# Is science diet good for my 3 month old GS puppy?



## Andrew_C (Nov 3, 2011)

I am currently feeding him science diet for large breeds and i was wondering if that was good for my 3 month old puppy ...Also is feeding my puppy 2x a day, 2 cups enough?


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## bocron (Mar 15, 2009)

Science Diet is not a good choice. There are many great foods out there, I would find a good boutique dog store in your area and do some research on what is available near you first, then take the list of what you can buy locally and read reviews on the internet. I use a few sites and compare from those. 
As to the amount, that is completely relative to your dog and what brand you end up with. I generally start with what the bag recommends and adjust from there. All of our pups get fed twice a day until about 6 months and then we switch to once a day. The body condition of your pup is how you determine the amount. When ours are young pups and juveniles we like to see a rib or two and want the dog to be lean but in good muscle tone. It is much better on the joints and skeletal system in the long term. 

Here are a few sites to check once you see what you can get:

Dog Food Reviews by Brand

Dog Food Reviews - Main Index - Powered by ReviewPost


We feed Nature's Variety Instinct currently.

Good luck,


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

Science diet is one of the worst kibbles on the market. It's junk food for a premium price.


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

Negative Ghost Rider.

Science Diet  :thumbsdown:


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

You are not feeding enough.

Both of my puppies were fed 3-4 cups of good quality kibble 3x a day.


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## Paper Bat (Oct 22, 2011)

My first dog Rusty, a min pin, lived 14 years on Science diet so of course it was my first choice with my new boy Titan. However, I just switched from Science Diet this past week to Blue Buffalo as he's not putting on weight like he should. At 4 months he's only 34 lbs. He doesn't really like the BB so I'll probably be switching again when the bag runs out.


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

Paper Bat said:


> My first dog Rusty, a min pin, lived 14 years on Science diet so of course it was my first choice with my new boy Titan. However, I just switched from Science Diet this past week to Blue Buffalo as he's not putting on weight like he should. At 4 months he's only 34 lbs. He doesn't really like the BB so I'll probably be switching again when the bag runs out.


I recommend either trying Wellness Super5mix for Large Breed Puppies or Solid Gold Wolf Cub.

I've used them both and had good results with both.


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## Paper Bat (Oct 22, 2011)

LaRen616 said:


> I recommend either trying Wellness Super5mix for Large Breed Puppies or Solid Gold Wolf Cub.
> 
> I've used them both and had good results with both.


I'll give that a try. Thanks.


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## Dooney's Mom (May 10, 2011)

I've been feeding Taste Of the Wild- Prairie Formula since mine was about 3-4 months old. I also feed mine about 3-4 cups a day and she was fed 3x a day until she was about 7 months old- now I am starting to back off on the amount of food she gets.

for me the TOTW was easy to get (feed store less than a mile away sells it for $40 for a 35 lb bag)


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## bocron (Mar 15, 2009)

LaRen616 said:


> You are not feeding enough.
> 
> Both of my puppies were fed 3-4 cups of good quality kibble 3x a day.



This is a pretty broad statement. Once again, it all depends on the food, the levels of proteins,fats, whether there are carbs or what types of fillers are involved. Of our current 8 GSDs one male gets just over 4 cups of food a day, the other males all get between 3-4 cups daily and the 3 females all get around 2 3/4 to 3 cups per day. 

Of course, the above quoted amount is not stated clearly, so it could mean 3-4 cups divided by 3x a day, or it could be 3-4 cups 3x a day(which is how it was written) meaning the dog is getting 9-12 cups per day.

The OP stated 2 cups 2x a day, which would equal 4 cups a day which for a 3 month old pup is a lot of food bulk wise. Science diet being basically junk food would require that much just to get the same amount of nutrition as in a lesser amount of a high quality food. When my now 10mos old pup was that age she was getting a total of just over 2 cups a day total divided by 3 meals. She was getting a good quality kibble and was in good weight.

Once again, the daily amount is relevant to the food being fed, not a measurement on a cup.


