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 Duck & Potato Dry Puppy Swap Remove
- 02 Natural Balance L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Sweet Potato & Venison Swap Remove
- 03 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Chicken Meal & Rice Swap Remove
- 04 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Lamb Meal & Brown Rice Swap Remove
| 01 Natural Balance L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Duck & Potato Dry Puppy Swap Remove | 02 Natural Balance L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Sweet Potato & Venison Swap Remove | 03 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Chicken Meal & Rice Swap Remove | 04 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Lamb Meal & Brown Rice Swap Remove | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 Protein, Dry Matter Higher Is Better 26-32% dm reads typical mainstream. | 01 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Duck & Potato Dry Puppy 27.8% Best in this row | 02 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Sweet Potato & Venison 22.2% | 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Chicken Meal & Rice 22.2% | 04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Lamb Meal & Brown Rice 21.7% |
| 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 Duck & Potato Dry Puppy 48% 43.0% as fed Best in this row | 02 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Sweet Potato & Venison 54% 49.0% as fed | 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Chicken Meal & Rice 53% 47.5% as fed | 04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Lamb Meal & Brown Rice 54% 49.0% 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 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Duck & Potato Dry Puppy 2 of 5 | 02 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Sweet Potato & Venison 1 of 5 | 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Chicken Meal & Rice 1 of 5 | 04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Lamb Meal & Brown Rice 1 of 5 |
| 04 Flagged Additives Level Lower Is Better Matched against the flag list. | 01 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Duck & Potato Dry Puppy None | 02 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Sweet Potato & Venison None | 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Chicken Meal & Rice None | 04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Lamb Meal & Brown Rice None |
| 05 Brand Recall History Level Lower Is Better Manufacturer, not recipe. | 01 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Duck & Potato Dry Puppy None | 02 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Sweet Potato & Venison None | 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Chicken Meal & Rice None | 04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Lamb Meal & Brown Rice 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 Duck & Potato Dry Puppy 43.0% | 02 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Sweet Potato & Venison 49.0% | 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Chicken Meal & Rice 47.5% | 04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Lamb Meal & Brown Rice 49.0% |
| Kcal / Cup | 01 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Duck & Potato Dry Puppy 395 | 02 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Sweet Potato & Venison 370 | 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Chicken Meal & Rice 371 | 04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Lamb Meal & Brown Rice 391 |
| First Five Ingredients | 01 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Duck & Potato Dry Puppy Duck, Duck Meal, Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Cassava Flour | 02 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Sweet Potato & Venison Sweet Potatoes, Venison, Pea Protein, Potato Protein, Canola Oil (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols) | 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Chicken Meal & Rice Chicken Meal, Brewers Rice, Whole Grain Wheat, Soybean Meal, Whole Grain Sorghum | 04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Lamb Meal & Brown Rice Lamb Meal, Brown Rice, Brewers Rice, Whole Grain Sorghum, Whole Grain Wheat |
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.
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