# Science Diet Grain-Free Formulas



## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

Science Diet Ideal Balance Grain Free Adult Canine Chicken & Potato Dry Food | PetFoodDirect










Chicken, Pea Protein Concentrate, Potato Starch, Dried Potato, Chicken Meal, Chicken Fat, Dried Beet Pulp, Flaxseed, Chicken Liver Flavor, Powdered Cellulose, Lactic Acid, Cranberries, Apples, Peas, Carrots, Broccoli, Iodized Salt, Choline Chloride, vitamins (L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Vitamin E Supplement, Potassium Chloride, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid, Taurine, Beta-Carotene, Phosphoric Acid, Rosemary Extract.

As Is : Moisture - 8% 
Protein - 24.4%
Fat - 15.7%
Carbs (NFE) 41.9%
Crude Fiber - 3.4%
Ash - 6.6%
Ca - 1.33%
P - 0.87%
Na - 0.27%
K - 0.67%
Mg - 0.111%
Taurine - 0.11%,

Giveaway: New Grain-Free Foods from Science Diet (4 winners!) | DogTipper.com


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## SpooOwner (Oct 1, 2010)

Yay?


(Ach, message is too short.)


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## minnieme (Jul 6, 2011)

Good lord, what will all those vets who love science diet have to say now?!! 

This shift to grain free says something big to me....it says every day people are becoming more and more aware of the needs of their carnivores. Not quite there yet, but I think raw is becoming more and more acceptable (among the general public) every day. Not as scary as it once was.


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## cprcheetah (Jul 14, 2010)

While they are coming a long I still do not see the need for powdered cellulose (sawdust) and fruits/veggies in the diet as well as all the chemicals....Science Diet has a tendancy to jump on the bandwagon of the latest trend.


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## tem_sat (Jun 20, 2010)

Here is Colgate-Palmolive's 3rd quarter 2011 earnings release conference call transcript: Colgate-Palmolive's CEO Discusses Q3 2011 Results - Earnings Call Transcript - Seeking Alpha

Note the new plan to partner with Trupanion to sell more Rx food. I truly find their marketing fascinating. Also as cprcheetah and the transcript states, they are "under-represented" in the natural food segment.


"And Hill's, while we're encouraged with the longer-term prospect for Hill's in terms of relevant new products, increasing market shares and continued global expansion, results this quarter were impacted by several factors unique to the current environment.

Specifically here in the U.S., the specialty category has been under some pressure. And most of the growth has been coming from the natural segment where we were under-represented. However, one of our latest new product launches, Ideal Balance which focuses on proper nutrition, in addition to natural ingredients is gaining good and wide acceptance but it is still in the early shipping stages.

Secondly, some of our customers have instituted inventory reduction programs which have temporarily affected our shipments to them, and we expect these two factors to dissipate over the next few quarters. We're excited about our new product pipeline, as well as new Digital Media program which should drive growth. As we launch new products, Digital Media has become an increasingly important part of the picture. For example, as part of the Science Diet Ideal Balance Canine launch, we partnered with Pet M.D. to develop a unique tool to educate pet parents on the importance of proper nutrition through the creation of MyBowl. PetMD is the most consulted source for Global Pest health information. 

When consumers visit MyBowl, they learn the essential features of well-balanced meals for dogs and how they help ensure optimal health. The goal is to show dog owners, what makes a properly balanced nutrition and help them better understand the dog food label. And of course, properly balanced nutrition is the selling proposition behind Hill's Science Diet Ideal Balance. Again, while it is early days, Ideal Balance is off to good start. Distribution is ahead of forecast, consumption is growing and building momentum. And most importantly, the product is bringing new household into the Science Diet brand.

Another new program about which we are very excited is the partnership with Trupanion pet insurance company to co-market its first pet insurance which provides coverage and discounts for feeding therapeutic and preventative nutrition. Coverage will be provided for all therapeutic foods featuring Prescription Diet, which is the market leader in this category. And as well, premium discounts will be given for feeding Science Diet Healthy Advantage, a wellness food sold exclusively through the veterinary channel. This partnership should help increase pet owner traffic to the vet clinics and grow the category.