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## koda00 (Apr 27, 2009)

Science diet :thumbsdown: Taste of the Wild :thumbup: Blue Buffalo:thumbup:


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

Paper Bat said:


> My first dog Rusty, a min pin, lived 14 years on Science diet so of course it was my first choice with my new boy Titan. However, I just switched from Science Diet this past week to Blue Buffalo as he's not putting on weight like he should. At 4 months he's only 34 lbs. He doesn't really like the BB so I'll probably be switching again when the bag runs out.


You may not have a big dog. Abby weighed 34 pounds at 4 months and she weighs 70 at full growth. She was always on premium dog food.
As stated above, Wellness LBP or Wolf Cub are good. There are several good quality LBP foods out there as well as good adult dog food that would be good for your pup.


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## bocron (Mar 15, 2009)

Although it has been stated by many here and on other dog specific forums that Taste of the Wild is not a good choice for GSD (or large breed pups) due to high mineral content. At least the adult formula, I thought I read that there is now a puppy specific food. 
We don't feed it, so I'm not as up on TOTW, but I do know that when clients ask me about feeding it I tell them that it if great for adults, but that I don't know if it is geared toward puppies and they should look into it.


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

bocron said:


> This is a pretty broad statement. Once again, it all depends on the food, the levels of proteins,fats, whether there are carbs or what types of fillers are involved. Of our current 8 GSDs one male gets just over 4 cups of food a day, the other males all get between 3-4 cups daily and the 3 females all get around 2 3/4 to 3 cups per day.
> 
> Of course, the above quoted amount is not stated clearly, so it could mean 3-4 cups divided by 3x a day, or it could be 3-4 cups 3x a day(which is how it was written) meaning the dog is getting 9-12 cups per day.
> 
> ...


I took it as the OP was feeding a total of 2 cups a day.

Science Diet is a lower quality food and with lower quality foods you sometimes need to feed more.

When I said _"Both of my puppies were fed 3-4 cups of good quality kibble 3x a day"_ I meant that they are fed 3x a day and get a total of 3-4 cups a day.

I should have been more clear.


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## Verivus (Nov 7, 2010)

I wouldn't feed Science Diet to any dog. I wouldn't feed TOTW to a large breed puppy.


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

LaRen616 said:


> I took it as the OP was feeding a total of 2 cups a day.
> 
> Science Diet is a lower quality food and with lower quality foods you sometimes need to feed more.
> 
> ...


What?! You mean you weren't feeding your pups 9 - 12 cups a day?
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:


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## Paper Bat (Oct 22, 2011)

PaddyD said:


> You may not have a big dog. Abby weighed 34 pounds at 4 months and she weighs 70 at full growth. She was always on premium dog food.
> As stated above, Wellness LBP or Wolf Cub are good. There are several good quality LBP foods out there as well as good adult dog food that would be good for your pup.



That may be, but his Dad was just over 110 lbs. and Mom was just under 90 lbs. Both proportional looking, well toned, and muscular. Titan wasn't the runt either and even the vet says he's a bit thin. I know thinner is better while they're young but I just want to be able to take him places and not have people thinking I'm starving my dog.


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## AbbyK9 (Oct 11, 2005)

Science Diet is crap, regardless of whether you're feeding a 3 month old puppy or an adult. Fortunately for you, there are lots of better quality choices out there for the same (or less!) cost.



> I know thinner is better while they're young but I just want to be able to take him places and not have people thinking I'm starving my dog.


I absolutely understand why you might feel that way. I've been approached by many a self-proclaimed dog lover who told me or commented that my dogs were too thin or that I needed to feed them more. It is frustrating. 

However, at some point, I said to myself that my dog's health matters a whole heck of a lot more to me than the opinion of some stranger. Especially since many of the same strangers immediately removed no doubt that they didn't know the first thing about dogs, usually by comments made before or after comments on my dog's weight - like folks who'd ask me, "What a beautiful Shepherd - what's she mixed with?" when I had Abby (who was purebred). XD 

Don't let people's dumb comments second-guess your best intentions for the health of your dog. If your dog looks good to you, even if he's a bit thin, who cares what they think.


