Hills Science Diet dog food
October 8, 2008 by admin
Filed under Science Diet
Science Diet Dog Food
Science Diet dog food is made and manufactured by Hills Pet Nutrition, Inc. Science Diet dog food comes in a wide variety and wide selection of recipes. We are going to take an in-depth look at each formula and review each one based on the information from the manufactures website.
Science Diet Puppy Formulas:
- Science Diet Puppy Original Dog Food
- Science Diet Puppy Small Bites Dog Food
- Science Diet Puppy Lamb Meal & Rice Recipe Dog Food
- Science Diet Nature’s Best Lamb & Brown Rice Dinner Puppy Dog Food
- Science Diet Nature’s Best Chicken & Brown Rice Dinner Puppy Dog Food
- Science Diet Puppy Large Breed Dog Food
- Science Diet Puppy Lamb Meal & Rice Recipe Large Breed Dog Food
Science Diet Adult Formulas:
- Science Diet Active Adult Dog Food
- Science Diet Adult Original Dog Food
- Science Diet Adult Small Bites Dog Food
- Science Diet Lamb Meal & Rice Recipe Adult Dog Food
- Science Diet Lamb Meal & Rice Recipe Adult Small Bites Dog Food
- Science Diet Nature’s Best Chicken & Brown Rice Dinner Adult Dog Food
- Science Diet Nature’s Best Chicken & Brown Rice Dinner Adult Small Bites Dog Food
- Science Diet Nature’s Best Lamb & Brown Rice Dinner Adult Dog Food
- Science Diet Nature’s Best Lamb & Brown Rice Dinner Adult Small Bites Dog Food
Science Diet Mature Adult Formulas:
- Science Diet Mature Adult 7+ Original Dog Food
- Science Diet Mature Adult 7+ Small Bites Dog Food
- Science Diet Mature Adult 5+ Large Breed Dog Food
So what do you recommend instead?
I recommend Innova EVO, Wellness, Canidae and some others. There are a lot of good dog food brands out there. If you want some more information just check out the forum at: http://dogfoodchat.com/forum
It depends on what kind of dog you’re feeding and if it has any specific needs. Feel free to respond here, or join our forum to ask. SD is terrible food.
1 1/2 years ago I got talked into putting my cocker spaniel on Hills D.D. diet. Within 1 week Shadow refused to eat or drink,got lethargic and was taken to the vet.Blood test revealed she had severe pancreatitis, which is caused by extremely high levels of fat,she was operated on that day.I received a call during her surgery informing me that it didnt look good. We informed the vet to end her suffering as her recovery was not likely. After much discussion we discovered it was the PORK FAT which was the 3rd. ingredient in the food. The Hills rep. would only say if there was a pre-condition no one was aware of the food would aggrivate it.Hopefully this has not happened to anyone else. I find it horrid that a vet prescribed food can do this. My 4 dogs I own now have never been on vet food and 1 is 14, they are all healthy. Would not ever recommend any dogfood with pork fat of such high levels. Thanks for listening to me vent my frustration.
Science Diet dog food is not healthy food for dogs! I started my 8 month old puppies on Science Diet and in two months they started chewing non edible items in the house and in the yard. They had never done this before. One of them became very ill and got much worse within two days. I took the pup for emergency surgery for impacted gut, costing hundreds of dollars. They found two acorns, unchewed. These were from a Chinkapin oak in my yard. The acorns are small and slick. At first I thought it was a puppy thing. I started thinking that one acorn might have been an accident, but two…had to have been on purpose. A couple of days later when I was at a feed store I found Science Diet dog food on sale at half price. They were getting rid of it and selling other brands. Two reasons: One, they couldn’t compete with all the veternarians who were also selling it. Two, because it was not good nutrition for dogs. They told me to look at the lable…contains mostly corn…goes right through the dogs. Long story a little shorter…my pups were eating non edible items because they were HUNGRY and lacking good nutrition!! From now on I’ll be feeding Science Diet (whats left of it) to my chickens because that’s good nutrition for them, NOT my dogs!
