Can I mix Wholehearted grain-free with Science Diet dog food safely?

In my opinion, Wellness is not as good a food as Hill's Science Diet and I agree with the recommendation of your vet's office to keep your dog and cat on Hill's. Hill's has better ingredients and is overall a better quality food. In addition, the truth is that grain free food is really a fad. Only about 5% of dogs have food allergies, and of these dogs, the major of the food allergies are protein. Grain allergies are actually extremely rare, and I only recommend feeding a pet a grain free food if they have a diagnosed grain allergy. I personally recommend keeping your pets on Hill's. I hope this helps!

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!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I definitely understand your concern. I do think it would be best to switch them to a regular diet. There are many types out there that are affordable and good. I like the Purina Pro Plan shredded blends in that category because they are palatable, affordable and of very good quality. Good luck and have a great day!

In general, it is not recommended to feed dogs a grain free diet unless they are known to have a grain allergy (which is very uncommon). There are many misconceptions about pet nutrition circulating. While the link is not yet understood and has multiple factors, something about the grain free diets may be allowing heart disease to develop in certain dogs. I recommend to feed a high quality brand with a good reputation and minimal problems with food recalls. The brand I like the most is Royal Canin. They conduct feeding trials to measure the digestibility of their diets. Most pets who eat this brand have excellent coat and stool quality. They also tend to produce minimal stool which is a sign the diet does not contain fillers and is highly digestible. I also recommend Nutro and Purina Pro Plan. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Grain free diets are not recommended. They are marketing hype to cater to owners that think grains are bad for dogs. They are not. These grain free diets have been linked to causing heart disease in dogs. Please do not feed these diets. ( https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/24/health/grain-free-dog-food-heart-disease.html ) If you need a nutritional consult you should speak to your vet. That is what they are there for. There is no "best " diet. Diets are subjective. Each vet has their favorites. It doesn't mean one is better than another.

The science diet perfect weight is a very high quality food. I personally would prefer this food over the other one as I am not so fond of grain free foods. Also the label "holistic" really means nothing. With the science diet you have solid research behind the formulation and know that your dog will not lack any nutrients. Make sure that Cali also gets enough exercise to help with losing weight.

Yes, you are correct that there is concern that no grain foods may potentially linked to heart disease, and the FDA is now investigating that. Personally, I recommend feeding Gypsy Royal Canin, Hill's Science Diet, Purina ProPlan, or Iams. I feed my own dogs Iams and they love it. I hope this helps!