Four Foods, One Method

• 01 Merrick Lil’ Plates Grain-Free Senior Real Chicken + Sweet Potato Swap Remove
• 02 Merrick Backcountry Raw Infused Great Plains Red Swap Remove
• 03 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Light with Chicken Meal & Barley Swap Remove
• 04 Castor & Pollux Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 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 Senior Real Chicken + Sweet Potato Swap Remove	02 Merrick Backcountry Raw Infused Great Plains Red Swap Remove	03 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Light with Chicken Meal & Barley Swap Remove	04 Castor & Pollux Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato Swap Remove
01 Protein, Dry Matter Higher Is Better 26-32% dm reads typical mainstream.	01 Lil’ Plates Grain-Free Senior Real Chicken + Sweet Potato 33.7%	02 Backcountry Raw Infused Great Plains Red 38.2% Best in this row	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Light with Chicken Meal & Barley 22.3%	04 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 36.0%
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 Senior Real Chicken + Sweet Potato 42% 37.5% as fed	02 Backcountry Raw Infused Great Plains Red 32% 28.5% as fed Best in this row	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Light with Chicken Meal & Barley 49% 44.0% as fed	04 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 35% 31.5% 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 Senior Real Chicken + Sweet Potato 3 of 5	02 Backcountry Raw Infused Great Plains Red 4 of 5	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Light with Chicken Meal & Barley 1 of 5	04 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 3 of 5
04 Flagged Additives Lower Is Better Matched against the flag list.	01 Lil’ Plates Grain-Free Senior Real Chicken + Sweet Potato 1 Menadione	02 Backcountry Raw Infused Great Plains Red None Best in this row	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Light with Chicken Meal & Barley None Best in this row	04 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato None Best in this row
05 Brand Recall History Lower Is Better Manufacturer, not recipe.	01 Lil’ Plates Grain-Free Senior Real Chicken + Sweet Potato 1 None in the last 3 years	02 Backcountry Raw Infused Great Plains Red 1 None in the last 3 years	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Light with Chicken Meal & Barley None Best in this row	04 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 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 Senior Real Chicken + Sweet Potato 37.5%	02 Backcountry Raw Infused Great Plains Red 28.5%	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Light with Chicken Meal & Barley 44.0%	04 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 31.5%
Kcal / Cup	01 Lil’ Plates Grain-Free Senior Real Chicken + Sweet Potato 388	02 Backcountry Raw Infused Great Plains Red 391	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Light with Chicken Meal & Barley 271	04 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 393
First Five Ingredients	01 Lil’ Plates Grain-Free Senior Real Chicken + Sweet Potato Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Sweet Potatoes, Potatoes	02 Backcountry Raw Infused Great Plains Red Deboned Beef, Salmon Meal, Chicken Meal, Brown Rice, Dried Egg Product	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	04 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato Beef, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Organic Sweet Potatoes, Organic Potatoes

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.