I feed my dog 4 Health dog food that is grain free. Two flavors they have: whitefish and potato and pork and potato. I understand your point that these aren’t common, but it is out there.
I was hearing the same sorts of things so I looked into this issue some years ago. I don’t think the debate is ever going to end, but one thing that seems clear is that among some factions Science Diet is the victim of conspiracy-like inclinations to attack the top dog, pardon the pun, and no doubt encouraged by makers of smaller competing brands. It’s a fact that Hills does provide some funding to veterinary colleges and research, and it’s also a fact that many vets (including mine) sell Science Diet, although they sell other brands, too. None of those things incriminate them as makers of bad food, any more than IBM could be accused of making bad computers just because at one time they practically gave mainframes away to universities to get young people indoctrinated into the IBM culture. To believe that large numbers of veterinarians willfully recommend a dog food that is not only substandard but allegedly even dangerous is really the stuff of pure conspiracy theory.
It’s certainly possible that there are similar kibble-style foods out there that are truly and consistently superior to SD, but I’d rather trust my vet on the issue than random Internet rating sites. What I do know is that SD makes variants of their basic foods in a “Prescription Diet” line available only from vets, that are specifically formulated for specific ailments, and that these can be very beneficial where appropriate.
My own view is that in the interest of both nutrition and happiness of the dog, kibble should always be supplemented with real food – not table scraps, but an appropriate balanced diet. I have made beef stews for my dog, pot roasts, steaks, beef ribs, and especially chicken – in the form of boneless grilled chicken breasts – which is healthy and easy to digest. I do use Science Diet, but I just use it as a base for a variety of different main dishes. It may sound offbeat, but among dog lovers I know I am certainly not the only one who cooks for his dog. That makes the nutritional value of the kibble itself somewhat secondary, but it’s useful for the specific vitamins and other additives in it.
Interestingly, when it comes to treats my dog made his own choice, and he chose SD’s competition – other than some specialty treats the vet carries, he turns up his nose at all dog biscuits except Iams (the large breed variety, being a Bernese Mountain Dog). Why he prefers Iams biscuits I don’t know. You’d have to ask him. 
Zombie or no, I also recommend the dog food advisor website. I found that when we were having major budget issues, and I was looking for a way to cut dog food costs without compromising nutrition. I ended up switching the dogs to 4Health brand chicken and rice two years ago, and they’ve thrived. Ironically, the 4Health food is rated higher than the brand we were using, and cost about half as much per pound as the previous brand, and the dog with the sensitive tummy and skin liked it better than his previous food. The only drawback is that the food is only available from Tractor Supply, so (a) I have to make a special stop, and (b) they’re occasionally out of the big bags that I need. I’ve bought the lamb and rice a couple of times when the chicken was not available, and the dogs did okay, but didn’t seem to like it as well.
I know it’s a zombie thread. But pet owners and experts in the field call it Science Death for a reason.
Same with IAMSoDead.
Most have pointed me to a seed/feed store to get my dog food.
For what its worth:
One of my dogs was having constant pancreatitis problems, getting to where we thought he might have to go. The vet suggested the SD “essentially no fat” food (I forget what they call it) and he hasn’t had a problem in three years.
I used to feed them both Innova, and I still give that one to the other dog, when I can find it.
That said, growing up with much less sentimental parents, the dogs I had as a kid all got Come N’Get it, which has to be the cheapest food on the planet. The all lived very long and healthy lives (three of them).
Anecdotes don’t equal data, but I stick with what works.
What reason? Still looking for a cite that Science Diet causes cancer in pets (or any other medical condition that no other pet food causes, despite all being made with essentially the same ingredients).
I’d put forward that I think these people would be experts at nutrition. And they do not put a big banner saying “Science Diet = Science Death”.
Regarding pet foods, they’re usually good if they have the AAFCO label. There are two types of getting this:
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The cheapest way is to do a feed analysis, and show what percent of each component the food has. If it fits established guidelines for that type of animal (say, species X needs 20% of protein, and it is found that way in the food), then it is given the seal.
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More expensive way, used by higher brands and prescription diets, is to do a feed trial. Such that for example, if a renal diet says it will dissolve stones, they must have done a feed trial showing that before given the seal.
Also, keep an eye out for this lawsuit. Note that Purina is not saying that what Blue Buffalo promotes is wrong, but they’re being accused of fraud, or not selling the products they market.