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## The Packman (Jan 31, 2011)

Whats going on here...my VET / Breeder told me dollar for dollar Science Diet is the best food on the market.

I see several people here have knocked it but offer no specifics on why.


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## AbbyK9 (Oct 11, 2005)

> I see several people here have knocked it but offer no specifics on why.


Just take a look at the ingredients list. 

For example, Science Diet Adult Active Dry food starts off with - "Ground Whole Grain Corn, Chicken By-Product Meal, Animal Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Dried Beet Pulp, Soybean Oil, Dried Egg Product, Flaxseed, Potassium Chloride, Iodized Salt".

After looking at the ingredients, you will find that the primary ingredient is corn. Let's give that some thought. Nature has intended dogs to eat primarily meats - the entire way their teeth are designed and that their digestive systems are set up points to the fact that a dog should be, primarily, eating meats. Not grains. Your only actual meat type in this Science Diet product is "chicken by-product meal". That's basically ground down chicken carcasses - bones, necks, feet, intestines - but none of the "good" parts of the chicken, none of the meaty parts.

The reason corn features so prominently in many of the lower-quality dog foods, such as Science Diet, is because it's an easy and cheap way to boost protein content percentages. So ...why would I pay $40 for a bag of Science Diet if I can get a much better quality kibble - one that actually has meat in it, as the first ingredient(s) - for the same price? For that matter, why would I feed my dog a diet consisting primarily of something she was never meant to eat by nature / biology?


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

The Packman said:


> Whats going on here...my VET / Breeder told me dollar for dollar Science Diet is the best food on the market.
> 
> I see several people here have knocked it but offer no specifics on why.


Your breeder and vet are completely wrong. It's hard to believe, but most vets know absolutely nothing about pet nutrition. They typically recommend what they sell in their waiting room and I'm guessing your vet sells it in their waiting room, right? Your breeder is just completely misinformed.

Keeping in mind that dogs are carnivores, just look at the top ingredients in the food. 

The top ingredient is "corn" - a very controversial grain for an animal that thrives on meat. Shouldn't the top ingredient in a kibble be meat for a meat eater??

Second you've got "chicken by-product meal" - Do you know what by-products are? It's basically everything left over that human won't eat aka scraps. The head, feet, feathers, whatever. All nasty stuff.

Third you've got "animal fat" - that's nice, but what animal? Is it chicken, beef, racoons, rat, hippopotamus? Why not a specific animal?

Then you've got beet pulp (another controversial filler), Soybean (controversial again), egg product (why not whole eggs??) and so on and so on. 

It's filled with mediocre to poor ingredients and being pushed as a top food by vets around the world at premium prices. It's junk food and there are plenty of much better choices out there.


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

Lucy Dog said:


> Third you've got "animal fat" - that's nice, but what animal? Is it chicken, beef, racoons, rat, hippopotamus?


:rofl::rofl:


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## ILGHAUS (Nov 25, 2002)

No way would I feed anything with *animal fat* listed. 

According to the AAFCO / Association of American Feed Control Officials "a voluntary membership association of local, state and federal agencies charged by law to regulate the sale and distribution of animal feeds and animal drug remedies."

_Animal Fat: Obtained from the tissues of mammals and/or poultry in the commercial processes of rendering or extracting. It consists predominantly of glyceride esters of fatty acids and contains no additions of free fatty acids. If an antioxidant is used, the common name or names must be indicated, followed by the words "used as a preservative"._ 


Per the Dog Food Project: 
_Note that the animal source is not specified and is not required to originate from "slaughtered" animals. The rendered animals can be obtained from any source, so there is no control over quality or contamination. Any kind of animal can be included: "4-D animals" (dead, diseased, disabled, or dying prior to slaughter), goats, pigs, horses, rats, misc. roadkill, animals euthanized at shelters, restaurant and supermarket refuse and so on._ 

I have heard that very few still use "roadkill or euthanized" but I don't have the information on figures or dates to get into that discussion. I do remember hearing farmers talk about calling rendering plants to pick up their dead or dying livestock out of pastures.


