Four Foods, One Method

• 01 Natural Balance L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Salmon & Sweet Potato Swap Remove
• 02 Natural Balance L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Salmon & Brown Rice Swap Remove
• 03 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Chicken & 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 Natural Balance L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Salmon & Sweet Potato Swap Remove	02 Natural Balance L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Salmon & Brown Rice Swap Remove	03 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Chicken & 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 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Salmon & Sweet Potato 26.7%	02 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Salmon & Brown Rice 26.7%	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Chicken & Barley 22.2%	04 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 36.0% Best in this row
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 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Salmon & Sweet Potato 51% 46.0% as fed	02 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Salmon & Brown Rice 45% 40.5% as fed	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Chicken & Barley 54% 48.5% as fed	04 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 35% 31.5% as fed Best in this row
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 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Salmon & Sweet Potato 2 of 5	02 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Salmon & Brown Rice 2 of 5	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Chicken & 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 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Salmon & Sweet Potato 1 Menadione	02 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Salmon & Brown Rice None Best in this row	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Chicken & Barley None Best in this row	04 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato None Best in this row
05 Brand Recall History Level Lower Is Better Manufacturer, not recipe.	01 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Salmon & Sweet Potato None	02 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Salmon & Brown Rice None	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Chicken & Barley None	04 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato None
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 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Salmon & Sweet Potato 46.0%	02 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Salmon & Brown Rice 40.5%	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Chicken & Barley 48.5%	04 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 31.5%
Kcal / Cup	01 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Salmon & Sweet Potato 373	02 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Salmon & Brown Rice 340	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Chicken & Barley 363	04 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 393
First Five Ingredients	01 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Salmon & Sweet Potato Salmon, Menhaden Fish Meal, Sweet Potatoes, Cassava Flour, Potatoes	02 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Salmon & Brown Rice Salmon, Menhaden Fish Meal, Brown Rice, Brewers Rice, Rice Bran	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Chicken & Barley Chicken, Cracked Pearled Barley, Whole Grain Wheat, Whole Grain Corn, Whole Grain Sorghum	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.