I’ve heard that and you also want to make sure it says “complete and balanced”.
I’m not saying this is correct, so there will be a lot of thoughs and howevers. Dogs are wolves. Wolves are carnivores. They would probably do well just eating the things they can catch if they were foraging on their on, such as rabbits, squirrels, birds and such. As carnivores, they will or would scavenge,
However, we have domesticated them, so we feed them food. One organic guy that I listen to on the radio once said the perfect food for a dog is a rabbit in a box. Open the box and let the dog eat it.
That doesn’t work anymore, though, although I appreciate the sentiment. Brittle bird bones, particularly chicken, can lodge in the throat and choke dogs. Small dogs can’t catch prey for the most part.
So, I guess I’m saying look for dog food that is high in protein with trace elements and vitamins. Stay away from food that has corn or other vegetable fillers. I also would have to say that feeding dogs table scraps is not a good idea. It is surprising how little food they need, especially people food.
I have a 70-pound, 12-year-old mutt that receives two cups of food a day with an occasional treat and a raw-hide chew bone. He is healthy in a way for his age that astonishes our vet. However, that could be genetics.
Dog food and cat food sellers tend to advertise in a way that appeals to owners. Dogs are not people. Love them and care for them, but don’t think they are we.
most Americans are stupid and use very simplistic schemas to make judgements on stuff like this, even science-trained professionals.
I was at the barber the other day, for example, and she said that a dentist who came in said to throw away any toothpaste with carrageanan in it because it causes cancer.
Carrageanan is a seaweed extract. It’s just a thickener gum/fiber. People have been eating seaweed for years
Yes. My dog that ate nothing but SD died suddenly at 6.
QED.
Oh, wait! The other three, that also eat nothing by SD, are going strong at 8, 8, and 12, and the last two generations of dogs my wife had also ate nothing but SD, and lived to ripe old ages.
So SD is the best food. QED.
This “evidence” against SD is the same facebook-based “evidence” that we see for everything from reiki to anti-vaxers to woo-based “alternative” medicine. We don’t put up with that when discussing those, why are we putting up with it for dog food?
Is it guilt? If we spend way too much for Blue Brands, we feel less guilt at the fact we’re still feeding them all processed chow?
Why?
Because they’ve never taken introductory statistics?
Proofread!
Nothing** BUT **Science Diet. I do proofread, and yet still miss things, but that mistake kinda changes my point.
I agree, JAQ. In my tolerably-well-researched opinion, there are better kibbles out there for most dogs who don’t need a special diet, but SD certainly isn’t laced with runoff water from Love Canal and a dollop of uranium-238. Canine illnesses today can be likened to the rate of Alzheimers disease in humans: healthcare and nutrition have improved to the point that many of us - 2- and 4-legged - are living long enough to develop these other terrible illnesses that kill us. Back in my younger years, shortly after rocks were invented, our dogs were fed table scraps and cheap kibble and lived outdoors and weren’t routinely spayed or neutered. They died of everything from snake bite to car accidents to parvovirus. Today, we protect them from that, we feed better diets, and they still gotta die of something.
Just to throw another option into the mix, and maybe give people something to think about this if they’re searching for dog food options - when we got our pup I researched dog food pretty hard, I really struggled to find a kibble that got universal praise.
We feed Luna a BARF diet (Bones and Raw Food). She gets raw human-grade beef, chicken, rabbit, duck or lamb, mixed with about 20% (by weight) organic gluten free kibble for a bit more crunch.
BARF feeding seems to be increasing in momentum and popularity, there are a lot of people who prepare it for their dogs themselves, but we cheat and buy it ready-made. Our supplier is Basil’s Dog Food for Working dogs - site not really relevant for those of you overseas, but worth looking at if you’re interested in an alternative. (There are many other BARF suppliers out there!).
I had a dog that would not eat raw meat. I bought her a soup bone once with lot of meat on it, and she wouldn’t eat it until I cooked it.
So we had the treyf soup pot for dog-cooking.
I’m confused. Do wolves eat birds, or not; and if they do, does it frequently kill them?
Bones = cook, cook, cook… Makes them soft. Give the broth also, get many good things back that might cook out.
Don’t give little bones, for chicken = larger bones.
If we eat it, except for chocolate & other bad stuff, if we eat it, it is pretty much a ‘if he eats it, he gets a share.’
YMMV
You should never give a dog a cooked bone – it can splinter, which is a choking hazard.