Skuzzy, I hate to sound like a pet food snob but I don't think Hill's Science Diet or Eukanuba/Iams (same company) are premium foods.
Hill's Science Diet is a subsidiary of Colgate-Palmolive. Iams/Eukanuba is owned by Proctor & Gamble.
As far as I can see, none of the Eukanuba/Iams or Science Diet recipes are "human quality" foods.
Also, Eukanuba/Iams had serious problems not long ago with Ethoxyquin, a preservative they use. This stuff is bad ju-ju for a lot of dogs
Ethoxyquin has been the most debated preservative used in dog food. Since it was first added to dog foods, many breeders and pet owners have told stories of sterility and decreased fertility; deformed puppies; periodontal disease; precancerous lesions of the liver, kidney and bladder; vaccine failure; and increased incidence of cataracts.
Ethoxyquin was originally approved by the FDA as a grain preservative intended for animals raised to be killed for food, and it was to be used no longer than 2 years. The safety of feeding it to dogs who live 10 to 12 years has never been proven, and the original studies run by the company who manufactured ethoxyquin were seriously flawed.
Other countries have conducted studies on ethoxyquin and found it to be unsafe for long-term use in dog food. There is now a petition before the FDA to withdraw its use from the dog food market. Although ethoxyquin is still used as preservatives in some foods, the trend today is for more foods to be naturally preserved. It seems as if the marketplace is responding to dog owner's needs.
Again, it pays to do a LOT of research on what you are feeding. I think there are far better foods than Eukanuba/Iams or Science Diet and they really don't cost any more or at least not significantly more. Maybe a few dollars a month.
