Label analysisGrade CKibble (Extruded)

Hill's

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

Editor ingredient insight

Hill’s Large Breed Puppy Lamb Meal & Brown Rice starts with lamb meal, brown rice, and cracked pearled barley, with controlled minerals plus L-carnitine and glucosamine. I would use it for large-breed puppy growth, not for grain avoidance or low-fat needs.

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), Egg Product (#12)

Plant protein

Pea Protein (#6), Wheat Gluten (#9), Soybean Meal (#11)

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

Fish oil

Skin and joint support ingredient

Cranberry

Urinary 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

EPA+DHA

Skin, joint, and heart support ingredient

Glucosamine

Joint support ingredient

Chondroitin

Joint 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
Cracked Pearled Barley
Meal-basedPlant booster present
Crude protein27.9%
Crude protein27.9%
Crude fat17.8%
Other 54%

Calcium

1.2%

Phosphorus

0.9%

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
Higher
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

  • 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 lamb alternatives

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

65 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
3Cracked Pearled Barley
Semi-Refined Grain · Mid

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.
  • •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.
restaurantIngredient Grade CMixed

Full collected ingredient list

36 ingredients
Lamb MealBrown RiceCracked Pearled BarleyWhole Grain OatsChicken FatPea ProteinWhole Grain WheatBrewers RiceWheat GlutenHydrolyzed Chicken FlavorSoybean MealEgg ProductGround Pecan ShellsLactic AcidPork Liver FlavorSoybean OilFlaxseedDried Beet PulpDried Citrus PulpFish OilPotassium ChlorideIodized SaltL-LysineCholine ChloridePressed CranberriesL-Threoninevitamins (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)TaurineSodium TripolyphosphateDL-MethionineL-Tryptophanminerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite)Mixed 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

There is enough here to keep the food in comparison, but not enough to stop comparing yet.

Back to all foods