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## jetscarbie (Feb 29, 2008)

I don't know how true this investigative report is??? But it's shocking if true.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i've never fed puppy food to my dogs.
when they're pups i feed them 1 cup
in the am, 1 cup around noon and 1 cup
in the pm. they do receive a snacks throughout
the day. i use the preminum kibbles and can food.
you may have to switch your dogs food several
times before you find one that works well for your
pup or one that your pup likes.


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## jdh520 (Jun 4, 2011)

I thought this might fall along the lines of what we are discussing... You know animal fat an all. 

Strawberry Ice Cream? Nope. It's processed chicken getting ready to be shaped into chicken nuggets! "There's more: because it's crawling with bacteria, it will be washed with ammonia, soaked in it, actually. Then, because it tastes gross, it will be reflavored artificially. Then, because it is weirdly pink, it will be dyed with artificial color."

It just goes to show you what we are really putting in our bodies and our pets bodies.


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

jdh520 said:


> I thought this might fall along the lines of what we are discussing... You know animal fat an all.
> 
> Strawberry Ice Cream? Nope. It's processed chicken getting ready to be shaped into chicken nuggets! "There's more: because it's crawling with bacteria, it will be washed with ammonia, soaked in it, actually. Then, because it tastes gross, it will be reflavored artificially. Then, because it is weirdly pink, it will be dyed with artificial color."
> 
> It just goes to show you what we are really putting in our bodies and our pets bodies.




Thank goodness I dont eat chicken!


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## ayoitzrimz (Apr 14, 2010)

um before I say something, a disclaimer: I feed my dog Acana Grasslands and wouldn't settle for anything less than the "high quality" kibbles (Nature's variety, Merrick wilderness, Blue Buffalo, BG, etc)

I see people knocking "animal fat" - I agree. Animal fat is a bad ingredient because we don't know what animal is used. Combine that with the fact that they use cheap ingredients throughout and I can't imagine it being high quality fat.

With that said, I was under the impression that in general, chicken fat, beef fat, etc are actually quality ingredients in good dog food (although they sound terrible)... just curious if my assumptions are wrong...


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## mysweetkaos (Sep 20, 2011)

One thing I found very helpful for ingredients lists...I go to a site like dogfoodadvisor.com not necessarily for their opinions, but because you can pull up the ingredients list and protein/fat, etc contents and be able to compare them yourself. I will say our older dog was always fed good food without corn as a main ingredient, until I had some complications, preterm labor, baby in NICU, etc. My husband did what he could but had started picking up purina one on his way home from work. We noticed a difference within about 3 months. Eyes were cloudy, he was shedding horrible, he stunk....not excited about eating, you name it. Fortunately we made the switch back and he is back to good. So there is something to be said for quality ingredients. 
As for puppy food recommendations, our 7 month old likes Castor/Pollux , we have tried the BB...he wasn't a big fan. I am getting low on his puppy food and beings he is 7 months and 80 + lbs (he's a mix) he will be switching most likely to Wellness Super 5 adult here in about a month. Hope that helps. As for people thinking you are starving your pup...you know you're not and you know longterm it is better to be skinny....so for those two reasons I wouldn't let it bother you. As for amounts of food, our mix now granted he is a big boy but on a quality food he eats 2 cups 2x a day. Quality does affect quantity, we have friends with same size/age pups and low quality food and their boys put away 7-8 cups a day. Hope you are able to find the info you need! Just remembered another one our pup loved was Halos spots stew for puppies.


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

ayoitzrimz said:


> With that said, I was under the impression that in general, chicken fat, beef fat, etc are actually quality ingredients in good dog food (although they sound terrible)... just curious if my assumptions are wrong...


As long as they are IDENTIFIED fats (ie: chicken fat vs 'aminal' fat) they are good things to have in a food.