My vet recommended Science Diet for my Siberian Husky. My dog was suffering from severe skin allergies. Loss of fur on his buttocks and around his neck. I discussed his diet with the vet and he said his diet was fine. He recommended neutering, thyroid tests and more blood work. I posted a question on another website about my dog and listed all we had done to solve the problem and listed the food he was eating. Thanks to all who responded, they told me to switch his food to a holistic brand.(They also told me Science Diet was crap and full of fillers) Switching his food to Blue Buffalo brand, I saw a difference in his fur in a matter of weeks. He is now a healthy, happy and fully coated beautiful Siberian Husky, who has also put on the proper weight and no more smelly gas problems either.
I’ve got a retriever puppy (9 months old) on Science Diet, and she does great. She eats the lamb meal and rice large breed puppy formula. She isn’t constantly eating things for additional nutrition, she has a beautiful coat, and the vet says she’s a very healthy dog. My only complaint is that they changed their recipe a couple months ago, and now the food smells bad. My dog loves it, though.
Maybe other dogs have had issues with Science Diet, but my dog is just fine on it, and so are my sisters’ dogs. When she’s done growing, I’ll probably try other foods, but while she’s still a puppy, I’m going to keep her on a food that I’m familiar with.
Stay off the junk.
Go to the Natura website Innova California Natural and others. You can do a comparison of ingredients
I have a 6 month old golden retriever (Taffy) who has been with me since she was 8 weeks old. I did some internet research and put her on Orijen Large Breed Puppy food which I slowly introduced to the food the breeder had her on. Over the next few months her stools were a pudding consistency then became runny. Her fecal exams came back normal. She finally refused to eat the Orijen. So I put her on Blue Buffalo and she had the same loose stools. Again fecals were normal. I then tried Kirkland Puppy food which showed some initial benefit, but her stools became loose again over several weeks. My vet and a friend recommended Science Diet. I had read so many bad opinions of SD on the internet that I was reluctant to try it. I asked Taffy’s trainer about it, and she said she feeds her own dogs SD and would feed them nothing else and one of her dogs is around 15 years old. So I picked up a bag of SD Large Breed Puppy Lamb and Rice. She loved it and licked her bowl clean and still does. In fact the bowl is so clean it looks like it went through the dishwasher. Her stools firmed up immediately and it’s been over a month now. Her stools have remained firm, normal in appearance and not smelly. Her coat looks great and she is full of energy. You naysayers can think and say what you want about what’s on the ingredients label, but I’m here to say that, based on my experience, that’s what Taffy will be eating from now on. Based on my experience with the other dog foods I’ve mentioned, I have come to the opinion that all the internet hype about “holistic” and human grade dog food and that the negative comments about SD is nothing but nonsense and mindless ignorance.
We are an organic dog food manufacturer who listens daily to dog and cat owners who are being told that the food they are feeding their beloved pets are the healthest, most nutritious and best ingredients available. It only cost the top 5 companies about $260 a ton to produce the food they are selling “you.” Do you really believe they are going to spend a lot of money on prime ingredients? NO.
But what has happened is they advertise in the billions of dollars and not in billions of dollars worth of good and edible food. Yes the food is cheap, at what cost to your beloved pet? Is your pet for sale!!!
i have 2 dogs one 4 yrs old one 2 yrs old. i was feeding them the recommended dose of hills science diet adult formula for almost a yr. during this year my 4 yr old wouldnt eat the food so i had to feed him a different brand my 2 year old ate the hills diet daily and many health problems excelled like seizures and many as time went on digestive problems constant vomitting and loose frequent stools. i took him to vets which promotes the hills diet food and told me he had sensitive stomach along with not to worry about the siezures as many dogs get this and it isnt a reason to worry. i decided to take him off the hills diet and started him on benefull by purina and his siezures went away completely, normal less stool, and he keeps his food and water down now. hmmm it makes me wonder if hills is all that they claim to be because i dont have no problems with the 25 dollar purina dog food vs the 80 dollar science diet. buyers beware hills is not what they claim to be it would have killed my dog i believe if i didnt discontinue the use of their food.
SD IS THE WORST DOG FOOD EVER!!!!!!!
