Science diet

[leigh]

hi, just wondering if Victoria, or anyone had any opinions on Science Diet?
I've been feeding my pom x jack russel wet Science Diet since she was about 4 months old - originally mixed with dry science diet, but now mixed with beef mince and chicken, along with lucky dog kibble.

I have read differing opinions on Science diet, and am interested to know people's opinions here.

I'm a student at the moment, and don't have much money - but I do like to give my animals the best possible (a bit hard sometimes with 2 dogs and a cat). What are people's opinions on the best store bought food in Australia for small dogs (jack russels)?

[Sam-chan]

I'm a student too, although our Dal is back home with my family. We live in England, and feed him James Wellbeloved kibble (I can't remember his favourite though)and leftovers from time to time. The latter mostly consists of meat, one spare rib bone per time we have them, rice and vegetables. He loves Sundays because of that, because he gets chicken or ham, vegetables and gravy mixed with his kibble.

Before him we had a cross labrador, and he ate anything, he was mostly given a mixture of kibble with tinned food.

By 'Science Diet' do you mean a brand or in general? They're supposed to be good for your dog, but you need to read the labels, artificial colours and flavours are not good, because they make dogs completely manic.

[leigh]

hi Sam, I haven't ever seen James Wellbeloved in Australia.

Science diet is a brand of food in itself - very popular amongst vets and designer pet shops

http://www.hillspet.com/zSkin_2/index.j ... cale=en_AU

I've read conflicting opinions on discussion boards.

I don't want to use Eukanuba or Iams due to their history or experimenting on animals.

I don't live with my parents - so feeding and providing vet care etc for my 2 dogs and 1 cat comes out of my very minimal wage (around $300 a week)

[Sam-chan]

Well, it's pretty big here, their signs were everywhere at crufts last year.

When we got out dog he came with Iams Puppy food, but that didn't last long, he was five months and ready for adult food once that was up. Good thing though, I have an abject refusal to buy products from companies that exploit other people or creatures (the reason why I don't eat nestlé products, they don't taste that great anyway).

Anyway, James Wellbeloved's site is:

http://www.wellbeloved.com/

[foxylady]

hi, just wondering if Victoria, or anyone had any opinions on Science Diet?
I've been feeding my pom x jack russel wet Science Diet since she was about 4 months old - originally mixed with dry science diet, but now mixed with beef mince and chicken, along with lucky dog kibble.

I have read differing opinions on Science diet, and am interested to know people's opinions here.

I'm a student at the moment, and don't have much money - but I do like
to give my animals the best possible (a bit hard sometimes with 2 dogs and a cat). What are people's opinions on the best store bought food in Australia for small dogs (jack russels)?

Hi

I run a petshop and can offer you advise on your dogs diet. In my personal opinion Science Plan is an extreamly overrated food, unless your dog has a very specific dietary problem. I urge you to look on the back of your dog's food label and read the ingredients which are in the food you are feeding it. By law every dog food has to contain a minimum of 4% "meat" - however this is in the form of meat dervivates and bi-products, and hence is not actually proper 'meat'. No doubt you are paying a huge amount of money for your science diet - when the ingredients it contains are very poor. The majority of wet foods on the market contain about 80% water, meat derivatives, and are usually cereal based.

The most important thing I think you can do in regards to a dog's diet is stay away from branded dog foods..Pedigree, Bakers complete etc. Science plan is appealing because it is endorsed by vets - however the fact you must consider is that in the number of years vets train to do their jobs, they are only given a few days of dietary training, which is endorsed by Science Plan themselves - which is basically training on their product.

However there are extreamly good foods avaliable on the market, dry and wet. My wet recommendations include 'NatureDiet' http://www.naturediet.net or Nature's Menu http://www.naturesmenu.co.uk These 2 foods contain 60% pure meat, no bi-products or derivatives, minerals, vitamins, vegetables - they are excellent foods, and I have yet in the number of years I have sold the foods come across a doig who doesn't love the stuff!

