# Hills Science Plan vs Barking Heads



## andy198712 (May 9, 2011)

Hello,

My V is and always has been on Hills Science Plan, Large Breed Puppy. i get this for about £30 a 12kg bag online.
He's in great condition and fit as a fiddle, the vet was really impressed at his condition and dashing good looks ;D

a few people have recommended to me "Barking Heads" http://www.barkingheads.co.uk/index.php
it looks great and is very natural, good ingredients, no additives ect, my dog trainer recommended this to me also, thing is its more liked £45 for a 12kg bag.....

my V eats about two bags a month.

one thing i did notice was on the hills the first ingredient was maize, i thought it wasnt great for dogs, or is that corn, or are they the same?

i was the best for for my dog and i dont want him eating crap that could cause problems down the line, cancers ect. so natural would be nice! 

just wondering if its going to be better for him then my current feed of Hills, in which case it will warrant the the cost.

Cheers

Andy


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

Hi, Andy -- I don't know about "Barking Heads" but I do know that the first ingredient shouldn't be maize. Maize is corn. They are the same thing. The first ingredient should be a high-quality protein. There are so many dog food choices out there, it can be confusing.


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## kellygh (Oct 25, 2010)

Not sure if dogfoodanalysis.com & dogfoodadvisor.com offer reviews for food available in your country; however, they generally provide great info on dog food ingredients....good vs. not good. Science Diet is widely criticized for its poor quality ingredients vs cost. I have had dogs thrive on poor quality foods, I didn't know any better, but if you can afford it, I would consider a better food. There are lots of good foods available, and not all of them break the bank. Less grains, especially corn, are better. Remember, the higher the quality of food the less you have to feed (in most cases). Good luck!


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## andy198712 (May 9, 2011)

Thanks for you replies.

i think i will make the change, i've got some free samples to try so i can see if he likes it or not, would help


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## tanners_mama (Sep 22, 2011)

Just looked up the ingredients of "Barking Heads"

Deboned Chicken*, Dried Chicken*, Brown Rice, Potato, Pea Starch, Oats, Deboned Salmon*, Trout, Pea Protein, Chicken Fat, Dried Egg, Salmon Oil, Lucerne, Seaweed, Carrot, Prebiotics FOS & MOS, Hip & Joint Care Pack 

*Total 50% Chicken & Salmon combined


Sounds like a great food to me, and hopefully your V will love it! Just be sure to make the transition slowly as to not upset his stomach


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## Mrs_Mac (Mar 2, 2011)

Fez eats barking heads and loves it. It is expensive but he doesn't seem to need as much, 3 cups per day. He's 8 months


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

Try eucanuba large dog Pike is 3yrs old n has full bowl all the time @60 pounds has naver gainded or lost weight hunts full out 4 3 days and has more energy than me lol


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## andy198712 (May 9, 2011)

tanners_mama said:


> Just looked up the ingredients of "Barking Heads"
> 
> Deboned Chicken*, Dried Chicken*, Brown Rice, Potato, Pea Starch, Oats, Deboned Salmon*, Trout, Pea Protein, Chicken Fat, Dried Egg, Salmon Oil, Lucerne, Seaweed, Carrot, Prebiotics FOS & MOS, Hip & Joint Care Pack
> 
> ...


i've not seen anything bad about it yet, and he loves the free samples my trainer gave me, alot more interested then his current food :


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## andy198712 (May 9, 2011)

Mrs_Mac said:


> Fez eats barking heads and loves it. It is expensive but he doesn't seem to need as much, 3 cups per day. He's 8 months


how big is your cup? (no sniggering!!) 
at the moments i give Ruben one 500ml cup in the morn and 3 at night and hes gets through 2 12kg bags in a month ish.... less would be nice! if not for money then for poo picking, he does 3-6 poos a day, firm, but stil!


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## andy198712 (May 9, 2011)

R said:


> Try eucanuba large dog Pike is 3yrs old n has full bowl all the time @60 pounds has naver gainded or lost weight hunts full out 4 3 days and has more energy than me lol


funny you say that, i got a big tub of it when we reg'd him with kennel club and i gave it to a friend who fed it to her staffy as we were on science plan then and i didnt wanna change him at 8 weeks.

i cant seem to wear Ruben out, i've taken him for a 6 mile walk (normal does 3 a day ish. odd day off) and then out shooting in the eve, just walking around another 3 odd miles and hes still raring to go as soon as i walk near the door ;D


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## andy198712 (May 9, 2011)

the change over is going well, 1rd new food 2rd's old per meal at the min, solid stool (darker, sad, i know) and hes got alot more interest in his food and eats it quicker


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## tracker (Jun 27, 2011)

I have Lui on the Kirkland Chicken and Rice formula. He eats about 2.5 cups in the morning after excercise, and 2.5 cups in the evening after excercise. I think it is rated 4 stars out of five on the dogfood analysis website. Costs about $25 canadian for an 18.14 kg bag, first two ingredients are chicken, dog loves it, doesn't break the bank.


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## andy198712 (May 9, 2011)

thats a good price!
i was looking at ALL the dog foods in Tesco yesterday and they all have the main ingredient as cereal 

seems hard to find a good food here, i can get the "barking heads" stuff off the net easily but would be nice to get good food easily!


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## Mrs_Mac (Mar 2, 2011)

Hi, sorry for the delay. 

Our cup is normal mug size, I think it works out to be around 450g per day. He's 8 months so is on the puppy food. I have to say we did have some problems with over feeding Fez after he was unwell. We were hoping to "fatten him up" and make up for missed meals but all this did was give him boundless energy. Feeding more doesn't equal more weight or bigger puppy it just means crazy amounts of extra energy. As soon as we started to weigh out the correct amount his energy levels have been great, well as great as you can expect from an 8 month old V. 

Hope your transition goes well and do shop around as barking heads is about £5 cheaper at our dog school than it is at the pet shop.


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## andy198712 (May 9, 2011)

oh thanks for the tip, i'll ask at the pet school next time! and interesting about the feeding amounts


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