Hill’s Prescription Diet L/D Canine (Canned)

by Mike Sagman
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Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

Hill’s Prescription Diet L/D canned dog food is not rated due to its intentional no meat therapeutic design.

Although Hill’s Prescription Diet L/D canned dog food appears to be designed to support liver health, we found no AAFCO nutritional adequacy statements for the product on the Hill’s website.

Hill's Prescription Diet L/D Canine

Canned Dog Food

Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content

Protein = 18% | Fat = 24% | Carbs = 50%

Ingredients: Water, rice, egg product, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), soybean meal, soybean oil, corn starch, chicken liver flavor, corn gluten meal, powered cellulose, fish oil, dicalcium phosphate, potassium chloride, calcium carbonate, dried beet pulp, l-lysine, l-arginine, iodized salt, choline chloride, vitamin E supplement, taurine, zinc oxide, l-carnitine, ascorbic acid (source of vitamin C), l-tryptophan, niacin, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin A supplement, beta-carotene, calcium pantothenate, manganous oxide, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin, folic acid, calcium iodate, vitamin D3 supplement, sodium selenite, menadione dimethylpyrimidinol bisulfite (source of vitamin K)

Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 3.3%

Red items when present indicate controversial ingredients

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

The third item lists egg product, a dehydrated 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 fourth ingredient is chicken fat. Chicken fat is obtained from rendering chicken… a process similar to making soup in which the fat itself is skimmed from the surface of the liquid.

Chicken fat is high in linoleic acid… an omega-6 fatty acid essential for life. Although it doesn’t sound very appetizing, chicken fat is actually a quality ingredient.

The fifth ingredient lists soybean meal. Soybean meal is actually a useful by-product. It’s what remains of soybeans after all the oil has been removed.

Soybean meal contains 48% protein. However, compared to meat, this is an inferior plant-based protein. So, we must allow for this boosting effect as we judge the meat content of this food.

The sixth ingredient is soil oil, red flagged here only due to its rumored (yet unlikely) link to canine food allergies.

However, since soybean oil is high in omega-6 fatty acids and contains no omega-3′s, it’s considered less nutritious than canola or flaxseed oils.

The seventh item is corn starch, a starchy powder extracted from the endosperm found at the heart of a kernel of corn. Corn starch is most likely used here to thicken the broth into a gravy.

After the chicken liver flavor, we find corn gluten meal. Gluten is the rubbery residue remaining once corn has had most of its starchy carbohydrate washed out of it.

Compared to meat, glutens are inferior grain-based proteins lower in many of the essential amino acids dogs need for life.

This inexpensive plant-based ingredient can significantly boost the total protein content reported in this dog food.

The tenth item is powdered cellulose, a non-digestible plant fiber usually made from the by-products of vegetable processing. Cellulose is sometimes added to dilute the number of calories per serving and to give the feeling of fullness when it is eaten.

Except for the usual benefits of fiber, powdered cellulose provides no nutritional value to a dog.

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 have much of an effect on the overall rating of this product.

With three notable exceptions…

First, dried 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, the minerals here do not appear to be chelated. And that can make them more difficult to absorb. Non-chelated minerals are usually associated with lower quality dog foods.

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

Hill’s Prescription Diet L/D Canned Dog Food
The Bottom Line

Even though this is a prescription product, we continue to limit our judgment to the estimated meat content of the recipe as well as the apparent quality of its ingredients. And nothing else.

Our ratings have nothing to do with the accuracy of claims made by the manufacturer as to this product’s ability to effectively treat or cure a specific health condition.

So, to find out whether or not this dog food is appropriate for your particular pet, you must consult your veterinarian.

With that understanding…

Judging by its ingredients alone, Hill’s Prescription Diet L/D appears to be a below-average canned dog food.

But ingredient quality by itself cannot tell the whole story. We still need to estimate the product’s meat content before determining a final rating.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 18%, a fat level of 24% and an estimated carbohydrate content of 50%.

Low protein. Below-average fat. And high carbohydrates when compared to a typical canned dog food.

Yet when you consider the protein-boosting effect of the soy meal and corn gluten meal, this looks like the profile of a dry dog food containing only a limited amount of meat.

Bottom line?

Hill’s Prescription Diet L/D is essentially a plant-based canned dog food using a modest amount of egg product as its main source of animal protein.