I go each week to a local big chain store to pick up their past-date meat items. I am part of a group that is working to cut down what goes into the landfills and such. Prior to our group coming in all the meat items went to a renderer.

Here's a small sampling of what we pick up (and what used to go to the renderer):

Raw chicken parts, raw beef, raw pork, raw fish, pizzas, cooked chickens (plain, breaded, spiced, barbecued), bacon (TONS of bacon), processed lunch meats (TONS of this), hot dogs, sausages, salami, and so on.

Imagine all that being rendered and then realize all the EXTRA crap that ends up in that "animal fat" that goes into our dogs food.

Dog food makers buy their supplies from other companies. One of the loopholes in the labeling rules is that the dog food makers only need to identify what THEY put in. So, if I'm making Spot's Spot On Kibbles and Chunks and I purchase fat from the rendering company that gets all that junk stated above - I, as the maker, only have to put on the label 'animal fat'. I don't have to list that it came from things like bacon (nitrates), processed lunch meats (spices and preservatives), and so on.


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## ayoitzrimz (Apr 14, 2010)

Lauri & The Gang said:


> As long as they are IDENTIFIED fats (ie: chicken fat vs 'aminal' fat) they are good things to have in a food.
> 
> I go each week to a local big chain store to pick up their past-date meat items. I am part of a group that is working to cut down what goes into the landfills and such. Prior to our group coming in all the meat items went to a renderer.
> 
> ...


aha! that clears it up 

Thanks for the thorough explanation


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

ILGHAUS said:


> I do remember hearing farmers talk about calling rendering plants to pick up their dead or dying livestock out of pastures.


Yep, they still do. Many places it is illegal to bury dead animals. That and many folks don't have the space nor the equipment needed to bury a large animal like a cow or horse. Do they have to call a renderer. This goes for all animals wether they died of natural causes or were euthanized. And often if the animal dies of natural causes, it has to lay there for a few days or longer until they can get a truck out to pick up the remains.


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## hattifattener (Oct 7, 2011)

Lucy Dog said:


> Third you've got "animal fat" - that's nice, but what animal? Is it chicken, beef, racoons, rat, hippopotamus?


ONE thing is clear - this is no human fat...


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## andreaB (Nov 6, 2011)

my new puppy is comming in two week, so I'm just doing research on this side. so please can you guys recommend me good food for GS puppy. Science Diet sounds terrible!!!


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## dazedtrucker (May 2, 2011)

New puppy people: Explore a raw diet  You will be glad you did!


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## Dooney's Mom (May 10, 2011)

jdh520 said:


> I thought this might fall along the lines of what we are discussing... You know animal fat an all.
> 
> Strawberry Ice Cream? Nope. It's processed chicken getting ready to be shaped into chicken nuggets! "There's more: because it's crawling with bacteria, it will be washed with ammonia, soaked in it, actually. Then, because it tastes gross, it will be reflavored artificially. Then, because it is weirdly pink, it will be dyed with artificial color."
> 
> It just goes to show you what we are really putting in our bodies and our pets bodies.


I am NEVER eating chicken nuggets again! please do not show how ice cream, cheesecake, carrot cake are made- LOL...


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

Another trolling thread by this OP. Very disappointing.


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## The Packman (Jan 31, 2011)

Great post Abby...you 2 Lucy Dog on answering my question ! 

I use to (buy &) feed Elly May Science Diet all the time. We were low on DF and my penny pinching GF bought Pedigree @ Walmart (not their best, not their cheapest) Elly May seemed to like it better than the Science Diet. We were low again and I was going to go to Tractor Supply and get Science Diet but my GF was at Walmart this weekend and without asking me before hand, bought a another large bag of Pedigree again.

I cut the ingredients label off the bag to read it better (and help me draft this) and it seems to say the exact same thing as Abbys post below. It also says _PEDIGREE Wholesome Nuturition for Dogs With Chicken, Rice and VEG is formulated to meet the nuturition levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for growth and maintenance._ (AAFCO=Association of American Feed Control Officials)

I'm not trying to be disagreeable but both of the Dog Foods are within the standarts set by the U.S. GOV, so tho it may sound not so hot, I don't think it necessarily is. I would like to feed Elly May 100% meat but I'm poor and lets face it were living in the millenium. 

