Hill's Science Diet

Adult 1-6 Chicken & Barley Recipe

Grade C, 74 out of 100, ranked 9 of 15 dry dog foods we graded. 1 brand-line recall since 2016. Its maker meets all four WSAVA nutrition checks. Owners give it 4.5 out of 5 across 523 ratings.

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74Grade C
out of 100

Grade analysis

Overall
74 / 100
Safety and recall record
27.8 / 30
Nutrition standards (WSAVA)
24.8 / 25
Owner consensus
18.1 / 30
Value
3.7 / 15
Confidence
Medium

Fewer ratings than most, so the owner score could move. Data checked October 2026.

Safety and recall record

We found 1 recall for this brand line since 2016. Older and less related recalls count for less.

  • 2019Serious. 25 canned Science Diet and Prescription Diet dog foods: excess vitamin D (expanded March 2019). Source−3

Nutrition standards (WSAVA)

The World Small Animal Veterinary Association guidelines tell owners to ask a pet food company who formulates its food and how qualified they are, who makes it, what quality checks it runs, and whether it publishes research. If a company can't or won't answer, WSAVA says to be cautious. We use the answers each maker gave the Pet Nutrition Alliance, which puts those questions to pet food companies.

Maker: Hill's Pet Nutrition.

  • ✓Qualified nutritionist. Employs a full-time board-certified veterinary nutritionist (DACVIM Nutrition or ECVCN), plus PhD nutritionists.8/8
  • ½Makes its own food. Owns 96% of the plants that make its food; uses a contract manufacturer for the rest.5.8/6
  • ✓Answers the questions. Answered the survey and shared nutrient data on request.5/5
  • ✓Published research. Hill's Pet Nutrition Center publishes in peer-reviewed journals.6/6

What owners say

Rated 4.5 out of 5 across 523 ratings on Chewy. Ratings from a small number of shoppers get pulled toward the average, so for scoring this counts as 4.46.

Value

At $18.99 for 5 lb, this costs $2.29 per 1,000 kcal, one of the priciest dry dog foods we graded.

For a 40 lb neutered adult dog (about 985 kcal a day), that works out to about $2.26 a day, before treats.

Details

Size priced5 lb
Price checked$18.99 at Chewy, October 2026
Unit cost$2.29 per 1,000 kcal
Calories3,657 kcal/kg, 363 kcal per cup
First ingredientsChicken, cracked pearled barley, whole grain wheat, whole grain corn, whole grain sorghum

Grades compare products within the same category only. We don't test products ourselves or judge individual recipes, and every food here is sold as complete and balanced. Nutrition standards rate the maker against WSAVA's questions, using answers collected by the Pet Nutrition Alliance in 2022. How we grade.