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

by Mike Sagman
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Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Hill’s Prescription Diet W/D Canine canned dog food receives the Advisor’s below-average rating of 2 stars.

The Hill’s Prescription W/D product line includes just one canned recipe claimed on the label to be appropriate for low fat, diabetic and gastrointestinal diets.

However, since we could not locate an AAFCO nutritional adequacy statement for this product on the Hill’s website, we’re unable to report life stage recommendations.

Hill's Prescription Diet W/D Canine

Canned Dog Food

Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content

Protein = 18% | Fat = 13% | Carbs = 61%

Ingredients: Water, egg product, whole grain corn, chicken, cracked pearled barley, pork liver, powdered cellulose, chicken liver flavor, soybean oil, potassium chloride, calcium sulfate, choline chloride, calcium carbonate, iodized salt, vitamin E supplement, taurine, l-tryptophan, ascorbic acid (source of vitamin C), l-carnitine, zinc oxide, ferrous sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, beta-carotene, niacin, manganous oxide, copper sulfate, calcium pantothenate, vitamin B12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, biotin, vitamin D3 supplement, riboflavin, calcium iodate, folic acid, sodium selenite

Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 12.7%

Red items when present indicate controversial ingredients

Estimated Nutrient Content
MethodProteinFatCarbs
Guaranteed Analysis18%13%NA
Dry Matter Basis18%13%61%
Calorie Weighted Basis16%28%56%

The first ingredient in this dog food is water… which (of course) adds nothing but moisture to this food. Water is a routine finding in most canned dog foods.

The second ingredient includes 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 third ingredient mentions corn. Corn is an inexpensive and controversial cereal grain of only modest nutritional value to a dog.

What’s more, corn is commonly linked to canine food allergies1.

For these reasons, we do not consider corn a preferred component in any dog food.

The fourth 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.

The fifth ingredient lists barley. Barley is a starchy carbohydrate supplying fiber and other healthy nutrients. Unlike grains with a higher glycemic index (like rice), barley can help support stable blood sugar levels in dogs.

The sixth ingredient is 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 seventh ingredient is powdered cellulose… a non-digestible plant fiber usually made from vegetable processing by-products. 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.

After the chicken liver flavor, we find soybean oil… red flagged here only due to its rumored (yet unlikely) link to canine food allergies.

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 product.

With one notable exception…

The minerals listed 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 W/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 W/D Canine looks 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 18%, a fat level of 13% and estimated carbohydrates of about 61%.

Low protein. Low fat. And high carbs when compared to a typical canned dog food.

Free of any plant-based protein boosters, this looks like the profile of a wet product containing only a limited amount of meat.

Bottom line?

Hill’s Prescription Diet W/D Canine is a corn-based canned dog food using a only a limited amount of egg product as its main source of animal protein… thus earning the brand 2 stars.

Not recommended.

Those looking for a kibble version of this product from the same company may wish to visit our review of Hill’s Prescription Diet W/D Canine dry dog food.

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

03/26/2011 Original review
03/26/2011 Last Update

  1. White, S., “Update on food allergy in the dog and cat”, World Small Animal Veterinary Association, Vancouver, 2001 ↩
  2. Association of American Feed Control Officials ↩
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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  • daisy1999

    I’ve used this intermittently without issues.  As far as your dog having pancreatitis, you have many better choices than this.  My vet never even recommended a presciption food.  Cancer causing-I would doubt it.  But, I’m interested in your dogs lymphoma.  Thats not something you would see on the nose or ears.  Why if your dog had a baseball sized tumor didnt the vet remove it?  Thats HUGE!!  To shrink that much in 3wks with no treatment-your guess is as good as mine.  But when something causes cancer, just removing the cause isn’t a cure.  Still glad your dog is doing better.

  • Lasellsboats

    Anyone wonder if hills w/d may cause cancer? My dog has been on this since his attack of pancreatitis in 2006 and
    now had lymphoma the past 10 months. I took him off it 3 weeks ago and make him fresh rice, fresh veggies and ground chicken or veal or pork with seasons.. his giant tutmor on his nose and ear went from base ball size – to quarter.. not sure if this is due to the change in his diet. But would love to hear if anyone else feels this way about the Hills w/d.  

  • Larry

    Concerned about possible impurities in this dog food–I have fed it to my dogs for two years because it cleared up sudden-onset bloody stools in my Border Terrier.

    The concern is due to finding whole cockroaches in two of the last three or four cans that I opened.  They were imbedded in the food–and only found because I thoroughly break up the food.

    Is this a typical occurrence?

    Makes me wonder what else in in there!

  • Dave M

    I would think Hills has lost significant market share as pet owners become more educated – especially after the poison from China killed so many pets. Yet they do not seem to have changed their model or improved their food. Perhaps the super market crowd is still large enough to keep them afloat.

  • Gordon

    The Weruva product is low in fat and looks like a good choice if you don’t want to go raw. And if you’re from the US, I would recommend Karen Becker’s digestive enzyme supplement. But I would strongly advise you to add digestive enzymes to the low fat canned product.

    Anyway, good luck!

