again, children really like candy; this factor doesn't necessarily mean the candy is good for them.

I have recently switched to Blue Buffalo Chicken and Brown Rice puppy formula and I'm going to review it as soon as I can see results. I have researched online for reviews of BB and they are mainly very positive. I am very impressed by the ingredients and the percentages of fat and protein.

I hope this helps those of you who are shopping for dog food!

I realize that this site is a place for people to state their opinions regarding dog food brands, however I think one should have actually fed the food that they are reviewing before they write about it!
I have fed Science Diet to my two dogs and I am very happy with the results. They love the food, it seems to have a good nutrient profile, my dogs have not had any gas or loose stool, in fact the clean up has been minimal so far, poop is much smaller and less of it that ever! I keep searching the yard with the scooper several times a day and there just isn't much to clean up! I can honestly say that they are going HALF as much as they were before! I never would have believed it, considering that there is a considerable amount of corn in these formulas.
My dogs were itching, had greasy coats and dandruff all at the same time! I was frustrated and worried for them...after a relatively short time, one of the dogs has virtually stopped itching and the other has decreased her itching intensity.
I do wish the food was less expensive, but if you hit up SD Rep, he/she will give you a coupon. :)

My dog won't eat anything else but SD. She was raised on Ol' Roy and would not eat that when I bought it for her. I tried many different types of food. First I started with the lower quality foods, Beneful, Purina, Ol' Roy, etc. She would not eat any of it. My vet recommended SD and gave me a free sample. She has loved it ever since. SD time is her favorite part of the day. She is now 7 years old and acts just like she did when she was one. SD is the best thing that ever happened to my dog. Everyone should give it a try.

I have a Shih tzu-we got our puppy when he was 9 weeks old and he was on SD small bites until about about 11 and a half months of age-had no issues.

Researching and reading all sorts of negative comments in regards to SD let me to change his food (we did as we should and changed it slowly over the course of a week-I did not suddenly change his food so please don't attribute the following as a result of doing it improperly)....he soon developed chronic bouts of constipation and diarrhea...we tried several brands such as Wellness...Blue Buffalo...and Orijen-all "high quality" foods that were recommended by others....we brought him to the vet at least 4 or 5 times within a matter of two months....we, nor the vet could figure out what was wrong....they thought he'd swallowed something and had a blockage (negative), tested for parasites (negative), was given a $200.00 test for salmonella poisoning (negative), in between waiting for test results he was given antibiotics to firm up his poop....after all the testing came back negative the vet summed it up to him having an extremely sensitive digestive system and told us he'd need to be on prescription diet food for the rest of his life.

I couldn't accept that and in my stubborness I decided to try to go back to the food that he'd been raised on as a puppy (he's 14 months old now). I found Nature's Best Lamb & Brown Rice under the Hills SD brand from Petsmart. They have a money back guarantee so I figured I had nothing to lose....

Well, within two days of being back on this food I noticed a huge improvement....now a month later his poop is firm, and his digestive system has regulated. He's energetic, he's happy....and he loves his food.

I don't know much about canine nutrition, but I do know that whatever was in that higher quality food just did not agree with my dog. We spent countless dollars on vet bills only to find out that it was the food that was doing him harm. SD may not be the highest quality out there, but its more than sufficient for my dog.

Horrible!! The First few ingredients are the worth ones for dogs, stop feeding your pet this brand~

Cheap ingredients that are not good for our pets! Dogs cannot digest corn or any grain for that matter, yet you can find whole ground corn, whole ground sorghum, whole ground wheat, soybean meal, corn gluten meal in a basic bag of SD dog food. Not to mention all the by-products (which are leftovers from the edible parts of animals - stuff like beaks and feathers) and the "animal" fat. What kind of animal is this fat from? If they can't name it, you shouldn't buy it!

This stuff is absolute crap. Dogs deserve real meat protein from specified meat sources. They NEED meat protein to thrive and be healthy. Do your research and feed your dogs human quality, all natural foods.

I have just taken my puppy on her first trip to my parents home in Florida and while here she has refused to eat her regular food. So yesterday I went to the vet and got her SD. She has had diarrhea ever since and it's so distressing.

