The Comparison
Four Foods, One Method
The same five measures, applied to each food from its own figures.
Open Your Saved Comparison- 01 Pedigree Adult Roasted Chicken, Rice & Vegetable Flavor Swap Remove
- 02 Pedigree Small Dog Grilled Steak and Vegetable Flavor Swap Remove
- 03 Castor & Pollux Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal Swap Remove
- 04 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Lamb Meal & Brown Rice Swap Remove
| 01 Pedigree Adult Roasted Chicken, Rice & Vegetable Flavor Swap Remove | 02 Pedigree Small Dog Grilled Steak and Vegetable Flavor Swap Remove | 03 Castor & Pollux Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal Swap Remove | 04 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Lamb Meal & Brown Rice Swap Remove | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 Protein, Dry Matter Higher Is Better 26-32% dm reads typical mainstream. | 01 Adult Roasted Chicken, Rice & Vegetable Flavor 23.9% | 02 Small Dog Grilled Steak and Vegetable Flavor 23.9% | 03 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 31.5% Best in this row | 04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 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 Adult Roasted Chicken, Rice & Vegetable Flavor 53% 47.0% as fed | 02 Small Dog Grilled Steak and Vegetable Flavor 52% 46.0% as fed | 03 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 41% 36.5% as fed Best in this row | 04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 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 Adult Roasted Chicken, Rice & Vegetable Flavor 0 of 5 | 02 Small Dog Grilled Steak and Vegetable Flavor 1 of 5 | 03 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 3 of 5 | 04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Lamb Meal & Brown Rice 1 of 5 |
| 04 Flagged Additives Lower Is Better Matched against the flag list. | 01 Adult Roasted Chicken, Rice & Vegetable Flavor 4 BHA, Red 40, Blue 2, Yellow 5 | 02 Small Dog Grilled Steak and Vegetable Flavor 4 BHA, Red 40, Blue 2, Yellow 5 | 03 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal None Best in this row | 04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Lamb Meal & Brown Rice None Best in this row |
| 05 Brand Recall History Level Lower Is Better Manufacturer, not recipe. | 01 Adult Roasted Chicken, Rice & Vegetable Flavor None | 02 Small Dog Grilled Steak and Vegetable Flavor None | 03 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal None | 04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 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 Adult Roasted Chicken, Rice & Vegetable Flavor 47.0% | 02 Small Dog Grilled Steak and Vegetable Flavor 46.0% | 03 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 36.5% | 04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Lamb Meal & Brown Rice 49.0% |
| Kcal / Cup | 01 Adult Roasted Chicken, Rice & Vegetable Flavor 316 | 02 Small Dog Grilled Steak and Vegetable Flavor 342 | 03 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 376 | 04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Lamb Meal & Brown Rice 370 |
| First Five Ingredients | 01 Adult Roasted Chicken, Rice & Vegetable Flavor Ground Whole Grain Corn, Meat And Bone Meal (Source Of Calcium), Corn Gluten Meal, Animal Fat (Source Of Omega 6 Fatty Acids [preserved with Bha & Citric Acid]), Soybean Meal | 02 Small Dog Grilled Steak and Vegetable Flavor Ground Whole Grain Corn, Chicken By-Product Meal (Source Of Glucosamine & Chondroitin Sulfate) Corn Gluten Meal, Animal Fat (Source Of Omega 6 Fatty Acids [preserved with Bha/citric Acid]), Meat And Bone Meal (Source Of Calcium) Soybean Meal, Ground Whole Grain Wheat | 03 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal Salmon, Whitefish Meal, Organic Oatmeal, Organic Barley, Lamb Meal | 04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Lamb Meal & Brown Rice Lamb Meal, Brown Rice, Brewers Rice, Whole Grain Sorghum, Whole Grain Wheat |
Swap A Food
Replacing column 04.
- Stella & Chewy's Stella & Chewy’s Raw Coated Wholesome Grains Chicken Pumpkin & Quinoa Puppy 33.0% protein Swap In
- Castor & Pollux Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 36.0% protein Swap In
- Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Senior Vitality Chicken & Rice 21.1% protein Swap In
- Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Senior Vitality Small & Mini Chicken & Rice 21.1% protein Swap In
- Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Small Bites Chicken & Barley 22.2% protein Swap In
- Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Chicken & Barley 22.2% protein Swap In
- Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Lamb Meal & Brown Rice 21.7% protein Swap In
- Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & Rice 17.2% protein Swap In
- Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Small Bites Lamb Meal & Brown Rice 21.7% protein Swap In
- Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Chicken Meal & Rice 22.2% protein Swap In
- Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Light with Chicken Meal & Barley 22.3% protein Swap In
- Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Light with Chicken Meal & Barley 22.3% protein Swap In
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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