Skip to content
My dogs
The Comparison

Three Foods, One Method

The same five measures, applied to each food from its own figures.

Three Foods, One Method. Each row is one measure; the best figure in a row is marked.
01 Blue Basics Limited Ingredient Diet Small Breed Adult Turkey and Potato Swap Remove 02 Castor & Pollux Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal Swap Remove 03 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Light with Chicken Meal & Barley Swap Remove + Add A Food
01 Protein, Dry Matter Higher Is Better 26-32% dm reads typical mainstream. 01 Basics Limited Ingredient Diet Small Breed Adult Turkey and Potato 24.4% 02 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 31.5% Best in this row 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Light with Chicken Meal & Barley 22.3%
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 Basics Limited Ingredient Diet Small Breed Adult Turkey and Potato 47% 42.0% as fed 02 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 41% 36.5% as fed Best in this row 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Light with Chicken Meal & Barley 49% 44.0% as fed
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 Basics Limited Ingredient Diet Small Breed Adult Turkey and Potato 2 of 5 02 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 3 of 5 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Light with Chicken Meal & Barley 1 of 5
04 Flagged Additives Level Lower Is Better Matched against the flag list. 01 Basics Limited Ingredient Diet Small Breed Adult Turkey and Potato None 02 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal None 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Light with Chicken Meal & Barley None
05 Brand Recall History Lower Is Better Manufacturer, not recipe. 01 Basics Limited Ingredient Diet Small Breed Adult Turkey and Potato 5 4 in the last 3 years 02 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal None Best in this row 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Light with Chicken Meal & Barley None Best in this row
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 Basics Limited Ingredient Diet Small Breed Adult Turkey and Potato 42.0% 02 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 36.5% 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Light with Chicken Meal & Barley 44.0%
Kcal / Cup 01 Basics Limited Ingredient Diet Small Breed Adult Turkey and Potato 404 02 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 376 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Light with Chicken Meal & Barley 271
First Five Ingredients 01 Basics Limited Ingredient Diet Small Breed Adult Turkey and Potato Deboned Turkey, Oatmeal, Turkey Meal (source of Glucosamine), Brown Rice, Peas 02 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal Salmon, Whitefish Meal, Organic Oatmeal, Organic Barley, Lamb Meal 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Light with Chicken Meal & Barley Chicken Meal, Cracked Pearled Barley, Pea Fiber, Whole Grain Wheat, Whole Grain Corn

+ Add A Food

Add A Food

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.

Keep In The Know,
Know What's In The Bowl

Dog food guidance, ingredient deep dives, and nutrition news worth knowing.