So looking ahead, Hill's volume in the fourth quarter is expected to be about even with the year-ago quarter, with organic sales growing modestly. Operating profit should be flat to slightly up."


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## swolek (Mar 31, 2011)

It's still crap IMO.

And honestly, even if they came out with a decent food I would never support them as a company .


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

Just substituting grain with pea protein, not impressed. SD reps are such cowards. I posted few questions on their facebook wall asking why they use peanut hulls and chicken flavor in their food and this woman replied saying that they dont. I posted a link to the actual food and she never replied. 
Now they are jumping on a grain free bandwagon because its the new craze and are obviously trying to profit from it. Lame.


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## tem_sat (Jun 20, 2010)

Unosmom said:


> Just substituting grain with pea protein, not impressed. SD reps are such cowards. I posted few questions on their facebook wall asking why they use peanut hulls and chicken flavor in their food and this woman replied saying that they dont. I posted a link to the actual food and she never replied.
> Now they are jumping on a grain free bandwagon because its the new craze and are obviously trying to profit from it. Lame.


Precisely. To me, it shows their attempt to cover every segment possible to create more sales.


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## RCTRIPLEFRESH5 (Feb 11, 2010)

ww tht food looks TERRIBLE LOL. this makes e think worse about the company...it would be one thing if they wer trying to use all of their profits to come out with a great grain free formula..but nope they are still trying to fool the product into thinking their foods are the best, while they use the worst quality ingridients possible.....the addition of the new gf formula shows an increased vigor in trying to eff over pets.
lo at pea protein content being the first ingridient..diarrhea anyone heheh


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Any no-grain dog food with sawdust in it is just a turd with a little icing on the top to hide what's underneath.


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## RCTRIPLEFRESH5 (Feb 11, 2010)

in their description on petfood direct they say
''Not enough of something is just as bad as too much of something.''
shouldnt they have said too much of something is just as bad as not enough?''


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## RCTRIPLEFRESH5 (Feb 11, 2010)

i just wrote a food review on pfd


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## PDXdogmom (Jun 30, 2010)

Oh my. Pea Protein Concentrate, Potato Starch, Dried Potato are the first three most represented ingredients (by post-cooking weight) before you get to the first meat source of Chicken Meal.

Leave it to Science Diet to somehow come up with the worst example of grain-free kibble that I've ever seen. Unfortunately, the consumers who buy SD's formulas and don't realize they could buy other kibbles with the same ingredients at a much cheaper price, will probably think this is a great new product formula. Their target audience has to be the consumer who hasn't researched pet foods, has a decent amount of money to spend on food and will believe whatever their vet tells them.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

PDXdogmom said:


> Oh my. Pea Protein Concentrate, Potato Starch, Dried Potato are the first three most represented ingredients (by post-cooking weight) before you get to the first meat source of Chicken Meal.


They could practically advertise it as vegetarian.


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## Huginn (Nov 21, 2011)

PDXdogmom said:


> Oh my. Pea Protein Concentrate, Potato Starch, Dried Potato are the first three most represented ingredients (by post-cooking weight) before you get to the first meat source of Chicken Meal.
> 
> Leave it to Science Diet to somehow come up with the worst example of grain-free kibble that I've ever seen. Unfortunately, the* consumers who buy SD's formulas and don't realize they could buy other kibbles with the same ingredients at a much cheaper price,* will probably think this is a great new product formula. Their target audience has to be the consumer who hasn't researched pet foods, has a decent amount of money to spend on food and will believe whatever their vet tells them.


They truly don't. When I get the chance to talk to customers at the pet store I work at about dog food I always point this out. The first thing I show them is that there is an ingredients list, for most of them when you read it to them they get truly disgusted. I love to tell them it is like eating a low quality hotdog (or worse) everyday. When they ask about SD and I show them the ingredients and how purina dog chow is the same, it truly startles them. If I can make one customer leave with a bag of (even) Blue Buffalo or Nutros Ultra instead of SD I feel better, even if it isn't the best they could get. 

