Puppy Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe Dry Dog Food, 27.5-lb bag
Graded by The Sniff System
Hill's Science Diet Puppy Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe Dry Dog Food is a dry kibble for puppies, primarily featuring chicken.
This formula offers quality carbohydrate sources like brown rice, wheat, and oats, which also provide fermentable fiber. Chicken and chicken meal contribute to reasonable protein quality with solid amino acid coverage. The fat sources are also good, including named chicken fat and marine oil for EPA and DHA.
Nothing concerning in the deck.
Good fit for puppies of any size. Nothing serious working against it.
Summary written by The Sniff System from the data above. Same rubric, same drivers, expressed in English.
Labs are the canonical food-motivated breed. Weight management is the dominant practical concern, even more than breed-specific health risks. Good fit for puppy Labrador Retrievers navigating weight management. Caloric density is not declared, with crude fiber at 5% (above the catalog median, supports satiety). The 2014 AAHA Weight Management Guidelines define overweight as a Body Condition Score (BCS) of 6-7 on a 9-point scale. A score of 8 or 9 indicates obesity, representing 20-30% and >30% above ideal body weight, respectively (Brooks et al., 2014) .
Looking at this for puppy Labrador Retrievers or Labrador Retrievers with weight management ? We are building dedicated pages for these combinations.
Auto-matched from this product's measurements (ingredients, life stage, calorie density) to a breed archetype. Not a substitute for vet input on your specific dog.
Research informing this analysis
MethodologyThe Sniff System grades this product against 2 cited studies relevant to its profile. Each link opens the original source.
- Brooks et al., 2014diagnostic · protocol · satiety· cited in 3 claims
- Raffan et al., 2016genetics
Every claim on Sniff traces to a source. If you find a citation that's wrong, outdated, or misapplied, tell us.
At 69/100, this formula lands in solid B territory. The lift comes from carbohydrate quality, worth 15 points to the final number: Quality carbohydrate sources with fermentable fiber. Secondary contribution comes from protein quality (+14.5 points). Reasonable protein quality. chicken delivers solid amino acid coverage. The 6-point gap to the A-tier line is concentrated in protein quality (14.5 of 27 possible). Full protein quality requires named-species named-cut proteins in the top of the deck (e.g., "deboned chicken" rather than "chicken meal" or "poultry meal").
Quality carbohydrate sources with fermentable fiber.
Reasonable protein quality. chicken delivers solid amino acid coverage.
Quality fat sources: named fat with marine oil (EPA and DHA source).
No negative drivers crossed our reporting threshold.
- Top 10% for DMB fat in Hill's Science Diet's lineup (16.7%)
- Top quartile for DMB protein in Hill's Science Diet's lineup (25.6%)
Computed against the rest of our catalog. Percentiles refresh on each catalog update.
Similar dog foods worth considering
Three lenses on products with formulation profiles similar to this one.
Hill's Science Diet Puppy Sensitive Stomach & Sensitive Skin Salmon & Brown Rice Recipe Dry Dog Food, 13-lb bag
Scores 9 points higher with a similar formulation profile.
Hill's Science Diet Adult Large Breed Chicken & Barley Dry Dog Food, 45-lb bag
$2.33/lb vs your seed's $2.87/lb (19% less) at a comparable score.
Surfaced from a vector similarity search across 3,491 scored dog foods. How this works.
Read why each ingredient is good or bad for dogs.
- 1protein animalchicken
Real meat. Primary protein source, with the amino acid profile dogs actually evolved to eat.
Position 1: primary protein source. After cooking removes water, this may drop in proportional weight, but it anchors the recipe.
- 2grainbrown rice
Whole grain that's easy to digest. Steady carb energy plus a little fiber.
Position 2: major carbohydrate source.
- 3grainwheat
Whole wheat. Fine for most dogs, though a portion are sensitive. Not a quality concern, just a fit-for-your-dog question.
Position 3: major carbohydrate source.
- 4protein animalchicken meal
Chicken with the water cooked out. Per pound, packs more protein than fresh chicken. See why →
Position 4: significant protein contributor. Adds amino-acid diversity to the top of the deck.
- 5fatchicken fat
Despite the name, a high-quality energy source. Concentrated calories plus essential fatty acids like linoleic acid. See why →
Position 5: secondary fat. Often where marine oils sit when present alongside a primary land-animal fat.
- 6grainwhole grain corn
Whole corn with the kernel intact. Decent fiber and B vitamins, though it can crowd out meat in cheaper recipes.
Position 6: supporting grain. Smaller contribution to the carb deck.
- 7grainoats
Whole grain. Steady energy, soluble fiber, and well-tolerated by most dogs.
Position 7: supporting grain. Smaller contribution to the carb deck.
- 8protein plantpea protein
Concentrated plant protein. Inflates the protein number on the label without matching the amino acid quality of meat.
Position 8. Moderate inclusion. Contributes carbohydrate and some plant protein.
- 9protein plantsoybean meal
Concentrated soy protein. Cheap plant protein that pads the label number, common in budget formulas.
Position 9: moderate plant-protein boost. Less likely to materially shift the protein profile.
- 10hydrolyzed chicken flavor
Hydrolyzed chicken used as a palatability enhancer. Real ingredient, tiny inclusion, no quality signal either way.
- 11ground pecan shells
- 12mineraldicalcium phosphate
Calcium and phosphorus combined. Required source of both minerals, especially in formulas without much bone content.
- 13lactic acid
Natural acid used as a mild preservative and pH adjuster. Found in fermented foods too. Safe at typical inclusion.
- 14pork liver flavor
Hydrolyzed pork liver used as a flavor enhancer. Same role as chicken liver flavor.
Position 14. Small organ inclusion. Functional but not a primary contributor to the protein profile.
- 15soybean oil
Plant oil. High in omega-6, which is required but commonly oversupplied. Fine in moderation.
Position 15: trace fat. Below the level that materially shifts the fat profile.
- 16mineralsalt
Sodium chloride. Required at small doses for normal physiology. Not a quality concern in standard amounts.
- 17fatflaxseed
Plant source of omega-3. Helpful for skin and coat, though dogs absorb omega-3 from fish more efficiently.
- 18fiberdried beet pulp
Soluble fiber from sugar-beet processing. Sometimes treated as a filler, but it's actually one of the better fiber sources in kibble. See why →
- 19dried citrus pulp
- 20mineralpotassium chloride
Required mineral. Sometimes used as a salt substitute. Standard inclusion in complete diets.
- 21fatfish oil
Concentrated omega-3s. The reason 'EPA' and 'DHA' get to show up on the bag.
- 22supplementcholine chloride
Essential nutrient for liver and brain function. Standard inclusion in complete dog foods.
- 23pressed cranberries
- 24l-threonine
Essential amino acid. Sometimes added when plant proteins dominate, since threonine is naturally lower in plants than meat.
- 25supplementdl-methionine
Essential amino acid. Often added when plant proteins dominate, since methionine is naturally lower in pulses than meat.
Showing first 25 of 36. Position 1-5 has the largest weight in the recipe.
22 of 25 ingredients have a curated note. Coverage grows over time.