Hills science plan ?

[Karma]

In the UK pet food has to have come from animals that were deemed fit for human consumption (I believe), so it is highly unlikely that it will contain any trace of diseased animals etc.

However, I do agree with Praia that Hill isn't a great quality food.  If it suits your dog, all well and good, but you can find equal or better quality kibbles at a lower price very easily.  It is very expensive for the quality of the ingredients it contains.

Sample bags are often a great way to "push" customers onto a product for which the sample giver receives commisson... and many people do think that if their vet recommends a particular food it must be the best, which is where I have a big problem with Hills, as many vets DO push it (directly or subtley) and there are objectively better quality foods out there which (whether they are better for an individual dog is a different matter... every dog is different and some foods suit some dogs better than others).

Hi, I took my 8 week old pup to the vets to have her jab & microchip yesterday & she gave me a free bag of hills science plan puppy food. Is this a good quality food or is this a silly question as the vet gave me it! I was going to change her food to James wellbeloved as I have heard this is a good quality, but I might use this hill science plan if it's on the same quality level as JWB?? Thanks

To remind us of the OP - the pup is not currently on Hills, and the OP wanted to know whether it is a comparative quality to JWB - my opinion is that JWB contains better ingredients (including named animal sources) and is a better quality dog food.  It doesn't follow that all dogs will do better on JWB than Hills, but on balance JWB is a better food.
If a person's dog was happy on Hills, and the owner was happy to continue paying the price charged, I certainly wouldn't tell them they should change... but if someone was considering swapping to Hills for no other reason than their vet had given them a sample (implying it must be a good food) I would urge them to rethink. 

(FWIW, Honey is raw fed... we previouly fed JWB with no ill-effects at all, but Honey prefers a raw diet!)

[Holly2009]

Another reason not to like hills 
http://www.uncaged.co.uk/petfood.htm

[black taz]

Notice that JWB was on the boycott list. 

I am persuaded though that Hills is probably overpriced and not the best on the market.  Called in PAH this morning and bought a small bag of JWB to see if they at least like it.

[Holly2009]

Notice that JWB was on the boycott list. 

I am persuaded though that Hills is probably overpriced and not the best on the market.  Called in PAH this morning and bought a small bag of JWB to see if they at least like it.

For people not bothered about animal testing JWB is a good compromise, Holly has had it in the past & enjoyed it. Just thought I'd post the link, some may find it interesting 

[praia]

I think its safe to say "praia" that whatever we feed our dogs someone else will come along and say its not as good as such and such, or that it upsets their dog or doesnt suit their coat etc etc....but perhaps they would be more respectful in doing so 

Well said.

I think it's also dangerous suggesting that a particular brand uses 'diseased and dying animals' in its products (unless of course you have unmitigated proof thereof).

Hill's Pet Nutrition is owned by Colgate-Palmolive which is an American company and the rendering practices to produce low quality dog kibble is well known.  However, perhaps they have animal rendering plants in the UK that have to follow stricter EU laws regarding rendered animals vs FDA regulations?  Though the fact that Science Hill bags, no matter the point of distribution, refuse to name their meat sources, still makes me question what exactly these "animal digest" and "animal fats" are.   If they have nothing to hide then name the meat source like better quality kibbles do... which brings us back to the original question in that compared to other dog foods and judging by ingredients (max ingredient corn, roughly 1/4 of whole bag contains identified meat source in adult formula bags), Hills Science dog food is overpriced for what it contains and is not a good quality food. 


As for the 4Ds of the meat industry, do a little research on animal rendering plants and you will see that dying, dead, diseased, and disabled animals are their sources (At least in America).  The meat industry does not allow anything to go to waste and is going to put every single shred of flesh to use, whether it be to make crayons for our children or to feed our animals.  You can even watch videos of these 4D animals being rendered in such plants on youtube.  I believe the Mad Cowboy documentary is on youtube in full, which was made by a man who was a cattle rancher and wanted to expose how cancerous and euthanized cows are rendered into livestock and pet feed.  The FDA deems products produced from animal rendering plants to be unfit for human consumption, but they are still fit for pet foods and animal feed.  That being said, the EU probably has different and stricter regulations and UK produced kibble may not come from such disgusting sources as American produced kibble is.

[black taz]

I am not saying i am not bothered about animal testing - but i had not seen this article until after i purchased the JWB.

[Holly2009]

I am not saying i am not bothered about animal testing - but i had not seen this article until after i purchased the JWB.

'not bothered' comment wasnt aimed at you Black taz   some people are bothered, some aren't, some have no idea so thought I'd post the link just for info  

[Karma]

Also, JWB itself has no direct links to animal testing... it was, however, bought out by Pedigree a few years ago, so I suspect it is on the list due its now parent company, rather than anything else.  (Rather like Body Shop now being included in the Nestle boycott).
 

[Jane S]

Also, JWB itself has no direct links to animal testing... it was, however, bought out by Pedigree a few years ago, so I suspect it is on the list due its now parent company, rather than anything else.  (Rather like Body Shop now being included in the Nestle boycott).
 

Yes that's right - JWB is NOT tested on animals but appears on the blacklist posted above because of it's parent company (Mars which owns Pedigree & numerous other brands)

[Holly2009]

JWB themselves may not physically do the testing but this is just the brand - the main company Masterfoods (Mars Inc) does test on animals. That's what I understand.

[Jane S]

JWB themselves may not physically do the testing but this is just the brand - the main company Masterfoods (Mars Inc) does test on animals. That's what I understand.

Mars owns some brands which produce veterinary prescription foods - by law they have to be tested so yes inevitably there is some testing involved with these particular foods but JWB food itself is not tested on animals (so no need to boycott it unless you're taking it to the extreme of boycotting all Mars products)

This has all been discussed many times before on this forum so suggest anyone interested do a search through the archives

[Holly2009]

The link originally referred to Hills which had been mentioned who do animal testing! Holly gets the odd bag of JWB when it's on special at P@H