The whole grain free thing for SD is just a marketing gimmick. I don't agree with them and I never will, they are only out for the money. Their shelf brand causes health problems leading to a vet appointment that leads to *drum roll* a prescription Hill's product. TADA! Best magic trick ever! I seriously loathe them. After working at a clinic and seeing dogs that have been fed SD or Royal Canin their whole lives (blood work, fecals, dentals and the whole dog) versus those that were fed a *decent* food. . . I simply cannot agree with them. So many dogs on SD or RC came in with pancreatitis it was ridiculous, and when I asked our chief of staff about what causes it (asked if it was from low quality food, myself making an internal correlation between the food being fed to the dogs who tested positive for it) she told me table scraps  seriously, WTF? My parents dogs when I was growing up got table scraps all of the time and NEVER had any sort of issues. Anyway, that was long winded. 
One thing that was pointed out to me recently is that the cost of corn is rising drastically. Could this be one reason why large companies who used to make their products mainly corn (SD, Iams etc) are changing after YEARS of saying their products were the best?


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

Science Diet is truly a despicable company. I know all companies are out there to make money, but the way Science Diet funds vet schooling etc to create little science diet selling robots is very unethical.


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## DaViking (Sep 27, 2011)

This is a bigger disappointment than The Colts.


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

tem_sat said:


> Here is Colgate-Palmolive's 3rd quarter 2011 earnings release conference call transcript: Colgate-Palmolive's CEO Discusses Q3 2011 Results - Earnings Call Transcript - Seeking Alpha
> 
> Note the new plan to partner with Trupanion to sell more Rx food. I truly find their marketing fascinating. Also as cprcheetah and the transcript states, they are "under-represented" in the natural food segment.
> 
> ...


Thanks for posting! Very interesting.


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

Huginn said:


> If I can make one customer leave with a bag of (even) Blue Buffalo or Nutros Ultra instead of SD I feel better, even if it isn't the best they could get.


I agree with your post, but honestly, I'd probably trust SD over Nutro. Their quality control is terrible, IMO, and I'd never touch it. At least SD has never been involved in any major recalls when it comes to dog food. As far as I know, it's only been their cat foods that were recalled in the 2007 recalls, and it was only two different types. Not sticking up for them or anything, but just thought I'd point out that I believe it's equally important to have a trusting company as much as ingredients. I actually do think as a whole that SD is a fairly trustworthy company, if only they had better formulas. Nutro has had WAY too many issues for me to ever recommend feeding it, including killing some dogs.



Huginn said:


> One thing that was pointed out to me recently is that the cost of corn is rising drastically. Could this be one reason why large companies who used to make their products mainly corn (SD, Iams etc) are changing after YEARS of saying their products were the best?


Very good point!


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## tem_sat (Jun 20, 2010)

Jacksons Mom said:


> I agree with your post, but honestly, I'd probably trust SD over Nutro. Their quality control is terrible, IMO, and I'd never touch it.


Don't forget, Nutro is owned by Mars Petcare... "With headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, and more than 33,000 Associates in 199 locations around the world, Mars Petcare has been in operation for more than 75 years and is one of the world’s leading pet care providers. Mars Petcare makes iconic products including PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, WHISKAS®, KITEKAT®, BANFIELD®, CESAR®, NUTRO®, SHEBA®, CHAPPI®, GREENIES® and CATSAN®. Mars Petcare is also home to Mars Fishcare, Mars Horsecare, Petservices and The WALTHAM® Centre for Pet Nutrition, which provides the science behind our leading pet care brands."

Just keep that in mind.


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

tem_sat said:


> Don't forget, Nutro is owned by Mars Petcare... "With headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, and more than 33,000 Associates in 199 locations around the world, Mars Petcare has been in operation for more than 75 years and is one of the world’s leading pet care providers. Mars Petcare makes iconic products including PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, WHISKAS®, KITEKAT®, BANFIELD®, CESAR®, NUTRO®, SHEBA®, CHAPPI®, GREENIES® and CATSAN®. Mars Petcare is also home to Mars Fishcare, Mars Horsecare, Petservices and The WALTHAM® Centre for Pet Nutrition, which provides the science behind our leading pet care brands."
> 
> Just keep that in mind.


