Science Diet

[Ann]

Do beware of super high protein diets, unless your dogs are into high activity. That's my opinion, and many would disagree, but I believe that dogs that are only semi-active may actually suffer from too high a protein diet.....ok....ducking now....

I agree with Barb, and so does my vet -- who practices both holistic and mainstream medicine. He believes that Shelties do not do well on high protein foods (taxes the kidneys) and feeds Now! to his five dogs. That's good enough for me, and it works for my herd here. Also, I find they maintain a healthy weight more easily on grain free foods.

If you have a puppy, or if your dog does performance sports, then you might want to up the protein some. But if you have a dog with normal activity levels, not so much.

 

[BarbV]

I agree with Barb, and so does my vet -- who practices both holistic and mainstream medicine. He believes that Shelties do not do well on high protein foods (taxes the kidneys) and feeds Now! to his five dogs. That's good enough for me, and it works for my herd here. Also, I find they maintain a healthy weight more easily on grain free foods.

If you have a puppy, or if your dog does performance sports, then you might want to up the protein some. But if you have a dog with normal activity levels, not so much.

Yep! Summed up nicely!

 

[Tagg]

I feel I must caution you all that you are putting in writing on a public forum some pretty inflamatory remarks about food brands. One of my puppy clients, that had fed a veterinary diet to all her dogs, and had them live quite healthy and active long lives, had approached another breeder before me about getting a puppy. This other breeder was rabid about feeding the product that she was involved with and basically told this client that she was "poisoning her dogs". The client worked for a vet and mentioned this to the rep for the product she had been feeding. The company's lawyers sent other breeder a cease and desist letter with pending legal action if she didn't.
I doubt she would have won a battle with this company as she was not a nutritionist, nor could she prove that her feed was in any way better than the one that she disparaged. Remember, the puppy mill that Tinsel came from successfully sued a puppy purchaser for calling them a puppy mill on a public forum as it was found deterimental to their business. She is still in appeal of this decision.

 

[insideout]

I agree with Barb, and so does my vet -- who practices both holistic and mainstream medicine. He believes that Shelties do not do well on high protein foods (taxes the kidneys) and feeds Now! to his five dogs. That's good enough for me, and it works for my herd here. Also, I find they maintain a healthy weight more easily on grain free foods.

If you have a puppy, or if your dog does performance sports, then you might want to up the protein some. But if you have a dog with normal activity levels, not so much.

I completely agree as well, Barb. My endless research before choosing Now! was mostly based on finding an appropriate protein percentage.

 

[Kelly]

I feel I must caution you all that you are putting in writing on a public forum some pretty inflamatory remarks about food brands. One of my puppy clients, that had fed a veterinary diet to all her dogs, and had them live quite healthy and active long lives, had approached another breeder before me about getting a puppy. This other breeder was rabid about feeding the product that she was involved with and basically told this client that she was "poisoning her dogs". The client worked for a vet and mentioned this to the rep for the product she had been feeding. The company's lawyers sent other breeder a cease and desist letter with pending legal action if she didn't.
I doubt she would have won a battle with this company as she was not a nutritionist, nor could she prove that her feed was in any way better than the one that she disparaged. Remember, the puppy mill that Tinsel came from successfully sued a puppy purchaser for calling them a puppy mill on a public forum as it was found deterimental to their business. She is still in appeal of this decision.

A good point to remember, Tagg. Every post on this forum should be treated as opinion and not fact. It is up to the individual user to decide for themselves what information to take away from these discussions.

Each user here is responsible for what they say. You cannot hide behind a username and write that your OPINIONS are FACTS. You could get into a lot of trouble if someone feels they are being slandered. If you are not an expert in the field you are discussing, you should not write like you are one.

 

[copper5228]

We fed Science Diet for many years and then switched to Wellness formulas. And soon I have to find a good grain-free formula, right now we have wheat-free....But I have to say, that the Science Diet Rx formulas, for specific needs are much higher in quality than the standard Science Diet foods. You have to do what works for your dog(s)...and your wallet. Do lots of homework. Best wishes!

 

[The Quahog]

Hi all, I just recently joined this site What are your thoughts on the 'Science Diet' dog food brand? I'm not sure if there has been a topic about this particular brand, so I brought it up. I feed both of my dogs(they're not shelties) Science Diet and they are a healthy weight. How is this food for shelties? Anyone use it?

It's perfectly fine. -Dr. Mac


I certainly respect those here and there opinions, but would caution readers to be judicious about nutritional talk on the message boards.
Its quite a 'bloodsport', and, frankly can, at times, be somewhat unnecessarily alarmist.
If they are doing well on it, if coats and stools are good, if weight is good, I would not go looking for trouble.

 

[BarbV]

It's perfectly fine. -Dr. Mac


I certainly respect those here and there opinions, but would caution readers to be judicious about nutritional talk on the message boards.
Its quite a 'bloodsport', and, frankly can, at times, be somewhat unnecessarily alarmist.
If they are doing well on it, if coats and stools are good, if weight is good, I would not go looking for trouble.

