The Comparison
Three Foods, One Method
The same five measures, applied to each food from its own figures.
Open Your Saved Comparison- 01 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & Rice Swap Remove
- 02 Blue Basics Limited Ingredient Diet Small Breed Adult Turkey and Potato Swap Remove
- 03 Castor & Pollux Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal Swap Remove
| 01 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & Rice Swap Remove | 02 Blue Basics Limited Ingredient Diet Small Breed Adult Turkey and Potato Swap Remove | 03 Castor & Pollux Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal Swap Remove | + Add A Food | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 Protein, Dry Matter Higher Is Better 26-32% dm reads typical mainstream. | 01 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & Rice 17.2% | 02 Basics Limited Ingredient Diet Small Breed Adult Turkey and Potato 24.4% | 03 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 31.5% Best in this row | |
| 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 Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & Rice 60% 54.0% as fed | 02 Basics Limited Ingredient Diet Small Breed Adult Turkey and Potato 47% 42.0% as fed | 03 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. 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 Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & Rice 1 of 5 | 02 Basics Limited Ingredient Diet Small Breed Adult Turkey and Potato 2 of 5 | 03 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 3 of 5 | |
| 04 Flagged Additives Level Lower Is Better Matched against the flag list. | 01 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & Rice None | 02 Basics Limited Ingredient Diet Small Breed Adult Turkey and Potato None | 03 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal None | |
| 05 Brand Recall History Lower Is Better Manufacturer, not recipe. | 01 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & Rice None Best in this row | 02 Basics Limited Ingredient Diet Small Breed Adult Turkey and Potato 5 4 in the last 3 years | 03 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal None Best in this row | |
| 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 Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & Rice 54.0% | 02 Basics Limited Ingredient Diet Small Breed Adult Turkey and Potato 42.0% | 03 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 36.5% | |
| Kcal / Cup | 01 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & Rice 353 | 02 Basics Limited Ingredient Diet Small Breed Adult Turkey and Potato 404 | 03 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 376 | |
| First Five Ingredients | 01 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & Rice Chicken Meal, Cracked Pearled Barley, Brewers Rice, Whole Grain Wheat, Whole Grain Corn | 02 Basics Limited Ingredient Diet Small Breed Adult Turkey and Potato Deboned Turkey, Oatmeal, Turkey Meal (source of Glucosamine), Brown Rice, Peas | 03 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal Salmon, Whitefish Meal, Organic Oatmeal, Organic Barley, Lamb Meal |
Add A Food
- Castor & Pollux Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 36.0% protein Add
- Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Senior Vitality Chicken & Rice 21.1% protein Add
- Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Senior Vitality Small & Mini Chicken & Rice 21.1% protein Add
- Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Small Bites Chicken & Barley 22.2% protein Add
- Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Chicken & Barley 22.2% protein Add
- Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Lamb Meal & Brown Rice 21.7% protein Add
- Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Small Bites Lamb Meal & Brown Rice 21.7% protein Add
- Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Chicken Meal & Rice 22.2% protein Add
- Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Lamb Meal & Brown Rice 21.7% protein Add
- Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Light with Chicken Meal & Barley 22.3% protein Add
- Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Light with Chicken Meal & Barley 22.3% protein Add
- Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult Large Breed Chicken & Barley 22.2% protein Add
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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