Unrated

Which Hill’s Prescription Diet I/D Wet Recipes Get Our Best Ratings?

Hill’s Prescription Diet I/D Digestive Care canned dog food is not rated due to its intentional therapeutic design.

The Hill’s Prescription Diet I/D product line includes 5 canned recipes, each designed to help in the treatment of digestive disorders.

Each recipe below includes its related AAFCO nutrient profile when available on the product’s official webpage: Growth, Maintenance, All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.

Recipe and Label Analysis

Hill’s Prescription Diet I/D with Turkey was selected to represent the other products in the line for detailed recipe and nutrient analysis.

Label and nutrient data below are calculated using dry matter basis.

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Ingredient Analysis

The first ingredient in this dog food is water, which adds nothing but moisture to this food. Water is a routine finding in most canned dog foods.

The second ingredient is turkey. Turkey is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin… derived from the parts or whole carcasses of turkey”.¹

Turkey is naturally rich in the ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.

The third ingredient is rice. Is this whole grain rice, brown rice or white rice? Since the word “rice” doesn’t tell us much, it’s impossible to judge the quality of this item.

The next ingredient is pork liver. This is an organ meat sourced from a named animal and thus considered a beneficial component.

The fifth item is egg product, an unspecified (wet or dry?) form of shell-free eggs. Quality can vary significantly. Lower grade egg product can even come from commercial hatcheries — from eggs that have failed to hatch.

In any case, eggs are easy to digest and have an exceptionally high biological value.

The sixth ingredient is corn. Corn is an inexpensive and controversial cereal grain. And aside from its energy content, this grain is of only modest nutritional value to a dog.

After the hydrolyzed chicken flavor, we find ground pecan shells, a low-cost, low-quality source of insoluble fiber. Fiber can help support healthy digestion and improve stools.

The ninth ingredient is potassium chloride, a nutritional supplement sometimes used as a replacement for the sodium found in table salt.

From here, the list goes on to include a number of other items.

But to be realistic, ingredients located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to affect the overall rating of this Hill’s Prescription product.

With 7 notable exceptions…

First, caramel is a natural coloring agent made by caramelizing carbohydrates. It’s used by pet food manufacturers to impart a golden brown tint to the finished product.

However, the concentrated version of this ingredient commonly known as caramel coloring has been more recently considered controversial and found to cause cancer in laboratory animals.²

In any case, even though caramel is considered safe by the FDA, we’re always disappointed to find any added coloring in a pet food.

That’s because coloring is used to make the product more appealing to humans — not your dog. After all, do you really think your dog cares what color his food is?

Next, flaxseed is one of the best plant sources of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Provided they’ve first been ground into a meal, flax seeds are also rich in soluble fiber.

However, flaxseed contains about 19% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this dog food.

In addition, citrus pulp is a by-product obtained from the waste of citrus juicing operations. This item is most likely included here for the usual benefits of dietary fiber.

This food also includes beet pulp. Beet pulp is a controversial ingredient, a high fiber by-product of sugar beet processing.

Some denounce beet pulp as an inexpensive filler while others cite its outstanding intestinal health and blood sugar benefits.

We only call your attention here to the controversy and believe the inclusion of beet pulp in reasonable amounts in most dog foods is entirely acceptable.

Next, we note the use of taurine, an important amino acid associated with the healthy function of heart muscle. Although taurine is not typically considered essential in canines, some dogs have been shown to be deficient in this critical nutrient.

Since taurine deficiency appears to be more common in pets consuming grain-free diets, we view its presence in this recipe as a positive addition.

Also, the minerals listed here do not appear to be chelated. And that can make them more difficult to absorb. Chelated minerals are usually associated with higher quality dog foods.

And lastly, this recipe also contains menadione, a controversial form of vitamin K linked to liver toxicity, allergies and the abnormal break-down of red blood cells.

Since vitamin K isn’t required by AAFCO in its nutrient profiles, we question the use of this item in any canine recipe.

Nutrient Analysis

Although this is a prescription product, our review has nothing to do with the accuracy of claims made by the manufacturer as to the product’s ability to treat or cure a specific health condition.

So, to find out whether or not this Hill’s dog food is appropriate for your particular pet, it’s important to consult your veterinarian.

With that understanding…

Based on its ingredients alone, Hill’s Prescription Diet I/D appears to be a below-average wet product.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 25%, a fat level of 16% and estimated carbohydrates of about 51%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 25% and a mean fat level of 11%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 56% for the overall product line.

And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 45%.

Which means that this Hill’s product line contains…

Below-average protein. Below-average fat. And above-average carbs when compared to other moisture-rich dog foods.

Even when you consider the protein-boosting effect of the flaxseed, this looks like the profile of a canned dog food containing just a modest amount of meat.

Our Rating of Hill’s Prescription Diet I/D Wet Dog Food

Hill’s Prescription Diet I/D is a grain-inclusive moisture-rich dog food using a modest amount of named meats and organs as its dominant source of animal protein.

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Hill’s Prescription Diet Dog Food Recall History

The following automated list (if present) includes all dog food recalls related to Hill’s through November.

• Hill’s Prescription Diet and Science Diet Dog Food Recall Expands to Include 44 Varieties (3/20/2019)
• Hill’s Prescription Diet and Science Diet Dog Food Recall (1/31/2019)
• Hill’s Science Diet Dog Food Market Withdrawal of November 2015 (11/29/2015)
• Hill’s Science Diet Dog Food Recall June 2014 (6/3/2014)

You can view a complete list of all dog food recalls since 2009 here.

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More Hill’s Brand Reviews

The following Hill’s dog food reviews are also posted on this website:

• Hill’s Healthy Advantage Dog Food Review (Dry)
• Hill’s Prescription Diet Weight Loss R/D Canine Dog Food Review (Dry)
• Hill’s Prescription Diet Z/D Canine Dog Food Review (Canned)
• Hill’s Science Diet Adult Dog Food Review (Canned)
• Hill’s Science Diet Adult Perfect Weight Dog Food Review (Canned)
• Hill’s Science Diet Adult Perfect Weight Dog Food Review (Dry)
• Hill’s Science Diet Adult Plus Dog Food Review (Dry)
• Hill’s Science Diet Grain Free Dog Food Review (Dry)
• Hill’s Science Diet Healthy Cuisine Dog Food Review (Canned)
• Hill’s Science Diet Puppy Food Review (Canned)