LET’S GET SERIOUS! IT’S EASY TO PUT INGREDENTS IN AND MAKE IT SOUND GOOD FOR US BUT ITS HARDER TO PUT NUTRITON INTO A FOOD. NO OTHER FOOD IS CLINICALLY PROVEN ON THE MARKET! NONE! SCIENCE DIET DOES ON EVERY SINGLE BAG BATCH TESTING AND HAD FEEDING TRIALS ON ALL NOT JUST SOME, BUT ALL OF THERE FOODS. IT IS FDA, USDA, AND AIB INSPECTED! PLEASE FOLKS, ALTHOUGH WE LOVE OUR PETS LET’S SET A STANDARD FOR THE WE BEING OF OUR PET’S, AND STEP UP THE NUTRITON. THESE NATURAL COMPANIES ARE MOSTLY FORMULATE FOODS THEREFORE NOT FEED TRIALED ON AN ANIMAL AND DO NOT HAVE SET STANDARDS OF QUALITY. IN CANADA THERE IS EVEN REGUALTORS WATCHING WHAT PET FOOD COMPANIES ARE CLAMING ON THE BAGS.
We just recently lost our greyhound and the cause seems to be pointing at Science Diet dog food. Our male was on Sensitive stomach for a long time and we purchased a new bag of food. He was old and we noticed that he was acting strange but never crossed our minds that something could be wrong with his food. Then 2 1/2 weeks later he had a hoorible seizures, paralysis on one side. Needless to say he didn’t stop seizing, only got worst and we had to put him down the next day..heartbroken. THe emergency clinic did all kind of bloodwork but didn’t think to look at toxins until 2 days later. My other grey was on SD small bites. Both big bags of food were beside each other and not suspecting the food at this time gave her his food…2 days later…..paralsis on one side. Of course at this point, they suspected toxins. They treated her for toxins. We almost lost her and she spent 3 days at the emergency hospital. After the 3rd day, she was finally able to sit up. They went back and compared blood work then said that my male had also died of toxins…they just didn’t think to look at that. I do have a case number from Science Diet but probably will never hear anything. Please …do not feed your dog this food!!!!
SD uses way too much corn in their food, this is a filler, makes the stools more firm and fills up the belly, but tends to be one of the higest allergen ingredients on the market. Also it doesn’t say “organic” corn on the label so most likely it is one of the over-hybridized, genetically-modified, frankenstein-ian corn products (reads: plentiful and cheap). Your pets deserve better.
give your dog raw lean mince beef and his normal dog food i know this doesn’t seem right but my dog had kidney failure and was said to only have 2 weeks left to live and he was 8st 4pounds and then we put him on raw lean mince beef and this is one year on and he is still healthy his kidneys have recovered and he is 9st which is the heaviest he has ever been and of course raw beef is a wolf natural diet therefore it is also very healthy for a dog so i would always recomend raw or cooked lean minced beef and your normal dog food.
I have had my dogs on hills prescition diet t/d for oral health because my vet told me that if I didnt put them on it that they would have to get teeth scaling done (very expensive) my one dog has been pulling the hair out of his feet, the vet said that maybe outside allergies are the reason, I dont know what to do because I only want whats best for them , My first dog who is now 7 years old was raised on pedigree and I know some people say this is a bad food she and my other two did fine on them, I also cook ground beef and rice twice a week, but was thinking of going back to pedigree but not sure what to do, my dog food cost 86 dollars a bag and does not even last a month,any suggestions,
I got my Lab at 8 weeks old and started her on the Hills Science Diet for Larger Breeds Lab Meal and Rice Recipe. She is now 12 weeks old and gaining the proper amount of weight and has a excellent coat of hair. She eats it all every time she is fed, has normal stool movements, and tons of energy. She does not try and eat non-edibles and only chews on her chew toys. From talking to some breeders and vets some recomend HIlls Science Diet others do not. I believe it is all personal opinion if the dog likes it and appears to not have any problems associated with it keep feeding it. If she does not like it get another dog food there are plenty out there. We can argue about more meat in the diet but just think back in the day when the dog would get a bowl of leftovers from dinner and still lived 12-15 year how properly balance was that diet and those dogs would live long happy lives.
Hey Dan. I have not looked at what is in this food but I’ll tell you this CORN is bad for your dog. Wheat is really bad. Any thing with the name brewers in is bad and soy is bad. If it has a meat by-product that is really not meat at all. So now saying that I well look to see what is in this stuff.
Dan,
There really is no such thing as a holistic food as the word serves no purpose.
