The Comparison
Three Foods, One Method
The same five measures, applied to each food from its own figures.
Open Your Saved Comparison- 01 Instinct Original Small Breed Grain-Free Swap Remove
- 02 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Chicken & Barley Swap Remove
- 03 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Light with Chicken Meal & Barley Swap Remove
| 01 Instinct Original Small Breed Grain-Free Swap Remove | 02 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Chicken & Barley Swap Remove | 03 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Light with Chicken Meal & Barley Swap Remove | + Add A Food | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 Protein, Dry Matter Higher Is Better 26-32% dm reads typical mainstream. | 01 Original Small Breed Grain-Free 38.9% Best in this row | 02 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Chicken & Barley 22.2% | 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws 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 Original Small Breed Grain-Free 29% 26.0% as fed Best in this row | 02 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Chicken & Barley 54% 48.5% as fed | 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws 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 Original Small Breed Grain-Free 3 of 5 | 02 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Chicken & Barley 1 of 5 | 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Light with Chicken Meal & Barley 1 of 5 | |
| 04 Flagged Additives Level Lower Is Better Matched against the flag list. | 01 Original Small Breed Grain-Free None | 02 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Chicken & Barley None | 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Light with Chicken Meal & Barley None | |
| 05 Brand Recall History Level Lower Is Better Manufacturer, not recipe. | 01 Original Small Breed Grain-Free None | 02 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Chicken & Barley None | 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Light with Chicken Meal & Barley 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 Original Small Breed Grain-Free 26.0% | 02 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Chicken & Barley 48.5% | 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Light with Chicken Meal & Barley 44.0% | |
| Kcal / Cup | 01 Original Small Breed Grain-Free 476 | 02 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Chicken & Barley 363 | 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Light with Chicken Meal & Barley 271 | |
| First Five Ingredients | 01 Original Small Breed Grain-Free Chicken, Chicken Meal (source of Glucosamine and Chondroitin Sulfate), Chickpeas, Tapioca, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid) | 02 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Chicken & Barley Chicken, Cracked Pearled Barley, Whole Grain Wheat, Whole Grain Corn, Whole Grain Sorghum | 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 |
Swap A Food
Replacing column 02.
- Castor & Pollux Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 36.0% protein Swap In
- Castor & Pollux Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 31.5% protein Swap In
- Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Senior Vitality Chicken & Rice 21.1% protein Swap In
- Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Senior Vitality Small & Mini Chicken & Rice 21.1% protein Swap In
- Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Small Bites Chicken & Barley 22.2% protein Swap In
- Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Chicken & Barley 22.2% protein Swap In
- Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Lamb Meal & Brown Rice 21.7% protein Swap In
- Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & Rice 17.2% protein Swap In
- Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Small Bites Lamb Meal & Brown Rice 21.7% protein Swap In
- Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Chicken Meal & Rice 22.2% protein Swap In
- Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Lamb Meal & Brown Rice 21.7% protein Swap In
- Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Light with Chicken Meal & Barley 22.3% protein Swap In
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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