Rating: 
Hill’s Science Diet Puppy canned dog food receives the Advisor’s second-lowest rating of two stars.
Although Hill’s Science Diet Puppy is obviously designed for growth, we found no AAFCO nutritional adequacy statements for this food on the Hill’s Science Diet website.
Hill's Science Diet Puppy Savory Chicken Entree
Canned Dog Food
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Ingredients: Water, chicken, ground whole grain corn, cracked pearled barley, soybean meal, liver, dicalcium phosphate, iodized salt, iron oxide, calcium carbonate, potassium chloride, choline chloride, vitamin E supplement, zinc oxide, ferrous sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, niacin, calcium pantothenate, vitamin B12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, biotin, vitamin D3 supplement, calcium iodate, riboflavin, folic acid, sodium selenite
Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 1.3%
Red items when present indicate controversial ingredients
The first ingredient in this dog food lists water… which (of course) adds nothing but moisture to this food. Water is a routine finding in most canned dog foods.
The second ingredient is chicken. Chicken is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin… derived from the parts or whole carcasses of chicken”.1
Chicken is naturally rich in the ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.
The third 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 fourth ingredient is 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.
The fifth ingredient lists soybean meal. Soybean meal is actually a useful by-product. It’s what remains of soybeans after all the oil has been removed.
Soybean meal contains 48% protein. However, compared to meat, this is an inferior plant-based protein. So, we must allow for this boosting effect as we judge the meat content of this food.
The sixth 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.
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 Puppy Canned Dog Food
The Bottom Line
Judging by its ingredients alone, Hill’s Science Diet Puppy appears to be an average 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 28%, a fat level of 24% and an estimated carbohydrate content of 40%.
Below-average protein. Average fat. And above-average carbs… as compared to a typical canned dog food.
Yet when you consider the protein-boosting effect of the soybean meal, this looks like the profile of a canned food containing only a modest amount of meat.
This is a fairly unusual finding when comparing this product to most other puppy foods in our database.
Bottom line?
Hill’s Science Diet Puppy is a plant-based canned dog food using only a modest amount of chicken as its main source of animal protein… thus earning the brand two stars.
Not recommended.
Those looking for a comparable kibble from the same company may wish to visit our review of Hill’s Science Diet Puppy dry 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
01/02/2010 Original review
08/06/2010 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.