Four Foods, One Method

• 01 NutriSource Element Series Coastal Plains Swap Remove
• 02 NutriSource Element Series Outback Trails Swap Remove
• 03 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Light with Chicken Meal & Barley Swap Remove
• 04 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & Rice Swap Remove

Four Foods, One Method. Each row is one measure; the best figure in a row is marked.

	01 NutriSource Element Series Coastal Plains Swap Remove	02 NutriSource Element Series Outback Trails Swap Remove	03 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Light with Chicken Meal & Barley Swap Remove	04 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & Rice Swap Remove
01 Protein, Dry Matter Higher Is Better 26-32% dm reads typical mainstream.	01 Element Series Coastal Plains 37.8% Best in this row	02 Element Series Outback Trails 37.8% Best in this row	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Light with Chicken Meal & Barley 22.3%	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & Rice 17.2%
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 Element Series Coastal Plains 33% 30.0% as fed	02 Element Series Outback Trails 32% 29.0% as fed Best in this row	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Light with Chicken Meal & Barley 49% 44.0% as fed	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & Rice 60% 54.0% as fed
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 Element Series Coastal Plains 5 of 5	02 Element Series Outback Trails 4 of 5	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Light with Chicken Meal & Barley 1 of 5	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & Rice 1 of 5
04 Flagged Additives Level Lower Is Better Matched against the flag list.	01 Element Series Coastal Plains None	02 Element Series Outback Trails None	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Light with Chicken Meal & Barley None	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & Rice None
05 Brand Recall History Level Lower Is Better Manufacturer, not recipe.	01 Element Series Coastal Plains None	02 Element Series Outback Trails None	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Light with Chicken Meal & Barley None	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & Rice 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 Element Series Coastal Plains 30.0%	02 Element Series Outback Trails 29.0%	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Light with Chicken Meal & Barley 44.0%	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & Rice 54.0%
Kcal / Cup	01 Element Series Coastal Plains 501	02 Element Series Outback Trails 494	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Light with Chicken Meal & Barley 271	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & Rice 353
First Five Ingredients	01 Element Series Coastal Plains Deboned Turkey, Salmon, Whitefish, Turkey Meal, Salmon Meal	02 Element Series Outback Trails Deboned Lamb, Kangaroo, Deboned Wild Boar, Lamb Meal, Turkey Meal	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Light with Chicken Meal & Barley Chicken Meal, Cracked Pearled Barley, Pea Fiber, Whole Grain Wheat, Whole Grain Corn	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & Rice Chicken Meal, Cracked Pearled Barley, Brewers Rice, Whole Grain Wheat, Whole Grain Corn

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.