That makes me not trust Nutro even more, lol.

I dunno, I definitely wouldn't feed SD. I mean, if it was the ONLY thing my dog could survive on, _maybe_. But I just highly doubt that could be the only option, but that's JMO. But I think as a company, they're not terribly bad (ingredient-wise, I think it's gross), but of course they have their shadiness about them too. They are a huge business so I feel like that's only natural. Whatever their marketing people do, is working though, and it's kind of sad how many people will switch over to SD blindly without real research.


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## tem_sat (Jun 20, 2010)

Jacksons Mom said:


> That makes me not trust Nutro even more, lol.
> 
> I dunno, I definitely wouldn't feed SD. I mean, if it was the ONLY thing my dog could survive on, _maybe_. But I just highly doubt that could be the only option, but that's JMO. But I think as a company, they're not terribly bad (ingredient-wise, I think it's gross), but of course they have their shadiness about them too. They are a huge business so I feel like that's only natural. Whatever their marketing people do, is working though, and it's kind of sad how many people will switch over to SD blindly without real research.


I will preface my response with the fact that I soooooo love THIS forum as I can feel comfy stating my opinion without feeling like I need to heavily censor myself in an attempt to be "politically correct". Anyway...there are so many things I want answers to. For example, let's say my Doxie ended up with an illness such as Jackson had. I hate that he came down with possible pancreatitis but sometimes there is not much we can do. Fine, so be it. I completely respect your stance and completely respect your decision to stick with low fat and low protein commercial options. Now, would I do it? I don't know. I can say that I would step up and clearly state to my particular vet, "hey, ok we have this issue, I want to know if I can accommodate my pet without turning to commercial options". So, of course, there are ALWAYS other options apart from instantly turning to Hills. The issue, to me, is whether the owner is capable of taking the time to do this from a research aspect, as you have for Jackson, and not following the lemmings by having 100% trust in Hills (or any other company for that matter).

Off topic: I would so love to see a massively funded study tracking the occurrence of pancreatitis in dogs feed cooked meats and fat vs. dogs fed raw meats and fat.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

i would hope (can't guarantee) that if I run across a vet that is telling me how good corn is, I would do a better job than I was doing last year. 

Especially if my dogs get any kind of problems that are normally fixed with Science Diet, like kidney stones etc. 

But even if i know "the answer" I often can't think of it when being pinned down like some vets do. 

I guess which is why I better just find a vet in Texas that supports raw feeding like my current vet does, and doesn't roll their eyes at me like the ER vet did.

My opinion now is that there is ALWAYS a raw alternative to processed food, no matter the condition. It might take a little research and maybe even include (gasp) veggies or grains, but processed has to be the worst possible option under every circumstance. And I'm going to remember that when/if confronted by vets in the future. I am no longer a total idiot on dog nutrition, thanks to this place.


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## tem_sat (Jun 20, 2010)

xellil said:


> i would hope (can't guarantee) that if I run across a vet that is telling me how good corn is, I would do a better job than I was doing last year.
> 
> Especially if my dogs get any kind of problems that are normally fixed with Science Diet, like kidney stones etc.
> 
> ...


Or home cooked, for that matter. 

Another off topic: Where are you moving in TX? What city?


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

tem_sat said:


> Or home cooked, for that matter.
> 
> Another off topic: Where are you moving in TX? What city?


North of Dallas close to a small town called Sanger - my niece lives in Seguin and i have a friend in Gonzales. I love the San Antonio/Austin area.

My problem is when people get in my face I think of the most incredible response about 3 hours later.


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## tem_sat (Jun 20, 2010)

lol...

The reason I asked is if you needed a referral to a vet, however, you are quite a ways away. Maybe if you ever get the urge, drive down and we can go out for margs and lunch in San Antonio. Ha!