Natural balance was recalled and it was considered a holistic food. Same as Natural choice and others. Look for a food with 1)no byproducts, 2) no separated grains 3)No bad fats or bad prservatives 4)1st ingredient should a good quality meal 5) Just because it is expensive, does not mean it is good.
Science Diet fails some of these rules which is better than 5 years ago when they failed all of them. Opinions are ***holes, everyone has them, but following these rules usually get you on the right track.
Sean:
One comment, yes historically dogs ate table scraps 30, 40, 50 years ago but this was also before the take over of fast food and the death of home cooking. It was also before a handful of companies controlled almost the entire food industry. People use to feed their dogs table scraps but those table scraps were coming from home cooked meals with ingredients grown usually much more locally with less chemicals(in the last 30 years pesticide use has tripled, while crop loss from pests has doubled-hmmmm). I work at a vet clinic and when people ask me about table scraps I always tell them, if its lean meats and veggies and the like(stuff low in bad fats, sugar, salt, etc) its ok if your dog has some too. So comparing these table scraps of the past to today’s commercial pet food, the table scraps of years gone by kick the ass of most commercial pet food ingredients today.
Science Diet is just… ugh.
There are peanut hulls in this food, for God’s sake!!!
Corn, 4D’s meat, etc…
It’s outrageous how vets recommend & sell this food, only because they are paid to!!
I would *never* feed this food… far too overpriced for a bag of crap!
While it is true that many dogs have lived long lives on diets of foods like Pedigree or Science Diet, many more will have allergy or digestive problems with these types of dog foods than with premium foods. Pedigree is cheap, Science Diet formulas are not. If you are willing to pay around $40 a bag or more for dog food why spend the money on such cheap ingredients (with little or no nutritional value) like those found in Science Diet formulas? Personally I absolutely refuse to pay premium prices for corn,gluten of any source, dried beet pulp(by-product of the sugar industry), brewer’s rice(by-product of the brewing industry), soybean mill run (by-product), peanut hulls(by-product), or by-products from any animal source. ALL of these cheap ingredients are found in Science Diet formulas and you pay through the nose for them. In MY book that is just plain stupid.
I really did not realize how bad this food is, until I read the
■First Five Ingredients. Geez, pretty hard to get worse than this. I guess you could have some wheat in it that would make it worse. The sad thing is millions of people are fooled into thinking this is good stuff. This is what they want me to feed to my German Sheperd Puppy? It would be a really cold day in he!! before I would feed him this poison.
1.Whole Grain Corn….Everyone knows this is bad.
2.Chicken By-Product meal. Sweep up the floor and put it in his food.
3.Corn Gluten Meal…Man, 2 bad ingredients in one.
4.Liver Flavor…A Synthetic flavoring as a main ingredient.Wow
5.Dried Beet Pulp….Damn, a lousy filler, as #5, Ugh
They even threw in some Iodized Salt for flavoring, how thoughtfull of them.
Their really is NO meat in this food, if you wanna call it food.
I have a malti-poo who suffered from colitis after the age 1 consistently. We fed him Solid Gold, Eagle Pack, EVO, Orijen, raw food diet etc…the only food that has seemed to work is Hill’s Science Diet w/d formula. I’ve spent a lot of money at the vet getting him hydrated after the previous foods. I agree the ingredients aren’t the best but he no longer poops blood and mucus and has so much of his energy back. I do give him treats of hormone free turkey, sweet potato, and carrots, he is now 7 years old and runs laps through the house and all over the yard. He is healthy and happy….so to me it’s like some humans have certain diets they follow that are better for them, and dogs the same.
My standard parti-poodle does fine on Eagle Pack Power Formula…no need to change there.
thank you so much on the info about beneful it is 1-10-10 and at midnight my sharpei pitbull mix of which i have had since he was 4 weeks old and is now 12 people years old gave me a horible shock i caught him as he was having a kidney shut down. i gave him the brown rice and raw and some slightly cooked ground beef he is now urinated and pooped and drank and is breathing and sleeping comfortable. thank you for the gift of my best friend and his feeling so much better. i will change his diet and thank God for your info.
My vet put my miniature poodle on SD prescription i/d food after a serious pancreatitis attack. Now he haaas been itching his eyes, paws and bottom ALOT.
