Rating: 
Hill’s Science Diet Adult Advanced Fitness canned dog food gets the Advisor’s second-lowest rating of two stars.
The Hill’s Science Diet Adult product line includes four canned dog foods.
Although each formulation appears to be designed for adults, we found no AAFCO nutritional adequacy statements for these dog foods on the Hill’s Science Diet website.
- Hill’s Science Diet Adult Advanced Fitness Beef and Chicken
- Hill’s Science Diet Adult Advanced Fitness Gourmet Turkey
- Hill’s Science Diet Adult Advanced Fitness Savory Chicken
- Hill’s Science Diet Adult Advanced Fitness Gourmet Beef
Hill’s Science Diet Adult Advanced Fitness Gourmet Beef dog food was selected to represent the others in the line for this review.
Hill's Science Diet Adult Gourmet Beef Entree
Canned Dog Food
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Ingredients: Water, beef, liver, ground whole grain corn, cracked pearled barley, chicken liver flavor, soybean oil, calcium carbonate, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), potassium chloride, iron oxide, choline chloride, iodized salt, vitamin E supplement, zinc oxide, ferrous sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, niacin, calcium pantothenate, vitamin B12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, biotin, calcium iodate, vitamin D3 supplement, riboflavin, sodium selenite, folic acid
Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 0.8%
Red items when present indicate controversial ingredients
The first ingredient is water… which (of course) adds nothing but moisture to this food. Water is a routine finding in most canned dog foods.
The second ingredient lists beef. Beef is defined as “the clean flesh derived from slaughtered cattle” and includes skeletal muscle or the muscle tissues of the tongue, diaphragm, heart or esophagus.1
Beef is naturally rich in all ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.
The third ingredient lists liver. Normally, liver can be considered a quality component. However, in this case, the source of the liver is not identified. For this reason, it’s impossible to judge the quality of this item.
The fourth ingredient is corn. Now, contrary to what you may have heard, corn isn’t necessarily a bad ingredient.
On the other hand, although there’s no way to know for sure here, the corn used in making many pet foods can be similar to the kind used to make feed for livestock.
And that can sometimes be problematic.
What’s more, corn is commonly linked to canine food allergies2.
For these reasons, we rarely consider corn a preferred component in any dog food.
The fifth ingredient lists barley. Barley is a starchy carbohydrate supplying fiber and other healthy nutrients. Unlike grains with a higher glycemic index (like rice), barley can help support stable blood sugar levels in dogs.
After the chicken liver flavor, we find soybean oil… red flagged here only due to its suspected (yet unlikely) link to canine food allergies.
The eighth item is calcium carbonate… used here as a dietary mineral supplement.
The ninth ingredient is chicken fat. Chicken fat is obtained from rendering chicken… a process similar to making soup in which the fat itself is skimmed from the surface of the liquid.
Chicken fat is high in linoleic acid… an omega-6 fatty acid essential for life. Although it doesn’t sound very appetizing, chicken fat is actually a quality ingredient.
Finally, the minerals here do not appear to be chelated. And that can make them more difficult to absorb. Non-chelated minerals are usually associated with lower quality dog foods.
Hill’s Science Diet Adult Advanced Fitness
The Bottom Line
Judging by its ingredients alone, Hill’s Science Diet Adult Advanced Fitness appears to be a below-average canned dog food.
But ingredient quality by itself cannot tell the whole story. We still need to estimate the product’s meat content before determining a final rating.
The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 25%, a fat level of 16% and an estimated carbohydrate content of 50%.
As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 25% and an average fat level of 17%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate serving size of 50% for the overall product line.
Below-average protein. Below-average fat. And above-average carbohydrates… when compared to a typical canned dog food.
With no evidence of any plant-based protein concentrates, this looks like the profile of a canned food containing only a modest amount of meat.
Bottom line?
Hill’s Science Diet Adult Advanced Fitness is a grain-based canned dog food using only a modest amount of beef or poultry as its main source of animal protein… thus earning the brand two stars.
Not recommended.
Those looking for a weight control product from the same company may wish to check out our review of Hill’s Science Diet Adult Light canned dog food.
A Final Word
This review is designed to help you make a more informed decision when buying dog food. However, our rating system is not intended to suggest feeding a particular product will result in specific health benefits for your pet.
For a better understanding of how we analyzed this product, please be sure to read our article, “The Problem with Dog Food Reviews”
Remember, no dog food can possibly be appropriate for every life stage, lifestyle or health condition. So, choose wisely. And when in doubt consult a veterinarian for help.
Have an opinion about this dog food… or maybe the review itself? Please know… we welcome your comments.
Notes and Updates
12/30/2009 Original review
08/05/2010 Review updated
- Association of American Feed Control Officials ↩
- White, S., Update on food allergy in the dog and cat, World Small Animal Veterinary Association, Vancouver, 2001 ↩
The Dog Food Advisor publishes independent reviews to help pet owners make better choices when shopping for dog food.