Should I switch my dog and cat from Hill's Science Diet to Wellness?

I don't know what Science Diet formulation you are using but I would stick with that. Science Diet is an excellent company with a great reputation. All their diets are thoroughly balanced and tested. Wholehearted is grain-free and there is new evidence (scientific studies) that are showing a link between grain-free diets and heart disease in dogs. I would stay away from grain-free diets. Just my personal opinion. Best wishes.

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!

Hello. First, Hill's Science Diet & Royal Canin are two of the most respected dog nutritional companies in the world. They have the veterinary scientists & research dollars to innovate, create & stand behind their products that are used to help fight disease & metabolic problems in our pets. If all you are interested in is basic nutrition, then all the other pet food manufacturers are more than adequate, as long as they have the AAFCO statement on their label. But if you have a pet with liver disease, kidney failure, diabetes, gastrointestinal problems or any other number of health defining issues, be very glad we have these companies looking & innovating ways to keep our pets as healthy as possible. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

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.

Wellness is an excellent choice for a dog food. If Willow eats it, does well on it and it is easy for you to buy, then by all means continue feeding it. I have fed this diet to my pets in the past. (I can't feed it currently because my dog is allergic to peas). This is my own opinion unrelated to Petco or Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. My top recommendations of veterinary diets include Hill's Science Diet, Purina, and Royal Canin. These are well-known brands that are stocked in veterinary hospitals, and are AAFCO formulated to be balanced and appropriate. I recommend avoiding grain-free, boutique diets from other brands, as these are not regulated and often are do not have balanced nutrients. I hope this is helpful!

Basically, there is proponent of people in the media and in the "natural" food sector that would like to make everyone believe that grains are the devil and that dogs are wolves. This is, in fact, incorrect. Wheat and soy, grains, contain valuable nutrients including proteins that dogs can readily digest and utilize appropriately. While it is true that there are dogs that get GI upset from consumption of these, the same can be said about beef, chicken, and any other meat protein. Rice, oats, and potatoes are acceptable in small quantities, but do contain starches which are complex sugars, and are a little more difficult to digest. In terms of by-products, this is usually referring to any part of the animal that is not the flesh of the beast. Usually this includes certain organs, bones, blood, etc. These products can be ground up and made into a byproduct - meal of sorts. Obviously, the actual meat is going to contain more appropriate nutrients but if a dog were left to it, they would be happy to eat any and all pieces of an animal. As for specific brands of food, Hill's is the brand that I typically recommend to all my clients and which I feed to my own dogs and cats. I consider it to be very high quality. I can't speak much about the other brand you've named unfortunately as I have little knowledge about it. Hope this helped though!