I’m concerned about allergies but am also worried about a recurrence of pancreatitis. Any info re: this prescription formula? I also have to add enzyme powder to his food. Don’t know what food to change to that will address the possible allergy and pancreatitis issues. Any ideas??
I changed vets because of the vicious cycle of skin problems, acne, antibiotics, yeast infection, probiotics, etc. That vet suggested Hill’s Science Diet z/d. I got a second opinion, and the second vet started the same treatment cycle and also encouraged a diet change to Hill’s z/d. I reluctantly acquiesced. Fast forward six weeks; my 65-pound, active, otherwise healthy Lab has exploded with the worst case ever of raw, slimy, itchy rashes all over her underside area and has lost 8 pounds and is terribly lethargic. I attribute this to the Hills z/d. She has slowly been starving, and yet I have been feeding her twice as much food. She has been off the SD for 4 days and is slowing recovering. I am now feeding her Canidae grain-free Salmon because I do think she may have developed a food allergy to her lamb/rice meal, but Hill’s is not the way to go.
Here is a list of some real good foods and I highly recomend Orijen and for the money Taste of the Wild can not be beat, these are in no order
Good
Artemis
Blue Wilderness
Go
Horizon
Evo***
Innova*
Instrinct
Orijen****
Taste of the Wild***
Wellness
Acana*
Fromm*
Merrick
Canidae
Evanders
Earthborn
Natrures Logic
Natures Variety
Solid Gold
Pinnacle
Timberwolf*
Blue Buffalo*
Halo
Natural Balance
California Natural*
We were feeding my oldest dog science diet and he was doing fine, we thought, but once he started having ear infections constantly and was always chewing between the pads of her feet we became concerned. After countless trips to the vet an old woman in a pet store saw us buying Bitter Apple spray and asked if our dog had a chewing problem and we told her about our dogs feet and she asked what kind of food we were feeding her, and said the dog had a food allergy and showed us natural balance and said to try it for a month. It was amazing, not only did his symptoms go away but he looked like a grand champion Schnauzer. After this I became obsessed with dog nutrition and have been ever since. Last year he was diagnosed with diabetes and the vet wanted to immediately put him on SD prescription W/D. The first thing I asked her was does it have corn in it. After she had to get the bag and look at it the first ingredient in it is corn. I asked if I was going to have to make his food, because of his allergies, and her response was no keep him on the food he was on and monitor his glucose levels and he would be fine. Since we got his insulin dosage figured out he acts as if nothing is wrong and unless someone sees us give him the shot they can’t tell that he has any problems at all.
I am a big fan of Natural Balance because of all of my dogs’ special needs. All of my dogs have food allergies and the youngest one has epilepsy and he does excellent on it as well. There are quite a few brands there that are better but if your dog has allergies especially to meat proteins this is the best I have found in 7 years worth of research.
I cannot stand SD and I would not feed it to chickens let alone my babies. It is terrible that so many vets promote it; generally if they do they get incentives from the company. Not only is it crap food it is expensive crap food, especially the prescriptions. There are so many more foods that are out there that are exponentially better than this sorry excuse for food.
And for all of you with the foot chewing dogs if you have questions on allergies or anything else I am now a dog nutritionist and would be happy to answer any questions you have, my E-mail is FayFoodQuestions@Hotmail.com
My Westie has real bad food allergies,put him on SD,ZD, so far so good only been a week.
Found he could not eat red meat or he started scratching right away. They tell me its a pancratic
insufencincy a long with IBM
We also put panacare on his food,this has been going on for six months
lost a lot of hair .
Will keep in mind what you are sayig FAY, know what you mean about doc getting a cut for food and meds but need to get him setteled down for now . Think I will be changing after a short time to natural balance
I have to retract Natural Balance off my list. They changed their product and it was for the worse thier 1st ingredient is now potato and or grain. The first ingredient should be meat and really the first two and even 3 should be meat.
Here is something for you Hills Science Diet feeders to think about. Read this
http://www.wellpet.org/nutrition/ethoxyquin2.htm
I just wanted to let you now about this products history.