If anyone has had the same issue please let me know how you helped your dog recover. Before this she was on a very healthy, organic raw food. Today she would only eat baked chicken.

She is a very small toy puppy and the vets in this area are closed tomorrow. I am worried.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you.
Tracy

Like many others, I switched to SD K/D that was prescribed by my vet for a temporary ailment my dog had. He immediately started having larger and more frequent stools, began itching constantly and developed hotspots and thinning hair. I switched brands to a more natural food that was based in ACTAL MEAT, not CORN AND CORN BYPRODUCTS! After that, his stools returned to normal as did his skin. I started researching and found that the ingredients in SD are nothing but garbage. Not only does Hills give kickbacks to vets who push this stuff, but they also "sponsor" the few nutrition classes that are taught in most of the veterinary schools. Talk about conflict of interest! Why not have McDonalds and Pepsi sponsor nutrition classes in our nation's elementary schools next? Seriously, I wouldn’t feed this garbage to a stray dog.

I wouldnt recommend this food at all! its nothing but by-products, fillers, and preservatives! Now I know there are some people that say its the worst food ever, but they are just being melodramatic. Working at petco for yrs really opened my eyes to not only dog foods, but animal health period! Hill's is recommended by vet's because they get payed for it! Any dog food(or cat food) you can buy at a market is basically junk food.. with fillers and by-products. I know people who feed their dog's Science Diet and their dogs are very healthy and active, but even with that said... I still wouldnt recommend it.

This is one of the most dangerous foods to feed your pet. It contains ethoxyquin as a preservative. It is a weed killer and is a known carcinogen. When the cr*p was starting to the hit the fan about 10 years ago, Hills took advantage of a labeling loophole to deceive the public. The carcinogen is added to one of the ingredients which they buy from another source. That source adds the ethoxyquin in their ingredient so that Hills does not have to list it on their label. I e-mailed back and forth with Hills at that time, and they had to admit that ethoxyquin was still in their kibble -- which was followed by a load of corporate propaganda about not enough proof being available that is causes cancer in dogs and cats. Well -- just go on line to any Intestinal lymphoma or intestinal tumor groups for cats or dogs --- and you will find a bunch of well-meaning owners who were feeding their pet --- Hills Science Diet. I was feeding this to a colony of stray and feral cats in the mid-90's thinking I was doing something good for them. 8 of the 10 cats developed intestinal lymphoma and intestinal tumors. The other 2 cats died from a (1) coyote and (1) cancer in the jaw. Of the cats who joined the colony after I switched foods, ZERO have developed it.

After your dog or cat develops cancer in the intestines, your 'wonderful' corporate-controlled vet will try and sell you MORE Hills "special foods" to help your pet with the cancer that Hill's food caused in the first place!! It's a SCAM and Hills knows very well what it is doing ---- making money. They have no soul and do not care about your pet. BOYCOTT THEM BIG TIME. Don't let your vet sell you more of their cr*p.

I'm reading quite a number of reviews from people who swear by this food because their vet recommends it. I work for a vet and like others have mentioned, the doctors get kickbacks from the Hills for promoting and selling their crappy food. To make it worse some of those prescription formulas are like fifty bucks for a twenty pound bag and the main ingredients are corn and by product meal. I never recommend Science Diet to any of our clients even though I could get in trouble for doing so. There are many food on the market that are of much better quality for the same price.

AWFUL....DO NOT USE!!!

We have been feeding our Lab and Hound Mix this food for awhile. All of a sudden the Hound Mix is itching, licking and making herself raw. Spent tons of money at the vet and they said she had allergies. Paid a ton to have her on steroids all to find out a few grand later that the food she is on. DO NOT FEED this to your pet even if your vet recommends it.

Total junk food.

How many ways do they list corn????

Everyone knows corn goes in looking the same way it comes out your bum.

They'll list corn 3 or 4 different ways and by the way, CELLULOSE IS used to make card board and paper and is found in SD. Gross.

This Food Is HORRIBLE! SERIOUSLY! SO NOT FEED YOUR POOR DOG THIS! My boyfriend and I switched our 3 month Rott onto this because the vet said to, and our poor baby was sick for DAYS! He was pooping 10 times a day, which is clearly not healthy. He was so dehydrated we had to buy him pedialyte to replenish his poor body. He was always tired, less active, he was always whimpering, and COULD NOT CONTROL HIS BOWLS! i do not recommed this to any one! i suggest you simply buy a high quality food that you can buy at the super market. combined with a vitamin and and pup wlll be fine!

