# Anybody Feeding Science Diet High Energy?



## Briarwood94 (Dec 2, 2008)

My Vet just reccomended this food for my 6 Patterdales & 2 feist dogs. Was feeding them Black Gold performance up until my distributor stopped carrying it in August. I started feeding Pedigree but the dogs aren't keeping up their weight and even though their coats look slick and shiny, the food is going right through them. They are thin as rails so I took them to the Vet who told me to feed them Science Diet High Energy food because it's very high in calories. 
We had to go to a special pet store to find this food and it was $47 for a 40# bag! Never saw such a high priced food and don't know if I should buy it or get something else. Or just keep them on it until they gain back some weight? Does anyone use Science Diet and what do you think of it?


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

Science Diet is awful, AWFUL food especially for the price. However, in the world of good quality dog food, $47 for a 30 lbs bag is not uncommon. The difference, however, is that in the better quality foods you actually get what you pay for. Pedigree is even worse than Science Diet and the Black Gold is about as low quality as SD too. 

If you have a PetCo in your area they have a really good frequent buyer program to help keep the cost of the dog food down (buy 10 bags get one free). If you go with Natural Balance (a little grain-heavy but not too bad), they even have a frequent buyer program through their website where its the same deal. So with those two combined you can buy 10 bags and get 2 free. Natural Balance also has a high energy formula called AMP that you can put your dogs on until they gain the weight they need. 

Other good quality dog foods that can be found at PetCo are: 
Wellness
Blue Buffalo
Solid Gold
Pinnacle

Always remember to take at least 2 weeks of mixing the foods together before you switch. 

Also, if you're really interested in feeding your dogs the best quality food for the lowest price and you're willing to try something a little bit different than what you're used to, ask me how in the raw section or send me a personal message.


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## BoxerMommie (Jun 26, 2008)

I completely agree with the above. Heck I pay $38.99 for a 28 pound bag of food or $44.99 for a 30 pound bag (depending on the "flavor" I get) however that lasts me 3-4 weeks with (2) 65 pound dogs. I feed Natural Balance and have had great luck with it. But there's absolutely no way I'd pay that kind of cash for Science Diet, it's kind of like paying $40 for McDonald's or $40 for a T-bone steak dinner.

Good luck!


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

That's a good comparison, I like it!


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## BabyHusky (Jul 21, 2008)

yea haha. i laughed out loud when i saw the comparison.


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## Briarwood94 (Dec 2, 2008)

Thanks for the advice but I can't afford to spend $40 or more on a 30lb bag  The Black Gold I was feeding was about $21 for a 50lb bag and the dogs did great. Can only get that from a distributor here and mine moved away. Otherwise I'd still feed that.


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## BabyHusky (Jul 21, 2008)

It is ultimately up to you on what you feed your dogs. Many of us do take dog nutrition seriously whether it be feeding raw or kibble. We want our pups to live long and healthy.

A plus side about the premium foods that we recommend is that your dogs do not need to eat as much, which of course results in less pooping. So in a way, it may not be too much more expensive.


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## BoxerMommie (Jun 26, 2008)

and back to my comparison the difference in feeding Pedigree, Science Diet, etc versus a higher quality food (which yes is more expensive) is the difference in feeding your dogs McDonald's everyday versus eating steak, rice, veggies, chicken sandwiches, etc. Actually feeding your dogs McDonald's may very well be healthier than feeding Science Diet, Pedigree, Dog Chow, etc. As someone else said it is ultimately up to you, but I have a 7 year old human child and I know I wouldn't allow him to eat McDonald's, Burger King, Subway, etc all day everyday so I don't do it with my dogs either. Now on the down side to this I'd love to have another dog but I know my limit on food, vet bills, flea prevention and the like so we are mindful to only have as many dogs as we can afford. I would rather only own 2 dogs but feed them a quality healthy food rather than have 3 or more and feed them something sub par. But everyone may not feel the same way.


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