My dry dog food recommendations would be James Wellbelloved (as already mentioned above) and Burns dog food. Burns http://www.burns-pet-nutrition.co.uk is the best dog food on the market....both contain real meat or fish (depending on the flavour) and are rice based, not cereal based so aid the digestion.

Hope this helps - oh and I believe Science Plan is made by Proctor and Gamble who make Iams etc if you have issues with their animal testing.

[Chinaski]

You might also like to know that Hills put Guar gum in their food.
Guar gum acts as an artificial stool hardener so if your dog had a dose of the runs you might not know. I agree with Foxylady in that one of the best foods on the market is Burns, no derivatives or additives of any kind.

[leigh]

Science Diet is made by Colgate (is that procter & gamble?)

all of those diets you mentioned are UK brands and not available in Australia - any suggestions for foods made in Australia? (buying from the UK is not an option, it would cost me 4x the cost of the food to get it shipped here!)

Regardless, I have made up 2 weeks of cooked rice, meat and veges and am integrating that into their food to switch them over to homecooked food, which they are loving.

[emmabeth]

If natures menu or burns or JWB arent available over in Aus, then if you are going down the home made route, why n ot just feed BARF..... still preparing yoru own meals but no cooking needed.

[nik1836]

Science Diet is made by Colgate (is that procter & gamble?)

all of those diets you mentioned are UK brands and not available in Australia - any suggestions for foods made in Australia? (buying from the UK is not an option, it would cost me 4x the cost of the food to get it shipped here!)

Regardless, I have made up 2 weeks of cooked rice, meat and veges and am integrating that into their food to switch them over to homecooked food, which they are loving.

That is what I do, whenever I see fresh mince (human consumption quality) on special, I buy in bulk and cook with mixed vegetables and rice, and freeze meal portions. My German Shepherd lived to age 14 on this diet although she did also have occasional canned and dry food, always an exception rather than the rule. The reason for that was because there are always emergency situations.... when you have a large dog to feed. I even bought a freezer especially for her food.

My animals also get fresh fruit, raw vegetables, dried fruit, nuts .. anything that I consider good enough for me is good enough for them, with exceptions like chocolates and onions, or course**. The way I look at it, the greater the variety of nutrition, the better.

I decided on this diet for my dog after talking to numerous pet owners, dog breeders, vets and researching the internet. I was appalled to discover how much rubbish went into commercial pet food but then realised that the commercial food industry lacks integrity even in processed foods for humans, and even babies. So why should we be shocked or even surprised that pet food is such a scam?

** At one time I was advised to give my dog garlic for fleas, and I remember diligently adding garlic to her food and giving her raw garlic, those were the days before we had a simple solution for fleas - a monthly tablet!! Now, I am told garlic, like chocolate and onions, is toxic for dogs. I now see warnings about macadamia nuts so I am careful about that. I've also seen cautioning about broccoli, grapes and raisins, and I don't quite understand that. A friend fed her Yorkshire terrier with grapes for years, as there was always an abundance from their own back yard. The dog lived to age 16 so I wonder about what the warning is about.

If natures menu or burns or JWB arent available over in Aus, then if you are going down the home made route, why n ot just feed BARF..... still preparing yoru own meals but no cooking needed.

I had thought about that but for me, it was simpler to cook a large pot of stew that included a variety of vegs and rice, as well as meat.

I do have a question though. Is it true that white rice is better than brown rice for dogs, because white rice is more digestable? Someone told me that and I haven't investigated it properly yet.

I must say that I became so confused with the advice about the best diet for a dog that I decided to not totally exclude anything unless I knew for sure it was harmful. But I follow the same principle I have for feeding humans ... i.e. low HI (low human interference - no preservatives, no colours, no artificial anything.)

[leigh]

hi nic That's pretty much what I'm trying to do - ever since I read the other week that that's what you feed your dogs - and that's what my mom and dad have always done - I've just been lazy!

Just out of curiosity, seeing as you are in Australia, what kind of kibble do you use? At the moment my dogs favourite is lucky dog minis, coz I don't want to spend ridiculous amounts on Science Diet, Eukanuba etc - I have no idea what the "good" kibble is to give!

