Four Foods, One Method

• 01 Merrick Lil’ Plates Grain-Free Real Chicken + Sweet Potatoes Swap Remove
• 02 Merrick Backcountry Raw Infused Game Bird Swap Remove
• 03 Castor & Pollux Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal Swap Remove
• 04 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Chicken Meal & Rice Swap Remove

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

	01 Merrick Lil’ Plates Grain-Free Real Chicken + Sweet Potatoes Swap Remove	02 Merrick Backcountry Raw Infused Game Bird Swap Remove	03 Castor & Pollux Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal Swap Remove	04 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Chicken Meal & Rice Swap Remove
01 Protein, Dry Matter Higher Is Better 26-32% dm reads typical mainstream.	01 Lil’ Plates Grain-Free Real Chicken + Sweet Potatoes 38.2%	02 Backcountry Raw Infused Game Bird 42.7% Best in this row	03 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 31.5%	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Chicken Meal & Rice 22.2%
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 Lil’ Plates Grain-Free Real Chicken + Sweet Potatoes 32% 28.5% as fed	02 Backcountry Raw Infused Game Bird 28% 24.5% as fed Best in this row	03 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 41% 36.5% as fed	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Chicken Meal & Rice 53% 47.5% 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 Lil’ Plates Grain-Free Real Chicken + Sweet Potatoes 3 of 5	02 Backcountry Raw Infused Game Bird 3 of 5	03 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 3 of 5	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Chicken Meal & Rice 1 of 5
04 Flagged Additives Lower Is Better Matched against the flag list.	01 Lil’ Plates Grain-Free Real Chicken + Sweet Potatoes 1 Menadione	02 Backcountry Raw Infused Game Bird None Best in this row	03 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal None Best in this row	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Chicken Meal & Rice None Best in this row
05 Brand Recall History Lower Is Better Manufacturer, not recipe.	01 Lil’ Plates Grain-Free Real Chicken + Sweet Potatoes 1 None in the last 3 years	02 Backcountry Raw Infused Game Bird 1 None in the last 3 years	03 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal None Best in this row	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Chicken Meal & 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 Lil’ Plates Grain-Free Real Chicken + Sweet Potatoes 28.5%	02 Backcountry Raw Infused Game Bird 24.5%	03 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 36.5%	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Chicken Meal & Rice 47.5%
Kcal / Cup	01 Lil’ Plates Grain-Free Real Chicken + Sweet Potatoes 399	02 Backcountry Raw Infused Game Bird 395	03 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 376	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Chicken Meal & Rice 371
First Five Ingredients	01 Lil’ Plates Grain-Free Real Chicken + Sweet Potatoes Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Sweet Potatoes, Potatoes	02 Backcountry Raw Infused Game Bird Deboned Turkey, Turkey Meal, Chicken Meal, Sweet Potatoes, Potatoes	03 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal Salmon, Whitefish Meal, Organic Oatmeal, Organic Barley, Lamb Meal	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Chicken Meal & Rice Chicken Meal, Brewers Rice, Whole Grain Wheat, Soybean Meal, Whole Grain Sorghum

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.