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

tem_sat said:


> I will preface my response with the fact that I soooooo love THIS forum as I can feel comfy stating my opinion without feeling like I need to heavily censor myself in an attempt to be "politically correct". Anyway...there are so many things I want answers to. For example, let's say my Doxie ended up with an illness such as Jackson had. I hate that he came down with possible pancreatitis but sometimes there is not much we can do. Fine, so be it. I completely respect your stance and completely respect your decision to stick with low fat and low protein commercial options. Now, would I do it? I don't know. I can say that I would step up and clearly state to my particular vet, "hey, ok we have this issue, I want to know if I can accommodate my pet without turning to commercial options". So, of course, there are ALWAYS other options apart from instantly turning to Hills. The issue, to me, is whether the owner is capable of taking the time to do this from a research aspect, as you have for Jackson, and not following the lemmings by having 100% trust in Hills (or any other company for that matter).
> 
> Off topic: I would so love to see a massively funded study tracking the occurrence of pancreatitis in dogs feed cooked meats and fat vs. dogs fed raw meats and fat.


Definitely! I hate having to try to skirt around and worry about what I am posting is going to mis-interpreted, etc. I usually like to ramble, as you will see, so sometimes maybe things don't make sense what I am saying, LOL.

I'm actually leaning towards the fact that Jackson never HAD pancreatitis. I really think the vet I had to go to, since it was open on a Sunday, were taking advantage of me. I am sure they could tell that I would do anything to save my dog or get him out of pain (I cried my eyes out when I left him there overnight), and saw elevated levels of what normally indicates pancreatitis, and just treated it as such. I mean, they did freakin' three different in-house bloodworks, had me coming in there every other day for like 10 days getting sub-q fluids (at $40 a pop) and looking back, I REALLY don't think it was necessary. But at the time, I was just wanting to do what was right. I honestly just think he had a really bad GI upset from getting into too much crap people food and I regret how I handled it to be honest. I mean, literally he was only "sick" for two days. After his hospital stay, he was not sickly acting at all - no throw up, his stools were normal, lots of energy, playful, etc. 

Our regular vet, who I very much like and trust, told me after the fact that she does not believe it was pancreatitis at all, that lipase levels can indicate lots of things, and it was most likely upset stomach. I feel stupid that I so blindly followed this one vets advice who I had never gone to, but I guess that's what happens when you see your dog hurting and want him better.

So, anyways... I did my OWN research, and did what I felt was best for my dog. In the beginning, yes, I wanted to be precautious, not exactly knowing what was wrong with him. So I gradually increased fat. I think we went from Purina EN (vet gave us) to Castor & Pollux Weight Mgt (10%) to NB Lamb and Rice (12%), to Fromm (15%). Now we are on our bag of Acana and now that he's back on it, I really believe this is the best diet for him but I'll officially judge that when we complete the bag.

I will continue to be cautious with fat percentages because I DON'T think he needs anymore. When he was on Instinct (22% fat), he gained a bit of weight, and was barely eating any food. He loves to eat so I like to at least be able to give him 3/4 cup per day to be fulfilled so extremely high calories are out for me.

Anyways, this is be rambling and going totally OT. But for me, I just don't feel RIGHT feeding food with a bunch of corn, wheat, soy, lots of carbs, etc. It's just me going with my head and my heart, I think, and doing what I think is best for MY dog. I think it's kind of like with kids. Doctors aren't always right on when your kid is sick, usually a mother has an intuition and can tell. When my sister had a double ear infection, we knew she just WASN'T right, two doctors said "Oh, she's just got a cold... nothing we can do"... I think you just go with your gut with things like this.


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## Huginn (Nov 21, 2011)

Jacksons Mom said:


> I agree with your post, but honestly, I'd probably trust SD over Nutro. Their quality control is terrible, IMO, and I'd never touch it. At least SD has never been involved in any major recalls when it comes to dog food. As far as I know, it's only been their cat foods that were recalled in the 2007 recalls, and it was only two different types. Not sticking up for them or anything, but just thought I'd point out that I believe it's equally important to have a trusting company as much as ingredients. I actually do think as a whole that SD is a fairly trustworthy company, if only they had better formulas. Nutro has had WAY too many issues for me to ever recommend feeding it, including killing some dogs.
> 
> 
> 
> Very good point!


