Science Diet Dog Food.

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by inluvwithfluff

I did not feed Biscuit based on the opinions of lay people. I fed him based on what several vets recommended at the time, which was Hill's Science Diet and Prescription Diet. It did not work. Rather, it did not improve the situation in any significant manner. The vets continued to treat the skin and ear infections and that was that. No fleas, mites or abnormal lab results. I discussed allergy testing but they insisted his case was not severe enough for testing. Should I have pushed? Perhaps.

I was reasonably tired of this. I switched him to another brand and tried different formulas and found something that has worked for him. No constant licking, scratching or biting. No recurring infections. Normal lab results every year, even now after the bleeding. No stomach upsets save for the recent bleeding, which I suspect had nothing to do with the food he was eating at the time. I'm not here to compare Hill's to junk food that should be avoided at all costs, and I'm not here to convince you to feed something else. I'm here to share my experience with this one particular dog. The experience hasn't been abominable, but neither has it been so spectacular that I feel completely confident in the food. Would I feed it in a time of need? Yes, I already am. But otherwise? I'll keep to what has worked best.

I made a sweeping post ...

I did not say that you fed your dog based upon the recommendations of lay people.

I also did not say that you compared Hill's to junk food.

[Woogie Man]

Originally Posted by Britster

Not denying this at all. I am sure it has helped tons of dogs who needed it. I am saying I don't see a particular reason to feed it to a healthy dog who could otherwise thrive on something that is, in my opinion, better. *shrugs* My opinion. Nope, I'm not a vet. You don't have to be a doctor to have an opinion on everything health-related in life. I don't always agree with human doctors, either. That's not to say I don't look to them for their expertise and advice, either. If my dog needed to be on SD, I'd feed it. If he doesn't have to be, I'm not going to feed it. Simple as that. There's also plenty of vets who also don't feed or recommend SD, so it's all a matter of opinion, really. And each personal dog.

This thread was started by someone that was recommending SD because she thought the first ingredient was meat. The OP read the ingredients and found out otherwise. That's all it was about.

Anyone that posted with a negative opinion of SD was talking about just the regular food...not any Rx type. This is about the 3rd thread in a month about SD and it always gets to the Rx food, which none of the threads have been about.

If I post in the next SD thread, I'll have the same opinion, but maybe have a disclaimer that my opinion is not about any prescription food.

[inluvwithfluff]

Originally Posted by ladyjane

I made a sweeping post ...

I did not say that you fed your dog based upon the recommendations of lay people.

I also did not say that you compared Hill's to junk food.

So some people do have legitimate concerns that shouldn't be dismissed simply because they're not vets. I don't mean to be combative and I don't want to continue to feed the thread, so that's that.

[Britster]

Originally Posted by DJDB

I just don't think it's necessary to make anyone feel bad about the food they give their own fur baby just because someone has read somewhere that this or that is good or bad. If the dog is 15 yrs old and happy as a clam eating Iams or SD or whatever, what difference does it make? As with human food, one day something is good for you, the next it's bad. As humans we tend to think we know everything, when in fact we don't. There are so many variables when it comes to the health and longevity of a dog or any animal that I doubt there's even any solid data to prove that one kind of food over another is better. Just cuz you read something on the internet don't make it true.

I definitely agree with all this. For sure. I've stated before on this forum that there are just too many factors involved to prove one way or the other. It's what we are all comfortable with. I'm not condemning anyone for feeding SD, you are doing what you and a veterinarian feel is best and that is great!

I am not trying to make anyone feel bad about what they are feeding. I've had people tell me raw is way better than kibble but I don't really care. I'm feeding what works for us so it's the same principle.

Also, yes, dogs lived long happy healthy lives before pet boutiques and 'high end' food stores, etc, but remember kibble in it's form is not THAT old so it's not like we had huge amounts of research to prove any thing any other way. It only became popular in the 1950's. So dogs before that were, I'm sure, mainly living off table scraps and other things and I am sure they lived fairly long and healthy lives as well so *shrugs* I would say we've come a long way since then though.... that's the beauty of time and change, we discover new things and find things that are better!

In fact, in 1964 the Pet Food Institute, a lobbying group for the now-gigantic pet food industry, began a campaign to get people to stop feeding their dogs anything but packaged dog food. They funded “reports” that appeared in magazines, detailing the benefits of processed dog food and even produced a radio spot about “the dangers of table scraps.” It just shows what marketing can do. I've also seen many dogs who have lived long lives eating a lot of table scraps and bad foods, but most here on YT are totally against feeding dogs "table scraps" whereas I don't have an issue with it so long as it's in moderation and nothing too fatty, junky, etc.