Took my dog off Science Diet and switched her to California Natural - Salmon. She was scratching and licking profusely and her skin was always red and irritated. Additionally, she was overweight as well.

These problems have gone away in the few months since I took her off the SD. The vet originally recommended the SD but with all the improvements after the switch I wonder what she is thinking now.

Our vet put our dog on the Hill's Science Diet K/D for renal problems. The food is so bad tasting that our dog will eat her breakfast at 3 p.m., when she know she will get nothing else. She eats her dinner at around 11 p.m. I called Hill's and they suggested that I put oregano in the food. Why don't they?!!!! We tried doctoring it up with chicken broth. Then she started throwing it up. We then combined it with Pedigree's healthy digestion and she licked the Pedigree off the Hill's food and would, much later, finish eating the Hill's.

The bad part is that Hill's seems to have an exclusive deal with vets so that they can only carry the Hill's brand. We found Purina NF and Royal Canin for renal problems. She readily ate these with no problem.

Hill's shame on you!!! And vets, why do you accept these exclusive deals with Hill's? Shame on you too!

This is probably the worst food i have given my poor dog. For one it has corn which is indigestable to dogs, a wealth of animal fat, and other ingredients like stool hardeners and such. When my dog ate it she seemed constipated, her eyes would water frequently and she hated eating. When i switched her food to a natural brand which has foods that humans would eat, she was happy to eat and she isn't constipated and her eyes don't water, even her coat improved. Plus some of their money goes in to advertising their produvts with vets so they will reccomend the dog food and sell it to people. Plus, so many people complain of how their dogs have gotten sick from the food and it seems the company doesn't claim that their food was the problem or take action. It is disgusting. Here's my rule: If you wouldn't eat what is in dog food, don't give it to your dog. And i am sure many people would not like a crunchy blend of corn, chicken and fat for every meal.

I don't recommend this food at work. It has corn, wheat and soy. Not only that but Hills uses Animal Fat for a preservative. I did call and ask what kind of animal they used and the person told me either chicken or pork. So then how come they can't put that on the bag? I don't know. There have been a lot of customers that complain that their dog(s) poop more or they are hungry again after being fed. In reality, you need to feed more because of the grains. I went to a SD seminar last summer and the lady said that if you don't feed your dog or cat SD then you might as well buy a shovel and a coffin because you are killing it! I will not sell this to a customer.

I started feeding my Chihuahua SD puppy when he was 9wks old. The breeder had started him on Eukanuba but he was pooping 10-15 time a day so I switched him. There seemed to be a large improvement with Science Diet. He wasn't going as much and he seemed to like it just fine. However, he still wasn't very healthy. His skin was red and flaky and he was loosing hair. I was told by my vet that this was normal because he is a blue chihuahua and they tend to have skin conditions. I thought there was nothing I could do about it.
Then when I was visiting my sister months later, I spotted a Holistic Pet Center. I dropped in to see if perhaps they had something topical i could apply to my chi's skin to help it. They did have something topical but they also insisted that his diet was the main problem for him. I was really resistant but grudgingly I purchased a bag of Azmira Holistic dog food. With in a weeks of switching from SD to Azmira his skin started looking less red and flaky and in about a month I noticed that his hair was growing back! He is happy and healthy now. Also Azmira is CHEAPER than Science Diet (but hard to find). If your dog is healthy on science diet, great. But if not, try a holistic food like Azmira and I'd be really surprised if you didn't see improvements.

I gave it 4 stars because I know its ingredients are not really that good, but nonetheless my dogs love it and are healthy when on it.

SD is not the best food, but it is not horrible, either. At the end of the day, it's the dogs' opinions (expressed in the form of their health conditions) that matter. If your dogs aren't in good heath when on SD, then feed them something else. But if your dogs are in good health when on SD, like my dogs are, then there's nothing wrong feeding them SD. I'm so tired of hearing people accusing SD users to be bad pet owners. I choose SD and I am not a bad pet owners. I take my dogs exercises regularly and give them a lot of love and attention. They are healthy and happy dogs.

