[OUbrat79]

My vet recommended I feed my GSD Science Diet Large Breed. It's about the best you can by in the small town I live in. I have to say my GSD and boxer both seem to be doing very well on it. I haven't noticed any health problems with my GSD. I'm just worried that he isn't getting all the nutrition he needs.

I have thought about mixing a little raw diet with his kibble. I don't want to put him on an all raw diet. I'm not sure about changing anything because he is doing well with what he is eating now. I have thought about chopping up some chicken and adding it each day so he gets more meet, since there is grain in his kibble. Any thoughts? Is he getting everything he needs? Should I just leave well enough alone?


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[mego]

Not a good food. Has corn etc. If its the best in your area have you considered ordering online? I order from chewy.com. Check out dogfoodadvisor.com for a breakdown on why it's not that great to feed

I would add some raw if you do it properly Lots of people here are very knowledgeable about it and can help you.

 

[Magwart]

I also am not a fan of the corn in it. Not all GSDs do poorly with corn, but enough of them do (and develop food allergies) that I wouldn't mess with it again. I've been down the food allergy road with a dog, and it's hard on the dog.

It's a 2.5 star food according to DFA, and the analysis might be interesting reading for you:
Hill's Science Diet Adult Dog Food | Review and Rating

Personally, I would food order online if that's all you can get. Set up an automatic shipment of a better food to not be limited by your local selection, and you'll never run out. Also, you might find a local feed store willing to special order several bags at a time for you, once a month, of whatever brand you prefer.

 

[OUbrat79]

What about changing him over to Diamond? I had planned on starting him on Diamond Natural but my vet assured me Science Diet was better. After looking it up I'm starting to really rethink what my vet said.


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[Nigel]

I thought I've read on this site, that SD is peddled to vets as a business deal, like big pharma does with doctors.

 

[OUbrat79]

I thought I've read on this site, that SD is peddled to vets as a business deal, like big pharma does with doctors.

I would believe that.


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[x11]

i think popular with many millitary and police dog units?

not generally considered a premium kibble as far as i can tell.

 

[Carriesue]

I wouldn't feed it and also I wouldn't trust most vets opinion about nutrition. They only have a small course on it in vet school and guess who usually sponsors it, yep Science Diet. I had one vet tell me to take my puppy off Honest Kitchen and put him on Science diet... I just had to smile and nod.

I'm lucky that I have several small specialty stores close to me though I'm getting ready to switch to home made and raw only but if I didn't have access to better food I would just Order online, sometimes you can get better deals that way too.

 

[Neko]

Most vets recommend a food because when they graduate a company offers to pay their student loan if they recommend their product. Yep, sadly it's true.

 

[shepherdmom]

What about changing him over to Diamond? I had planned on starting him on Diamond Natural but my vet assured me Science Diet was better. After looking it up I'm starting to really rethink what my vet said.


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My 11 year old shepherd was fed Science Diet from the time he was a puppy up until last year, when I switched to Natures Recipe. He did just fine on it. I switched because I wanted a food I could feed all the dogs (vrs. puppy, adult and senior forumulas) and natures recipe had one for all ages... I tried Diamond Natural's mixing in slowly and with two different bags but it just gave everyone the runs. I won't try Diamond again.

 

[Magwart]

Do you have access to a Costco in the nearest larger town? Diamond makes the Kirkland brand for Costco -- and it's very economical for the quality. I think they introduced a grain-free option last year too.

The regular version: http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/kirkland-signature-dog-food/
The grain-free version: http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/natures-domain-dog-food/

 

[OUbrat79]

Is Diamond Natural a good feed? I think the local feed store carries it.


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[EquusAmor]

I have a golden retriever, but we got a free bag of science diet when we adopted him and I ended up throwing it out mainly because my dog wouldn't even touch the stuff. Plus he had really bad food allergies and after having him on ol'Roy ( I know it is go awful for them, but it was what I could afford at the time) we switched to blue buffalo and within a week all food allergies were gone. Anyway, sorry for rambling, I would take everyone else's advice and order it online. Save them from developing food allergies because it is not fun when they have it


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[mandiah89]

I have yet to run across a vet that did NOT push to feed Science Diet. Every vet I have had told me to switch off of the high quality food I only feed to put them on SD. Sorry but the top three ingredients in SD are Corn and corn meal, there is no nutrients in that, I only feed grain free no wheat/corn/soy and meat has to be the first ingredient. Just like humans dogs cannot digest corn and has no nutrient value.. Diamond is an OK brand I think its better than SD, but if you can afford it I would order food online to get the best quality.

 

[JakodaCD OA]

I feed Diamond Naturals, my dogs do very well on it,

 

[Okin]

I have had vets in the past that tried to tell me it was the only conscious food to feed a dog. My current vet doesn't even sell the stuff. I mention different higher end kibbles like Fromm, Innova, Evo, Acana and she knew about all of them, where they were made etc. I went with Fromm Large Breed Puppy for now. She says raw is good but has seen too many puppies were the owner did raw without any real knowledge of how to do it and gave their dogs far to much protein when they were developing.

 

[Mrs.K]

I feed Diamond too.

If you have a tractor supply you may also have 4Health which is grain free. I feed one dog 4Health Salmon and Potato and the others get Diamond plus I supplement with Kefir and Flax Seed Oil, etc.

However, Diamond is a reasonable food for a reasonable price, especially when you go through a 150 pounds of food like I do

 

[Pooky44]

I agree about the vet connection with Science Diet.
You can go online to Chewy.com and order food at a reasonable
price and orders over $50 have free shipping.

 

[OUbrat79]

I went out and got Ammo Diamond Naturals Lamb and Rice formula. I wanted to get Extreme Athlete formula but they were out at the time. I will probably change him over to the other formula later. I kind of want to do some more research on that formula anyway. Does anyone on here feed Extreme Athlete?


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[Stevenzachsmom]

I am feeding Science Diet. I hate it. My pup came to me from a shelter, where he had been eating the Science Diet. He was fighting Demodex and has just finished up Heartworm treatment. My vet did not want me to switch his food, until he was well. I can't wait to switch him. His poo is always soft on the Science Diet. Not only is it not a quality food, it is not cheap either. Hopefully, we can switch over in a few more weeks.