However, due to its intentional no meat prescriptive design, this dog food is not rated.

A Final Word

This review is designed to help you make a more informed decision when buying dog food. However, our rating system is not intended to suggest feeding a particular product will result in specific health benefits for your pet.

For a better understanding of how we analyzed this product, please be sure to read our article, “The Problem with Dog Food Reviews”

Remember, no dog food can possibly be appropriate for every life stage, lifestyle or health condition. So, choose wisely. And when in doubt consult a veterinarian for help.

Have an opinion about this dog food… or maybe the review itself? Please know… we welcome your comments.

Notes and Updates

08/11/2010 Original review
11/12/2011 Review updated, no changes

Dog Food Advisor IconThe Dog Food Advisor publishes independent reviews to help pet owners make better choices when shopping for dog food.


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  • Pingback: Libby Lu and her health issues.(Liver related) - Page 4

  • Suzie

    Mary

    I would love to chat with you more about the Science diet l/d.  Would you email me when you can at Suzie0156 @aol:disqus .com  ?  My dog has very early stages of liver disease, so early that he still feels great.  Only mildly elevated bile acid test results…   Hope to hear from you! 
     

  • Suzie

    Melissa and Gare, so great to hear from you. Sorry for the delay in writing. Oreo had lab work done last week in preparation for our apptmt next week at a university vet school and all liver functions were normal. ALthough the week before last, they were slighlty up, the bile acid testing that is. I am now not so sure I am going to take him in yet. He is totally asymptomatic . I know I will pay super big bucks and I am told in other groups I am in, that there is no promise of a definative diagnosis. I am thinking to give his SAM-e and milk thistel more time and then repeat bile acids in another month or so. For the milk thistle I give only have the recommended dosage. Graet to hear from you both!

    Suzie

  • gare

    hi suzie,

    that’s great that u got a vet university to help u figure out what the issue is with your dog. I had my pug diagnosed with multiple liver shunts (microshunts) via MRI after an ultrasound didn’t reveal much. I’m glad I went the MRI route rather than exploratory surgery where in the end my boy would not be a candidate for surgery to address the shunt. ever since he was 8 months old, he’s been on a free-feed diet of science diet’s LD dry dog food. I did attempt to use the L/D canned food but he did not like it. I was also not happy feeding the dog just pork fat! I was told to not expect more than a couple of years, if that. My pug is now going on 4.75 years old with the l/d dry diet, lactulose & metronidazole. He weighs 19-20 lbs and liver functions are well. He got a new vet and the vet would have never suspected this was a liver shunt affected dog. I ho

  • melissa

    HiSuzie-

    Ours get the milk thistle once a day for 6 weeks, and then we stop for 6 weeks to avoid toxicity. I actually believe the recc course is something like once a day for 5 days, stop for 2 days, repeat for 6 weeks. Stop for one week, and then repeat. We found that 6 on/6 off worked for our boy as his SAM E also contains milk thistle. If you google it, it should come up-as well as the recommended max-our guy gets a little less than 2/3 of a 175mg caps to account for the Sam E content-Last thing I found on the internet was a max of 200mg per10lbs-ask your vet what she feels the maximum dose for a dog your size should be.

  • Suzie

    Hi Melissa

    My dog is far from the end and he does have apptmt in 2 weeks at a university vet school for a liver biopsy. My vet went to this particular school and she really recommends it be done so we know what we are dealing with. Regarding food, she recommended Science Diet or Royal Canin or home cooking which I am not willing to do. I’m not much of a cook and she printed out some home cooked meals and it looks complicated to me. Alot of different ingrediants, alot of precision. I did talk to Dr. Dodds who suggested I just keep him on his regular Innova dog food. Every vet is going to say several things to confuse you in my opinion…glad your dog is doing well. My dog is on the SAM-e along with milk thistle but what do you mean by the 6 weeks on and 6 weeks off? Also the SAM-e is suppose to be given on empty stomach but what about the milk thistle? I also dont give him full dose of milk thistle as I am afraid to over dose him. The SAM-e does contain milk thistle. The one I give to my Oreo has 20mg of milk thistle. He is 20 pounds so do you know what a safe dosage for dog of that weight is?