I've tried several good brands (Wellness, Blue, Nutro, Natural Balance...) but somehow my dog just didn't do well when she's on these better brands. She had loose stool and her itching and paw-chewing problems got really bad, even when these brands were introduced to her slowly. Things got back to normal when I reluctantly switched her back to Hill's SD.

I am aware that SD's ingredients are not as good as other better brands, but my dog likes SD food and has been on it for 7.5 years. She was a 2-year old mutt when I adopted her, and she has never had any health problems. Together with regular exercise (she walks at least 3 miles everyday) and a lot of love and attention, she is in a very good shape for a 9.5 years old. Her teeth are great and she is very perky when she walks. The only reason I tried to change her diet was because of the large amount of negative reviews about Hill's SD.

I used to have a senior toy poodle who was 11 years old and in a terrible physical shape when I adopted him. He was on SD's senior/small bites for a bit longer than 6 years; he also didn't have any health problems, but was just getting old and eventually passed away in his sleep at home peacefully. When I adopted him, I was told that he would only live for another 2 or 3 years. But he lasted longer and was healthy and perky until the last 2 days when his body started to shut down.

In addition to my own dogs, I also have friends who feed their dogs SD and are doing well. Of course, I've also known dogs that don't do well on SD. So it's kind of like people, food A is good for people A but not B.

i used to fed my dobie with this brand. Have to add meat and fish oil to make her swallow this brand. failed

My Parents and I both Have Minture Pinshers. Both feed Science diet as recommened by our vet. My dog had terrible body odor, His anal glands always seem to stink water eyes and always chewed his feet. My mother's dog did not exhibit all the same symptons but did have inconsistent bowls, body odors and water eyes. We switched to nutra ultra brand and all of these things have dissappeared. Buy your dog good dog food and do some research!

My mother's Staffordshire Terrier was being fed Science Diet by recommendation of her veterinarian. She suffered from horrible allergies. She licked and licked constantly. She also shed a lot and had a bad doggy odor. I did some researching and found out that science diet adult formulas contain corn, corn gluten meal and whole grain wheat, which studies have shown to be causes of allergies in dogs. Needless to say I informed my mother right away of this so-called "good food" and so my mom put her on Taste of the Wild grain-free Pacific Stream canine formula. She is doing much, much better! She does not lick anymore, she dosent shed like she used to, the doggy odor is gone and her coat is shinier. I wouldn't recommend Science Diet to anyone. I suppose some dogs can get along fine with it, but think of the kind of life they would have if they were fed a more nutritious food!

I am extremely shocked with what I have recently found out about Hill's Science Diet along with the majority of every other pet food manufacturer. I have had labs for about 15 years now and just yesterday I took my 3 year old to the vet clinic to get a blood profile done to see what her figures were for her for the thyroid, glucose, kidney, liver etc. I was told today that her kidney levels were out of normal range. She has been on R/D science diet for the last year. My concern is after reading the ingredients from the Science Diet I'm wondering if the lack of strict guidelines on the "by product" and "EQ" that go into this food is harming my animal. This is scary stuff if you want to see for yourself go to this website and check the links. It will make you sick and it very graphic http://caninekidneydiseasebreakthrough.com/ It's not about talking bad about the pet food companies or trying to be anti big pet food companies, however I have had 3 labs die from liver kidney complications at the time the labs were a mother and two of her pups I knew that she did not have a strong pedigree and associated it with that. Now my concern is that my new dog at age 3 is going to struggle with kidney/liver problems at a young age all because of pet food. If there is anyone who has a recipe that they use to feed their dogs will you please post? I'm definately looking for an alternative.

I wouldn't feed this crap to a person on death row and I really am not impressed with people these days. I have been a pet groomer for almost 20 years and an avid show breeder and handler long before that. You might as well feed your dog Pedigree. All those who believe exactly what your vets tell you is a fool. Educate yourself and do the research. Do you know that nutrition is not elective course in vet school. Hell I have found that most vets can't even tell what a breed is mixed with. I have heard some say a dog is mixed with some off the wall crap that the dog does not even remotely look like. But yet people believe them, because hey they are a vet. And also vets are not trained how to prevent diseases in your pet: they are only trained how to treat it. I know some people who also take everything their doctor tells them to take without any questions or research. Because they are doctors! Please! The sad thing is that your pet is only as smart as you are. Geeze, I wonder why I see so many ill manered dogs! Lori Muddy Paws Grooming

Pure JUNK! And costs almost as much as excellent, high-quality dog food (Wellness, Natural Balance).

