Proof IMO that Expensive Food isn't Necessarily Better - Page 1

My moms 12.5 y/o Golden Retriever, Jewel, has been fed Science Diet her entire life. Thats what her breeder had her on at 8 wks, thats what the vets have preached to them, etc. My mom and her boyfriend have always sworn by it because of this, while I have tried and tried and tried to tell them that that food is CRAP. They wouldn't budge. Now, as Jewel has gotten older she has developed serious allergies that always crop up right around the time she is shedding. She gets hotspots and will chew her skin raw, and is just completely itchy and miserable.

Well now since Jewel's teeth have gotten worse, they have had to switch her to canned food so that she'll eat. Just cheap, blah, canned food - Pedigree in fact. Well guess who is shedding and has no allergy symptoms right now *knocking on wood*? Ain't that funny? I brought that up to them yesterday when I was over there and they didn't believe that and anything to do with it. After a short debate on why SD is crap, I finally went and grabbed the bag/can. Now I've always heard that you want to see the first 3 ingredients being meat... so I told them that and told them to compare. Moms boyfriend was shocked at reading the Science Diet bag. I told them "Pedigree is not a good food by any means, but that just goes to show you what crap SD really is." He seemede to believe me anyways, so I'm hoping that will convince them to change her to something better.

I thought this was interesting about her allergies at any rate... that is the only thing that has changed since the last time she was shedding, except for her bout with pyo and the resulting spay.

While on the topic of Science Diet, our current mutt, Yapper, was switched to that food right when we got him. He almost immedietly started losing hair on his back/butt. We then switched him back to the food he had been on beforehand, Purina One, and his hair magically grew back. Now he is on the same grain-free stuff my GSD is on, and his fur has never been softer... he also has tons more energy than he ever did before, and he is going to be 13 in a couple months.

Isn't it amazing what a difference food can make, and also that vets are so money hungry to preach that CRAP?

Thanks for sharing, amazing indeed

Dawolf, I agree with you. And as for the vets, look how much money they make off "allergies". One time when my vet was here at the house doing rabies vac on dogs and horses, after we finished, he came in the house for a "beverage". It was late, and feeding time, so I prepared the feed for all the dogs while we visited. I was cutting up big chunks of fresh beef from a cow I had butchered, putting it into the bowels. After several minutes, he commented that "if every one fed their dogs like that, there wouldn't be any sick dogs".
Unfortunately, too many vets would rather see junk that you speak of used.

I would love to know why vets in general think Hills Science Diets are so great;
everytime I've had one prescribed for a dog, its been hell trying to get them to eat
the stuff. (Or cat, too - but they are notoriously fussy LOL)

they preach it because they get money to do so. and they get money from every sale.

Yeah but they get a rake off from any food they sell.  My vets flog
Royal Canin -  but the individual vets still recommend prescription
diet for exactly that -  a prescription as part of treatment.  

Since a vets training in feeding animals will be reliant on the literature, research and qualified experts from the appropriate animal feed companies, it is no surprise they recommend their products, most younger vets simply do not know any better, it is, after all, a very small section of their training and probably gets as little thought as the correct way to groom individual breeds of dog in a busy day at the surgery treating asorted diseases and injuries.

Margaret N-J

Good point M NJ;  you would think though, wouldn't you, that if more established vets
have heard half a hundred times back from clients that the stuff is unpalatable, the
info would somehow get back to baby vets and manufacturers alike ?  I've met very few
people who have liked it & found it easy to feed to their animals.  Presumably they have
said this at the surgery ?

Here is another great link. If you listen to the end she believes veterinarian prescription diets fall below normal kibble.  I found that very interesting.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5ZeNLUEHKY

Yes, the great food debate. Now imagine feeding your dog a raw prey diet and really watch the benefits. It's what a dog digestive system is built for. All my dogs are on a raw diet. But I was able to watch my one boy go from premium kibble to raw. Night and day difference in everything about him. Coat, stool, teeth, overall health.
IMO feeding kibble is like feeding a kid captain crunch everyday.