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The Comparison

Three Foods, One Method

The same five measures, applied to each food from its own figures.

Three Foods, One Method. Each row is one measure; the best figure in a row is marked.
01 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Perfect Digestion Large Breed Chicken, Brown Rice & Whole Oats Swap Remove 02 Castor & Pollux Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato Swap Remove 03 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Lamb Meal & Brown Rice Swap Remove + Add A Food
01 Protein, Dry Matter Higher Is Better 26-32% dm reads typical mainstream. 01 Hill’s Science Diet Perfect Digestion Large Breed Chicken, Brown Rice & Whole Oats 22.2% 02 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 36.0% Best in this row 03 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 Hill’s Science Diet Perfect Digestion Large Breed Chicken, Brown Rice & Whole Oats 54% 49.0% as fed 02 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 35% 31.5% as fed Best in this row 03 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 Hill’s Science Diet Perfect Digestion Large Breed Chicken, Brown Rice & Whole Oats 1 of 5 02 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 3 of 5 03 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 Hill’s Science Diet Perfect Digestion Large Breed Chicken, Brown Rice & Whole Oats None 02 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato None 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Lamb Meal & Brown Rice None
05 Brand Recall History Level Lower Is Better Manufacturer, not recipe. 01 Hill’s Science Diet Perfect Digestion Large Breed Chicken, Brown Rice & Whole Oats None 02 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato None 03 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 Hill’s Science Diet Perfect Digestion Large Breed Chicken, Brown Rice & Whole Oats 49.0% 02 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 31.5% 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Lamb Meal & Brown Rice 49.0%
Kcal / Cup 01 Hill’s Science Diet Perfect Digestion Large Breed Chicken, Brown Rice & Whole Oats 380 02 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 393 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Lamb Meal & Brown Rice 391
First Five Ingredients 01 Hill’s Science Diet Perfect Digestion Large Breed Chicken, Brown Rice & Whole Oats Chicken, Cracked Pearled Barley, Brown Rice, Brewers Rice, Whole Grain Oats 02 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato Beef, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Organic Sweet Potatoes, Organic Potatoes 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Lamb Meal & Brown Rice Lamb Meal, Brown Rice, Brewers Rice, Whole Grain Sorghum, Whole Grain Wheat

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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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