When I received my sample bag of Hill’s Science Diet Ideal Balance dog food, I was excited. The all natural dog food claims to be able to improve the overall health of your pets, including mobility and coat & skin. There was a bit of a noticable difference, but not enough to justify the cost of the food.
The sample I received was a 4lb bag Ideal Balance™ Adult Chicken & Brown Rice Dinner. It’s geared toward helping overall health, digestion, the immune system, weight and the skin & coat. We followed the ‘feeding guide’ on the website and slowly switched them over to the new food . . . giving them the same amount as they always got with their old food. I kept a careful eye on them to see it there was any change.
I noticed right away that it didn’t seem all that filling to them. They were still hungry after eating, which, with those two, is never a good thing. They caused all sorts of ruckus outside until we started giving them extra food. In the end, they were eating double the amount of what they normally would eat of the old, causing the food to run out faster.
It did give them a pretty decent energy boost, but that was about it. Their skin and coat didn’t look any different and they were gaining extra weight due to the increase in food they were eating. The downside of the energy boost was that they ended up being awake all night barking at anything and everything. Tobi, our dachshund, also ended up on top of the doghouse several times and wasn’t able to get down. Brownie, a terrier mix, was even more hyper than usual and it was a nightmare trying to get into the backyard for something.
Overall, I was unimpressed with the dog food. It doesn’t live up to the hype and is just way too expensive to use on a regular basis. The 4lb bag was $11 alone on PetFoodDirect.com! A 50lb bag from the same site is $53.33. Neither prices include shipping. I can’t even imagine what the price is in stores. Hill’s just seems to be taking advantage of the ‘all natural’ craze. It’s a rip-off. You’re still better off with plain, regular dog food.
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