Hypro are one of Australia’s growing pet food manufacturers. They used to be the manufacturer behind brands such as Meals for Mutts and Healthy Everyday Pets, but this is no longer the case.
It would seem today (in 2023) Hypro are focusing more on their own brands, with Hypro Premium being the flagship brand.
Is Hypro Premium a good choice for your dog?
Let’s find out…
Hypro Premium review
What the marketing says
On the Hypro website all formulas are given 5 stars, but of course they are, it’s their website.
Looks convincing though, doesn’t it?
If you picked up on the formula names such as “Real chicken” you may laugh. What’s the alternative to a real chicken?
One of those rubber chickens?
Other marketing statements include “hypoallergenic”, which means no triggers like cereal by-products, “grain free”, and “100% Australian Made & Owned” – that last one tends to win hearts.
It’s good to see they’ve listed the percentage of animal ingredients vs. the other stuff. 55% in favour of meat, 45% the rest.
That’s more than likely “wet weight”, and not a true representation of the ratio once extruded into those dry nuggets of kibble we all know and, uh, love.
What the ingredients really say?
Let’s take a look at Hypro Premium Real Chicken & Duck for no other reason than I tend to favour chicken recipes for reviews. It’s an Adult formula, so doesn’t contain the minimum requirements for the puppy phase (if you have a puppy, look to the puppy formula).
Meat meals (chicken & duck) is listed first for your benefit, but there are four significant ingredients listed before the fat content of tallow and the ambiguous term gravy (Google “animal digest”).
Out of those four ingredients only one is meat, the other three are faba beans (broad beans), chickpeas, and some kind of vegetable combo. Ingredients we may find in a vegan food for our carnivorous pets.
Meat meals are a rendered product which come as a powder. It’s the result of cooking those animals (chicken and duck) in a big vat which separates the protein from the fat. The protein because a dry meal, or meat meal, and we find the fat also included in the formula as tallow and gravy.
Gravy is another term written for your benefit. Stuff like this used to be called “animal digest” until consumers cottoned on to what it was.
The listed protein (26%) is slightly above average, and fat (15%) is reasonable. Hypro Premium use a typical analysis rather than guaranteed minimum amounts, so these figures may be lower, or with any luck higher.
It’s always better to see a guaranteed analysis, but at least the percentages are good from a starting point.
It’s nice to see no use of artificial colours, preservatives, or antioxidants in the product.
Overall it’s a not a bad food. The ingredients and composition is better than many dog foods reviewed on this website, so if it suits your budget then give it a go.
Where to buy?
Ingredients
The ingredients of Hypro Premium dog food (Adult Real Chicken & Duck):
Meat meals (chicken & duck), Faba beans, Chickpeas, Vegetables (including potato, carrot, spinach), Tallow (beef &/or poultry), Chicken gravy, Oils (sunflower, flaxseed, fish & emu), Beet pulp, Salt, Essential vitamins & minerals (including calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, iron, zinc, manganese, copper, iodine, selenium, Vitamins A, D3, E, K, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pyridoxine, panothenic acid, folic acid, B12), Chicory extract, Choline chloride, Egg, Yucca schidegera extract, Natural antioxidants (including rosemary), Fruits (apple, blueberry, cranberry, tomato), Alfalfa, Kelp.
Typical analysis
There are two types of analysis used on Australian pet foods – typical and guaranteed. It’s better to have a guaranteed analysis for obvious reasons, and we can assume a typical analysis has less protein and fat (the good stuff) and more of the carbs (bad stuff).
Hypro Premium dog foods use a Typical Analysis.
For Hypro Premium dog food (Adult Real Chicken & Duck) they are:
| Protein | 26% |
| Fat | 15% |
| Crude Fibre | ? |
| Carbohydrates * | Listed at 30% but may not be. Using my calculations an estimate is 41%. |
* May be estimated. Read how to calculate carbohydrates in a pet food.
We started feeding the puppy kibble to our retriever and it gave her diarrhoea. I was surprised when I read it was in the top rated. Not sure if the puppy kibble is the same as I have thrown out the packaging.
We tried the kangaroo flavour and were happy enough so we tried the chicken and rice (no kangaroo one available at the time) and its been awful both dogs are constantly hungry and it seems to go straight through them they poo 3 times a day each.
Same. Food smells and looks amazing but poos are mushy and my dogs have gone through 20kg in almost 2 weeks. Our first time buying I’m not sure if we will repurchase.
Are they intolerant to chicken?
Could you review their wholesome grains formula please
My Labrador has had terrible ear infections. Her yeasty ears have been hard to clean.
Since being on a combination of the ocean fish variety and a raw diet. Making sure she doesn’t have anything high with carbs that will stir up yeast production and watching what fruit I give her ( low in natural sugar). Her yeast production has dropped significantly and so easier to keep clean. I am praying this is the end of ear infections.
I really feel the grain free food is making the difference
My two small senior (11 & 15)yo dogs immediately got diarrhoea from eating this. I usually make their food, but they can tolerate commercial dog food in emergencies. Their diet has plenty of chicken, legumes and chickpeas, so I’m not sure what the Allergan is.
I just tried again with a handful, and my feet were immediately vomited on. The Chihuahua is discerning and won’t even touch it.
I’m currently looking after two big dogs, and they love it, but then again, they’ll eat anything. It’s unfortunate, as it had a great appearance and smell.
Hi Helen, that’s good to hear. It’s always worth considering the ingredients in the previous diet as this is usually your best source of information. If it contained wheat/cereals then expect that was the most likely cause, so worth avoiding any such foods in the future.
It’s a month since I wrote the review for Hypro premium and my Labrador ears are still looking fab. I clean them a couple of times a week but she is making next to no wax.
Hypro has certainly been the reason for this massive turn around.
I’m so glad I read the review on the food that we were feeding her it got a score of 2/10 and was made up of 3/4 cereal and 1/4 meat.
No wonder her ears were yeasty! The yeast was feeding on all the carbs/sugar !!
Surprised this rates so well when it only gives a typical analysis, not guaranteed analysis. I’m sure its something you’ve mentioned to take note of.
Hi Brenda, it’s a good point which I should add to the review. The rating isn’t overly high, and is fair considering the similarities with Meals for Mutts as well as the price point.