In May 2000 we took McKenna, my German Shepard/Golden Retriever mix, for her annual check-up. I already knew she was a tad overweight.
How McKenna became a pudgy pup
McKenna was weaned too early in her life. Something happened to her mother when the puppies were five weeks old. No one knows where she went. So, McKenna had to survive on regular food instead of mamma's milk. A family found her, took her home and abused her. They starved her. When they did feed her they thought it was funny to take her food away before she was done eating. When the Humane Society rescued her she was severely underweight and malnourished. She was only four months old (and named "Jiggy") at the time. She was at the Humane Society for a month before we adopted her. In that month they were able to put weight on her but she was still a little underweight when we got her. We put her on Pedigree. It's not the best food out there, but I wasn't as wise back in 1997. McKenna put on the pounds, too many pounds. See, her body was in "starvation mode." The same thing happens to humans. When the body is deprived of nutrients it will store more of them when it finally receives food. It tries to do some extra conservation in case starvation were to occur again. As a result, the body gains more weight than usual. So, McKenna's little body put away a little extra fat and nutrients "just in case."

Back to the vet appointment
She stepped onto the scale which then read 99.8 lbs. Big doggie, huh? Unfortunately, she was too big for her own good. The veterinarian wanted to see her get down to 75-78 pounds. I was advised to take her off her current food, Pedigree and put her on a diet food. The vet recommended Hill's Prescription Weight Reduction Formula. He said it was an excellent source of nutrition and would help McKenna lose weight. McKenna decided she didn't like this particular food. Thankfully, the vet gave me a rebate form. He still insisted that I feed a Hill's Science Diet food. I decided to try the over-the-counter Light formula. Apparently, it has a different taste than the Prescription light formula. McKenna gobbled up her first bowl of the stuff.

A little product description
Hill's Science Diet Light Formula Canine Maintenance Dry comes in three package sizes, 5 pounds, 20 pounds and 40 pounds. I usually bought the 20 pound bags for $17-$18 dollars at PetSmart. The price wasn't a problem for me, especially since I often had coupons.
It's a dry brown kibble. The kibbles are a little on the large size which may cause a problem for smaller breeds. I can't comment too much on the smell. It smelled like dog food. The Light formula doesn't have a variation in flavors. If your dog doesn't like chicken then she may not eat it. Of course, who can taste the chicken with all the corn and chemical junk in there? More on the ingredients later.
I never had a problem with the food spoiling. This can be a problem with some dry dog foods. However, I'm sure this food would survive a nuclear bomb with all the chemicals it has in it. As I said, more on that later.

Results

Over the next few months, McKenna began to shed her excess pounds. By the end of Summer (2000) she weighed 86lbs. I was very proud of my pup for losing the weight. I knew the Science Diet food had worked for her. Unfortunately, I also began to suspect that it caused too many problems.

Every silver lining has it's gray cloud
Sure, McKenna lost thirteen pounds, but she also suffered. I noticed that she began to lick at her paws constantly. Her ears started to bother her. She'd rub her eyes. She would just scratch and scratch and scratch. I also noticed that she was....er....becoming a little more musical. That is, she farted a lot more. Boy, could she clear a room.
There was also a problem with her anal area (hey, no one said food reviews had to be pretty). Since switching from Pedigree I noticed a decrease in stool production. Her stools were also better formed and didn't smell as much. Obviously, this was a good thing. Unfortunately, her butt began to itch. She'd start licking at it all the time (lovely, isn't she?). She'd also scoot (drag her tushie on the ground) out in the backyard. I suspected an anal gland problem.
I took her to the vet and voiced my concerns. I told him that I thought it may be the food. The vet said it was a possibility but he wanted to rule other allergies out first. He thought it could be the fact that we have several gardens with a ton of flowers. He thought she could also have a dust allergy. He did confirm that she had impacted anal glands and expressed them (eeew) to relieve the problem. I did doubt his assessment but I continued feeding her Hill's Science Diet Light Formula.
The problems continued and became progressively worse. She licked her paws raw and had constant wax build-up in her ears. Her coat looked shiny but I knew it could be even more lustrous. Her anal glands were becoming impacted on a regular basis. I couldn't afford to take her to the vet every time she had a butt problem so I had to pop her anal glands on my own. Trust me, it's not as glamorous as it sounds. In addition to this, I did a little research on dog food and decided to take her off Science Diet. After reading a few reviews by Sherylee, I decided to switch her to Nutro Natural Choice Chicken and Rice Formula. I'll elaborate on that in a few moments (that's right, I'm not shutting up yet).