But I do agree, it gets ridiculous in general. Every day something new causes cancer, or whatever, and it comes a point where you just have to be like, ugh, whatever, lol. You can't really win either way. There's just certain foods I am not sure I'd feel comfortable feeding after I've seen dogs health improve greatly on grain-free 'higher end' kibbles.

But we can have the debate over and over again and none of us are going to agree, lol, so we're going to just agree to disagree here, I think. We each do what we are comfortable with. I don't believe dogs were designed to eat corn and a bunch of grains, it's just what I believe from the research I've done.

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by Woogie Man

This thread was started by someone that was recommending SD because she thought the first ingredient was meat. The OP read the ingredients and found out otherwise. That's all it was about.

Anyone that posted with a negative opinion of SD was talking about just the regular food...not any Rx type. This is about the 3rd thread in a month about SD and it always gets to the Rx food, which none of the threads have been about.

If I post in the next SD thread, I'll have the same opinion, but maybe have a disclaimer that my opinion is not about any prescription food.

When people mention Hill's in ANY thread, the people who have been prescribed RX foods DO read that to mean those foods are bad.

I have seen it time and time again. People saying that they hate feeding their pups Hill's RX diets because they know it is not quality food. It bothers me greatly that they feel that way. Most people do NOT realize that RX foods are not what is being talked about....and honestly I don't agree with you totally. I think that many are talking about the RX foods. Maybe not you, but many.

I honestly do not know what the campaign against Hill's is all about, whether it be regular or RX. To be perfectly honest, I think much of the hullabaloo about what to feed is just that...hullaballoo. I don't go to online forums to figure out what to feed my pups. I also do not promote what I feed. If someone asks, I tell them. I don't believe my choice is superior to anyone else's choice for their pups. I have very healthy pups. Period. Many people feed so many different foods...I would venture to say that most have healthy pups.

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by inluvwithfluff

So some people do have legitimate concerns that shouldn't be dismissed simply because they're not vets. I don't mean to be combative and I don't want to continue to feed the thread, so that's that.

I don't know that....all I can say is IF I read something that I might think is a legitimate concern and it is about something I feed my pups I will go to the experts to question it. In other words: I don't take as gospel what people on the internet say.

And..I am not arguing either. Merely voicing my concerns.

[Britster]

Originally Posted by Woogie Man

This thread was started by someone that was recommending SD because she thought the first ingredient was meat. The OP read the ingredients and found out otherwise. That's all it was about.

Anyone that posted with a negative opinion of SD was talking about just the regular food...not any Rx type. This is about the 3rd thread in a month about SD and it always gets to the Rx food, which none of the threads have been about.

If I post in the next SD thread, I'll have the same opinion, but maybe have a disclaimer that my opinion is not about any prescription food.

Yes. This. I was wondering how RX diets kept getting brought into this when most SD thread started are NOT about their RX diets.

I wouldn't feed a SD regular kibble to a perfectly healthy dog. I wouldn't. That's that. If my dog had NO other options and was ONLY living healthy on a SD prescription food, would I feed it? Yes.

[yorkietalkjilly]

I had to feed Jilly Science Diet Sensitive as it was the only thing that we tried(and we went through all of them) that didn't cause severe IBS/gastroenteritis. Was grateful for it for her but she ate junk the whole time she lived. I now prefer(and who wouldn't that had a choice) to fee my dog only really nutritious food that adds to his health and is not full of nothing. Who wants to shortchange their dog on good health if they have any choice?

[Britster]

Originally Posted by ladyjane

And..I am not arguing either. Merely voicing my concerns.

Me too!

[Britster]

Originally Posted by Britster

But we can have the debate over and over again and none of us are going to agree, lol, so we're going to just agree to disagree here, I think. We each do what we are comfortable with. I don't believe dogs were designed to eat corn and a bunch of grains, it's just what I believe from the research I've done.

I will add -- I am not, like, all "anti-grain" either. I don't think grains are going to necessarily hurt a dog (unless they have allergies to them or something, of course). But I also don't think they are completely necessary in their diet. With that said, my dog does get treats with grains in them on occasion. He also DOES get a MilkBone every now and then. He does get some Cesar's wet food now and again. Moderation. I'm not a total extremist.

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by Britster

I will add -- I am not, like, all "anti-grain" either. I don't think grains are going to necessarily hurt a dog (unless they have allergies to them or something, of course). But I also don't think they are completely necessary in their diet. With that said, my dog does get treats with grains in them on occasion. He also DOES get a MilkBone every now and then. He does get some Cesar's wet food now and again. Moderation. I'm not a total extremist.

[Woogie Man]

Originally Posted by ladyjane

When people mention Hill's in ANY thread, the people who have been prescribed RX foods DO read that to mean those foods are bad.

