The Hill’s Pet Nutrition company is constantly innovating. Their latest addition to the world of superior dog and cat nutrition is the Healthy Advantage line. The goal of the new food is to address pets’ most essential preventive health needs to keep them healthy.
Hill’s began the task of developing the new line by identifying risks facing healthy pets. They categorized those risks according to certain parameters, which delineated the categories of foods:
- puppy
- puppy large breed
- kitten
- canine adult
- feline adult
Clearly, Hill’s understood that the risk factors were different for each of these categories of pets. The next step was to identify the individual category risks so that each food would address those risks. Each day this week we will outline the advantages and goals of each part of the food line.
For puppies:
- Immunity is a major consideration. After all, without a healthy immune system, a puppy will not survive the dangers of infectious disease, parasitism and other attacks on its health.
Willie LOVES his Healthy Advantage food so much he's willing to attack a bag weighing twice what he weighs! Ingredients have been carefully chosen to support strong immunity.
- Weight management is crucial. Long gone are the days when veterinarians said, “Just put the food down and let him eat all he wants. You can’t overfeed a puppy while they’re still growing.” Now we know that feeding puppies optimally is the first step in weight control for the adult dog. Healthy Advantage contains nutrition that addresses the needs of growing puppies: energy they need to be active while maturing, without adding weight to their detriment.
- Mobility health starts young, too, like weight management. Even though many of the orthopedic problems puppies experience later in life are influenced by genetics, environmental factors, including nutrition, also play a part. Hill’s Healthy Advantage includes clinically tested levels of omega fatty acids to act as antioxidants, along with natural sources of glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate. Doing so promotes healthy joint development and enhances mobility.
- Healthy digestion comes from an optimal fiber mixture, superior ingredients which produce less waste and firm stools.
Healthy skin and coat show immediately upon your little one’s arrival. A sleek, shiny puppy gets ooohs and aaahs because its good health speaks through the outer appearance.
Tomorrow, Healthy Advantage for large-breed puppies.
Have puppy on Hills Advantage Verterinary Exclusive Puppy for small breed [no corn] and he is doing wonderful! Luxurious coat, energetic, good solid stools, according to the vet, healthy and growing as he should. Changed him over from Purina Focus for puppy which had corn in it.
I have a 6 month Old English Sheepdog on the large breed puppy formula.
She is healthy as can be. However, much to my surprise, most vets don’t even recommend Hills, even though they stock it for some strange reason. It also has horrifically poor ratings on dog food sites.
The breeder specifically stated no soya in the dog food, which this has.
The vets were also in consensus to what you state, in that you get what you pay for with better brands out there.
She seems fine, however, I await exhausting this bag to get her on Orijen.
They are suppose to live 10-12 years. My first OES lived on Purina the breeder called cardboard, and he lived 13 years. My second was fed IAMS lamb and she too lived 13 years. Both were stellar in health, well exercised, and I question whether it makes any difference so long as it is strictly dog food, they all work, in this 17 billion dollar business.
Confusing stuff or what, I spent days researching what is best. This will be my last little gem as I am now 60, so she gets the best I can provide, open field behind large fenced yard on quiet street, filtered or bottled water, Orjen dog food, and some one who knows her like no one else (excluding her diet of course, researching this stuff was exhaustive and exhausting)
James, I wish you the best of luck with your new sheepdog. May you have many, many happy years together and even break your previous best of 13 years. Pardon me if I don’t get too excited about these new “designer” brands of foods. Orijen, for example. Dogs are omnivores, unlike cats, who are obligate carnivores. While a few dogs might have problems from grains, dogs in the wild eat grains like corn, wheat, etc. and other grains that occur in nature. Wild dogs in Africa certainly aren’t eating Orijen! I can see no reason for anyone to say bad things about Purina, Iams/Eukanuba or Gaines foods. They are all good. If it were not true, Hill’s could not continue to advertise itself as the, “Number One Choice Of Veterinarians.” You would be hard-pressed to find a healthier dog than our little Willie, raised on Healthy Advantage Growth and currently on Prescription Diet t/d for good oral health. Thank you for reading and enjoy that puppy! He will be grown up before you know it!
hi – i have a 5 yr old yorkie/chihuahua and just started her in this food – so far she is eating it as long as i turn it into a game, like chasing after the kibble pieces, she is a very fussy dog when it comes to dry dog food. i have had her on straight can but it ends up being too expensive and she just eats the can if i mix it with dry. many times over the past 3-4 yrs when i have gone to buy RC from pet stores, i have been raked over the coals for not feeding a more superior food that has high protein, high fat and loaded with calories. lexee is not an overly active dog. she gets her 4 – 20 min walks/day, and she has her moments of play. i explain to pet store owners/employees that i don’t feel she needs a super duper dog food – she is doing well on what she is eating just like the next dog that is doing well eating orijen or raw, (she doesn’t like either of them.) why do people push these high end foods at me – are they that much better? – thankyou
Sharron, I used to have a saying, “Pet food is an area in which you truly get what you pay for.” To an extent, it’s still true, with the limitation that there are some expensive foods on the market that are simply outrageously priced. Hill’s Healthy Advantage is not one of them. It is superior, even, to the Hill’s foods in the Science Diet line. My advice to pet owners is: If you can afford Healthy Advantage, it’s the best. If you can’t, go with Science Diet by Hill’s, which is still going to be excellent. Yes, canned food is more expensive, and, except for some medical conditions that may need to be addressed, is unnecessary. Therefore, you can use dry food exclusively unless your veterinarian tells you otherwise. Excessive protein and fat and calories are not good for you, and they are not good for your pet. He needs a balanced diet. Good for you for standing your ground. And, stay away from those raw diets! There is too much risk of bacterial contamination: for you and for your pet.
thank you dr randolph for your reply – i guess it comes down to opinion – i wish these so called self proclaimed dog food gurus would provide proof while they’re raking, the typical pet owner, over the coals for feeding, in their opinion, a less than adequate dog food – thanks again
p.s. – i’m in alberta, canada and the small bag of healthy advantage is 14.95 – so i think it’s a good price
I put it in the blender with a little warm water from the kettle, voila! It’s not dry dog food any more and our wee dog eats it as fast as I can dish it up.
Dear Dr. James Randolph, My name is Sammi-Jo and I am a Registered Veterinary Technician in Central Alberta. Just recently we began carrying the Hills Healthy Advantage line as a trial. Usually we run Royal Canin Medi Cal Product line, but have noticed many clients not wanting to place their dog on a veterinary exclusive diet. Enough of my rambling, I am just wondering if you have seen any dogs with problems that were switched to this food? My friend who is also a RVT told me they had 2 large-breed dogs come in with Pancreatitis [thought to be] due to the food. I know that pancreatitis can be caused by table scraps, dogs getting into the garbage, or dogs just eating something that just doesn’t agree with them. I just wanted to know if you had heard of any problems with the food yet? I also have begun to switch my working dog onto this diet as I can see him benefitting fr0m it. Sammi-Jo, RVT Alberta, Canada.
Sammi-Jo, I just spoke to Hill’s Pet Nutrition and they have NOT heard reports of pancreatitis caused by Healthy Advantage Canine Adult foods. ANY dog with pancreatitis risk factors eating ANY food can have an episode, but that doesn’t mean that the food he ate was the cause. Thanks for reading, Dr. Randolph.