Four Foods, One Method

• 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 & Bison Swap Remove
• 03 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Lamb Meal & Brown Rice Swap Remove
• 04 Castor & Pollux Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 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 Duck & Potato Dry Puppy Swap Remove	02 Natural Balance L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Sweet Potato & Bison Swap Remove	03 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Lamb Meal & Brown Rice 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 Duck & Potato Dry Puppy 27.8%	02 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Sweet Potato & Bison 22.2%	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Lamb Meal & Brown Rice 21.7%	04 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 31.5% 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 Duck & Potato Dry Puppy 48% 43.0% as fed	02 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Sweet Potato & Bison 56% 50.0% as fed	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Lamb Meal & Brown Rice 54% 49.0% as fed	04 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 41% 36.5% 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 Duck & Potato Dry Puppy 2 of 5	02 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Sweet Potato & Bison 1 of 5	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Lamb Meal & Brown Rice 1 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 Duck & Potato Dry Puppy None	02 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Sweet Potato & Bison None	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Lamb Meal & Brown Rice 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 Duck & Potato Dry Puppy None	02 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Sweet Potato & Bison None	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Lamb Meal & Brown Rice None	04 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 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 Duck & Potato Dry Puppy 43.0%	02 L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Sweet Potato & Bison 50.0%	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Lamb Meal & Brown Rice 49.0%	04 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 36.5%
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 & Bison 375	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Lamb Meal & Brown Rice 370	04 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 376
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 & Bison Sweet Potatoes, Bison, Potato Protein, Pea Protein, Canola Oil (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols)	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Lamb Meal & Brown Rice Lamb Meal, Brown Rice, Brewers Rice, Whole Grain Sorghum, Whole Grain Wheat	04 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal Salmon, Whitefish Meal, Organic Oatmeal, Organic Barley, Lamb Meal

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.