Hills Science Diet

[puggy_puggy]

I am now an avid BARF convert, and wouldn't feed my dogs dry food ever again, but back in the day when I did feed dry food it was Hills Science Diet.

I have seen people say that HSD is horrendus dry food. Not really knowing the ins and outs of dry food I am wondering why it is so bad compared to other dried food?

[Miss B]

I feed it to my two Cavaliers. They are on the Hills Prescription R/D dry food for overweight pooches.

[puggy_puggy]

I feed it to my two Cavaliers. They are on the Hills Prescription R/D dry food for overweight pooches.

Yep used to feed mine either the normal Hills or the Hills Prescription R/D or W/D as it was great for taking weight off.

[NorthernStarPits]

I have seen people say that HSD is horrendus dry food. Not really knowing the ins and outs of dry food I am wondering why it is so bad compared to other dried food?

Mabey it's a lower grade dog kibble compared to other brands? so thats why everyone bags it. I dont know, the best kibble I have ever found is uncle albers and thats a real cheapy and I have tried alot of different kibbles for the dogs ( not on there behalf lol) some ultra expensive and science diet too.

overall its what your dog does well on that matters, whatever brand it is, not anything else.

Edited May 19, 2008 by s~M~s

[Kobayashi]

You will find in such a large online community, there are differing opinions about all food

Some people love hills, and their dogs do well on it, some people hate it. I swapped from hills to eagle pack, because eagle is the only one willow actually eats And again, some people like eagle pack, others dont!

The best dry food is the one your dog does well on, if they look healthy, have a nice coat, and eat it, i say go for it.

[Gomez the Norfolk]

www.dogfoodproject.com

Have a look through those pages - it's jam packed with cereals and fillers that are not easily digested and lower quality ingredients

[Staffyluv]

If your dogs needs a special diet (Like mine when he had bladder and kidney stones, it is great until you can do the research and figure out what you can feed them otherwise - like real food, not dog food).

If your dog does well on it, then it is the best food for your dog - don't listen to other, everyone has an opinion on what is the best food.

It has been said dozens of times here now - the best food for your dog, is the one he/she does best on. (Even if if is pedigree).

[~*Shell*~]

I've heard it's filled with filler foods like cereals and grains that are hard for the dog to digest - but that's not why i don't feed it to my dog! He simply refused to eat it and that was that!

5 days with just sniffing at it, and then walking away was too much for me to handle!

[Miss B]

My boys go nuts for the stuff, they absolutely love it

It better be working, they have been on it for a fortnight now and have their first official weigh-in tomorrow

[k9kutz]

I Personally don't like Science diet because it is a cereal based product and full of fillers. If you look at the ingredients the first ingredient is corn meal (a cereal/grain). They also use alot of meat by products. I believe once upon a time Science diet was one of the best products on the market and i think it was also one of the first Super premium quality products on the market, however that was many years ago and they have not done enough to improve there formula with all the advances that have been made in Dog nutrition IMO. These days there are just so many better products available (super premium dry food wise) that poor old science diet has been left for dust. Having said that Hills is one of the few brands that have a good prescription diet range. IMO the best dry food available at the moment is eagle pack. They use only human grade organic ingredients and its holistic. Unfortunately mine will not eat it- fussy little buggers .

I have also been told that Hills is one (there are a few others) the companys who tests on animlas in there labs, i personally am not a fan of testing on animals JMO.

[Kyra]

I swapped from hills to eagle pack

That's what I'm doing too :D As others have said, SD isn't the best, it's full of crap. I only found out the other day to be 100% honest. My pup is on it at the moment, but it's gotta be better than Pedigree Puppy she was on at her foster carers home so I don't feel too bad! :rolleyes:

[rubiton]

Agree with if it works there is no problem.

We feed pedigree & good Os and the dog looks great has a shiny coat and is well in herself - have used it for years (years ago we tried another supermarket brand and she becamse dull in the coat and it was flaky - never feeding that again but we did get a big dog food barrel for the dry food). She has also done well on supercoat food in the past too. And all the schmacko treats are also made by the same company as pedigree (they seem to have a mortgage on a wide range of dog food and treats).

Currently she is on the ID prescription hills stuff and its wonderful her insides can process it and she is slowly starting to put back the weight she has lost over the preceeding weeks. She can also have food balls and have it in place of her regular treats.

So if the dog does well on it and likes it where is the problem.

[corvus]

The problem is, a lot of the time it looks like dogs are doing well on something until you try something else! I swear for 9 years Penny was doing fine on Supercoat and I never had any cause to wonder about what I was feeding her. I switched to homecooked because she kept having bouts of severe tummy upset. You can imagine my astonishment when not only did the mysterious stomach troubles vanish, but her energy levels went back to what they were several years before, her arthritis vanished, and she shed a couple of kilos. She's on raw now and although she's 12 and has slowed down a bit, she's still up for daily games and long walks.

So it turned out she wasn't doing well on Supercoat, and I had nothing much to compare it with, so how was I to know? She appeared healthy, her coat was fine, her weight was okay.... and it wasn't until several years of feeding her that stuff that she appeared to be doing less than well on it.

ETA I don't feed kibbles, but my mother's kitten from the RSPCA had been on Science Diet. She was skinny and her coat was dull and dry and she just plain didn't like it. She was eating just enough to keep herself going. When she was offered fresh mince, she went berserk and turned into an insatiable monster.

