# Hills Science Plan



## Roo (May 28, 2009)

Hi, I'm looking for information on Hills Science Plan range of dry foods.....i.e. ingredients & in particular any additives , chemicals & preservatives used. I'm also interested in the protein content and source of this. I heard today that they have recently changed their product........is this true. I cannot find any typical analysis info on Hills on any pet food sites. Any help would be most appreciated. Thanks.


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## james1 (Sep 21, 2008)

I wouldnt waste you time - for the price you can get foods 10x better as it is complete rubbish. Even rubbish foods are better than it in fact. Its that bad.


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## noushka05 (Mar 28, 2008)

james1 said:


> I wouldnt waste you time - for the price you can get foods 10x better as it is complete rubbish. Even rubbish foods are better than it in fact. Its that bad.


i agree with James its not a great food at all


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## Roo (May 28, 2009)

Thanks for your comments. I don't want to feed it to my beautiful dogs, I have a friend who considering using it & I want to be educated in my comments to her when trying to convince her not to use it. Still looking for breakdown of ingredients etc.


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## Ducky (Nov 23, 2008)

welll......how interesting. Hills have recently repackaged all of their products and it would seem they have also radically changed the formula of their foods as well.

i would almost go as far as saying....it actually sounds good!! (and i have to say i never thought i would say that)
having now checked the ingredients on the new packaging....they no longer use meat and animal derivitives...and...it could be classed as hypoallergenic. SHOCK HORROR! 

though it does only seem to be on certain products that they have bettered themselves. for instance the chicken flavour products now have a high meat content however the fish flavour is very poor.

anyway here is the ingredient list i have found for the new hills product

Science Plan Canine Adult Performance Chicken :

Chicken (minimum Chicken 35%, Chicken and Turkey combined 50%): Ground maize, chicken and turkey meal, animal fat, dried beet pulp, digest, vegetable oil, dried whole egg, potassium chloride, salt, disodium phosphate, taurine, vitamins and trace elements. Naturally preserved with mixed tocopherols, citric acid and rosemary extract. 

Protein: 28.2% (quite high)
Fat: 25% (fairly high!!!)
Carbohydrate: 31.9%
Ash: 1.9%
Moisture: 7.5%


yes it sounds a lot better than it was, but it is still stupidly expensive and you can get really good foods for a lot less. 




i cant believe i just posted this. ut:


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## james1 (Sep 21, 2008)

Well the one i was using used derivatives of animals - a mix of lots, usually foods state what animal meat/meal comes from. It uses cereals, grains like maize and wheat (fillers) that arent digested and serve as 'protein' which the dog cant use. We get our energy largely from carbs, dogs get theirs from protein such is their make up. You want a good % of meat, the higher the better in the ingredients as a result. Because its such a _choice_ of ingredients they use guar gum as one of their grains, which is a modified corn starch chemically treated to 10x normal strenght - its for mas production/industrial use, perfectly safe but a dogs digestive track is small and this basically binds all the ingredients together enabling stool passage. It sucks moisture up to bind. The food dried my dogs glossy coat within weeks, greyed his eyes severely and as there was no real protein in it made him lethargic. Vets endorse the product as they are given money to stock and sell it, if they were going to be a food supplier they _should_ offer a range.
My dog was being fed less on SP than what he is now but toileting more, (5+ times a day) the food im using now is being used up so there is less coming out of him he goes 3x and they are a lot smaller, he has his energy back and coat 
edit:
and his eyes are clear white


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## james1 (Sep 21, 2008)

Ducky said:


> Fat: 25% (fairly high!!!)


Its very high!!! 1/4 of the food is fat?! Most working dog foods have around 20% and even that is high, I just dont believe they can make a propper food, no "science" to it whatsoever


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## Roo (May 28, 2009)

Thanks Ducky & James. Very interesting indeed!


