Hill’s Science Diet Adult Light Dog Food (Canned)

Rating:

Hill’s Science Diet Adult Light Dog Food earns the Advisor’s lowest rating of one star.

Currently, the Hill’s Science Diet Adult Dog Food Light line includes just one canned product… designed for overweight dogs.

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

The second and primary ingredient in this product is whole grain corn. The fact it is whole grain isn’t the real issue. No, the corn used here is most likely pet-grade… rarely of human quality.

It’s usually the same kind used to produce feeds for livestock and therefore frequently contaminated with insects, mites and molds.

Many accuse corn of being responsible for chronic canine allergies. But those allergies are probably just as much the result of what’s in the corn… as the corn itself.

Corn is not a quality ingredient.

The third ingredient is meat by-products… slaughterhouse waste. Meat by-products are the inedible leftovers of slaughter considered “unfit for human consumption”.

Since the species of the source animal is not revealed, the meat can come from almost anywhere. Road kill, dead zoo animals, diseased or dying livestock… even euthanized cats and dogs.

When you see the phrase “meat by-products” you’re looking at one of the lowest quality ingredients found in commercial dog food.

The fourth item is soybean mill run. Soy mill run is a by-product of the creation of soybean meal. This is nothing more than a cheap, low-quality filler.

The fifth ingredient is liver. Normally, a named liver ingredient can be a nutritious component. However, in this case, the source of the liver is unknown… generic. Is it goat liver? Giraffe? Or raccoon?

For this reason, this item cannot be considered a quality ingredient.

Corn gluten meal can also be found in this Hill’s product . The gluten is the rubbery residue left after corn has had all its starchy carbohydrate (the good stuff) dissolved out of it.

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

It’s important to allow for some of this gluten-based protein when trying to interpret the reported protein content of this dog food.

This product also contains powdered cellulose… a non-digestible plant fiber usually made from cotton or wood (really… wood!). It is used in dog food to add bulk.

Cellulose fiber 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 benefit to a dog. Just another cheap filler.

Also, the minerals listed here do not appear to be chelated. And that can make them more difficult for a dog to absorb. This can be yet another clue we’re probably dealing with an inferior product.

Hill’s Science Diet Adult Light… the Bottom Line

To get a better idea of how far from the ideal this Hill’s Science Diet Adult Light Dog Food really is, take a look at the numbers…

The dashboard reports a dry matter protein reading of 20%, a fat level of 9% and an estimated carbohydrate content of 64%.

Now, you may have noticed the carbohydrate content reported by Hill’s doesn’t agree with our figure.

That’s because the company uses a special method¹ and subtracts the fiber from its carbohydrate estimate. This causes their number to be notably lower than ours.

But since fiber is still a carbohydrate, the 64% level reported by our dashboard is probably closer to the true amount in this food.

In many ways, this Hill’s Science Diet Adult Light Dog Food is starting to look like most other canine weight loss products.

Lower in calories? Sure. But lower in meat-based protein, too?

You know, maybe I just don’t get it. But if the need to feed fewer calories means serving an inferior dog food, why not simply choose a better quality product… and feed less of it?

Doesn’t that make more sense?

With its abundance of Red Flag ingredients and a well-deserved one-star rating, Hill’s Science Diet Adult Light Dog Food may not be the best product for your overweight pet… or your money.

Not recommended.

Some Final Thoughts

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

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Tagged as: adult, canned, weight control