Skip to content
My dogs
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 Castor & Pollux Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 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 Chicken Meal & Rice Swap Remove + Add A Food
01 Protein, Dry Matter Higher Is Better 26-32% dm reads typical mainstream. 01 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 31.5% 02 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 36.0% Best in this row 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Chicken Meal & Rice 22.2%
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 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 41% 36.5% 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 Chicken Meal & Rice 53% 47.5% 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 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 3 of 5 02 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 3 of 5 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Chicken Meal & Rice 1 of 5
04 Flagged Additives Level Lower Is Better Matched against the flag list. 01 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal None 02 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato None 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Chicken Meal & Rice None
05 Brand Recall History Level Lower Is Better Manufacturer, not recipe. 01 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal None 02 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato None 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Chicken Meal & 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 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 36.5% 02 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 31.5% 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Chicken Meal & Rice 47.5%
Kcal / Cup 01 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal 376 02 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 393 03 Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Paws Chicken Meal & Rice 371
First Five Ingredients 01 Pristine Wild-Caught Salmon & Oatmeal Salmon, Whitefish Meal, Organic Oatmeal, Organic Barley, Lamb Meal 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 Chicken Meal & Rice Chicken Meal, Brewers Rice, Whole Grain Wheat, Soybean Meal, Whole Grain Sorghum

+ Add A Food

Swap A Food

Replacing column 03.

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.

Keep In The Know,
Know What's In The Bowl

Dog food guidance, ingredient deep dives, and nutrition news worth knowing.