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Does anyone know a lot about puppy food that can help me convince my wife (or I suppose, myself) that we shouldn't by science diet food(recommended by the vet) for twice the price of kirkland brand puppy food? I looked at the ingredients of the kirkland brand andresearch food websites and the kirkland brand actually looks better! Has anyone performed similar research or have any knowldge of this topic? Thanks
This will probably get moved to a pet/dog forum but here goes anyway..
Vets make money selling Science Diet, and from what I've read the quality definitely isn't worth the extra $$. I could see buying it for some special needs (medical) but not just for regular dog food.
I've been feeding my dogs the Costco dog food (Kirkland Chicken & Rice) for years. The ingredients are very good, they love it, the end results are good, and it's very reasonably priced. If your dog does well on the Kirkland I don't see the need for buying Science Diet.
I agree, vets do get quite a profit off of science diet. Unless its prescription, I would skip it. Here's why:
When shopping for dog food, its important to read the label. One thing you do NOT want to get for your dog is any kind of dog food with any bi-product meal. Bi-product meal (especially chicken bi-product) is the leftovers from the butcher. We're talking the beak, the feet, the insides, etc. The scraps that are left over is what goes into dog food. I always tell my classmates that when buying dog food, find a good one that does NOT have any sort of by-product meal in it. This causes dog allergies in the majority of most dogs and when that happens, your vet is going to recommend they switch over to pricey prescription dog food. Most dog foods that have bi-product meal are advertised dog good (Purina, puppy chow,etc), or what we call "grocery label" dog food. Iams and Science diet was bought out by other companies and had their ingrediants switched over to include byproduct ingrediants. Eukanuba bought out Iams and Hill's bought out Science Diet. Read the label, you will be suprised.
I personally have not heard of Kirland dog food but again, read the label. I feed my dogs Nutro and another one Nature's Recipe (closet thing you can buy at a store without a prescription). Both are healthy dog food. Alot of people by hollistic dog food too, those are great!
Hope that helps! Remember, if you switch your dogs food to any different brand or type, do the 9-12 food change.
Days 1-3 : 75% of old food mixed in with 25% of new food
Days 4-6 : 50% of old food mixed in with 50 % of new food
Days 7-9 : 25% of old food mixed in with 75% of new food
There will be loose stools for a couple of days, thats normal.
Quality of dog food has nothing to do with it's brand or label. It comes down to ingredients. Opt for brands with high "meal" content, like chicken meal or beef meal, because meal is 100% meat with the water weight removed. If the meat listed isn't a meal, there is little of it present, even if listed first. Also avoid other fillers, like corn, because dogs can't really use corn. Beware of anything with high byproduct, corn, or wheat content. Ingredients are listed in order of content. There's a lot to learn about pet food! Our dog ate science diet for years, but always picked at it and was never happy when we fed him. We started him on a holistic dry kibble from a local breeder and he finishes his food immediately everytime. It's not much more expensive, either
Yep! I forgot to mention in my original post. Skip anything with corn in it too. Its just a filler! The first 2-3 ingrediants is what is key. First ingrediant is usually corn, the second is some sort of by-product meal (like chicken). That is the kind of food you want to avoid. Corn is cheap for dog food companies to use so its a huge filler. Any kind of food with "red pieces" too. The red dye they use causes allergies like you would not believe! Dog food that has pictures of carrots, green beans, peas, etc is just advertising. They market the dog food to make you THINK the dog food is healthy. Again, read the ingrediants. What is pictured is not always whats in the ingrediants. Another marketing ploy is pictures of cute puppies/dogs on the bag. Thats how they lure in their consumers.
Find dog food that uses rice or oatmeal instead of corn. If your dog has really dry skin and itches alot, find a dog food with fish & potato. Guarantee healthy coat!
Find another vet who does not have such a detrimental conflict of interest.
Veterinarians should not be selling this food! Those who do are no more credible or qualified than the hated Walmart in regard to pet nutrition. The ingredients listed right on the bags prove this.
Here are the first (Main) ingredients in Hill's "Prescription" c/d® Multicare Feline Formula, for the "Nutritional Management of Cats with Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease", which my sister is feeding because her vet "prescribed" it:
Brewers Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Chicken By-Product Meal, Pork Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid),
Chicken Liver Flavor, Fish Oil, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Sulfate, Choline Chloride...
What creature on earth could possibly require a "prescription" for that?! (True Carnivorous species nonwithstanding)??
But here's the catch: These vets will state that their "prescription" food has no ash -- or oxalates, which are bladder stone/crystal producers, and, of course, abundant in so many nutritional foods (fruits & veggies). So, NO WONDER your pet has no risk of too many Oxalates in this "food" ... there's nothing remotely nutritional in there!
PS These are the first ingredients of Hill's Prescription WD, which one veterinarian, aggressively, tried pushing on us: Ground Whole Grain Corn, Powdered Cellulose, Peanut Hulls, Chicken by-product Meal, Chicken Liver Flavor, Soybean Meal, Soybean Mill Run, Dried Egg Product, Soybean Oil, Corn Gluten Meal, Iron Oxide, Choline Chloride, L-Lysine, Calcium Carbonate...
Again, this "food" merely leaves out ash and Oxalates. That's the bottom line (pun intended).
Corn and soy are proven irritants and allergins. Then they can sell you drugs to combat those "mysterious breakouts", ear infections, and allergies.
Sorry, keep adding, but our (family) vet of over 40 years who can doagnose so, soooo much with just a thorough examination, does not even pretend to know about dog food. When we did inquire in the past, he said: Well, I'd probably have to look at a book or something... He is truly an Angel. This is why we travel all the way back for our dog to see him (after being burned bad with vets in new hometown.)
Last edited by Travel'r; 09-10-2007 at 04:42 PM..
Reason: Added dog ingredients
I'd like to add that you want to make certain the food is manufactured here in the US and using US products, with the exception being lamb as all the lamb in pet foods comes from New Zealand since it's a cleaner lamb.
Does anyone know a lot about puppy food that can help me convince my wife (or I suppose, myself) that we shouldn't by science diet food(recommended by the vet) for twice the price of kirkland brand puppy food? I looked at the ingredients of the kirkland brand andresearch food websites and the kirkland brand actually looks better! Has anyone performed similar research or have any knowldge of this topic? Thanks
I would never use science diet. The Vet makes a profit on that food. Try Newman's Own or By Nature..Both great dog food and your dog will live longer. They both have Web sites.....
Carrie
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