    Thanks

    Suzie

  • melissa

    Suzie-

    I have a rescue who was given a very short time-considered pretty much end stage. Our vet put him on a purina rx product(can’t remember which one for the life of me) and he did not have a specific “liver diagnosis” such as shunt, just end stage liver disease-as a senior dog that we had just taken in 2 weeks prior, we were not going to put him through more testing. Long story short, I googled Dr Dodd and liver diets, did the home cooked for a while(dog lost too much weight) and now he is on Wellness whitefish and sweet potato-and his blood values are within normal limits. He gets the dry and canned mixed together, Sam E, Milk Thistle on 6 wks, off 6 weeks, and several other supplements. Print out the various online info, take it to your vet, and ask about using a whitefish based food for your guy. Ours is almost two years out on this diet and going strong. I caution any one with a dog with a medical problem to consult their own vets as what works for one, may not work for another-

  • Suzie Peck

    Hi Melissa

    Thanks for your reply. Well my vet recommends Royal Canin Hepatic LS but it is dry and my dog wont eat dry. Other vets in town recommend Science Diet L/D

    I know what his readings were. He had a pre meal reading of 21 a month ago and a post meal reading of 26.9 So..vet put him on SAM-e and I just kept him on his canned food.

    Flash forward to last week. We repeated testing. Pre meal was perfect with a 4.6 His post meal had risen to 46 which is higher than a month ago. The post meal suggest the liver isnt working optimally. Further testing? There are ultrasounds, liver biopsys and needle guided liver ultrsounds that can be done but all require travelling a considerable distance and of course there is the expense. I would love to talk to someone who has had a dog on this formula and had success.

  • melissa

    Suzie Peck-

    Before hitting the panic button and taking internet advice, talk with your vet. Ask what the readings were, and WHAT type of “malfunction” do they suspect with your dog’s liver. Then take your vets advice to stabilize the situation., There is always time later to research conditions, change plan of action etc. Best of luck with your furkid-

  • Suzie Peck

    My dog has liver issues, had two bile acid test performed and they were abnormal. I dont have him on anything yet but he is a canned dog food eater and I have to do something fast. Is there anyone who can say anything good about this food? I am desperate as I dont know what to feed him.

    Thanks!

  • sandy

    Joan,

    This is not an appropriate food for the healthy chihuahua. Feed him a normal meat based food.

  • http://DogFoodAdvisor.com Mike Sagman

    Hi Joan… Hill’s L/D is a meatless prescription dog food. It may be therapeutic for your dog with the liver issues, but, unfortunately, this is the furthest thing from what nature intended for a dog to eat as you can get.

    No. L/D is (probably) not “toxic” for your healthy chihuahua. But why feed your naturally carnivorous pet a plant-based dog food?

  • Joan

    I feed my shizuh mix Hills l/d for a liver shunt problem. I feed her kibble. She only weighs 4 lbs. Is it safe for my chihuahua to eat this kibble, too? (There’s nothing wrong with the chihuahua that I know of.)

  • Mary

    I have been feeding my Maltese Hills l/d since we got him as a puppy. He is 7 now and his liver enzymes are normal and have been for many years. I am concerned about the smell of the kibble. It makes me think that the food is rancid. Any explanation for the odor?

  • sandy

    I came across this site looking for low ammonia foods. http://wholefoodcatalog.info/nutrient/ammonia/foods/low/

  • aimee

    Shameless,
    My dog with the severe congenital liver problem was put on a home made diet for about the first 1 yr (??? ) of her life. I don’t remember all the details. Looking back, I’m sure her diet was unbalanced but it got her through her illness. It was based in milk protein and starch. She was not to have any meat based protein but was allowed to have protein from organs in small amounts. Over time her liver improved in structure and function and her diet didn’t have to be as restricted, but she never could metabolize fat well.