My brother died recently, leaving behind his two labrador retrievers. They were taken to the shelter by Animal Control and stayed there a few days until I could drive out to pick them up. That shelter feeds Science Diet (donated), so I bought a bag so as not to change their diet - they didn't need any more changes in their lives, poor babies! I've never liked Science Diet (for my dogs or my cats), so I immediately started to gradually mix in the Wellness & Natural Balance foods that I feed my own dogs. I happened to read the ingredients in the Science Diet Large Breed dog food and was absolutely horrified! The first 6 ingredients are:

Ground Whole Grain Corn
Chicken By-Product Meal
Soybean Meal
Animal Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid)
Soybean Oil
Chicken Liver Flavor

Plus, the recommended "serving" was more than 6 cups for an 80-lb dog - more than double what the quality food recommends - because they're eating a bunch of corn that goes right through them!

After 7 days they were completely off of Science Diet, so I returned what was left to the store and got a full refund, I'm happy to say, and bought a bag of "the good stuff."

Please - have any of you guys had to try it for what it is prescribed for? doesn't look like it -

Prescription Hills SD helped my dog greatly. It is designed to change the ph level of a dogs urine long enough to try to dissolve struvite stones along with antibiotic treatment to avoid surgery!!! It will tell you right on the web site it is not a complete nutritionally balance and can not be considered a long term food - you feed for 1 to 2 months to see if it will work with your dog. While the dog also gets antibiotics -- it is a nutritional medician. IF your dog responds - viola - no need for putting him under and doing a bladder surgery. Please don't review if you have never tried things yourself -- it's like me writing a review on Edmunds for a Lamborgini or something.

I have a 7 year old miniature pinscher. Science diet has a variety of brands specifically formulated for your dogs personal needs. For instance, light,puppy,senoir,adult, and other specality foods. I have been feeding my pet this brand all her life. She has never been sick. Her coat is beautiful and shiny and she is very active for her age. The vet has never forced the sale of food on me. I have used this product upon the reccomendation of other friends. I have never had a negative experince with this brand. I would tell anyone to use this product. Differerent dogs respond differently to different types of food. I would advise anyone to try SD and see the results for yourself.

We have a new dog that came to us in January eating Science Diet Lamb and Rice dry food, adult small bites. She does very well on it in that her coat is soft and glossy, her "ouput" in the yard is easy to pick up and not too much (we live in a condo development so that is important). She finds the food very tasty so I never have to "doctor" it up or throw out food left in the bowl. I was going to change her food to the same food her sister is eating, but have decided, based on the results to feed them both the Science Diet. The number 1 ingredient on the label is lamb meal followed by brewers rice and rice flour (the main ingredients of the kibble) and the food is preserved with Vitamin C and E. It is not a fancy food (no fruits, vegetables or spices), but is digested very well.

this is a very bad brand! it has been recalled a couple years ago and yet ppl still put it on there selfs to sell. U should stop feedig ur pet this brand one of my cats died for eating it

so swich ur food

We had our dogs on Science Diet because the Vets recommend it and that is because the Vets get kick back on it. Science Diet helps out the Vet Colleges. In reality Vets really don't know what food is the best. However, I was lucky enough to have the vet assistant tell me about Science Diet and that Canidae and Innova is much much better for the dogs. That Science Diet has too many fillers and bi-products, which is very true.
Our dogs bowel movements were way to hard, they were always constipated and went potty several times a day.
I don't recommend Science Diet what so ever

It gets one star simply because there's no option for no stars.

I worked as a vet tech for 8 years, through college. Science Diet is recommended by vets largely because they sponsor most of the nutrition for veterinary schools and provide BIG discounts on their products for vets and clinic staff. Vets generally only take a class or two in nutrition and guess who provides the info??? Some vets choose to spend more time with continuing education in nutrition. These are the folks that don't sell SD. (I'm not knocking vets at all... they're expected to be internal medicine practicioners, pediatrics, radiologists, dentists, general surgeons, etc. all in one. There's simply too much else for them to focus on!)

