Rating: 
Hill’s Prescription Diet N/D Canine dog food receives the Advisor’s mid-tier rating of three stars.
Hill’s Prescription Diet N/D Canine is designed to support dogs undergoing chemotherapy and to meet AAFCO nutrient profiles for adult maintenance.
Hill's Prescription Diet N/D Canine
Canned Dog Food
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Ingredients: Beef by-products, water, pork liver, rice, menhaden oil, chicken, chicken liver flavor, powdered cellulose, dried beet pulp, potassium citrate, calcium carbonate, l-arginine, iron oxide, dicalcium phosphate, taurine, vitamin E supplement, choline chloride, zinc oxide, ferrous sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, copper sulfate, niacin, manganous oxide, calcium pantothenate, vitamin B12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, biotin, vitamin D3 supplement, riboflavin, calcium iodate, folic acid, sodium selenite
Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 2.7%
Red items when present indicate controversial ingredients
The first ingredient in this dog food includes beef by-products… otherwise known as slaughterhouse waste. This is what’s left of a slaughtered cow after all the prime cuts have been removed.
In a nutshell, beef by-products are all those unsavory leftovers of meat processing frequently deemed “unfit for human consumption”.
With the exception of hair, horns, teeth and hooves, this stuff can include almost anything else… heads, ovaries, developing fetuses… you name it.1
Although this item does contain all the amino acids a dog needs, we do not consider beef by-products a quality ingredient.
The second item lists water… which (of course) adds nothing but moisture to this food. Water is a routine finding in most canned dog foods.
The third ingredient lists pork liver. This is an organ meat sourced from a named animal. So long as it’s not over-weighted in a dog food, pork liver is a beneficial component.
The fourth 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 fifth ingredient is menhaden oil… obtained from processing a species of small ocean fish known as menhaden. Like most fish oils, menhaden oil is naturally rich in omega-3 fatty acids. This item can be considered a healthy addition.
The sixth ingredient is chicken. Chicken is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin… derived from the parts or whole carcasses of chicken”.2
Chicken is naturally rich in the ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.
Following the chicken liver flavor, we find powdered cellulose… a non-digestible plant fiber usually made from cotton or sawdust. 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.
The ninth ingredient lists 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.
Three special ingredients in this Hill’s formula may be beneficial to dogs undergoing chemotherapy for cancer.
- Taurine
- Arginine
- Fish oil
Taurine deficiencies following aggressive chemotherapy have been well-documented in both animal and human clinical studies.3
And arginine administered together with fish oil has been shown to improve the survival time and decrease the incidence of “wasting syndrome” following chemotherapy for lymph cancer in dogs.4
This same arginine-fish oil combination has also been reported to improve immunity following surgery, too.5
Finally, 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.
Hill’s Prescription Diet N/D Canine 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 N/D Canine appears to be an 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 38%, a fat level of 33% and an estimated carbohydrate content of 21%.
Average protein. Above-average fat. And below-average carbs… as compared to a typical canned dog food.
With no evidence of any plant-based protein concentrates, this looks like the profile of a wet food containing a moderate amount of meat.
Bottom line?
Hill’s Prescription Diet N/D Canine is a meat-based canned dog food using a moderate amount of beef by-products as its main source of animal protein… thus earning the brand three stars.
Recommended.
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
01/16/2010 Original review
08/02/2010 Review updated
- Association of American Feed Control Officials ↩
- Association of American Feed Control Officials ↩
- Desai TK et al, Taurine deficiency after intensive chemotherapy and/or radiation, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1992;55:708-711 ↩
- Ogilvie GK et al, 2000. Effect of fish oil, arginine and doxorubicin chemotherapy on remission and survival time for dogs with lymphoma. Cancer 88:1916-28 ↩
- Daly JM et al, 1992. Enteral nutrition with supplemental arginine, RNA, and omega-3 fatty acids in patients after operation: immunologic, metabolic and clinical outcome, Surgery 112:56-67 ↩
The Dog Food Advisor publishes independent reviews to help pet owners make better choices when shopping for dog food.
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