The Comparison
Four Foods, One Method
The same five measures, applied to each food from its own figures.
Open Your Saved Comparison- 01 Natural Balance L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Chicken & Sweet Potato Small Breed Bites Swap Remove
- 02 Natural Balance L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Salmon & Brown Rice Swap Remove
- 03 Castor & Pollux Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato Swap Remove
- 04 Castor & Pollux Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal Swap Remove
| 01 Natural Balance L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Chicken & Sweet Potato Small Breed Bites Swap Remove | 02 Natural Balance L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Salmon & Brown Rice Swap Remove | 03 Castor & Pollux Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato Swap Remove | 04 Castor & Pollux Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal Swap Remove | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 Protein, Dry Matter Higher Is Better 26-32% dm reads typical mainstream. | 01 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Chicken & Sweet Potato Small Breed Bites 26.7% | 02 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Salmon & Brown Rice 26.7% | 03 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 36.0% Best in this row | 04 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 31.5% |
| 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 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Chicken & Sweet Potato Small Breed Bites 51% 46.0% as fed | 02 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Salmon & Brown Rice 45% 40.5% as fed | 03 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 35% 31.5% as fed Best in this row | 04 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 41% 36.5% 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 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Chicken & Sweet Potato Small Breed Bites 2 of 5 | 02 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Salmon & Brown Rice 2 of 5 | 03 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 3 of 5 | 04 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 3 of 5 |
| 04 Flagged Additives Level Lower Is Better Matched against the flag list. | 01 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Chicken & Sweet Potato Small Breed Bites None | 02 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Salmon & Brown Rice None | 03 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato None | 04 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal None |
| 05 Brand Recall History Level Lower Is Better Manufacturer, not recipe. | 01 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Chicken & Sweet Potato Small Breed Bites None | 02 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Salmon & Brown Rice None | 03 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato None | 04 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 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 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Chicken & Sweet Potato Small Breed Bites 46.0% | 02 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Salmon & Brown Rice 40.5% | 03 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 31.5% | 04 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 36.5% |
| Kcal / Cup | 01 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Chicken & Sweet Potato Small Breed Bites 393 | 02 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Salmon & Brown Rice 340 | 03 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 393 | 04 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 376 |
| First Five Ingredients | 01 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Chicken & Sweet Potato Small Breed Bites Chicken, Chicken 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 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato Beef, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Organic Sweet Potatoes, Organic Potatoes | 04 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal Salmon, Whitefish Meal, Organic Oatmeal, Organic Barley, Lamb Meal |
Add A Food
The comparison holds four foods. Use Swap on a column to put a different one in its place.
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.