Will our grandchildren ever know what a real tomato tastes like ?

For those interested here is a great webpage from the U.S. Food and Drug ADM, on _Selecting Nutritious Pet Foods_ Selecting Nutritious Pet Foods



AbbyK9 said:


> Just take a look at the ingredients list.
> 
> For example, Science Diet Adult Active Dry food starts off with - "Ground Whole Grain Corn, Chicken By-Product Meal, Animal Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Dried Beet Pulp, Soybean Oil, Dried Egg Product, Flaxseed, Potassium Chloride, Iodized Salt".
> 
> ...


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## bocron (Mar 15, 2009)

The Packman said:


> For those interested here is a great webpage from the U.S. Food and Drug ADM, on _Selecting Nutritious Pet Foods_ Selecting Nutritious Pet Foods



Did you happen to notice the date on that article? 1997.
Dog foods and animal nutrition research has done almost a 180 in that time. Back in 1997, vets were still telling people to give large breed puppies calcium tablets .


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## The Packman (Jan 31, 2011)

bocron said:


> Did you happen to notice the date on that article? 1997.


All I can say is..._thats the U.S. GOV for ya !_ 

But than again the U.S. GOV standards might not have changed since than. I'll do another search and see what I can find. (just bumping the thread)


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## Smith3 (May 12, 2008)

BlackGSD said:


> Yep, they still do. Many places it is illegal to bury dead animals. That and many folks don't have the space nor the equipment needed to bury a large animal like a cow or horse. Do they have to call a renderer. This goes for all animals wether they died of natural causes or were euthanized. And often if the animal dies of natural causes, it has to lay there for a few days or longer until they can get a truck out to pick up the remains.


This is lo longer true. Farmers can no longer sell dead / downed animals anymore. They *must* be buried on the farm, which as you can guess is causing a lot of issues.


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## JagersMommy (Aug 31, 2011)

Yeah I used to be a partial fan of science diet back when they didn't get bought out. I'm currently feeding my 6 month old German shepherd, Innova, then I'm going go switch them over to Acana, at about 1 1/2 years. They have been doing great on innova, over priced for what you get, but he loves it, and it works very good with his body. We'll try Acaca and see how he does. (


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## Duke-2009 (Apr 13, 2009)

I change up the brand every few months. I think dog "diet" is overrated and people spend way too much weight on it. They are dogs, if it tastes good they eat it. I buy top names though.


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

Duke-2009 said:


> They are dogs, if it tastes good they eat it.


That doesn't mean it's GOOD (or even SAFE) for them to eat.

Food plays such a HUGE roll in a dogs health I don't understand why more people DON'T put alot of weight into it.


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

Smith3 said:


> This is lo longer true. Farmers can no longer sell dead / downed animals anymore. They *must* be buried on the farm, which as you can guess is causing a lot of issues.


I never said they were "selling" their dead animals. They aren't "selling" them when they call a renderer. The owner has to PAY to have the body removed. 

I don't know about where you are. But MANY places it IS ILLEGAL to bury livestock. Can they take the "downers" to a sale yard??? NO. But they can also not LEGALLY bury them on the farm either. Besides the fact that there are a LOT of folks that don't have room to bury livestock on their property. What do you think happens to all of the horses that die or have to be put down and the owner boards the horse at a small boarding facility? Or the owners that their horses, cows, ect... at home on a small property? YEP!!!! They have to call a renderer to come and pick up the body. Same with dairy cows that drop dead. Many dairies don't have pastures either, the cows are kept in a "feed lot" situation and brought in to be milked. They aren't running around in big several thousand acre pastures that have all kinds of room to bury dead bodies.


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

Lauri & The Gang said:


> That doesn't mean it's GOOD (or even SAFE) for them to eat.
> 
> .