For the money, you'd be better off feeding Purina One or ProPlan. There are MUCH better diets out there in a similar price range. Try Blue Buffalo, Nature's Variety, Evo, Bil-Jac or Healthwise!

First of all...I think you have to realize what pet food industy is trually about and that is easy to place ingredients over nutrition into food. I mean blueberries and watemelon sounds amazing for humans...but hot tip maybe no the best for the health of your pet. By-products are in almost in every pet ingredient. Guess what jello, lamb meal, turkey gizzards alll have in common ...there all by-products. there are good by-products and bad. To say that corn is the grain of all evil is soo offside. It's in the processing of the corn it's 95% degestive and the least allergetic grain. There are a lot of misconceptions on what causes food allergies. Scientific data shows that in dogs 95%and in cats 80%
There a myths that allergies are caused by ingredients such as corn but that is not the case. To say that something is a filler would imply it has no nutritional value; when in fact corn is a superb source of nutrients. There is a misconception that whole corn is used – in fact the corn is baked and is much like ground corn you buy. When cooked it is highly digestible.We hear many concerns about by-products in pet food. We need to understand how they are defined and what they really are and what is their nutrient value.
By-products is really a play on words. Virtually all ingredients in pet foods are by-products. No one for example uses real chicken breasts as we know it.It's neck and backs of a chicken.
Another common myth is that meat should always be the first ingredient, inferring that if that was the case, there would be more meat than anything else in the food. Often the carbohydrates levels are higher than the meats because of the way they are listed in the ingredient panel.Meat first is often the first ingredient only to please the consumer look st the ash levels and mositure levels, and ingreident spliting.
PLease note vets don't get free food or speical deals for pushing product. Vets are in the field to help pets not sell pet food usually most pets are on a vet diet for a small amount of time. And cost per feeding is 60 cents per day for a 20 lbs dog. Science Diet SAVED my dog and I know that if it wasn't for Science Diet it would be here today. SO next time you compare foods see if there "As Fed" meaning that they did feeding trials on there food ie studies that it works! Or if It's fomulated that it wasnt tested and jiust caculated what meets the needs based on caculation. It's your choice! I'll like to base my foods on proof and case studies....as your pet store for some case studies of there so called natural no grain items...they won't or ask them for there dry matter information then see how meat weights in there food.....

Science Diet is one of the lowest quality foods out there. It's main ingredient is corn! Dogs like people dont digest corn. Corn contains aflatoxins which is a naturally occurring fungi that grows on corn, soy, and even peanuts. These aflatoxins are deadly to your dog. This can cause things like pancreatic cancer, liver disease, UTIs, which can lead to bladder problems and kidney failure! I work at a pet supplies store and most of our foods are holistic but we carry science diet because it is a business and our owner likes the popularity of it...a science diet representative told our employees that we are NOT ALLOWED to show our customers the ingredient pannel...obviously there is something to hide. And for the person who said you need to be an expert to know this stuff...you dont...it just takes a little knowledge, research and experience and most importantly common sense to know what is good for your dog. veterinarians know nothing about nutrition...science diet funds vet schools and brainwashes them to believe science diet and corn is good for your dog. its not! if you want a good brand of dog food...try the Natura products like Innova and Healthwise or Merrick or Before Grain. Stay away from "Science" Diet...try something holistic...for the well being of your dog.

My puppy would not eat this dog food. I received a free bag from my vet. I was already feeding him Purina One Puppy Chow. I mixed the two bags together and he would only eat the Purina and leave the Science Diet in his bowl.