I have seen it time and time again. People saying that they hate feeding their pups Hill's RX diets because they know it is not quality food. It bothers me greatly that they feel that way. Most people do NOT realize that RX foods are not what is being talked about....and honestly I don't agree with you totally. I think that many are talking about the RX foods. Maybe not you, but many.

I honestly do not know what the campaign against Hill's is all about, whether it be regular or RX. To be perfectly honest, I think much of the hullabaloo about what to feed is just that...hullaballoo. I don't go to online forums to figure out what to feed my pups. I also do not promote what I feed. If someone asks, I tell them. I don't believe my choice is superior to anyone else's choice for their pups. I have very healthy pups. Period. Many people feed so many different foods...I would venture to say that most have healthy pups.

Linda, your post shows me that we are talking about different things. I don't think I've ever posted in a thread about any Rx food. It's just out of my experience. Luckily, I've never had the need for any Rx food. Any issues mine have had I've been able to treat with resting the stomach and/or feeding chicken w/rice & broth.

No doubt that I would not hesitate to use an Rx diet if the need arises. Just from reading on YT, I know that Hill's, Purina and Royal Canin all make prescription foods. Whether there is any difference in them, I don't know. If I had to make a choice among them, I would choose to follow my vet's advice.

My opinion is not just an anti Science Diet one, but I'm against any brand that uses corn in its formula. Again, just talking about regular foods. That being said, it's not something that keeps me up at night. Everyone is free to make their own choice. I do believe we should research and feed a quality food, especially with toy breeds. We all have seen different dogs do well or not so well on different foods, so it really comes down to what an individual dog does well on.

Personally, I now feed my dogs Authority. Based on ingredients, is it a premier brand? No, it's not holistic/human grade, etc., but all mine do very well on it. That's about as far as I would go in making a recommendation.

Since Hill's and others make Rx foods, it probably is a good idea to specify which foods we might be talking about so there is no confusion. I would hate for someone to get the wrong idea and avoid a food their pet may need based on opinions not directed at that food.

[OwnedByJezebel]

Originally Posted by Britster

Yes. This. I was wondering how RX diets kept getting brought into this when most SD thread started are NOT about their RX diets.

I wouldn't feed a SD regular kibble to a perfectly healthy dog. I wouldn't. That's that. If my dog had NO other options and was ONLY living healthy on a SD prescription food, would I feed it? Yes.

Exactly. This isn't about what to feed a dog that has special medical problems. When they have health issues, all bets are off and you feed them what you have to. Hills, Purina prescription, etc., that would be THE BEST food for that dog under those circumstances.

However, this is about what you feed a dog when you DO have a choice.

[107barney]

I home cook for my dogs, so I tend to avoid discussions on brands of dog food. Since I tend to spend a lot of time in the sick and injured forum, I will agree with others that we see over and over people feeling badly about feeding an Rx food because of what they have read on YT. Indeed, most threads indeed are about regular SD food. However, the average person sees it as "Science Diet is bad" therefore when their vet recommends SD Rx diet, they are scared to to feed it and think they are doing wrong by their dog.

To the person whose dog is having allergies - FYI allergy testing for food is unreliable and a waste of money. The best way to see what ingredients your dog is allergic to is to conduct a strict food elimination diet. Chances are, the dog has environmental allergies, and testing for those IS reliable. There are medications that can help - my dog has been on Atopica for years - recently had to come off for other reasons temporarily - but it has been a life saver. You might want to ask your vet about it. There are also allergy shots - I think Wylie's Mom has used them for her dog (?) so you could ask her. The best bet is a vet dermatologist to do some looking into on your dog's case, that would be my starting point.

[inluvwithfluff]

Originally Posted by 107barney

To the person whose dog is having allergies - FYI allergy testing for food is unreliable and a waste of money. The best way to see what ingredients your dog is allergic to is to conduct a strict food elimination diet. Chances are, the dog has environmental allergies, and testing for those IS reliable. There are medications that can help - my dog has been on Atopica for years - recently had to come off for other reasons temporarily - but it has been a life saver. You might want to ask your vet about it. There are also allergy shots - I think Wylie's Mom has used them for her dog (?) so you could ask her. The best bet is a vet dermatologist to do some looking into on your dog's case, that would be my starting point.

Yes, one vet did tell me he didn't recommend allergy testing if the allergies were indeed caused by food. We were considering both food and environmental allergies at the time but I do think it's primarily a food issue. We tried different ingredients. Corn, chicken and soy appear to be the worst culprits. We switched him to a food without those ingredients and the improvement was considerable. Even so, we still limit his time outside. This is hot and humid Miami after all, and I suspect environmental allergens too.

As for bringing up the prescription diet, corn is found in I/D which is why I initially worried about a flare-up. He is scratching and biting again, most noticeably his feet. His follow-up is tomorrow so I'll take the chance to ask the vet about possible medications and a dermatologist. Thank you for the advice.