SCIENCE DIET "ADVANCED" FOOD A RIPOFF!!

[Fosterllama]

I went to Complete Petmart today for some of my clients (I am a petsitter!), and they had me buy them the new Science Diet "Advanced" Senior Formula and to my suprise the 44 lb bag of it cost $39.95!!
Soooo, out of curiosity I took a peek at the ingredients list located appropriately on the side of the bag and compared the food to my dogs food. (My pets are on Blue Buffalo). The first ingredients on the Science Diet food were: Corn, chicken by-product meal and corn gluten meal. In that list you have two nutritionless fillers and a very low quality protein source!(Feet, and beaks and feathers oh my!) :eek: DO NOT BUY INTO THIS RIPOFF!!! That is a very expensive bag of corn kibble sprayed with flavor/fat and put in a fancy bag!! "Advanced" my ass. :mad:

[Cat&Dog mom]

Ya know, I also noticed that about their ing. I was thinking about switching my cats food to science diet, but thought no thanks, when the brand I have now start with Chicken. I couldn't believe it either.

[jacksola]

I've fed my border collies nothing but Science Diet lamb meal and rice food for years and I can say without hesitation that the food meets their nutritional needs completely: they are in perfect health and they have beautiful coats. None of the other foods out there gave me such consistently excellent results. You just need to shop around. I usually pay between $25-$30 for a 40lb bag and it's worth every penny.

[bisquik]

Not to mention carcinogenic preservatives and chemically-produced "nutrients." :eek:

[KCCaneCorsos]

I have done a lot of researching about dog foods, you wouldn't believe what is in them! The most well known brand names (and often the more expensive) are the worst! I have even thought about going to BARF, but haven't yet. I finally landed on Authority (Petsmart brand). Prior to Authority I was paying about $40 for Natural Choice, and was told Authority was comparable (by a girl who worked at Petco, a competitor). I compared the labels and yep, Authority is a very good food! And I only pay about $24 for 44lbs! Thank you Fosterllama for bringing this to everyone's attention, but I do have to say, no matter what you feed your dog, something is better than nothing I think. ;)

[dalchick]

The dog food i usually get is Atay Boy from costco it is just like expensive dog food but onle 10.99 and its like an 80lb bag

[Rip's Girl]

I won't feed science diet anymore, after I read the ingredients... :eek:

[Chikadee07]

well i started feeding my lazy 6yr old pug Science Diet Advanced Protection and now she is more active than she has been for about 4 years

[Graciethelab]

I cannot believe that! We've never given science diet to our dogs, and I'm glad! Has anyone heard what IAMS does to their test animals? Some of these foods and factories are HORRIBLE!

[Squawksx3]

I feed Science Diet to my dogs and cats.. have for years. They love it and they're happy/healthy guys :) . I also feed Authority brand once in awhile.. its made by Nutro ;) . I know people that have fed their dogs Purina Dog Chow for years... their dogs live to be old age.. just boils down to whatever you want to feed =).

[Rip's Girl]

Squawksx3, it really does boil down to what the person WANTS to feed. It's just a matter of what people feel comfortable feeding their animals. ;)

[Squawksx3]

Squawksx3, it really does boil down to what the person WANTS to feed. It's just a matter of what people feel comfortable feeding their animals. ;)

I totally agree ;)

[DachshundDuo]

I feed mine Kibbles n Bits. I guess I'm the el Cheapo around here. Oh well. But other than Bubby being sick with some sort of imune disorder - not related to food, my other two dogs are tough as nails. They never get sick. They also get table scraps. All three of them just LOVE broccoli. I thought that was weird. Anyway I give it to them, they love it. IF it is steamed, raw or even frozen, they love it!

[Maui Cat]

I feed my cat and dog Wellness. Wellness is not sold in Petco or Petsmart. But if you go online: www.omhpet.com
It will tell you the ingredients and where to buy Wellness cat or dog food.
It has no meat by-products, no rendered animal meals, no white rice, no Ethoxyquin, no corn, no cellulose, no pre-processed grains, no safflower or sunflower oil, no corn gluten meal, no digests, no artificial preservatives, flavors or colors.

My cat loves Wellness dry salmon, turkey & herring oil fomula.
My dog loves Wellness Senior dry & canned fomula.

Sandy

[DiegoDog]

Wellness is in every pet store in my town. But most dongs on it have the runs and drink excessive water from what I hear. I feed my dog Nutram. Hypoallergetic dog food. Its a canadian brand so I don;t expect you american folk to have heard of it. Either that or Technical. Its the only two he eats. Both canadian. Main ingrediant both chicken. I am not one for the barf diet. Because half the stuff they put in it like yogurt dogs don't eat.

By the by what is the difference between chicken meal and chicken by-product?

