hill's science plan or royal canin...??

[shiva faridi]

• i am from india and not many dog food brands are available here the good ones here are royal canine, eukanuba and hill's science plan . Zack is now a year old this month ...when we got him he was 5 weeks old we started him on royal canine ...then when he was 3 months we shifted him onto eukanuba ...then home cooked fresh food now on hill's past two weeks .....my point is he has tried all n like all but want to know which one is best since they do come expensive n i wanna pick the best ones....and since its my very first dog ....i do need help .......i still give him apart 4m this one meal of boiled beef mince with liver heart n kidney(organ meat say 2 pieces each more mince or boneless beef  ) ....thnxs a ton...:)

[Dianne cook]

Hello Shiva, I've used all three and I can't honestly say I preferred any in particular but when I used the Royal Canin I think at the time it was a breed specific diet one, as my boy was extremely thin due to neglect. It truly made him improve out of site but sadly due to the high protien he broke out in small sores on his face. Hopefully an ES member will be able to help you more than I. All the best, I know we all just want to give them the best we can :)) take care

[silvia]

dont know,  we started oberon with RC as he  was a puppy, then we progressively shifted toward raw or more natural (less processed) food (as naturediet and natural instinct or simple mince meat..)

now, we still have a huge box of RC (large dogs, adult) for when we travel on holiday, etc.. but, regularly, as soon he starts eating it, he get a bit sick (softer tools starts the morning after oberon get a simple handful of croquettes.. and, if we go camping  and he eats a bit of RC for a week or so, then is definitely diarrea.. ). We stopped and use it only for real emergency situations, but honestly when we  are at home is so much better with more natural foods that i dont see the point of giving biscuits.. maybe is just us, lot of IS do very well with RC as far as I know, just wanted to share..cheers!!!!

[Fran Griffin]

Hi Dianne, quite the reverse in fact. It is not high protein, but high carbohydrates.  Seen far too many dogs taken off this foods, off many different breeds who have gone from strength to strength, including a little yorkie who had been treated for years for sores between his toes.  Once removed  from these foods and put on a proper species appropriate diet, he was cured, and his owners very angry with the vets for having taken so much money from them over the years when the problem was nutritional.  Not an isolated problem by any stretch of the imagination. When  you look at the typical analysis of the ingredients, the carb content far outweighs the protein,  therefore it is impossible for Hills, Eukanuba or any of those to be high protein.  Also the quality of any protein is going to be extremely poor as it consists of meal.   Dogs are not omnivores.

[shiva faridi]

thnxs 4 sharing i do give one home cooked meal of boiled meat somehow never raw although i hear its better ...one meal since i work i want to give like this mostly cause he should be used to both kind ...dry n homemade was just wondering if rc is better then hill's or if hill's is better

[silvia]

ok, as far as i can see from different blogs/ingredients the classific is: first eikanouba, second RC, and only last hills (despite hills is recommended by many vets, it doesnt seem to be particularly good in terms of ingredients.., unless you need very special diets for some deseases, since they have a variety of prescription foods..) 

but i may be wrong:) 

[silvia]

Dear Shiva do you know this?

www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/

may it can help to give you an idea of where different manufacturer stands in terms of ingredients?

cheers

s

[Jennie Benstead]

Hi Shiva

Have a look on the raw feeding group on ES...you will get lots of advice for healthy feeding your baby..

My dogs are very healthy and fit and have been fed raw since young pups...for me in the UK it works out a lot cheaper and is a natural food with many benefits....just another idea.

Jen

[silvia]

i know that Shiva has some concerns on feeding raw in India. May i add that we often cook the raw meet that we buy from natural instinct, or we cook some other meat.. just a few minutes in the microwave. This is because Oberon is a bit picky with eating, so sometimes he like his meal raw, sometimes he like half cooked for a change;)

 (to him it looks as two different foods, he he;)

ok, we know proteins are better when the meat is raw, but hey, still, even if I cook a bit  some natural instinct or basic meat, is far far better for him than the processed  biscuits, so i guess similar suggestion  may be valid for Zack, Shiva? 

[Teresa]

Hi Shiva,

I have tried all the 3 brands with my girls and here's wat I can tell you from my personnal experience:

Hill's makes them both sick, so for me it's a definite no, but I also know some dogs that do just fine. RC is not so bad and they did like the Setter food they had, but honestly, I never found RC worth its price, other than the Starter, for pups and moms. Eukanuba for me is the best of the 3 for an adult dog, so if I hd to chooes between the 3, Eukanuba would be my choice. However I have no intention of changing from versele laga anytime soon - it's the ideal food for me.

Here in Portugal I'm also not confident enough to feed raw safely - I have been to slaughter houses, and not cooking their food would not be an option, so I feel the best way to give them all the nutrients they need is trough a good dry food. Maybe in a few years, things will be diferent and then I'll try raw!