Black Hawk Or Hill's Ideal Balance Grain Free

[thompsonluce]

Black Hawk is $8.10/kilo with 22% protein and HIll's ideal Balance Grain Free is $11.90/kilo wiht 33% protein. (going to go for the chicken flavours because my dogs love it!) Both of them were given 4 stars on that dogfood review site.

I tried royal canin but only one dog gobbled it up; the rest wanted nothing to do with it.

Both of my dogs love Optimum, but i've heard it's bad for dogs so was opting for something better. They are both pretty picky eaters, which one do you think both of them will like better? One of them also has a small mouth, so likes smaller sized pieces.

Thanks!

Edited October 17, 2016 by thompsonluce

[Canisbellum]

Look at the ingredients list, I wouldn't feed Hills to pigs

[OSoSwift]

Optimum was better when it didn't have wheat in it.

Mine don't do well on BH, but many do. Don't feed Hills and RC doesn't fill me with excitement either.

Edited October 18, 2016 by OSoSwift

[Scottsmum]

Scottie refused to eat the hills grain free & something in it gave him gooby eyes so I returned it to pet barn.

[Willem]

you might check out Applaws http://www.mypetwarehouse.com.au/applaws-its-all-good-sm-md-breed-adult-dog-food-15kg-p-24342 ...it seems Woolworth gave up on selling it (they had the 2.7 kg packages), I might go online - just have to freeze it as I only feed kibble as an addition.

[Taliecat]

I'm not a huge fan of black hawk as the quality dropped about a year or two ago, I also wouldn't feed the hills to any animal.

Personal bias aside, the hills food does seem very legume heavy for its protein. This wouldn't be my ideal candidate for a dry food but it's not as horrid as their other foods.

Meals for Mutts and Ivory Coat are two other super premium brands that have a poultry flavour that might be worth a look in.

Something else to keep in mind is while a lot of us here do advocate for a high quality kibble, the food your dog's do best on, is the best food.

Price does not always factor into that equation, sometimes they do better on a supermarket brand like VIP grainfree or sometimes it'll be the $120/8kg food..

Edited October 17, 2016 by Taliecat

[Papillon Kisses]

What sort of dogs do you have and what are their ages? Do they have any health conditions or allergies?

Grain Free Chicken Hills seems to have 24% protein not 33% (if that matters to you), and most of the protein appears to be coming from peas. Chicken may be the first ingredient, but since it's not a meal the actual dry matter content is a lot less. The fat content is also higher than most kibble at 20%.

HERE are the ingredients:

Chicken, Potato, Yellow Peas, Pea Protein Concentrate, Potato Starch, Chicken Fat, Chicken Meal, Dried Beet Pulp, Chicken Liver Flavor, Lactic Acid, Flaxseed, Vegetable & fruit blend (Green Peas, Apples, Cranberries, Carrots, Broccoli), Iodized Salt, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, (various vitamins), (various minerals), Taurine, Mixed Tocopherols for freshness, Phosphoric Acid, Beta-Carotene, Natural Flavors.

In terms of size, my dog has recently sampled BH Fish & Potato and Hills Ideal Balance Chicken & Rice and they were much the same size. Hills may be slightly smaller. Neither are big but they're not tiny like some of the small/toy breed specific kibble I've come across. Both are rounded in shape.

Black Hawk will send you out samples if you want: https://blackhawkpetcare.com.au/our-products/original/chicken-rice/

I don't know whether you can get samples of Hills online or in stores (mine came from a dog show) however I think a number of pet stores will give you a refund under a palatability guarantee if your dogs don't like it.

I'd consider the BH but also look into the other kibble brands that have been suggested, some of them also offer sample packs. You do need to consider your dogs' individual requirements though. Many moons ago my dog did better on Supercoat than Hills. It was a different recipe but still.

Edited October 17, 2016 by Papillon Kisses

[Mjosa]

I feed Ivory Coat grain free, made in Australia, they also send out free samples, they are based in Sydney.

[SaffyGirl]

I just changed over to Taste of the Wild a few weeks ago and my girl is doing fabulous, she previously has had a lot of allergy and sensitivity but it seems to agree with her

[sas]

Neither. If you want a grainfree then look at www.stayloyal.com.au

[Dave-o]

Ideal Balance Grain Free is probably the best Hill's offer, far better than some of their other scientific premium prescription diets...

Black Hawk are gradually changing their recipes. It's something they said they wouldn't do when the company was bought up, so it didn't take long for them to change their minds about that.

[Scrappi&Monty]

Our dogs do very well on Black Hawk. They seem to be pretty bulletproof stomach-wise though. But not sure as Blackhawk seem to be changing their "recipes" and they have a new grain free version so maybe the old one will change. The emu oil has been really good for our itchy dog's coat. (In addition to coconut oil and raw fed for dinner) Worth a try. :)

[Tassie]

Ideal Balance Grain Free is probably the best Hill's offer, far better than some of their other scientific premium prescription diets...

Black Hawk are gradually changing their recipes. It's something they said they wouldn't do when the company was bought up, so it didn't take long for them to change their minds about that.

Any specifics on the changes ... other than the introduction of the new range? Just interested as mine have been doing very well on current BH .. and cats on the cat one.