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## Ducky (Nov 23, 2008)

james1 said:


> Its very high!!! 1/4 of the food is fat?! Most working dog foods have around 20% and even that is high, I just dont believe they can make a propper food, no "science" to it whatsoever


haha probably true. i would still never feed it  regardless to these supposed changes.


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## Jazzharv (Aug 26, 2009)

Hi all,

I'm looking after a friends Lab Puppy and he feeds her on Hills Science Plan. When she's asleep, she passes wind and the smell could clear the house it's that bad!!! Do you think it may be due to the food?

Anna x


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## Zippstar (Sep 25, 2008)

My twopence worth is that I've heard a lot of bad things about Science Plan so I steer clear. My vets recommend it, however. I feed my boys on James Wellbeloved Senior and Purina Light.


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## james1 (Sep 21, 2008)

Jazzharv said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I'm looking after a friends Lab Puppy and he feeds her on Hills Science Plan. When she's asleep, she passes wind and the smell could clear the house it's that bad!!! Do you think it may be due to the food?
> 
> Anna x


if you think of pedigree chum, widley advertised and stocked in every supermarket - does this make it the best? noope
Its the same with SP, its in a large majority of vet practices which is again an illusion to its benefits. 
You might have a job explaining this to your friend, especially as a nutritionist at the vets will have recommended it but ask them to recommend any others and they wont be able to asside from JWB. A nutritionist is supposed to understand the foods their prescribing which for some unkown reason they dont. Excessive wind is bad for them as if they dont rid it, bloat can occur which kills within hours.


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## Kinski (Apr 4, 2009)

Vet's recommend Hill's because they get a kick back from the company for selling it.

Terri


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## hazel pritchard (Jun 28, 2009)

One of my dogs was fed on this as a puppy for about a week,it made him so hyper it was awfull,i put him on Burns which my other dog was fed on and he calmed down,would not feed them anything else now.


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## chestersmum (Sep 18, 2009)

my dog was on Hills as well from when i brought him home, really sent him hyper too. He is a very fussy eater but now is settled on Europa food. You can only buy it online but it has no rubbish in it and is part of the campaign for real pet food!


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## SEVEN_PETS (Aug 11, 2009)

Ollie has Hills, and he's fine on it. He loves the new taste of the food and he is quite fussy, so I'm keeping him on it.


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## Happy Paws2 (Sep 13, 2008)

Amber suffers with Colitis and the vet recommended Hill's Science prescription WD, She has been on it for 2 1/2 years with out any problems. She very rarely has trouble with the colitis as long as we keep her on WD diet. So as long as she is OK I'm keeping her on it, but I buy it on-line, not from the vet he to expensive.


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## Simon1656 (Apr 29, 2010)

We have just brought home a Beagle/Terrier cross and the Vet (at Pets at Home) recommended Hills and we got a free bag of it with his jabs. Spot the commercial link here, Vets ar clearly getting a kickback from certain products hence why they help market it.

Murphy had terrible wind and always looked bloated after a meal. He also needed a wee every 5 mins which is not good for dogs.

We spoke to the senior trainer at the place whre we are having our pupply classes and this lady genuinley knows her stuff. She confirmed all the above regarding hills in that it is bad food, basically an equivalent of a humans microwave TV dinner, full of rubbish.

We have stopped the hills, which is a little bit gauling as I know have a massive tub full of the stuff (offers excepted). We are using basic puppy meat and are going to move to one of the natural brands and feed him on meat, vegetables and good carbs.

Since stopping the hills, he has slept better, toilet frequency is better and he does not get bloated or really bad wind. He is still a looney but think thats just the fact that he is a Beagle / Terrier cross. 

I looked at the natures choice frozen meet and natural dog biscuits in pets at home today and the price is sssoooooo much cheaper than hills, that plus a few green veg and we should save a fortune and more importantly, have a healthy, non windy dog!!!


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## james1 (Sep 21, 2008)

for pups burns mimi bites are very good ...... it keeps them slim but its packed with digestable stuff.... when they are 6-8mnths + find an adult kibble that will encourage weight..


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