Four Foods, One Method

• 01 Blue Life Protection Formula Adult Lamb and Brown Rice Swap Remove
• 02 Blue Basics Limited Ingredient Diet Small Breed Adult Turkey and Potato Swap Remove
• 03 Castor & Pollux Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal Swap Remove
• 04 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Small Bites Lamb Meal & Brown Rice Swap Remove

Four Foods, One Method. Each row is one measure; the best figure in a row is marked.

	01 Blue Life Protection Formula Adult Lamb and Brown Rice Swap Remove	02 Blue Basics Limited Ingredient Diet Small Breed Adult Turkey and Potato Swap Remove	03 Castor & Pollux Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal Swap Remove	04 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Small Bites Lamb Meal & Brown Rice Swap Remove
01 Protein, Dry Matter Higher Is Better 26-32% dm reads typical mainstream.	01 Life Protection Formula Adult Lamb and Brown Rice 24.4%	02 Basics Limited Ingredient Diet Small Breed Adult Turkey and Potato 24.4%	03 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 31.5% Best in this row	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Small Bites Lamb Meal & Brown Rice 21.7%
02 Carbohydrate Load, Dry Matter Lower Is Better Estimated, 6% ash assumed. iEstimated, 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 Life Protection Formula Adult Lamb and Brown Rice 48% 43.0% as fed	02 Basics Limited Ingredient Diet Small Breed Adult Turkey and Potato 47% 42.0% as fed	03 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 41% 36.5% as fed Best in this row	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Small Bites Lamb Meal & Brown Rice 54% 49.0% as fed
03 Named Proteins In The First Five Count of named animal proteins. iThe 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 Life Protection Formula Adult Lamb and Brown Rice 2 of 5	02 Basics Limited Ingredient Diet Small Breed Adult Turkey and Potato 2 of 5	03 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 3 of 5	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Small Bites Lamb Meal & Brown Rice 1 of 5
04 Flagged Additives Level Lower Is Better Matched against the flag list.	01 Life Protection Formula Adult Lamb and Brown Rice None	02 Basics Limited Ingredient Diet Small Breed Adult Turkey and Potato None	03 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal None	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Small Bites Lamb Meal & Brown Rice None
05 Brand Recall History Lower Is Better Manufacturer, not recipe.	01 Life Protection Formula Adult Lamb and Brown Rice 5 4 in the last 3 years	02 Basics Limited Ingredient Diet Small Breed Adult Turkey and Potato 5 4 in the last 3 years	03 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal None Best in this row	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Small Bites Lamb Meal & Brown Rice None Best in this row
Starch, As Fed iEstimated, 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 Life Protection Formula Adult Lamb and Brown Rice 43.0%	02 Basics Limited Ingredient Diet Small Breed Adult Turkey and Potato 42.0%	03 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 36.5%	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Small Bites Lamb Meal & Brown Rice 49.0%
Kcal / Cup	01 Life Protection Formula Adult Lamb and Brown Rice 378	02 Basics Limited Ingredient Diet Small Breed Adult Turkey and Potato 404	03 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 376	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Small Bites Lamb Meal & Brown Rice 370
First Five Ingredients	01 Life Protection Formula Adult Lamb and Brown Rice Deboned Lamb, Menhaden Fish Meal (source of Omega 3 Fatty Acids), Brown Rice, Oatmeal, Barley	02 Basics Limited Ingredient Diet Small Breed Adult Turkey and Potato Deboned Turkey, Oatmeal, Turkey Meal (source of Glucosamine), Brown Rice, Peas	03 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal Salmon, Whitefish Meal, Organic Oatmeal, Organic Barley, Lamb Meal	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Small Bites Lamb Meal & Brown Rice Lamb Meal, Brown Rice, Brewers Rice, Whole Grain Sorghum, Whole Grain Wheat

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.