The Ugly Side of Science Diet Light formula
The ingredients are inferior. The first six ingredients are; Corn meal, soybean mill run 16% (a source of fiber), chicken by-product meal, peanut hulls 10.8% (a source of fiber), corn gluten meal and soybean meal. There is barely any meat in this stuff. The first ingredient is corn. Most dogs cannot digest corn. It is also highly allergenic. Corn gluten meal is a by-product off corn starch. It is also indigestible. Soybean meal is a nice little protein source. However, it is an indigestible protein source. Most dogs can't digest it. Soybean Meal's indigestibility leads to flatulence. Soybean mill run and peanut hulls are also indigestible which is why they are used as fiber. Look at that. Five of the first six ingredients are indigestible. No wonder McKenna lost weight. The stuff went right through her. What a waste!
Do you know what chicken by-product meal is? It's the feet, intestines, lungs, livers, unfertilized eggs, necks and heads of chickens. There can be kidneys and stomachs in there, too. Doesn't sound very tasty, does it?
Science Diet Light Formula also uses butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butyhlated hydroxytoluene (BHT) as a preservative. These chemical preservatives are believed to cause liver damage, fetal abnormalities, kidney problems and metabolic disorders. There is some suspicion that they are carcinogenic.
Science Diet isn't good enough for my dog. Personally, I think it is an inferior source of nutrition. I know many vets recommend it. Did you know that most vets do not receive an adequate education on nutrition? They spend little time focusing on nutrition in veterinary school. It's best to do your own research when it comes to feeding your dogs. Many people blindly follow their vet because they think they always know what is right. Vet's are human, too. A well-known brand name doesn't guarantee optimal product performance. Hill's may have been excellent decades ago, but it can no longer compete with the superior dog foods (like Nutro, Wellness, Innova, etc.) out there.

Conclusion
We switched McKenna to Nutro last week. I can already see an improvement. She isn't as itchy. She has a smaller stool volume and her anal area doesn't seem so irritated. We have definitely noticed that she isn't as gassy anymore. It will take a little while for Nutro to show it's full effects, but these results are great. I didn't expect to see such an improvement in such a short time.
I'm glad she's off the Science Diet. Her health is better now that we got rid of the junk. No more corn, fillers and nasty chemical preservatives for her anymore.

**Obesity is a terrible problem in dogs. It put's the circulatory system under a great deal of stress. It also puts terrible stress on the bones and joints, which can lead to arthritis and hip dysplasia. If your pooch is too plump, please see a vet and get on a good diet program (without Science Diet). Your pup will thank you.

***Here is the entire ingredient list for Hill's Science Diet Light Formula Canine Maintenance Dry:
Corn meal, soybean mill run 16% (a source of fiber), chicken by-product meal, peanut hulls 10.8% (a source of fiber), corn gluten meal, soybean meal, natural flavor, vegetable oil, dried egg product, animal fat (preserved with BHA, propyl gallate and citric acid), flaxseed, L-lysine, L-tryptophan, taurine, L-carnitine, preserved with BHT and BHA, beta-carotene, minerals (salt, potassium chloride, dicalcium phosphate, ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), vitamins (choline chloride, vitamin A supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, ascorbic acid (a source of vitamin C), niacin, thiamine, calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement).

****Here is a helpful site that explains the common ingredients in dog food:
http://home.hawaii.rr.com/wolfepack/foodcht2.html



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