•In March 2007, the most lethal pet food in history was the subject of the largest recall ever. Menu Foods recalled more than 100 brands including Iams, Eukanuba, Hill’s Science Diet, Purina Mighty Dog, and many store brands including Wal-Mart’s. Thousands of pets were sickened (the FDA received more than 17,000 reports) and an estimated 20% died from acute renal failure caused by the food. Cats were more frequently and more severely affected than dogs. The toxin was initially believed to be a pesticide, the rat poison “aminopterin” in one of the ingredients. In April, scientists discovered high levels of melamine, a chemical used in plastics and fertilizers, in wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate imported from China. The melamine had been purposefully added to the ingredients to falsely boost their protein content. Subsequent tests revealed that the melamine-tainted ingredients had also been used in feed for cows, pigs, and chickens and thousands of animals were quarantined and destroyed. In early May, scientists identified the cause of the rapid onset kidney disease that had appeared in dogs and cats as a reaction caused by the combination of melamine and cyanuric acid, both unauthorized chemicals. The fallout from this recall is ongoing as of May 2007 so
i just read your article above my dog is on hills prescription diet food , does this mean it is unsafe ?
You need to read a little closer that was 2007. But if I were you I’d find a better food and I recomend one of these and they are in no order
Artemis
Blue Wilderness
Go
Horizon**
Evo***
Innova**
Instrinct
Orijen************
Taste of the Wild**
Wellness
Acana**
Fromm
Merrick
Canidae
Evanders
Earthborn
Natrures Logic
Natures Variety
Solid Gold
Pinnacle
Timberwolf
Blue Buffalo
Halo
California Natural***
With all these bad reviews it seems that allot vet try to push t hard, even my local vet tried to push this food on my dog.
From what I’ve heard, the vets “push” Science Diet because there’s more net profit in selling it. Most vets I’ve had experiences with in my area seem more concerned with making money than with helping animals. Anyone should know that corn as a main ingredient is not beneficial in dog food….in fact, it’s not nutritious enough to be in it in any amount; it serves only as a filler.
Some companies have the funds to buy television advertising to get you the consumer hooked (Iams, Purina, Pedigree)
Some companies don’t have these means and go straight to a source (the vet) because you trust them. And why shouldn’t you, they’re your pets doctor!(Science Diet, Eukanuba, Royal Canin)
The truth is, most vets are not versed in pet nutrition. They are taught that the food is to be balanced and nutrious. This is true for every pet food on the market. There is no bag of food that isn’t balanced and nutrious…..NOW…..some foods are more beneficial, healthier, species appropriate. McDonalds is balanced and nutrious. You could eat it every day, 3 times a day……but wouldn’t you look better, feel better, run a lower risk at kidney disease, pancreatitis and even cancer if you ate free run chicken and vegatables in your back yard?
Same goes for the pet food industry. When you buy Pedigree or Science Diet, think of it as buying McDonalds or Burger King for your dog. While feeding Orijen or The Honest Kitchen is the best steak house in town or cooking right out of your own kitchen with meat you caught and vegtables you picked.
Science Diet goes to a source you trust the most…your vet. That is how they sell. It is balanced and nutrious, just like every single bag of kibble on the market from every manufacturer. But, there is certainly food with better ingredients that will help your dog live a better life free of diseases and ingredients that are completely digestable.
This website, Dog Food Chat, is a great place to find out about those great food choices
I was just reading an article published by my new Holistic Veterinarian and he said that no matter how good the dog food is it should be supplemented with 5 supplements 1)a balanced multivitamin-mineral 2)Fish oil 3)Digestive Enzymes 4)Gluosamine-Chondroitin 5)Probiotics.Most of these can be whole foods,ie cottage cheese,yogurt,eggs keifer,some fresh meat or fish with bones,and fish oil capsules.He also said that yearly vaccinations are not needed.Puppies should be given shots and then checked yearly,most get immunities and do not need to be revaccinated.The only one that they must have is Rabies Vaccine-required by law.Holistic Veterinarians know more about nutrition and they treat the whole pet they don’t think that the best things for your pet are just drugs and surgery!!
My dog is about 10 lbs. overweight and my Vet has her on Hill’s Precription Diet hd. I have noticed her hair is not growing out in places. Has this happened to anyone else on the hd? She seems to feel fine, but if there is something better for weight loss I am open to trying what would be the best for her.
The vet put my dog on Hill’s Prescription Diet hd to help her loose weight but she seems to be loosing hair in spots. Has anyone had this happen??