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Why do vets recommend Science Diet and are grains bad for dogs?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Cavalier King Charles Spaniel | Female | spayed | 5 years and 4 months old | 17 lbs

Is science diet a high quality brand? Why do so many vets reccomend this food? Is wheat corn and soy bad for dogs? Why or why not?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on November 3rd, 2017

Science Diet is an excellent brand of food! It's recommended by so many vets because they have veterinary nutritionists on staff who help formulate the food to make the dog's nutritional needs are met. A veterinary nutritionist is the person with the most in-depth knowledge about a dog's needs nutritionally, and many other brands of food do not have veterinary nutritionists on staff. In addition, Science Diet owns their own factories, so there is strict quality control as to what goes into their food. This is in sharp contrast to other brands, such as Blue Buffalo, who do not own their own factories and simply hand a recipe over to make their food. That's why Blue Buffalo has gotten into trouble a number of times for their lack of quality control. Finally, wheat corn and soy isn't bad for dogs. They provide a source of energy for dogs, and should be part of their diet unless there is a proven grain allergy. Grain allergies in dogs are actually extremely rare. Only 10% of all dog allergies are food related, and the majority of those food allergies are due to protein not grains. Grain free food is a current fad that has no scientific basis as to its efficacy. I hope this helps!

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Can someone please explain why foods like Science Diet and Royal Canin are considered better as aposed to foods like Acana and Fromm? I always thought wheat, corn, soy, etc. wasn't quality sources of nutrition for dogs. Isn't sweet potato, potato, br
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Are vets taking more nutrition classes now? Because from the answers I've seen you're all still recommending Hills
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Why are brands like science diet, royal canin and purina recommend to people? Also why is grocery store food considered good for dogs?
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Hi I was just wondering if hills science diet is a good food to feed my dogs? Is it nutritional?
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Updated on September 24th, 2025
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Iam sorry but iam so confused how royal canin contains wheat rice and grain and especially chicken by products and you doctors advice people to feed royal??
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Updated on September 24th, 2025
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Why is Royal Canin so highly recommended by vets when dog food advisor etc show how low quality the ingredients are? Ie corn fillers, byproducts, meals, etcI’m so confused by the polar opposite recommendations and ingredient quality.
This is a great question! Dog food advisor is written by a human dentist who has absolutely no training in veterinary medicine or animal nutrition at all. In fact, you will see a disclaimer on the page that this person is not a veterinarian. I would never listen to the food recommendations of a person who has absolutely no training in animal nutrition or veterinary medicine. What you are seeing on that page is that person's opinion, with no science or fact to back it up. Vets recommend Royal Canin so highly because there is a veterinary nutritionist on staff who makes sure that the ingredients in the food are of high quality and the diet is nutritionally balanced to get the needs of the dog. Vets would much rather [recommend a food](https://www.petcoach.co/article/what-to-look-for-when-choosing-your-pet-s-food) that has a veterinary nutritionist on staff who has extensive training in animal nutrition than listen to a human dentist who has no idea what they are talking about because th
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Is Hills science diet a premium brand - if so why? I was taught to believe wheat, corn and soy were fillers and should be avoided at all costs. what nutrients do these foods contain? Isn't rice, oats and potatoes better sources of nutrition? Is Natur
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Updated on September 24th, 2025
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Why does science diet not have a lot of meat in their foods? I really am having a hard time believing that this is one of the best foods on the market. Can someone explain this to me?
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Have a question on what dog dry food you would recommend? Wellness core ? Wellness complete health ? Blue wilderness high protein grain free ? Taste of the wild ?
Personally I recommend Purina Pro Plan, Royal Canin, or Hills Science Diet. I personally feed my dogs Purina Pro Plan. The reason for choosing these foods over other brands are numerous, including the fact that these companies have actual board certified veterinary nutritionists on staff formulating their diets, these companies are the only ones that do actual studies/feeding trials with their diets to ensure that they do provide adequate and optimal nutrition (while all diets that are sold in stores are requierd to meet certain nutritional requirements within the diet, it does not mean the diets are safe and effective, just that they contain the correct amount of protein, etc.), and these companies do extensive quality control/safety screening of their foods. Basically they spend much more of their money on ensuring their food is the best for a dog versus spending their money on extensive marketing to convince pet owners that their food is best!
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So what you suggest stick with wholehearted & mix with science diet wet food or changed the food to science diet.
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