My dogs do get raw bones and meat - raw steak bones, chicken wings and necks etc, just not every day. and they LOVE fruit and nuts!

I wonder about the grapes/raisins thing - I gave my puppy sultanas coz I had'nt heard that they were bad for her at the time, and they came out the other end swollen up like balloons! (same as they do in babies) - could this be anything to do with why they are considered bad - they could block up the passage? I really don't know, it's just an idea.

[nik1836]

hi nic Just out of curiosity, seeing as you are in Australia, what kind of kibble do you use? At the moment my dogs favourite is lucky dog minis, coz I don't want to spend ridiculous amounts on Science Diet, Eukanuba etc - I have no idea what the "good" kibble is to give!
.

I like the Supercoat brand, Australian made. It is less expensive than, for example, The Science Diet, Eukanuba or Hills brands but I prefer Supercoat. I also mix a small amount of dry cat food, as it is better quality dry food. I also buy cans of generic brand (human quality) sardines as it’s a good natural source of calcium, omega3 fatty acids and not too expensive. My dog also gets to lick out the yogurt container, where a little yogurt is always left for her – she loves it. (I started doing this after the vet told me to give her yogurt when she had to take antibiotics for an ear infection.)

One tip when cooking up the ‘stew’…use less rice so that it is a little more watery when cooked; turn off the stove and add some rolled oats. Put the lid back on and let it absorb the extra liquid naturally as it cooks in whatever heat it left. This reduces the risk of burning the food but also includes an additional nutritional ingredient. It works well for me.. I hate scraping food stuck to the bottom of the pot!

LOL sorry you asked about dry food but I suddenly remembered what I forgot to mention earlier!

My dogs do get raw bones and meat - raw steak bones, chicken wings and necks etc, just not every day. and they LOVE fruit and nuts!
.

Oh yes, I forgot to mention the obvious…. raw bones, chicken wings and necks. LOL I hate dripping blood so I drop them in boiling water , then cool them down before refridgerating/freezing the bones! The bones remain uncooked though. My dogs also love rawhide but I get the plain ones. I am suspicious of anything that appears too tasty, it spells artificial flavours to me!

I wonder about the grapes/raisins thing - I gave my puppy sultanas coz I had'nt heard that they were bad for her at the time, and they came out the other end swollen up like balloons! (same as they do in babies) - could this be anything to do with why they are considered bad - they could block up the passage? I really don't know, it's just an idea.

Well, I don’t know why sultanas and grapes are listed as ‘bad’. That’s something I will find out about.. , I think the swollen raisins excreted wouldn’t be a problem, the raisins have simply absorbed liquid so they wouldn’t be hard obstructions. A friend’s dog doesn’t seem to digest corn and peas, it comes out the other end whole, like the swollen raisins. I am not sure of the implications there. Perhaps someone on here can tell us.

[Chinaski]

Grapes and Raisins if fed in large quantities are toxic to dogs and can result in Kidney failure, one or two should be fine ( depending on the size of the dog of course ) but I wouldn't feed them anymore than that.

[cairnts]

the science diet is not a good option ,my cairn was on it for a for while,but he has allergies,I took him off it he gets advance turkey/rice mix it's available through PET CAFE australia wide,plus they also sell omega bites biscuts all natural omega3/6 no other rubbish mixed in.
you can also get from the supermarket a tub of acidopholis yogurt and mix it in my 2 luv this ,and they also get celery they like to run off and munch away at it,their coats are great and the weight is contolled.

http://www.petcafe.com.au/

[Ocelot0411]

I am gutted reading this as I feed my puppy Science Plan and have just stocked up on two 15kg bags. I guess I am one of these fools that is seduced by marketing. Heigh ho.

Anyway, what I want to know is at what age can I put my pup on a raw food diet, as I have read alot about this and like the sound of it. It was also recommended to me by my dogs breeder.

[emmabeth]

Any age.

I raised my little lurcher from 6 weeks old on raw, my deerhound pup will eat raw when she arrives here at around 9 weeks old....

Go for it