    I have Strombeck’s book.( Home Prepared Dog and Cat Diets) He is a veterinary internist (or was?? …he may have passed). For liver he recommends to feed as much protein as can be tolerated without causing hepatic encephalopathy. As a guideline he recommends 20 percent of calories to be fed as protein if the dog can tolerate it. Protein from meat was not recommended as dogs with severe liver disease succumbed much sooner when fed meat than when fed milk and soy based diets. He specifically recommends a diet low in the amino acid methionine and boosted in the amino acids arginine and citruline.
    He recommends a fat level be between 20 and 25%, a highly digestible starch such as polished rice, and a fiber source. Further recommendations were to boost Vit.E, K, C, and B12, the mineral Zinc and to avoid Cu.
    The diets in his book are based in rice and soy (tofu), or rice and cottage cheese.
    Hope this helps

  • ShamelessRawFoodie

    Yeh Gordon – I was just hoping that a vet would post a comment here on DFA about a Real Food alternate diet in a circumstance where most mainstream vets would, without hesitation, prescribe Rx dog diet.
    Similar to when my mom was in the hospital being fed jello, applesauce and yogurt, all chemically-sweetened. Yuk! She dreaded ‘mealtime’, the same 3 things every meal. This would have continued had I not arrived from out-of-town and had a candid chat with the MD, who agreed that most certainly, my mom could consume organic fresh whole foods, liquid or pureed, that I prepared.

  • Gordon

    That’s why Dr. Billinghurst suggests low fat raw formulations in smaller portions with more neutral meat protein concentrations including low fat, with adding more low GI vegetable matter mashed well in a juicer to neutralise the raw formulation even more blah blah blah. But he has plenty of examples of “REAL FOOD” recipes in his books that suggest diets for certain ailments just like the one above.

    I’m assuming, so does Dr. Becker’s books.

  • ShamelessRawFoodie

    Luke – Since the Hills Rx diets seem to be confusing to many, it’s nice to have a veterinarian post a comment explaining the ‘why’ of low protein / no meat products. Aimee similarly explained on the Purina HA diet.

    I would like to know a Real Food diet that a Vet could recommend for the same “liver failure/liver problem” diagnosis. Before Rx diets existed, what foods would be fed to a dog with these ailments?

    I believe that Nutrition Isn’t Rocket Science, and that Real Food can heal.

  • Luke Deverell, D.V.M.

    Quick point: Hill’s L/D does not contain any meat protein specifically because it requires more enzyme digestion by the liver than plant proteins. This food is specifically designed for patients with inadequate liver processing capabilities, so even though it may be considered “low-quality protein,” it is necessary for liver failure/liver problem patients in order to provide less work for the liver to do. Hope this helps.

  • “Ryo”

    Glad I could help! :)

  • http://DogFoodAdvisor.com Mike Sagman

    Hi Ryo… Oops, you’re right. Canned dog foods never contain probiotics. It must have been past my bedtime when I wrote this review. In any case, I’ve now removed that line from this report. Thanks for the tip.

  • Ryo

    Next, we find no evidence of probiotics… friendly bacteria applied to the surface of the kibble after processing.

    ^ I’m a little confused here. Isn’t this canned food, not kibble? :P

  • http://DogFoodAdvisor.com Mike Sagman

    Hi Rosalie… Since I’m not a veterinarian, it would be misleading for me to assure you a particular dog food would be appropriate for your dog’s liver condition. When I rate a dog food (like Hill’s L/D), I do my best to convey to readers that we are not judging the foods efficacy for treating a particular condition. I’m just reading and interpreting the product’s label. I truly wish I could be more help.

  • Rosalie

    Do you know of a dog food that would be good for an enlarged liver condition? A vet put our dog on this Hill’s l/d diet. And now we’re wondering just how good or bad it is for him. We don’t know where to turn right now.

  • http://DogFoodAdvisor.com Mike Sagman

    Hi Becky… I can certainly understand your need to know about my qualifications to publish the Dog Food Advisor. In a situation like this, I would want to know the answer to these same questions myself.

    For starters, you may want to visit my “About” page for a brief overview of my professional profile.

    However, if you still need further details, I’m a graduate of the Medical College of Virginia with a doctoral degree in dental surgery. My undergraduate college training included a major in chemistry and a minor in biology.

    Yet none of my formal education or my 41 years in the practice of dental medicine should be considered a prerequisite for writing and managing the Dog Food Advisor website.

    The many articles and research you’ll find on my website are the direct result of information I’ve personally aggregated from readily and publicly available sources… including books, journals, and published research materials at the United States National Institute of Health PubMed medical libraries… and of course the Internet itself.

    I am not a veterinarian. And neither am I an animal nutritionist.

    I do not sell pet food. I do not test pet food. Nor do I taste it.

    However, I do consider myself a consumer advocate and an expert at reading and interpreting pet food labels.

    The reviews you can read on my website represent many thousands of hours of my own hard work (which I do when I’m not treating my human patients).