Exactly. Dogs die every day from eating things that "taste good" but are poisoness (sp).


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

Duke-2009 said:


> I change up the brand every few months. I think dog "diet" is overrated and people spend way too much weight on it. They are dogs, if it tastes good they eat it. I buy top names though.


Using that reasoning... why even buy dog food? Dogs love McDonalds. Just buy some chicken nuggets and french fries every day and feed that, right? They're just dogs and I'm sure that tastes good to them.


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## Cetan (Oct 8, 2011)

Think of Science Diet as the Top Ramen/Cup Noodle of dog food, sold at a restaurant soup price. Not to get into a bashing contest, but that's what it is. A low-quality food that uses advertising and deal with vets/pet stores to boost sales to ignorant people.

I actually saw Blue Buffalo COMMERCIALS the other day on Animal Planet, that were pretty good. Didn't think they advertised like that. Basically has a few people going "Yeah, why would I feed my dog something with corn and not meat as the first ingredient?"


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## dazedtrucker (May 2, 2011)

Duke-2009 said:


> I change up the brand every few months. I think dog "diet" is overrated and people spend way too much weight on it. They are dogs, if it tastes good they eat it.


Have you ever actually explored what is in the most popular dog foods? You might think twice about that....


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## Zuiun (Jul 1, 2011)

A lot of good info in here about why Science Diet is not the best option.

I've recommended higher quality foods to many people, and their usual number one objection is that those foods are too expensive.

I have a great story to counter that.

When I got Brody, he weighed all of 70 pounds. He was 2 years old, and can look me in the face when he stands on his hind legs (I'm 6' 1"). As I soon discovered (rather unpleasantly), he had IBS.

The vet prescribed Science Diet for him, as well as medications. Admittedly, it worked to stabilize his digestive tract, but I wasn't happy with a) the questionable quality of the food, b) the price ($90 a bag), and c) the prospect of having him on medication for the rest of his life. Plus, despite apparently moderating his digestion, he wasn't gaining weight.

So I researched healthier options.

After trying a couple of different brands, I found one that worked for Brody: Nature's Variety Prairie kibble.

He now weighs (and maintains) a healthy 105 pounds, which is ideal for his size. Not only that, but the food has so well managed his digestion that he can also deviate from his diet for special treats or other snacks now and again (something impossible before).

But here's the thing: A bag of Nature's Variety costs me about $50. That bag feeds BOTH my German Shepherds for roughly TWO WEEKS. They both get plenty of food, are healthy weights, have plenty of energy, and fantastic coats. That $90 Science Diet bag? It would last JUST Brody only slightly more than a week. And he never gained weight on it. All it did was increase how many times he needed to go outside.

In my mind, $25 a week to feed TWO high energy large breed dogs a GOOD meal is pretty reasonable.


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## argo daisynina dvora (Oct 22, 2011)

Honest kitchen or B B


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## Paper Bat (Oct 22, 2011)

Just got to say, I bought a bag of the Wellness Super5Mix large breed puppy, and I've never seen Titan chomp down his food so happily. He's finally excited about meal times again without having to shred lunch meat in it. Thanks for the heads up LaRen.


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## chelle (Feb 1, 2009)

Paper Bat said:


> Just got to say, I bought a bag of the Wellness Super5Mix large breed puppy, and I've never seen Titan chomp down his food so happily. He's finally excited about meal times again without having to shred lunch meat in it. Thanks for the heads up LaRen.


I'm really interested in that food, too. We're on Innova LBP now and have some issues, but pumpkin sure helps.

I fed Science Diet Lamb and Rice to my other two for years. I am BASHING myself upside my head as to WHY I kept them on it as long as I did. Owner failure, big time. Now I know better, though, thank goodness. No more Science Diet.

And it is wierd about vets and food. Our normal vet asked what my pup was eating and I said Innova LBP. She shook her head and said she'd never heard of it??!!!! I guess it isn't in their job description to know every brand out there, but I don't think Innova is exactly an obscure food!


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