Edited May 20, 2008 by corvus

[Miss Helena]

When she was offered fresh mince, she went berserk and turned into an insatiable monster.

Wow, that's quite a mental picture...sounds like my girl every dinner time :rolleyes:

[Staffyluv]

The problem is, a lot of the time it looks like dogs are doing well on something until you try something else! I swear for 9 years Penny was doing fine on Supercoat and I never had any cause to wonder about what I was feeding her. I switched to homecooked because she kept having bouts of severe tummy upset. You can imagine my astonishment when not only did the mysterious stomach troubles vanish, but her energy levels went back to what they were several years before, her arthritis vanished, and she shed a couple of kilos. She's on raw now and although she's 12 and has slowed down a bit, she's still up for daily games and long walks.

So it turned out she wasn't doing well on Supercoat, and I had nothing much to compare it with, so how was I to know? She appeared healthy, her coat was fine, her weight was okay.... and it wasn't until several years of feeding her that stuff that she appeared to be doing less than well on it.

ETA I don't feed kibbles, but my mother's kitten from the RSPCA had been on Science Diet. She was skinny and her coat was dull and dry and she just plain didn't like it. She was eating just enough to keep herself going. When she was offered fresh mince, she went berserk and turned into an insatiable monster.

I would suggest that judging by the severe tummy upset you noticed, she probbaly was not doing fine on what she was being fed. (It is great when we find what works for our dogs)

It really is trial and error with dogs and what they are fed - what works really well for one, may not do so well for another. But when you find what works, stick to it.

I agree that home cooked/raw fed is the best for dogs but a lot of people don't have the time (unless they choose pre prepared barf patties and the like) to do so.

My lad was home cooked for and he ended up with bladder and kidney stones because of what he was fed (oxalate stones). So he had a bit of time on HSD-UD and came good. We have gone back to home cooked because he has MCT and we are doing everything we can to keep him as well and healthy as possible. His diet now does not include a lot of vegetables that he used to eat and he has more human grade chicken, turkey, fresh tuna, than he does red meat - we don't want those kidney stones coming back.

Cats are different to dogs and need a diet much higher in protein than dogs do. Maybe that is why she has taken so well to the mince.

[Gomez the Norfolk]

Always feed what your dog does best on - BUT - it's a very big BUT - please do your research, know what you are reading on the labels, do your research on ingredients and quality, and then decide what you want to feed your dog...

Corvus, your dog is a perfect example of what a lot of us are saying here, you don't know what the dog is doing well on until you change or try something else... I'm glad your girl is doing well!

[neorotic]

I find Science Diet makes my breed grow like greyhounds, tall and lanky. I feed eagle pack and orijen and when i did the switch to those brands you could actually notice a difference in 2wks. I have converted so many people and havent heard one bad thing back. Orijen doesnt have any fillers either.

[benny123]

My previous dog was on Science Diet for a little while, based on Vet advice - then I read the ingredients,yuk. Peanut husks, huh? His coat was drab, his skin was hideous and he just didn't like it. We switched him to Royal Canin and there was a vast improvement.

My current dogs are on Nutro which, unfortunately, is no longer available in Australia. I'm quite upset about it as they are soooo healthy. I'll have to switch to something else. Perhaps Eagle Pack Holistic, or Artemis or Orijen. Not sure yet. But I'd never feed Science Diet again.

[corvus]

I would suggest that judging by the severe tummy upset you noticed, she probbaly was not doing fine on what she was being fed. (It is great when we find what works for our dogs)

It really is trial and error with dogs and what they are fed - what works really well for one, may not do so well for another. But when you find what works, stick to it.

I agree that home cooked/raw fed is the best for dogs but a lot of people don't have the time (unless they choose pre prepared barf patties and the like) to do so.

Cats are different to dogs and need a diet much higher in protein than dogs do. Maybe that is why she has taken so well to the mince.

Yeah, but my point was, she seemed to be doing fine for many years, but when I switched her, I realised she'd never been fine even before the tummy upsets started.

I don't really care what people feed their dogs (bizarrely!) and appreciate that a lot of people don't have time. I myself work full-time. I make up a big batch of food on the weekend. I'm just sharing my experience. I was so surprised at how dramatically Penny's general health improved when I changed her diet I come across a bit fanatical sometimes, but I promise you, it's just enthusiasm!

My mother got her cats eating dry food again for the holidays when she was getting someone in to feed them and now one won't eat unless there's dry food sprinkled on her meat. I always thought it was propaganda when they said commercial cat foods have addictive qualities or cats wouldn't eat them, but sometimes I wonder.

But to be on topic, the kitten looked pretty awful when she came home with her Science Diet and she wasn't eating much. That's the only experience I've had with it. She's a little gutso these days. No trouble getting her off the dry cat food again, so I guess it's not really addictive, or at least not to every cat.

[Tzu_lover]

The hills prescription diets sometimes have their place,but IMO as soon as the dog is well again i wouldnt feed it anymore,the rx diets should be a short term fix.

As far as the regular SD lines,if people are happy to pay top dollar for a low grade food then thats their loss.Because that's what SD is in my opinion..Terrible ingredients with an over inflated price.They also think if the vet sells and recommends it then it must be good :D

I,and many others still call SD:

Science death

Science fiction

Science crap

And a couple of others that probably cant be repeated here.