Hill's Prescription Diet z/d Dog Food review

Ingredients, as declared: Meat and animal derivatives, derivatives of vegetable origin, oils and fats, minerals, fruit, seeds. Protein source: Chicken liver hydrolysate. Carbohydrate source: Maize starch. ActivBiome+ Digestion prebiotic blend (3.5%): Ground pecan shell, flaxseed, dried beet pulp, dried citrus pulp, dried cranberries.

Meat and animal derivatives open the list, and Hill's identifies the protein source underneath it as chicken liver hydrolysate, with maize starch given as the one carbohydrate source. Derivatives of vegetable origin, oils and fats, minerals, fruit and seeds make up the remainder.

Hydrolysing breaks a protein down into far smaller fragments, and that is the reason makers reach for it when a diet is aimed at sensitivity work. It also means the protein here began as chicken, so a dog under instructions to avoid chicken in every form is a case to check with the clinic rather than assume either way.

Hill's puts a figure on its ActivBiome+ Digestion blend, 3.5%, and prints the parts: ground pecan shell, flaxseed, dried beet pulp, plus dried citrus pulp and dried cranberries. These are fibre entries, chosen to feed the gut flora and not the dog itself. Putting a figure on the blend lets you see how much of the pack it accounts for.

Protein is 5.2% as fed and 21.1% of dry matter, fat 3.9% and 15.9% dry, crude fibre 1.2% and 4.9% dry, with moisture declared at 75.4% and energy at 97 kcal per 100g. The carbohydrate estimate is 13.0% as fed, or 52.8% of dry matter, which is where the maize starch shows up. A recipe that keeps its protein list this short has to lean on starch for energy, so read the figure as the trade the design makes.

Calcium converts to 0.69% of dry matter, and the mineral additions are printed with doses, iron 32.9mg, iodine 1.2mg, copper 4.9mg, manganese 3.6mg and zinc 41.9mg. Feeding runs from 195 grams a day for a 2.5kg dog up to 445 grams at 10kg and 1045 grams at 40kg. Whether a hydrolysed diet is the right route for your dog is a decision that sits with the vet who has examined her.

It comes in 370g packs. Fed to the printed guide, a 15kg dog would be on roughly 868 grams a day.