That is definitely an area I didn't think of. While I would still never let a customer leave with Science Diet, if I can help it that is, I will rethink the Nutros and suggest a different option. I wish we carried some of the higher quality foods. . .


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

I am actually glad to see Hills coming out with this formulas. They are still crap-inna-bag for sure but still better than a lot of their other foods. Millions of animals eat their garbage and their owners LOVE Hills products...it's crazy I know, but true. If at least some of those Hills thumping idiots change to these new grain free formulas and see an improvement? At least it's a step in the right direction. And better yet...the vets these Hills groupies take their animals to see an improvement? Another step in the right direction. 

Does it suck that Hills is capitalizing on this opportunity? Absolutely. But hopefully animals will become healthier because of it. Plus...these a$$holes are the ones who pour big bucks into "research" that vets buy into. Maybe they'll do research that actually supports more meat diets being better?!


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## 3Musketeers (Nov 4, 2010)

Chicken,* Pea Protein Concentrate, Potato Starch, Dried Potato,* Chicken Meal, Chicken Fat, Dried Beet Pulp, Flaxseed, Chicken Liver Flavor, *Powdered Cellulose**, Lactic Acid,* Cranberries, Apples, Peas, Carrots, Broccoli, Iodized Salt, Choline Chloride, vitamins (L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Vitamin E Supplement, Potassium Chloride, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, *Sodium Selenite*), preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid, Taurine, Beta-Carotene, Phosphoric Acid, Rosemary Extract.

All I have to say is...LOL.
(and I probably missed a few.)
The sad thing is people will go out and buy this food thinking it's good.


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

List of recalls for Pet Food Products from SCIENCE DIET


These are the recalls for Science Diet during the 2007 Melamine murder spree.

I know the recalls for this company was for cats, not dogs, but 9 recalls total and this doesn't make it one iota better as far as I'm concerned. 
They still put in their food, ingredients that both threatened the lives and may have killed (I don't have any substantiating data here) many loved pets, whether they were cats or dog. Any company that was prepared to put profit before the lives of our pets is finished as far as I'm concerned. I will never feed any of my animals any food, or any food produced by companies that were on that recall list.
I'm absolutely rather bitter about this - Mol was a pup eating Nutro at the time. She could have died. I trusted that Mar's company, how could they do that, where does their conscience kick in when it comes to making a profit?


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

I think a repeat of the melamine is not only possible, but probable. 

Here is a detailed page on the contamination, slowness of companies to respond, and estimated number of deaths (180,000). The deaths were estimated by gathering information on how many kidney-related deaths in normal years, and how many during the melamine contamination. And these people are saying that's a low estimate.

We as consumers should have put these crooks and murderers out of business. Yet... they are still booming. And we STILL think they wouldn't kill our pets.



> Perhaps the most patently absurd lie being told by Menu Foods is the claim they were unaware they were distributing pet food containing deadly toxins for over 4 months before they noticed it. The claim is they accidentally discovered the problem as a result of "regular" food testing trials at the end of February. The initial claim was such tests are conducted at least quarterly. Menu Foods has also admitted the manufacture of contaminated food dates back to at least November. That being the case, Menu Foods was well aware the food contained poisons deadly to pets no later than December as a result of the previous quarter's taste tests.
> 
> You might ask why Menu Foods would delay the recall for months,* knowing pets were dying slow and terrible deaths with every hour the recall was delayed. $350 million in annual revenue is why. With a third of a billion dollar market share at stake, criminals do not admit to criminal acts. The cover up required that they allow enough time to pass to let every last can of poisoned food be consumed by pets, or discarded by the pet's owner after the death of the pet, in order to destroy the evidence.*
> 
> ...


Pet Food Recall Facts


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

And, AND, they would put out press releases on a Friday night, because that was the slowest night for news so it tried to ensure the recall news was given at a time the least likely to make headlines. As supposed animal lovers, how COULD THEY?


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

I didn't have any pets then, thank god.. cause I had no idea about pet food and would have probably fed IAMS or something.


