Four Foods, One Method

• 01 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & Rice Swap Remove
• 02 Instinct Original Small Breed Grain-Free Swap Remove
• 03 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Senior Vitality Small & Mini Chicken & 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 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & Rice Swap Remove	02 Instinct Original Small Breed Grain-Free Swap Remove	03 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Senior Vitality Small & Mini Chicken & 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 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & Rice 17.2%	02 Original Small Breed Grain-Free 38.9% Best in this row	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Senior Vitality Small & Mini Chicken & Rice 21.1%	04 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 31.5%
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 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & Rice 60% 54.0% as fed	02 Original Small Breed Grain-Free 29% 26.0% as fed Best in this row	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Senior Vitality Small & Mini Chicken & Rice 57% 51.0% as fed	04 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 41% 36.5% 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 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & Rice 1 of 5	02 Original Small Breed Grain-Free 3 of 5	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Senior Vitality Small & Mini Chicken & 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 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & Rice None	02 Original Small Breed Grain-Free None	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Senior Vitality Small & Mini Chicken & Rice None	04 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal None
05 Brand Recall History Level Lower Is Better Manufacturer, not recipe.	01 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & Rice None	02 Original Small Breed Grain-Free None	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Senior Vitality Small & Mini Chicken & 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 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & Rice 54.0%	02 Original Small Breed Grain-Free 26.0%	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Senior Vitality Small & Mini Chicken & Rice 51.0%	04 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 36.5%
Kcal / Cup	01 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Chicken Meal, Barley & Rice 353	02 Original Small Breed Grain-Free 476	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Senior Vitality Small & Mini Chicken & Rice 363	04 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 Original Small Breed Grain-Free Chicken, Chicken Meal (source of Glucosamine and Chondroitin Sulfate), Chickpeas, Tapioca, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid)	03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Senior Vitality Small & Mini Chicken & Rice Chicken, Brewers Rice, Yellow Peas, Cracked Pearled Barley, Whole Grain Oats	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.