i/d Digestive Care Chicken & Vegetable Stew Wet Dog Food, 12.5-oz, case of 12
Graded by The Sniff System
Hill's Prescription Diet i/d Digestive Care Chicken & Vegetable Stew is a wet dog food featuring chicken and pork liver.
This formula has a strong protein profile, with chicken as a primary ingredient, offering high biological value. It also includes quality fat sources like marine oil, which provides EPA and DHA, and quality carbohydrates with fermentable fiber.
There are a couple of things to note. It contains guar gum, an emulsifier with emerging microbiome data, and added sugar, which isn't nutritionally necessary in a complete dog diet.
Good fit for dogs needing digestive support, likely under veterinary guidance. Less ideal if you prefer foods without added sugars or emulsifiers.
Summary written by The Sniff System from the data above. Same rubric, same drivers, expressed in English.
Strong fit for adult Golden Retrievers and similar active sporting breeds navigating diet-associated DCM concerns. Chicken anchors position 2, with zero pulses in the top 15, plus pork 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 If you find a citation that's wrong, outdated, or misapplied, tell us.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 59/100, landing in C-tier (acceptable-with-notes). The biggest contributor was protein quality (+21 points): Strong protein profile with chicken as the primary ingredient, delivering high biological value. The biggest detractor was controversial-ingredient penalty (-5 points): Contains guar gum. Emerging microbiome data on emulsifiers; no canine clinical evidence. Minor penalty in canned food. The gap to B-tier is small (1.0 points). Trimming controversial-ingredient penalty would likely close it.
Strong protein profile with chicken as the primary ingredient, delivering high biological value.
Quality fat sources: named fat with marine oil (EPA and DHA source).
Quality carbohydrate sources with fermentable fiber.
Contains guar gum. Emerging microbiome data on emulsifiers; no canine clinical evidence. Minor penalty in canned food..
Contains added sugar. Nutritionally unjustifiable in any complete dog diet..
- Bottom 3% for DMB protein in grain-inclusive wet foods (18.7%)
- Top 10% for protein quality in Hill's Prescription Diet's lineup (20.9/27)
- Bottom 4% for DMB fat in grain-inclusive wet foods (6.2%)
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 i/d Digestive Care with Turkey Wet Dog Food, 13-oz, case of 12
Scores 16 points higher with a similar formulation profile.
Hill's Science Diet Adult Sensitive Stomach & Sensitive Skin Tender Chicken & Vegetable Stew Wet Dog Food, 12.5-oz can, 12 count
$5.24/lb vs your seed's $6.83/lb (23% less) at a comparable score.
Hill's Science Diet Adult Perfect Weight Management Hearty Vegetable & Chicken Stew Wet Dog Food, 12.5-oz can, case of 12
Pork instead of chicken, 4 points lower, different brand.
Surfaced from a vector similarity search across 3,491 scored dog foods. How this works.
Wet and fresh foods contain more water than kibble (typically 65-78%). On a dry-matter basis, this food's protein content is roughly 19%, comparable to premium kibble (typically 30-45% DMB protein).
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.
- 2protein animalchicken
Real meat. Primary protein source, with the amino acid profile dogs actually evolved to eat.
Position 2: co-primary protein. Two named animal proteins in the top 2 is a strong protein build.
- 3protein animalpork liver
Organ meat. Dense in B vitamins, iron, and vitamin A. Among the most nutritious ingredients on any label.
Position 3. Named organ meat this high is a strong build choice. Concentrated source of taurine, glutamine, and B-vitamins.
- 4vegetablecarrots
Real vegetable. Fiber, beta-carotene, and a small amount of antioxidant value.
Position 4: meaningful whole-food inclusion. Source of vitamins, antioxidants, or natural fiber.
- 5rice starch
Position 5: supporting grain. Smaller contribution to the carb deck.
- 6grainrice
Generic rice. Could be white or brown, the label doesn't say. Brown rice would be specified if it were.
Position 6: supporting grain. Smaller contribution to the carb deck.
- 7potato starch
Refined potato. Pure carb energy, low on other nutrition. Often used as a binder in grain-free recipes.
- 8hydrolyzed chicken flavor
Hydrolyzed chicken used as a palatability enhancer. Real ingredient, tiny inclusion, no quality signal either way.
- 9dextrose
- 10egg whites
Position 10: supporting protein. Modest contribution to total protein weight.
- 11potassium alginate
- 12soybean oil
Plant oil. High in omega-6, which is required but commonly oversupplied. Fine in moderation.
Position 12: trace fat. Below the level that materially shifts the fat profile.
- 13ground pecan shells
- 14brewers dried yeast
Yeast left over from brewing. Rich in B vitamins and amino acids. A traditional and well-tolerated inclusion.
- 15sugar
Added sugar. No nutritional purpose for dogs. Most often found in budget semi-moist foods. See why →
- 16calcium chloride
- 17fatflaxseed
Plant source of omega-3. Helpful for skin and coat, though dogs absorb omega-3 from fish more efficiently.
- 18fiberdried 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 →
- 19supplementl-lysine
Essential amino acid. Plant-protein-heavy formulas sometimes add it to round out the amino acid profile.
- 20dried citrus pulp
- 21fiberguar gum
Thickener common in wet food. Emerging research on emulsifiers and the gut microbiome, but no smoking gun in dogs yet. See why →
- 22potassium citrate
Source of potassium. Sometimes added in urinary-support formulas to help manage urine pH.
- 23mineraldicalcium phosphate
Calcium and phosphorus combined. Required source of both minerals, especially in formulas without much bone content.
- 24fatfish oil
Concentrated omega-3s. The reason 'EPA' and 'DHA' get to show up on the bag.
- 25calcium lactate
Calcium source from lactic acid fermentation. Functional, well-tolerated.
Showing first 25 of 34. Position 1-5 has the largest weight in the recipe.
18 of 25 ingredients have a curated note. Coverage grows over time.