| Product: |
Hill's Science Plan |
| Date: |
27/06/08 (189 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Many
Disadvantages: Price
~~*~~*~~ Hills Science Plan Adult Chicken ~~*~~*~~
Doughnut is my pride and joy - she's an expensive little bugger but I love her. However, when it comes to her food - the most expensive is not always the best. Hills food is ruddy pricey at £45 ish for a 15kg bag so usually I'd get something a lot cheaper like Skinners or Burns dried food (she's fed the 'hypoallergenic and no additives' stuff cos lord knows she's got enough energy without anything else adding to the equation).
The reason the little pig is being fed the caviar of canine kibble is due to the good people at Hills - we won a years supply of the stuff whilst at Crufts and rather than waste it or sell it on; the brown dustbin that is my dog is being fed better than I am. Hills sent us a bag of puppy as she was only 11 months at the time and 4 bags of adult (their estimation of 5 bags for 6 months) and since she's a Labrador, I knew there'd be no problem switching her food over with regards to taste (she'll eat owt) and digestion capabilities ('cast-iron gut' springs to mind). The puppy food was a nice size for her age but would have been too large for her at 3 or 4 months or equally for smaller breeds. People think I'm strange but I taste dog food - how do you know if it's really salty unless you try it? (for the record - supadog lamb and rice is disgusting but pedigree chum complete is simply delightful especially the cheese parcels, no really - try it). Hills puppy was adequate; bland but palatable! Thought you'd like to know.
So, anyway. The adult chicken is ginger in colour and hard (not squishy like Bakers chunks) and takes her an average amount of time to crunch through which is a bonus as this means her Doberman friend has time to eat hers before Dee trots across for the leftovers. It must smell good to the canine fraternity as the aforementioned Doberman will often leave hers to snatch a biscuit from Dee whereas the latter never leaves hers until it's all hoovered up. Plus it tasted ok to me too.
I've got quite a few breeder friends (breeders of dogs not just friends who are nymphomaniacs) and none of them use Hills which isn't a great advert but due to the expense, it's hardly surprising. And yet, Doughnut's coat is thick and shiny, there's no 'dandruff' and her skin's in good condition - her eyes are clear, her nose is damp and her pads are soft (all indicators point to a good diet). If it weren't for the price I would definitely keep her on this diet for the rest of her life but £20 a month extra for the next 15ish years could be better spent on a luxurious Caribbean holiday.
Hills can be bought from any good retailers although some internet shops do free delivery and it's definitely worth shopping around for a good deal. The high quality packaging may have affected the price as it's a very strong plastic with a re-sealable top and easy carry handle on the outside. The distinctive white colouring and 'science plan' all add to the feeling that this is quality merchandise. From experience of working with dogs for most of my life, I know that some people cannot feed their dogs on anything but Hills but there are cheaper alternatives that produce the same results.
Now for the so-called science bit. This food was picked for me by Hills so I had no say in whether I wanted the light version or sensitive stomach (luckily I have a normal lab). So I received the Large-Breed stuff which is for an adult dog (1-7 years) weighing over 25kg. It has L-carnitine in it to "help maintain optimal body weight (helps avoid extra stress on the joints), lean muscle mass and muscle strength" - she's kept her weight on and has good solid hind muscles with solid hind and forelegs and her heads still a good shape so that's true. It also contains "chondroprotective agents glucosamine hydrochloride and chondrotin sulphate, natural 'building blocks' for joint cartilage, to help maintain healthy joints and facilitate joint mobility" - now this is a bonus since healthy hips and elbows are essential as I'm hoping to breed from her - every little helps with growing bones. I can't say she's moving better because there was no problem before - she's only 13 months now but it could affect her over the year. It's nice that it's included in her food though if it were necessary I would merely add the two vitamin supplements into her food anyway. There's loads of ingredients so I'm not going to list them but the main point is that it has a minimum 35% chicken and turkey combination which is pretty impressive for a dog food.
Hills Science Plan Adult Chicken has definitely gone down well with Doughnut so I can recommend it on that basis but when it's gone it's gone - bugger paying that price!
If you're particularly intrigued due to my insightful review, you can always find out more from the Hills website - www.hillspet.com which tells you many random pieces of information and blinds you with science until you don't even know whether you should feed your dog at all (I recommend feeding it once in a while or it may get a little tetchy and eat your neighbour's child - imagine the law suit).
Thanks for reading.
Caroline and Doughnut 2008
Review will appear elsewhere...
Summary: It's pretty good but she's not worth it!
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