  I have NEVER been a Science Diet fan, in fact, have detracted as many people as possible from feeding the "overpriced, grain based junk" over the years. After all, I'd heard time and again how this food was nothing but a marketing gimmick, how the Vets were getting such a lucrative deal from selling it. Waaaay back in the day when raw diets were being shoved down everyone's throat (if you didn't feed raw in '01-'03ish you were abusing your dogs ... @@) we even used to call this brand Science Death. There has to be more misinformation, propoganda & outright lies surrounding this brand than any other, even the dreaded Purina!
     I have fed everything from raw to probably almost a dozen holistic foods over the years, including Best In Show, which has been out of business for some time, Canidae, Nutro Ultra, Back To Basics, Timberwolf, Merrick, Evolve, Natural Balance ... the list goes on. The latest in the holistic foods has been Wellness, both the CORE & the Just for Puppy. I'd been feeding Purina (GASP!!!) wasn't happy about a recent formula change, so decided to try somethign "better". HA! I have never had so many problems from a food. From compulsive stool eating and gastric problems in the puppy feed after feeding it for a few months this summer/fall to severe life threatening problems on CORE. No, absolutely not exaggerating. None of them did well - one had a seizure we have now determined to be related to hypoglycemia & dehydration. Vet believes there was great strain on his kidneys as the BUN and cholesterol were elevated - he was drinking and urinating so copiously on CORE, was just not doing well, loosing weight, and had a very mild petit mal seizure due to the havoc it was wreaking in his body.
     Anyway, I digress. On to my Science Diet review!
     I have been feeding Science Diet  Active Adult for about 3 weeks now and the changes are REMARKABLE. Just absolutely astonsihing. First, I want to say the feed has changed over the years, and is now preserved naturally, with mixed tochopherols. It is a low carb food, about 38%, which is similar to the amounts in foods like Purina ONE/Pro Plan, and Eukanuba ... and CORE. I find it's the holistic foods that are close to 50% carbs.
     I have 12 dogs, all of whom are now eating less of this product and digesting it well as evidenced by small, firm, infrequent stools. Teeth are clean, eyes are bright, very even energy level. Everyone's coat has drastically improved. Coats are soft, thick & glossy. Appetites are just ravenous! They absolutely love the taste of Science Diet :) That makes me happy because it's not possible for active working dogs (we hunt hare/squirrel) to maintain health if they pick at their food. Again, I am feeding very little to maintainweight. The largest dog, a 65lb Shepherd mix is eating 2 cups daily. He also has the best coat he's had since he was about 2 yrs old (he's 8 now) and the most unexpected, miraculous thing is that his chrinic moist, yeasty, wax encrusted ear infection is finally, after YEARS of treatment, clearing up more and more every day!!! I also had a very stiff young bitch who had a hunting injury as a pup. As of late, she's been walking aroudn hunch backed and stiff. Poor gal was very uncomfortable and lethargic. Well, not anymore. Her tail is way up, gait is normal, she is running around and is probably one of the most active dogs we own now!
     You just cannot blow off results like this. I pay about $44 for the 40lb bag, which I consider to be moderately priced. Insult the ingredients or the marketing all you want, but I have healthy Beagles (and a mutt) who are living proof that the holistic kibbles are not at all what they are cracked up to be. I hate the stupid argument that feeding SD or Purina is like feeding Mc Donalds ... while Innova or Orijen is like feeding fresh foods. WAKE UP. All kibble is processed, and feeds like Orijen are no less processed or any better because they have an entire spice rack and veggie stand in them. And for 38% carbs, you can bet that Science Diet does NOT skimp on the meat.
     So there's my review. This is one of the best foods I've ever used.

I have raised my 2 dogs on Science Diet and they are doing great! I have a 14 yr old and also a 7 mth old German Shepherd. They haven't had any health issues. My 14 yr old male hasn't had any joint or athritis problems and I don't give him any supplements. Both of their coats look great! So in my opinion I give S.D 5 stars!!! I also work at a veterinary clinic and I can tell everyone we do NOT get a kick back from selling S.D. I would also like to tell everyone the biggest things you want to watch isnt so much the ingredients its the NUTRIENTS. The most important nutrients you want to watch are the Protein-Phophorus- and calcium. (most dog foods don't list the phosphorus and calcium you need to call the company and ask). My fiance just switched his 5 Belgian Malinois from Taste of the Wild to S.D about 2 months ago and he has seen a big improvement. He switched them because when he did his older dogs Bloodwork his phosphorus levels where to high. We rechecked the bloodwork on monday and all levels are great!!! Excessive amounts of Protein and Phosphorus can increase the risk of kidney disease as your pets get older! High calcium can cause your dogs to develop stones! Hope everyone finds this helpful!