Four Foods, One Method

• 01 Blue Life Protection Formula Adult Lamb and Brown Rice Swap Remove
• 02 Blue Natural Veterinary Diet W+U Weight Management + Urinary Care Swap Remove
• 03 Castor & Pollux Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato Swap Remove
• 04 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & 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 Natural Veterinary Diet W+U Weight Management + Urinary Care Swap Remove	03 Castor & Pollux Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato Swap Remove	04 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & 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 Natural Veterinary Diet W+U Weight Management + Urinary Care 33.3%	03 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 36.0% Best in this row	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & Rice 17.2%
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 Natural Veterinary Diet W+U Weight Management + Urinary Care 30% 27.0% as fed Best in this row	03 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 35% 31.5% as fed	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & Rice 60% 54.0% 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 Natural Veterinary Diet W+U Weight Management + Urinary Care 2 of 5	03 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 3 of 5	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & 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 Natural Veterinary Diet W+U Weight Management + Urinary Care None	03 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato None	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & 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 Natural Veterinary Diet W+U Weight Management + Urinary Care 5 4 in the last 3 years	03 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato None Best in this row	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & 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 Natural Veterinary Diet W+U Weight Management + Urinary Care 27.0%	03 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 31.5%	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & Rice 54.0%
Kcal / Cup	01 Life Protection Formula Adult Lamb and Brown Rice 378	02 Natural Veterinary Diet W+U Weight Management + Urinary Care 309	03 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 393	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & Rice 353
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 Natural Veterinary Diet W+U Weight Management + Urinary Care Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Pea Starch, Peas, Pea Protein	03 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato Beef, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Organic Sweet Potatoes, Organic Potatoes	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & Rice Chicken Meal, Cracked Pearled Barley, Brewers Rice, Whole Grain Wheat, Whole Grain Corn

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.