I tread this fine line every day of my life.....

My first impulse is to agree....if it ain't broke, don't fix it. When customers come in asking for Royal Canine or Science Diet, we are happy to supply. That being said, I am phasing out Eunakbua and IAMS and Technical however and trying to convert customers over to premium brands.

I will never talk a client away from a diet prescribed by their vet, but I will ask questions as to why the diet and encourage the customer to go back to the vet with more questions. Truly, I believe its not great good overall, though may deal with specific health issues.

I guess I'm on the page of feeding high-quality, overall balanced foods...and geared specifically to health concerns unless warranted.

(ps. my Bacca could soon become one of those.....see sepaparate post)

 

[VallejoSheltie]

Just an FYI as there's been discussion of libel, lawsuits, etc.

Online postings and libel/defamation:

http://www.reputationhawk.com/onlinedefamation.html

Of interest:

"Much of the difficulty that surrounds successfully winning an online defamation case is brought about because the plaintiff must first prove who the publisher or writer of the statement is and, secondly, that the statement is false and written with the intention of causing damage."

Yes, ISP's and Forum/server operators will most likely end up giving up your IP address if a Court Order is supplied.
However its the 'intention of causing damage' that is the key.
If you have a point of view, with some kind of data to back up your claims, it'd be rather difficult to prove someone here was trying to damage Manf. X versus opining to a fellow Sheltie owner on a better food product.

"Personal Opinions

It should be noted that personal opinion on any topic can be posted on blogs, websites, and other sources but according to defamation laws and statutes, libelous comments cannot be thinly veiled as personal opinion and judges and courts will consider each statement or comment accordingly to ascertain whether or not it truly is an expression of personal opinion or is, in fact, a defamatory comment.

The Statute Of Limitations

Another point of note is that a statute of limitations does exist for online content, and while these statutes do differ in some states, the most common statute lasts for a period of twelve months. This period starts from when the comment is first posted online since claims that publishing on the Internet is the equivalent of continuous publication have already been rejected by most courts."

Considering that there are actual facts available as to what comprises some of basic ingredients of Dog foods in this case, I sincerely doubt any Manf. would ever consider taking this course of action except in the most dire of situations.
Going around posting Dog Food X will kill your dog might just be enough to make someone fire up of the Corporate Lawyers Lear Jet.

Posting that Dog Food X is crap, made of saw dust, or useless non-digestible plant fiber; is not going to make any waves whatsoever. They know you're going to show up in court, and simply read from the label. I doubt they really want to explain what 4D's is, or get into what meal and rendering is...

So, I wouldn't worry too much about posting anything reasonable, or even somewhat unreasonable. Assuming you're in the US, and not breaking forum TOS. The UK and probably Canada are a different kettle of fish.

 

[insideout]

Just an FYI as there's been discussion of libel, lawsuits, etc.

Online postings and libel/defamation:

http://www.reputationhawk.com/onlinedefamation.html

Of interest:

"Much of the difficulty that surrounds successfully winning an online defamation case is brought about because the plaintiff must first prove who the publisher or writer of the statement is and, secondly, that the statement is false and written with the intention of causing damage."

Yes, ISP's and Forum/server operators will most likely end up giving up your IP address if a Court Order is supplied.
However its the 'intention of causing damage' that is the key.
If you have a point of view, with some kind of data to back up your claims, it'd be rather difficult to prove someone here was trying to damage Manf. X versus opining to a fellow Sheltie owner on a better food product.

"Personal Opinions

It should be noted that personal opinion on any topic can be posted on blogs, websites, and other sources but according to defamation laws and statutes, libelous comments cannot be thinly veiled as personal opinion and judges and courts will consider each statement or comment accordingly to ascertain whether or not it truly is an expression of personal opinion or is, in fact, a defamatory comment.

The Statute Of Limitations

Another point of note is that a statute of limitations does exist for online content, and while these statutes do differ in some states, the most common statute lasts for a period of twelve months. This period starts from when the comment is first posted online since claims that publishing on the Internet is the equivalent of continuous publication have already been rejected by most courts."

Considering that there are actual facts available as to what comprises some of basic ingredients of Dog foods in this case, I sincerely doubt any Manf. would ever consider taking this course of action except in the most dire of situations.
Going around posting Dog Food X will kill your dog might just be enough to make someone fire up of the Corporate Lawyers Lear Jet.

Posting that Dog Food X is crap, made of saw dust, or useless non-digestible plant fiber; is not going to make any waves whatsoever. They know you're going to show up in court, and simply read from the label. I doubt they really want to explain what 4D's is, or get into what meal and rendering is...

So, I wouldn't worry too much about posting anything reasonable, or even somewhat unreasonable. Assuming you're in the US, and not breaking forum TOS. The UK and probably Canada are a different kettle of fish.

Agreed! Great post, very informative!