d/d Potato & Venison Recipe Wet Dog Food, 13-oz can, case of 12
Graded by The Sniff System
Hill's Prescription Diet d/d Potato & Venison Recipe Wet Dog Food is a wet food featuring venison as its primary protein source.
This formula includes quality carbohydrate sources with declared fiber, which is a good sign. It also uses quality fat sources, like named fats and marine oil, providing beneficial EPA and DHA. The product has AAFCO feeding trial substantiation, which is a strong indicator of nutritional adequacy.
The formula is plant-protein-dominated, with potato listed as the number one ingredient after water. It also contains added sugar, which is nutritionally unjustifiable in a complete dog diet.
Good fit for dogs needing a wet food with AAFCO feeding trial substantiation. Less ideal if your dog thrives on animal-first protein or must avoid added sugar.
Summary written by The Sniff System from the data above. Same rubric, same drivers, expressed in English.
Good fit for adult Golden Retrievers and similar active sporting breeds navigating diet-associated DCM concerns. Venison liver anchors position 3, with zero pulses in the top 15, plus venison liver at position 3 (a natural taurine precursor). In its 2022 update on diet-associated DCM, the FDA identified Golden Retrievers as the most reported breed, with 121 cases out of 1,382 total canine reports (8.8%) received between January 1, 2014, and November 1, 2022 (FDA, 2022) .
Looking at this for adult Golden Retrievers or Golden Retrievers with diet-associated DCM concerns ? We are building dedicated pages for these combinations.
Auto-matched from this product's measurements (ingredients, life stage, calorie density) to a breed archetype. Not a substitute for vet input on your specific dog.
Research informing this analysis
MethodologyThe Sniff System grades this product against 3 cited studies relevant to its profile. Each link opens the original source.
- FDA, 2022cardiac · epidemiology · breed predisposition· cited in 5 claims
- FDA, 2019diet composition· cited in 2 claims
- NRC, 2006nutrient bioavailability
Every claim on Sniff traces to a source. If you find a citation that's wrong, outdated, or misapplied, tell us.
Sniff scored this formula 48/100, landing in C-tier (acceptable-with-notes). The biggest contributor was carbohydrate quality (+13 points): Quality carbohydrate sources with declared fiber. The biggest detractor was protein quality (-19 points): Plant-protein-dominated formula. potato as the #1 ingredient. To reach B-tier, this formula would need to gain about 12 points, most likely through protein quality.
Quality carbohydrate sources with declared fiber.
Quality fat sources: named fat with marine oil (EPA and DHA source).
AAFCO feeding trial substantiation for not stated.
Plant-protein-dominated formula. potato as the #1 ingredient.
Contains added sugar. Nutritionally unjustifiable in any complete dog diet..
- Bottom 4% for protein quality in Hill's Prescription Diet's lineup (6/27)
- Top quartile for carb quality in grain-free wet foods (13/16)
- Bottom quartile for overall Sniff Score in Hill's Prescription Diet's lineup (48/100)
Computed against the rest of our catalog. Percentiles refresh on each catalog update.
Similar dog foods worth considering
Three lenses on products with formulation profiles similar to this one.
Hill's Prescription Diet l/d Liver Care Original Flavor Wet Dog Food, 13-oz, case of 12
Scores 10 points higher with a similar formulation profile.
Hill's Prescription Diet k/d Kidney Care with Chicken Wet Dog Food, 13-oz, case of 12
$6.05/lb vs your seed's $7.38/lb (18% less) at a comparable score.
Surfaced from a vector similarity search across 3,491 scored dog foods. How this works.
Read why each ingredient is good or bad for dogs.
- 1water
Just water. Counted on the label of any wet or fresh food. The number tells you the moisture content.
- 2vegetablepotato
Standard white potato. Steady carb source, common starch in grain-free recipes.
Position 2: meaningful whole-food inclusion. Source of vitamins, antioxidants, or natural fiber.
- 3venison liver
Position 3. Named organ meat this high is a strong build choice. Concentrated source of taurine, glutamine, and B-vitamins.
- 4potato starch
Refined potato. Pure carb energy, low on other nutrition. Often used as a binder in grain-free recipes.
- 5protein animalvenison
Real meat, lean and gamey. Used as a novel protein for dogs with sensitivities.
Position 5: significant protein contributor. Adds amino-acid diversity to the top of the deck.
- 6venison by-products
Position 6: supporting protein. Modest contribution to total protein weight.
- 7fatcoconut oil
Saturated fat with medium-chain triglycerides. Mostly marketing in the doses kibble uses, but harmless.
Position 7: trace fat. Below the level that materially shifts the fat profile.
- 8soybean oil
Plant oil. High in omega-6, which is required but commonly oversupplied. Fine in moderation.
Position 8: trace fat. Below the level that materially shifts the fat profile.
- 9fiberpowdered cellulose
Plant fiber, often from wood pulp. Cheap bulk filler. Not harmful, but a tell that the recipe is reaching for inexpensive bulk.
Position 9: functional fiber for digestion or satiety.
- 10protein plantpotato protein
Concentrated potato protein. Like pea protein, it inflates the protein number without matching meat-quality amino acids.
Position 10: moderate plant-protein boost. Less likely to materially shift the protein profile.
- 11fatfish oil
Concentrated omega-3s. The reason 'EPA' and 'DHA' get to show up on the bag.
Position 11. Moderate marine-oil inclusion. Supplements EPA/DHA without being the primary fat.
- 12mineraldicalcium phosphate
Calcium and phosphorus combined. Required source of both minerals, especially in formulas without much bone content.
- 13glycine
- 14cysteine
- 15potassium citrate
Source of potassium. Sometimes added in urinary-support formulas to help manage urine pH.
- 16mineralcalcium carbonate
Source of calcium. Functional. Required in complete dog foods, especially those without bone-in meat meals.
- 17supplementcholine chloride
Essential nutrient for liver and brain function. Standard inclusion in complete dog foods.
- 18dextrose
- 19mineralsalt
Sodium chloride. Required at small doses for normal physiology. Not a quality concern in standard amounts.
- 20supplementdl-methionine
Essential amino acid. Often added when plant proteins dominate, since methionine is naturally lower in pulses than meat.
- 21supplementl-lysine
Essential amino acid. Plant-protein-heavy formulas sometimes add it to round out the amino acid profile.
- 22supplementtaurine
Amino acid critical for heart health. Especially important in grain-free or pulse-heavy formulas where natural taurine precursors run thin.
- 23mineralmagnesium oxide
Inorganic magnesium. Functional at AAFCO doses, less efficiently absorbed than chelated forms.
- 24zinc oxide
Inorganic zinc. Cheapest mineral form on the market. Functional but less bioavailable than chelated alternatives.
- 25mineralferrous sulfate
Inorganic iron. Standard mineral source. Iron proteinate is the gentler, better-absorbed premium form.
Showing first 25 of 31. Position 1-5 has the largest weight in the recipe.
20 of 25 ingredients have a curated note. Coverage grows over time.