The Comparison
Four Foods, One Method
The same five measures, applied to each food from its own figures.
Open Your Saved Comparison- 01 AvoDerm Large Breed Chicken Meal & Brown Rice Swap Remove
- 02 AvoDerm Advanced Joint Health Grain-Free Chicken Meal Formula Swap Remove
- 03 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Light with Chicken Meal & Barley Swap Remove
- 04 Castor & Pollux Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato Swap Remove
| 01 AvoDerm Large Breed Chicken Meal & Brown Rice Swap Remove | 02 AvoDerm Advanced Joint Health Grain-Free Chicken Meal Formula Swap Remove | 03 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Light with Chicken Meal & Barley Swap Remove | 04 Castor & Pollux Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato Swap Remove | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 Protein, Dry Matter Higher Is Better 26-32% dm reads typical mainstream. | 01 Large Breed Chicken Meal & Brown Rice 28.9% | 02 Advanced Joint Health Grain-Free Chicken Meal Formula 33.3% | 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Light with Chicken Meal & Barley 22.3% | 04 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 36.0% Best in this row |
| 02 Carbohydrate Load, Dry Matter Lower Is Better Estimated, 6% ash assumed. Estimated, not measured. It is what is left of the guaranteed analysis once protein, fat, fiber and moisture are taken out, with ash assumed at 6%. That leftover is mostly starch but also carries sugars and the fiber a crude-fiber test misses, so read it as a close estimate rather than an exact figure. Measured as fed, the same basis as the bag. | 01 Large Breed Chicken Meal & Brown Rice 49% 44.5% as fed | 02 Advanced Joint Health Grain-Free Chicken Meal Formula 40% 36.0% as fed | 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Light with Chicken Meal & Barley 49% 44.0% as fed | 04 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 35% 31.5% as fed Best in this row |
| 03 Named Proteins In The First Five Count of named animal proteins. The count matches any named animal word in the opening five ingredients, so it also counts animal fats and flavourings as proteins. It is shown because it is one of the five measured lines, but it is too rough to call a winner on. | 01 Large Breed Chicken Meal & Brown Rice 2 of 5 | 02 Advanced Joint Health Grain-Free Chicken Meal Formula 2 of 5 | 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Light with Chicken Meal & Barley 1 of 5 | 04 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 3 of 5 |
| 04 Flagged Additives Level Lower Is Better Matched against the flag list. | 01 Large Breed Chicken Meal & Brown Rice None | 02 Advanced Joint Health Grain-Free Chicken Meal Formula None | 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Light with Chicken Meal & Barley None | 04 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato None |
| 05 Brand Recall History Level Lower Is Better Manufacturer, not recipe. | 01 Large Breed Chicken Meal & Brown Rice None | 02 Advanced Joint Health Grain-Free Chicken Meal Formula None | 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Light with Chicken Meal & Barley None | 04 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato None |
| Starch, As Fed Estimated, not measured. It is what is left of the guaranteed analysis once protein, fat, fiber and moisture are taken out, with ash assumed at 6%. That leftover is mostly starch but also carries sugars and the fiber a crude-fiber test misses, so read it as a close estimate rather than an exact figure. Measured as fed, the same basis as the bag. | 01 Large Breed Chicken Meal & Brown Rice 44.5% | 02 Advanced Joint Health Grain-Free Chicken Meal Formula 36.0% | 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Light with Chicken Meal & Barley 44.0% | 04 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 31.5% |
| Kcal / Cup | 01 Large Breed Chicken Meal & Brown Rice 380 | 02 Advanced Joint Health Grain-Free Chicken Meal Formula 368 | 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Light with Chicken Meal & Barley 271 | 04 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 393 |
| First Five Ingredients | 01 Large Breed Chicken Meal & Brown Rice Chicken Meal, Ground Brown Rice, Ground White Rice, Oatmeal, Salmon Meal (Source of Omega 3) | 02 Advanced Joint Health Grain-Free Chicken Meal Formula Chicken Meal, Peas, Chicken Cartilage (Source of Chondroitin Sulfate and Glucosamine), Pea Flour, Garbanzo Beans | 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Light with Chicken Meal & Barley Chicken Meal, Cracked Pearled Barley, Pea Fiber, Whole Grain Wheat, Whole Grain Corn | 04 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato Beef, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Organic Sweet Potatoes, Organic Potatoes |
Add A Food
The comparison holds four foods. Use Swap on a column to put a different one in its place.
Every figure here is the food's own. Protein and carbohydrate are converted to dry matter so foods of different moisture can be set beside each other; starch is estimated from the guaranteed analysis with ash assumed at 6.0%, and the recall record belongs to the manufacturer rather than to the recipe. Two rows are printed but never marked: the named-protein count, because the detection behind it is too rough to call a winner on, and calories, because neither more nor fewer is better without knowing the dog.
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