  • Italian Greyhound Lover

    Thanks for all the info! I will be looking into Weruva and Tiki Dog canned dog food for their low-fat content.

  • Gordon

    Dr. Barbara Fougere…her last name was meant to read above, in case you wanted to look her up on the net.

  • Gordon

    Italian Greyhound Lover – Dr. Barbara BSc BVMS (Hons) recommends a diet of high protein, high digestibility, (hence raw), low in fat, supplemented with digestive enzymes, Cobalamin, vitamins A, D, E, K (fat soluble vitamins may be low in a low-fat diet), vitamin B complex, zinc, copper, multivitamin mix, trace elements, and certain herbs for dogs with acute pancreatitis.

  • sandy

    Here’s some info for you. There are better foods to feed a dog with pancreatitis. I even know one lady who has a chi with pancreatitis and has successfully put her dog on a raw diet.

    http://dogaware.com/articles/wdjpancreatitis.html

    http://dogaware.com/health/digestive.html

  • Italian Greyhound Lover

    My eleven year old Italian Greyhound has been diagnosed with pancreatitis also. My vet suggested feeding her Hills R/D. She has been on it for a couple of years but when I started getting a can here and there that was dry inside with a negative space going down the middle of the can I asked my vet what other food she could eat. He suggested Hills W/D. She’s been on that but the other day a few cans had pieces of corn very evident in it unlike normal. I’m concerned too since it is rated very low on your Web site. You would think since you can only purchase it with a prescription from your vet that it would be at least a four-star food. Any suggestions for a good dog food wet or dry for a small dog with pancreatitis? It would be nice to be able to buy it any place other than just the vet’s.

  • Weimaraner lover

    My Weimaraner has been diagnosed with chronic pancreatitus and irritable bowel disease. He also has malabsorption issues. He was previously on Hills z/d biscuits and our vet subsequently recommended Hills d/d. He is eating four cans a day and I am starting to introduce biscuits too. Has anyone else found a better (and preferably slightly cheaper) food for dogs with this long term condition? He’s a wonderful dog and I will do all I can to help him.

  • http://DogFoodAdvisor.com Mike Sagman

    Hi BoBo’s Mom… Unfortunately, in most cases, we only have manufacturers’ marketing to go by. You can find a few listed here that claim to be appropriate for pets with digestive issues. Also, foods with less complicated recipes (known as limited ingredient diets) can sometimes be helpful. You may also want to consider an ultra-simple quality raw food, too. Hope this helps.

  • BoBo’s mom

    Hi Mike, Thank you for providing us those useful informations. BoBo is a 1 year and 3 months old Lhasa Apso. He threw up several times recently. He got hosp inj – famotidine and 2 exposures x-ray on April 29, doc told us he had some “gas” in his body that make him uncomfortable. According to doc suggestions we gave BoBo baby food for 3 days, then regular food – fromm dry dog food. Everything back to normal.
    May 19, May 22, and May 23 BoBo threw up again. BoBo visit doc on May 24 again. He got another inj – reglan and medications – metronidazole for 5 days and special dielt – Hill’s W/D 7 cans. He threw up again this morning after he finished his W/D breakfast (within in 5 min).
    Do you know which brand is for sensitive stomach?
    Thanks Mike!

  • Pingback: Hills Prescription Diet | | BEAUTY REVIEWSBEAUTY REVIEWS

  • http://DogFoodAdvisor.com Mike Sagman

    Santa… PetMix looks like a great product. However, since it’s a premix, the company does not list a Guaranteed Analysis profile for the finished product (after the meat is added). So, we’re currently unable to review this product. Thanks for the suggestion.

  • santa

    Well look-y..it’s Tom Peters. Sagman, why haven’t you done a review on Petmix?

  • Meagan

    That is great news to hear Mike. Looking forward to it!

  • http://DogFoodAdvisor.com Mike Sagman

    Hi Faye… Unfortunately, we do not currently track the retail availability of the dog food products in our database. However, within the next 30 days, we’ll be adding a very cool “Where to Buy” directory of dog food retailers. So, you’ll soon be able to find a retailer that sells the foods you’re looking for. And you’ll be able to search by either brand or by zip and postal code. Until then, you’ll need to contact the manufacturer for this information.

  • Meagan

    Faye- Call
    Mid America Pet Food
    (903)572-5900
    They should be able to let you know where to buy.

  • Faye

    Were to buy Victor dog food in Lafayette, Louisiana.

  • Jonathan

    Judging by the protein number alone, this appears to be a can of cooked corn. What the heck, Hill’s. Would it kill them to make a can of something resembling an appropriate diet for dogs?

  • http://www.k9criticalcare.com Tom Peters

    I am still shocked to see foods like this actually prescribed by Veterinarians. I guess when the goal is weight loss a dog would lose weight when he is fed a barely digestible food made primarily from corn.

  • erin c.

    It’s amazing the stuff prescribed for dogs.
    It’s sort of like the meds we see on TV–yeah I’ll feel better soon because I’ll be dead. Or, nope, don’t notice that fibro anymore because I’m focused on the part that just fell off. GAK!