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

So, so, so scary! I am so glad I did not get Jackson until 2008. 

Honestly, lately, I've been really nervous about certain companies, different things I've read, etc. I really trust very very few. And even so, I still don't 100% trust them.

And it's some of the "better" foods even that I wouldn't touch. I've become more aware about quality control issues, production, companies and their values, how trustworthy they are, if they had recalls and how they handled them, etc. Whereas I used to just see certain ingredients and be like "Oh, I'd NEVER feed that!" but I've learned quality control and company trust is equally, if not more, important than the ingredient list sometimes. Though of course ingredient list is to be paid attention to as well. Look at Evanger's - they were a trustworthy company, I thought, but they had a HUGE issue with listing the wrong meat ingredients in their food. Tested for chicken (or something) and it was beef, etc. That is not good news for a dog who may react terribly to one meat, but the owner thinks they are feeding another. Not cool.

Lately, I'm not big on most Diamond-produced foods (either foods made by Diamond, for Diamond, or at Diamond plants). I am not sure why - just rubs me the wrong way after reading some current things as well as past issues of course. I did feed TOTW for a while and did have luck with it.

Certain foods will look good on paper, or at least decent, but I personally would never feed (e.g. Merrick and Nutro).

I know it gets to a point where you are going to find a problem with EVERY food you read about, whether it be a small problem or a big problem, so of course in the end, it's about finding what works for your dogs. I've probably spent way too much time researching, etc, but I feel confident that I know enough basics to feed my dog what I believe is right and best for him.

As of right now, I am just finished feeding Fromm and am on a bag of Acana. VERY much so love the Fromm though. Their Pork & Applesauce formula gave him mushier/softer poops than I liked but their Duck formula works great for him (they have new grain frees coming out next month, too). At this point, I only REALLY trust Champion, Petcurean and Fromm. There's others I trust too but maybe not as much.


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## Sapphire-Light (Aug 8, 2010)

DaneMama said:


> I am actually glad to see Hills coming out with this formulas. They are still crap-inna-bag for sure but still better than a lot of their other foods. Millions of animals eat their garbage and their owners LOVE Hills products...it's crazy I know, but true. If at least some of those Hills thumping idiots change to these new grain free formulas and see an improvement? At least it's a step in the right direction. And better yet...the vets these Hills groupies take their animals to see an improvement? Another step in the right direction.
> 
> Does it suck that Hills is capitalizing on this opportunity? Absolutely. But hopefully animals will become healthier because of it. Plus...these a$$holes are the ones who pour big bucks into "research" that vets buy into. Maybe they'll do research that actually supports more meat diets being better?!


Agree , I know this new SD grain free is not the best but at least hill's brainwashed vets are going to rethink that grain-free is not bad after all because hills says so :wink:


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

People should never think if they buy a higher-end dog food it's really better. Read this about co-packing:



> Co-Packing
> 
> The 2007 Menu Foods recall brought to light some of the pet food industry’s dirtiest secrets.
> 
> ...


In fact, anyone who feeds processed dogs foods should read this page - it's got alot of interesting stuff in it:
What’s Really in Pet Food


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## doggiedad (Jan 23, 2011)

chicken is the first ingredient.



PDXdogmom said:


> Oh my. Pea Protein Concentrate, Potato Starch, Dried Potato are the first three most represented ingredients (by post-cooking weight) before you get to the first meat source of Chicken Meal.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

doggiedad said:


> chicken is the first ingredient.


I think when it just says "chicken" that is before it was cooked. After it's cooked, it weighs 80% less. So in reality, peas are probably higher in that dog food than chicken.


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## doggiedad (Jan 23, 2011)

isn't that the same thing???



RCTRIPLEFRESH5 said:


> in their description on petfood direct they say
> ''Not enough of something is just as bad as too much of something.''
> shouldnt they have said too much of something is just as bad as not enough?''


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## RCTRIPLEFRESH5 (Feb 11, 2010)

doggiedad said:


> isn't that the same thing???


the whole point here is that too much grains are a bad thing..so they should have said sometimes too much of something is a bad thing....saying too little of something makes 0 sense.


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