Just looking at the top 5 ingredients in Hills Science Diet:
1 is whole grain corn
2 is chicken by-product meal
3 is soybean meal
4 is animal fat
5 is beet pulp
The top protein source in this food is corn, which in my opinion, is a poor choice for a protein. Three of your first 5 ingredients, which constitute the major bulk of ingredients, are vegetables, which is not good. Vegetables are incomplete proteins so they need to be combined together, the corn and soybeans for example, in order to form a complete protein. Besides the fact that most of these types of vegetable protein are extremely hard on a dogs digestive tract, due to their Gastrointestinal anatomy; and they create excessive waste products that not only the liver has to excrete, but also the kidneys are affected negatively. Although it states that there is 30% crude protein in the kibble, it is incomplete proteins, lacking the nutritional density that animal protein contains. An important aspect of crude protein to remember is that not all crude proteins are alike, and a substantial majority of them are not completely digestible by our pups. So the bag of puppy kibble may state 30%, but what your pup is actually metabolizing could be significantly lower.
Personally, I would suggest trying a different food. If you prefer not to home-cook, than perhaps another choice of a higher quality kibble with more complete meat proteins in the top 5. Their satiability will not only help your pup develop healthier organs, but also fill her up, where she will not be constantly hungry at your table.
I personally home-cook for my two,( in combination with a free feeding of Evo red, or Acana). Their favorite is a combination of lamb(mostly raw) with fresh tuna or hake, combined with quinoa and vegetables.
Hope this helps, and if you have any questions about anything I have written , please feel free to pm me. |