Label analysisGrade DKibble (Extruded)

Hill's

Hill's Adult Small & Mini Lamb Meal & Brown Rice Recipe Dog Food | Hill's Science Diet

Editor ingredient insight

Hill’s Small & Mini Lamb Meal & Brown Rice starts with lamb meal, brown rice, and brewers rice, with normal adult fat and calories. I would use it as a lamb-and-rice small-dog daily food, not for grain-free or low-fat weight control.

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

Lamb Meal (#1)

Plant protein

Wheat Gluten (#5), Pea Protein (#10)

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

Omega-3

Skin and joint support ingredient

Omega-6

Skin and coat support ingredient

Vitamin E

Antioxidant and skin support ingredient

View full ingredients
Needs context

Ingredient grade

C

Grade C

Top ingredient profile

Lamb Meal
Brown Rice
Brewers Rice
Meal-basedPlant booster present
Crude protein25%
Crude protein25%
Crude fat15.4%
Other 60%

Calcium

1.3%

Phosphorus

0.8%

Sodium

0.4%

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

biotechProtein position
Typical
query_statsFat position
Typical
local_fire_departmentCalorie density
Typical

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.
  • Top ingredients do not show a prominent FDA-investigated non-hereditary DCM ingredient profile.

What still needs work

  • Refined carbohydrates lose fiber, vitamins, and minerals during processing, and mainly act as starch and energy sources. Because of that, our engine reads ingredient quality more conservatively than it would with whole grains.
  • Processed plant protein appears after the top 3, so some protein support is still built into the label number.
  • Calcium:Phosphorus Ratio sits near the upper end of the preferred range, so a more conservative read makes sense.

Alternative foods

Smart lamb alternatives

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

82 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

The top ingredients are still usable, but this is the part to inspect more carefully before calling the recipe a clear strength.

restaurantIngredient Quality Analysis

C3/6
Ingredient Grade
Mixed
1Lamb Meal
Named Meal · Upper
2Brown Rice
Whole Grain · Upper
3Brewers Rice
Refined Carb · Lower

Ingredient Analysis Comments

  • •Lamb 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.
  • •Brown Rice is a whole or coarse grain ingredient. It usually plays more of a carbohydrate and fiber role than a core protein role. It reads as an upper-tier carb and fiber source.
  • •Brewers Rice is a refined carbohydrate source. It usually reads as a starch and energy source rather than a protein driver. It reads as an lower-tier carb source.
restaurantIngredient Grade CMixed

Full collected ingredient list

33 ingredients
Lamb MealBrown RiceBrewers RiceWhole Grain CornWheat GlutenWhole Grain WheatChicken FatWhole Grain SorghumCracked Pearled BarleyPea ProteinChicken Liver FlavorDried Beet PulpSoybean OilLactic AcidPotassium ChloridePork Liver FlavorFlaxseedCalcium CarbonateL-LysineIodized SaltWhole Grain OatsDL-MethionineFructooligosaccharides (FOS)Choline Chloridevitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Niacin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement)PumpkinTaurineminerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite)Mixed Tocopherols for freshnessNatural FlavorsL-TryptophanL-ThreonineBeta-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

1 warnings

There is no immediate hard stop here, but a few caution rows are still worth checking.

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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