Derm Complete Puppy Environmental/Food Sensitivities Rice & Egg Recipe Dry Dog Food, 14.3-lb bag
Graded by The Sniff System
Hill's Prescription Diet Derm Complete Puppy Environmental/Food Sensitivities Rice & Egg Recipe is a dry food for puppies, featuring egg product as its main protein source.
This formula uses quality carbohydrate sources like brown rice, which also contributes to its reasonable protein quality and amino acid coverage. It also includes quality fat sources, with named fats and marine oil providing beneficial EPA and DHA.
The main thing to note is that the protein and fat levels are on the lower side, which capped its overall score at 49. There are no flagged ingredients in this recipe.
Good fit for puppies with environmental or food sensitivities. Nothing serious working against it for this specific use case.
Summary written by The Sniff System from the data above. Same rubric, same drivers, expressed in English.
Goldens appeared disproportionately in the FDA's DCM reports. Pulse-heavy grain-free formulas warrant extra caution; named animal protein with organ meat or marine sources is the safer fit. Good fit for active large sporting breeds like Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, and Irish Setters navigating diet-associated DCM concerns. Egg product anchors position 3, with zero pulses in the top 15.
Looking at this for puppy 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 2 cited studies relevant to its profile. Each link opens the original source.
- FDA, 2022epidemiology · breed predisposition· cited in 4 claims
- FDA, 2019diet composition· cited in 2 claims
Every claim on Sniff traces to a source. If you find a citation that's wrong, outdated, or misapplied, tell us.
At 49/100, this formula lands mid-pack. The lift comes from carbohydrate quality, worth 16 points to the final number: Quality carbohydrate sources with fermentable fiber. The ceiling on this score is 49, set because the guaranteed analysis falls below AAFCO's minimum nutrient profile. The fix path: a formula update that meets AAFCO minimums. That would lift the cap and put this formula above the B-band line at 60.
Quality carbohydrate sources with fermentable fiber.
Reasonable protein quality. brown rice delivers solid amino acid coverage.
Quality fat sources: named fat with marine oil (EPA and DHA source).
- Bottom 3% for DMB protein in grain-inclusive dry kibbles (20.0%)
- Top quartile for DMB fat in Hill's Prescription Diet's lineup (16.7%)
- Bottom quartile for overall Sniff Score in Hill's Prescription Diet's lineup (49/100)
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 Science Diet Puppy Sensitive Stomach & Sensitive Skin Salmon & Brown Rice Recipe Dry Dog Food, 13-lb bag
Scores 29 points higher with a similar formulation profile.
Hill's Prescription Diet u/d Urinary Care Original Flavor Dry Dog Food, 27.5-lb bag
$5.09/lb vs your seed's $6.92/lb (26% less) at a comparable score.
Hill's Science Diet Adult Sensitive Stomach & Sensitive Skin Chicken Recipe Dry Dog Food, 30-lb bag
Chicken instead of egg, 26 points higher, different brand.
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.
- 1grainbrown rice
Whole grain that's easy to digest. Steady carb energy plus a little fiber.
Position 1 grain: primary carbohydrate base. This is a grain-inclusive formula with brown rice as the dominant carb.
- 2rice protein concentrate
Position 2: major carbohydrate source.
- 3protein animalegg product
Processed whole eggs. Same nutritional profile as fresh eggs, just shelf-stable.
Position 3: significant protein contributor. Adds amino-acid diversity to the top of the deck.
- 4soybean oil
Plant oil. High in omega-6, which is required but commonly oversupplied. Fine in moderation.
Position 4: secondary fat. Often where marine oils sit when present alongside a primary land-animal fat.
- 5hydrolyzed chicken flavor
Hydrolyzed chicken used as a palatability enhancer. Real ingredient, tiny inclusion, no quality signal either way.
- 6fiberdried beet pulp
Soluble fiber from sugar-beet processing. Sometimes treated as a filler, but it's actually one of the better fiber sources in kibble. See why →
Position 6: functional fiber for digestion or satiety.
- 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.
- 8fatflaxseed
Plant source of omega-3. Helpful for skin and coat, though dogs absorb omega-3 from fish more efficiently.
Position 8: trace fat. Below the level that materially shifts the fat profile.
- 9fatfish oil
Concentrated omega-3s. The reason 'EPA' and 'DHA' get to show up on the bag.
Position 9. Moderate marine-oil inclusion. Supplements EPA/DHA without being the primary fat.
- 10mineraldicalcium phosphate
Calcium and phosphorus combined. Required source of both minerals, especially in formulas without much bone content.
- 11mineralcalcium carbonate
Source of calcium. Functional. Required in complete dog foods, especially those without bone-in meat meals.
- 12lactic acid
Natural acid used as a mild preservative and pH adjuster. Found in fermented foods too. Safe at typical inclusion.
- 13mineralsodium tripolyphosphate
Preservative and texture agent in wet food. Functional at small doses, not a major concern, but some brands avoid it.
- 14mineralpotassium chloride
Required mineral. Sometimes used as a salt substitute. Standard inclusion in complete diets.
- 15supplementl-lysine
Essential amino acid. Plant-protein-heavy formulas sometimes add it to round out the amino acid profile.
- 16calcium sulfate
Source of calcium. Functional, required for AAFCO-complete formulas.
- 17l-threonine
Essential amino acid. Sometimes added when plant proteins dominate, since threonine is naturally lower in plants than meat.
- 18supplementcholine chloride
Essential nutrient for liver and brain function. Standard inclusion in complete dog foods.
- 19legumegreen peas
Same as peas. Useful in small amounts. The concern is when pulses dominate the top of the ingredient list. See why →
- 20fruitapples
Real fruit, some fiber and antioxidants. The amount in kibble is too small to matter much.
- 21fruitcranberries
Often added with a urinary-tract-support marketing angle. Real cranberry compounds help in concentrate form, but kibble doses are small.
- 22mineralsalt
Sodium chloride. Required at small doses for normal physiology. Not a quality concern in standard amounts.
- 23supplementtaurine
Amino acid critical for heart health. Especially important in grain-free or pulse-heavy formulas where natural taurine precursors run thin.
- 24vegetablecarrots
Real vegetable. Fiber, beta-carotene, and a small amount of antioxidant value.
- 25mineralferrous sulfate
Inorganic iron. Standard mineral source. Iron proteinate is the gentler, better-absorbed premium form.
Showing first 25 of 34. Position 1-5 has the largest weight in the recipe.
24 of 25 ingredients have a curated note. Coverage grows over time.