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Hill’s Science Plan Puppy <1 Small & Mini with Chicken review

A middling dry food - fine, with clear compromises. 29% declared meat content is respectable, and the label keeps too much vague. Feeding it costs about 90p a day for a typical adult dog - the breakdown below shows exactly what that buys.

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ODF Score 46/100 Average
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Top 78%scores higher than 22% of rated foodsacross all 3075 foods we've scored
Averagescore bandthe dot marks where it sits among every food we've rated
£0.90per day for a 10 kg dogcheaper than 22% of dry foods
29%declared meat content
United Statesbrand origin

Where the points went

The full breakdown, exactly as the algorithm scored it. How our rating works

Ingredient quality
Weighted ingredient quality 54/100 across 19 ingredients (declared percentages used for 2, position estimates for the rest).
21.6 / 40
Label clarity
Vague category terms on the label (animal fats, dried citrus fruit pulp) - naming points withheld; percentages cover 2% of the recipe (+0.1); meat sources named (+2); variable-composition wording - fixed-formula points withheld.
2.1 / 15
Additives
Declared additives below our neutral line, weakest being protein hydrolysate (-0.8).
9.3 / 10
Red flags
Animal fats at position 4 (-12).
-12 / 0
Meat content
Declared meat content 29%.
10.6 / 15
Nutritional balance
Estimated carbohydrate 41% dry matter (moderate); fat 19.7% DM in the healthy band; moisture not declared - 8% assumed for the dry-matter maths; fibre 1.4% DM (+1.8); ash 7.6% DM - sensible mineral load (+2); functional extras: omega-3 source, pre/probiotics (+2).
8 / 10
Processing
Assumed extruded kibble (standard high-heat process).
6 / 10
ODF Score
Algorithm v1.4.1 · scored August 19, 2026 · full methodology public
46 / 100

Our analysis

Breaking the 46 down: the biggest single loss is ingredient quality, where it takes 21.6 of a possible 40. Its strongest showing is additives at 9.3 of 10. On top of that, 12 points are deducted outright for red-flag ingredients - a penalty applied before anything else is counted, which is why the total lands where it does.

The label declares 29% meat, which is a real number, which already puts it ahead of the many that print none, and the ingredient list leans on vague groupings instead of naming what is actually in the bag.

At about 90p a day to feed a 10kg dog, the question is not whether it is cheap but whether the label justifies the price - and on our scoring, it does not.

Ingredients

Straight from the label, grouped by role - every ingredient is coloured by our published classification and links to its full page.

Additives (as declared on the label)
Nutritional additives: Vitamin A (9708 IU), vitamin D3 (670 IU), vitamin E (703 IU), vitamin C (116 IU), iron (86.7mg), iodine (3.1mg), copper (9.4mg), manganese (9.0mg), zinc (142mg), selenium (0.1mg). With natural antioxidants.

Feeding & cost

What a bag actually costs to feed - worked out per dog, not per pack.

Pack sizeRRPPer kg
3 kg--
6 kg--
12 kg--

How heavy is your dog?

A typical 10 kg adult dog needs about 139 g a day = £0.90 / day, £27.36 / month.

How we work this out
  1. Energy: an adult dog at rest needs about 95 × weight0.75 kcal a day (the FEDIAF maintenance formula - a 10 kg dog works out near 534 kcal).
  2. Portion: divide that by this food's energy density, 383 kcal/100g, to get the grams above - a denser food needs fewer grams.
  3. Cost: multiply the grams by this food's price, £6.48 / kg, for the daily cost, then by 30.4 days for the month.

Estimates scale to your dog's weight and the food's calorie density - a denser food needs fewer grams. A rough guide; always follow the pack. This is a puppy food, but the figures above are for an adult dog at maintenance - the same reference we use on every food so costs stay comparable. A growing puppy needs roughly twice the energy for its weight, so feed to the pack, not to this. Try the full feeding calculator

Nutrition

Declared analysis converted to a dry-matter basis, so wet and dry foods compare fairly.

Protein

30.1 % DM
Directory average: 28.2

Fat

19.7 % DM
Directory average: 14.8

Est. carbs

41.2 % DM
Directory average: 45.2

Fibre

1.4 % DM
Directory average: 3.6

Ash

7.6 % DM
Directory average: 7.9

Moisture isn't declared on this label - dry-matter figures assume 8% (typical for a dry food) and are marked estimated.

Carbohydrates are estimated: 100% minus protein, fat, fibre, ash and moisture.

Similar foods that score higher

Same type and life stage, better ODF Score, comparable price per day.

More from Hill's

Other foods in this range, whatever they score - the full picture, not just the top of the list.

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Related guides

This is label analysis, not veterinary advice - if your dog has a health condition, talk to your vet before switching foods.

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