[amanda622]

but I do have to say, no matter what you feed your dog, something is better than nothing I think. ;)


this is so true there are so many dogs out there that eat out of the garbage and they prob live to 20 years i know somebody that feed there dog american fare i think thats the worse you can go but he cant get any heathyier


my dogs get nutro max and i use to have to fight with brownie everyday to eat now he eats on his own and my cats get purina cat chow and my oldest is 14 and she still runs around and chases string and they throw up if we feed them anything else i think like somebody said it up to the person

ill spend $50 on a 2 pd bag if my dog loves it its up to them

[Quebrik]

These are the major differences between chicken meal and chicken by-products:

a) chicken meal is 100% chicken meat that has had all of the fat and water removed from it, therefore creating a very dense, almost powder form of protein. It takes about 5 lbs of wet chicken meat (before water/fat removed) to make 1 lb of chicken meal (water/fat removed). It is the most protein-dense and most digestible protein source available to the pet food industry.

b) chicken by-products are what is left of the carcass after the meat has been removed. By-products can include highly nutritional organs, such as kidneys, liver, heart, stomach contents, etc. These by-products are extremely useful and have attributes that are in fact essential to your pet's health. If you have more questions on the nutritional value of organs, please ask me :-) However, by-products can (and probably more often, because they are cheap) include fur, feathers, beaks, feet, nails/claws, and other human-industry-waste ingredients that have no nutritional value for your pet, and in fact can cause an array of digestive problems.....because they are not digestible themselves. You may also have seen "chicken by-product meal", which is the same thing as chicken by-products, except it has had the water and fat content extracted to make a fine, dense powder out of kidneys, livers, beaks, and feathers, etc.

The point is that certain "by-products" are quite nutritious and even essential for the health of your pet. What it comes down to is the vagueness of ingredient listings like "chicken by-products" because you really don't know what it is. Even worse, if you ever see "meat by-products"..... you don't even know what kind of animal those by-products came from.....pig? cow? horse? road kill? cats? who knows.

From my experience in the pet food industry, pet-food companies that have nothing to hide will have no problem in stating "chicken liver" or "lamb esophagus" in the ingredients list, instead of the generic term "by-products".

Q

[Wolat]

science diet is alright. they do their research and stuff. i don'tlike that they use all those chemicals. your dog wasn't meant to eat those chemicals, just as we weren't meant to eat hormone pumped animals.
i used to feed nature's best to my first two animals when they were kitten/puppy. i eventually went to a better food. howevermy cat has urinary crystals and requires one of science diet's prescription diets. i am grateful that they have prescription diets for certain metabolic diseases that couldn't be treated effectively otherwise.

in general i'd say leave science diet alone until it is prescribed to your pet. until then get something less chemical and filler filled.

i use royal canin for my dogs, but i've also used california natural and natural balance. i usually keep a bit of 2 of these mixed together in their food. i figure if they HAVE to have kibble, atleast they can have 'variety'. they also get food scraps once a week or so, but i also remove some of their kibble that night.

keeping track of your pet's nutrition is a little harder these days with so much info and so much to think of. but once you have a plan set, you're good.

[sdchampion]

I used to feed my Bergie the store bought (Wally World, Petco, etc) foods too. She was a healthy and thriving puppy...still is. However, once I realized what was in these foods I immediately changed to an all natural food. Bergie is now on Chicken Soup. Yes, it cost more but the future benefits are what I am looking at.

Dogs may flourish and do well on the cheaper brands...I am not arguing that. My mom and sister who live in the south feed their dogs table scraps and the real cheap brands. I call them "porch dogs". You know, the ones you see in the south that lay around snoozing on the stairs? LOL

My main reason for changing Bergie's food is I feel better feeding her the good quality food. Just as we change our diets to a more healthy food choice, I chose to feed Bergie the same way.

I agree that usually the dog will let you know what they like and can be picky at times. I say if you can try the more healthy foods and your dog likes them that is great. If not, then maybe try some supliments to add to their diet that will give them more vitamins , etc. It is really the owners choice when it is said and done. Do what makes you and your dog happy. :-)

[phillydogs]

I'm with Dachshund Duo, my dogs loooooove Kibbles and Chunks and I tried them on just about every food over the past 5 years and that is the only one they eat with no problems.

I'm feeding Earl the cat Science Diet and so far he loves it and is growing fast and has a nice healthy coat.

[Dash&LeoKC]

I feed Canidae (no wheat, soy, by products or meat meals, fillers etc). I pay 29.99 for a 40 lb bag. An excellent kibble. I would feed Innova, Timberwolf Organics, Merrick, Nature's Variety Prairie, Blue Buffalo (not in our area yet) and thats about it. I have heard that the Authority Harvest baked is an okay food.
The more the meat, the less you feed. Higher quality kibble is more filling without the fillers. They eat less because the calories are higher therefore the food is not really more expensive. They dont go through it as fast.
Taylor