Hill's Science Plan

Hill's Science Plan Puppy <1 Medium: With Lamb & Rice review

Name: Hill's Science Plan Puppy <1 Medium: With Lamb & Rice
Brand: Hill's Science Plan

48.8/100Average

DryPuppy

Flavour

A growth kibble from the brand most owners first meet at the vet's, built to a fixed recipe with a full analysis and a calcium figure you can check. The chicken recipe sits in our Good band and the lamb a step lower in Average. Rice, maize and an unnamed animal fat hold them back.

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Our view

Likely to suit

Owners who read the calcium line first. Both recipes declare it, inside the growth range
Puppies moving onto a brand their vet already stocks
Steering off chicken, as the lamb recipe's only named meat is lamb meal
A pup better on moderate fat; the chicken recipe is 19.5% of dry matter

Worth watching

Rice, maize and maize protein meal all do real work, so a grain-free home should read on
Fish oil in both, at 0.5% and 1.4%, if your pup is kept off fish

Written by our editorial team. Independent guidance, not veterinary advice.

How this scores

How we score

48.8/100Average

Protein and processingAverage

Nutritional balanceGood

TransparencyExcellent

ValueAverage

The details

Dog fit

Sold for medium-breed puppies up to a year. The daily amount climbs then eases as growth slows, so start from the bag's chart and let your pup's shape decide.

Food type

Dry

Life stage

Puppy

Breed size

Small

Main protein

Lamb

The score, in context

With Chicken 61.4
With Lamb 48.8

Two recipes across Good and Average. Typical dry food: Good.

Candour is not the issue here; the cereal lean and the unnamed fat are what keep both recipes off the higher places, and the lamb more so.

What's in it

Broken rice26%Ahead of the meat on this recipe.
Lamb meal16%The only named meat.
Soybean mealPlant protein shoring up the analysis.
Animal fatNo species named.
Pea protein
Maize, digestThe digest names no animal either.
Dried beet pulp, maize protein meal, minerals
Fish oil1.4%Close to three times the chicken recipe's level.
Flaxseed, vegetable oil
Oat bran, fructo-oligosaccharides (ActivBiome+ blend)0.6%

Iron, iodine, copper, manganese, zinc and selenium, each dosed per kilo.

The animal fat and digest name no species, so lamb is not the only animal behind this food.

Named ingredients

Broken rice (26%), lamb meal (16%), soybean meal, animal fat, pea protein, maize, digest, dried beet pulp, maize protein meal, minerals, fish oil (1.4%), flaxseed, vegetable oil, oat bran, fructo-oligosaccharides. ActivBiome+ Multi Benefit prebiotic blend (0.6%): Oat bran, fructo-oligosaccharides.

Against the range

Lead ingredient: Broken rice, 26%; Poultry meal leads the chicken recipe.
Plant protein: Soybean meal, pea protein; Neither is on the chicken.
Calcium, dry matter: 1.48%; 1.55% on the chicken.
Energy: 382.9 kcal per 100g; 374.9 on the chicken.

The one to choose for a pup kept off poultry, with more plant protein doing the work.

Both recipes lean on rice, with maize and maize protein meal alongside, and both use an animal fat and a digest that name no species. Carbohydrate converts to 40.5% and 38.6% of dry matter, ordinary for a puppy kibble.

Calcium is printed on both and sits inside the growth range: 1.55% and 1.48% of dry matter. Each list closes on flaxseed, fish oil and the ActivBiome+ blend, which is oat bran and fructo-oligosaccharides already listed on their own. What varies is the lead: poultry meal in one, broken rice ahead of lamb meal in the other.

Nutritional analysis

Declared analysis

Energy

382.9 kcal/100g

Protein

27.7%

Fat

19.1%

Fibre

1.8%

Ash

7.8%

Moisture

Dry weight

Protein

30.1%

Fat

20.8%

Fibre

Ash

8.5%

Carbs

38.6%

As-fed composition

Estimated breakdown of the finished product by ingredient category, from the declared ingredient list and ingoing weights. These are estimates, not measurements.

Meat

21.1%

Carbs

52.4%

Oils

11%

Other

15.6%

Pricing & size