    For a better understanding of how I analyze dog foods, be sure to read my article, “The Problem with Dog Food Reviews“.

    Hope this answers your question.

  • Becky

    Just out of curiosity, what are your qualifications in evaluating dog food? Don’t get me wrong, what you say causes me some concern, but your qualifications will either heighten or lower that level and it would really help me determine just how concerned to be. Thanks!

  • http://DogFoodAdvisor.com Mike Sagman

    Hi Jane… Since I’m not a veterinarian, it would be misleading and inappropriate for me to assure you a particular dog food would adequately address your dog’s liver condition. There are other “prescription” dog foods for liver problems out there but since they’re usually sold only by vets, I’m not sure any of them would meet your budgetary preferences. In any case, I commend you for your humane actions. Your new dog is certainly lucky to have found you. :)

  • Jane Link

    I have a 3-month-old female Doberman female I bought from a breeder as a humanitarian gesture. The breeder explained she was the runt. I thought she was thin due to being shoved away from food. Thought I could fatten her up and find a good home for her. I got her home had blood work done and she has a liver shunt. So, she is mine now. She is a great little dog. I want to manage her diet but it would be nice to do it as cheaply as possible without sacrificing quality.
    Thanks,
    Jane

  • AllyM

    Thank you for confirming what I suspected. My Pepe’s vet just suggested this food since he seems to have a larger than normal liver although his bile acid tests were normal.

    When I saw the corn in the list of ingredients I did not want to feed it to him. The menadione you identified makes me positive. I would end up hurting his liver in order to stop his liver from getting worse.

  • http://DogFoodAdvisor.com Mike Sagman

    Hi Olga… There are many dog foods with similar protein levels. But I’m not sure they’re appropriate for your dog. Since I’m not a veterinarian, it would be misleading for me to assure you a particular food would provide the health results you’re looking for. Sorry I can’t be more helpful.

  • Olga

    Hi,

    I am wondering if there is any comparable canned dog food that has similar protein levels but that is also higher quality. My dog is experiencing abnormal liver enzyme levels and we have started him on phenobarbital so I don’t want his liver to work any harder than it already is. I am currently home cooking for him, but I would also like to be able to have the option to give him commercial dog food just in case.

    Thank you!

  • http://DogFoodAdvisor.com Mike Sagman

    Hi Lauren… Since I’m not a vet, I’m not qualified to judge the appropriateness of a particular dog food to treat a specific condition (such as Cushing’s Syndrome).

    Although we’ve rated the quality of the Hill’s L/D ingredients to be at the lower end of our scale, your dog’s health appears to be improving. So, Hill’s Prescription Diet L/D may be a one star to us but it might be a solid “five” to your dog. So, whatever it is you’re doing appears to be working. Keep up the good work. We hope you continue to see improvement.

  • lauren Taylor

    My dog has Cushing Syndrome. During routine labs it was discovered that she had elevated liver enzymes. Thus her vet recommended the l/d diet. Ive been mixing just 2 or 3 tablespoons on her low fat California Natural dog food. Although the stuff is gross in consistency her liver enzymes have gone down substantially. Could be the California Natural?
    Im not sure. But knowing Im giving my dog a 1 star dog food does not make me happy.

  • Lawrence Chase

    I was advised to feed my dog canned Hills Prescription Diet L/D in order to address her liver problems. It was the worst food I ever fed her and Hills was the worst company to deal with. After feeding this product to my dog for several months I contacted Hills because I found that , on occasion, it varied greatly in consistency from firm to mushy: when it came from a mushy can my dog would vomit it up. Hill’s initial response to me was that there was nothing wrong with the mushy food and that this condition was a result of the product “aging in the can”. When I pointed out that the can was a sealed anaerobic environment and that no canned food product, be it dog food or human food, changes unless there was a problem, Hills then claimed that the variations were due to the “differences in temperatures”. When I responded to Hills that this new explanation also seemed illogical Hills stated, rather curtly, that the explanations they put forth were the reason for the texture variations and that their quality control was not at fault or even suspect. As a result, I stopped using Hills Prescription Diet L/D so as not to put Abby under any undue stress and discomfort and then I mailed back to Hills the free food coupon they sent me. Your rating of one star is too generous, especially in light of all the controversial red item ingredients.