Label analysisGrade DKibble (Extruded)

Hill's

Hill's Adult Light Small & Mini Chicken Meal, Barley & Brown Rice Recipe Dog Food | Hill's Science Diet

Editor ingredient insight

Hill’s Adult Light Small & Mini starts with chicken meal, cracked pearled barley, and pea fiber, with very low fat and calories. I would use it for small dogs needing weight control, not for barley/pea-fiber sensitivity or high-energy feeding.

Logic-based verdict

This food offers a stable basic protein structure.

Manufacturer-independentPublic-data basedIngredients · nutrition · safety

Protein source

Ingredient guide

Processed plant protein after the top 3

Animal protein

Chicken Meal (#1)

Plant protein

Corn Protein Meal (#6), Soybean Meal (#9), Pea Protein (#14)

The protein number includes processed plant protein support.

Even when it appears later, the protein number is read more conservatively.

Included support ingredients

Nutrient guide

FOS

Gut support ingredient

Taurine

Heart support ingredient

L-carnitine

Heart and weight support ingredient

Omega-3

Skin and joint support ingredient

Omega-6

Skin and coat support ingredient

Vitamin E

Antioxidant and skin support ingredient

View full ingredients
Caution

Ingredient grade

D

Grade D

Top ingredient profile

Chicken Meal
Cracked Pearled Barley
Pea Fiber
Meal-basedPlant booster present
Crude protein24.9%
Crude protein24.9%
Crude fat8.2%
Other 67%

Calcium

1.1%

Phosphorus

0.7%

Sodium

0.3%

Protein position, fat position, and calorie density position are relative to foods in the same processing type cohort.

biotechProtein position
Typical
query_statsFat position
Lower
local_fire_departmentCalorie density
Lower

Species-named animal protein ingredients stay near the top, and protein does not fall into a clearly low band. The trade-off is that this is not the same as a fresh-meat-first premium pattern.

Nutritional strengths

  • Crude protein does not drop into a clearly low band.
  • Calorie density is on the lower side.
  • Top ingredients do not show a prominent FDA-investigated non-hereditary DCM ingredient profile.

What still needs work

  • Processed plant protein appears after the top 3, so some protein support is still built into the label number.
  • The recipe leans on named rendered meal ingredients, so palatability and digestibility can feel weaker than a fresh-meat-led recipe.
  • Public data is usable, but not at the highest-trust tier.

Alternative foods

Smart chicken alternatives

Exact protein-type matches come first, then close protein-family matches fill the comparison.

291 alternativesKibble (Extruded) · protein type/family cohort

Other recipes from the same brand

Other recipes from the same brand with a different purpose or feeding target.

Hill's

Puppy Large Breed Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe | Hill's Science Diet

Puppy · Large breed

Plant-protein boosted

Label score

4.5/5

Grade A

Hill's

Adult Sensitive Stomach & Skin Chicken & Barley Recipe Dog Food | Hill's Science Diet

Adult

Plant-protein boosted

Label score

3.5/5

Grade C

Hill's

Adult Oral Care Chicken, Brown Rice & Barley Recipe Dog Food | Hill's Science Diet

Adult

Label score

3.0/5

Grade C

Hill's

Puppy Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe | Hill's Science Diet

Puppy

Plant-protein boosted

Label score

3.0/5

Grade C

Brand context

Brand background availableRecall history confirmed

Founded in 1907 in the United States. This brand has a confirmed recall history. The most recent public recall noted here was the 2019 vitamin D incident.

Ingredient analysis

This section matters more than usual because the ingredient read is not strong enough to summarize in one line.

restaurantIngredient Quality Analysis

D1.5/6
Ingredient Grade
Conservative
1Chicken Meal
Named Meal · Upper
2Cracked Pearled Barley
Semi-Refined Grain · Mid
3Pea Fiber
Fiber Support · Mid

Ingredient Analysis Comments

  • •Chicken Meal is a species-named animal meal ingredient. It is rendered rather than fresh, but the species source is still clearly identified. It reads as an upper-tier protein source.
  • •Cracked Pearled Barley is disclosed, but its role is not explicit enough to count as a strong quality signal. It reads as an mid-tier carb source.
  • •Pea Fiber reads as a fiber-support ingredient. It contributes texture and fiber support more than core protein value. It reads as an mid-tier carb source.
restaurantIngredient Grade DConservative

Full collected ingredient list

31 ingredients
Chicken MealCracked Pearled BarleyPea FiberBrown RiceWhole Grain CornCorn Protein MealPowdered CelluloseWhole Grain OatsSoybean MealWhole Grain SorghumBrewers RiceChicken Liver FlavorSoybean OilPea ProteinDried Beet PulpFlaxseedLactic AcidPork Liver FlavorPotassium ChlorideCalcium CarbonateIodized SaltFructooligosaccharides (FOS)vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Niacin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement)Choline ChlorideL-Lysineminerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite)TaurineMixed Tocopherols for freshnessNatural FlavorsL-CarnitineBeta-Carotene.
Primary positive ingredients
Support positive ingredients
Alternative protein
Neutral ingredients
Caution ingredients
High-caution ingredients

Why processed plant proteins are reviewed cautiously

Ingredient lists are ordered by input weight, not protein contribution. Fresh meat 100g and Soybean Meal 50g can both contribute about 20g of protein, and Pea Protein can deliver a similar amount at around 30g. So these ingredients can materially lift crude protein even outside the top three. The review treats processed plant-protein boosters cautiously because they can weaken the animal-protein-centered profile most guardians expect from a high-protein food.

Why did the base review land here?

Ingredient qualityNutrient disclosure levelManufacturing & trust

This review score combines ingredient composition, nutrient disclosure, manufacturing trust, and core nutrient caution signals.

Nutrient disclosure

Partial disclosure

Core guaranteed analysis is usable, but deeper rows still need a more cautious read.

Safety verification

No fails

No major red flag jumps out first, though undisclosed rows still define the limits of this safety read.

Public data trust (ETF)

C1 tier

There is a usable disclosure baseline, but the public record is still fairly thin.

Final word

Treat this review as an early screen. If the food stays interesting, verify it again with your dog-specific context before acting.

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