Four Foods, One Method

• 01 Royal Canin>Royal Canin Veterinary Royal Canin Veterinary Hydrolyzed Protein Small Dog Swap Remove
• 02 Royal Canin>Royal Canin Veterinary Royal Canin Veterinary Urinary SO Moderate Calorie Swap Remove
• 03 Castor & Pollux Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato Swap Remove
• 04 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Chicken & Barley Swap Remove

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

	01 Royal Canin>Royal Canin Veterinary Royal Canin Veterinary Hydrolyzed Protein Small Dog Swap Remove	02 Royal Canin>Royal Canin Veterinary Royal Canin Veterinary Urinary SO Moderate Calorie Swap Remove	03 Castor & Pollux Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato Swap Remove	04 Science Diet Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Chicken & Barley Swap Remove
01 Protein, Dry Matter Higher Is Better 26-32% dm reads typical mainstream.	01 Royal Canin Veterinary Hydrolyzed Protein Small Dog 25.0%	02 Royal Canin Veterinary Urinary SO Moderate Calorie 19.4%	03 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 36.0% Best in this row	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Chicken & Barley 22.2%
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 Royal Canin Veterinary Hydrolyzed Protein Small Dog 49% 44.3% as fed	02 Royal Canin Veterinary Urinary SO Moderate Calorie 50% 46.8% as fed	03 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 35% 31.5% as fed Best in this row	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Chicken & Barley 54% 48.5% 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 Royal Canin Veterinary Hydrolyzed Protein Small Dog 1 of 5	02 Royal Canin Veterinary Urinary SO Moderate Calorie 1 of 5	03 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 3 of 5	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Chicken & Barley 1 of 5
04 Flagged Additives Level Lower Is Better Matched against the flag list.	01 Royal Canin Veterinary Hydrolyzed Protein Small Dog None	02 Royal Canin Veterinary Urinary SO Moderate Calorie None	03 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato None	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Chicken & Barley None
05 Brand Recall History Level Lower Is Better Manufacturer, not recipe.	01 Royal Canin Veterinary Hydrolyzed Protein Small Dog None	02 Royal Canin Veterinary Urinary SO Moderate Calorie None	03 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato None	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Chicken & Barley 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 Royal Canin Veterinary Hydrolyzed Protein Small Dog 44.3%	02 Royal Canin Veterinary Urinary SO Moderate Calorie 46.8%	03 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 31.5%	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Chicken & Barley 48.5%
Kcal / Cup	01 Royal Canin Veterinary Hydrolyzed Protein Small Dog 376	02 Royal Canin Veterinary Urinary SO Moderate Calorie 272	03 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato 393	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Chicken & Barley 363
First Five Ingredients	01 Royal Canin Veterinary Hydrolyzed Protein Small Dog Brewers rice, hydrolyzed soy protein, chicken fat, natural flavors, vegetable oil	02 Royal Canin Veterinary Urinary SO Moderate Calorie Corn, brewers rice, brown rice, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal	03 Pristine Grain-Free Grass-Fed Beef & Sweet Potato Beef, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Organic Sweet Potatoes, Organic Potatoes	04 Hill’s Science Diet Adult 1-6 Chicken & Barley Chicken, Cracked Pearled Barley, Whole Grain Wheat, Whole Grain Corn, Whole Grain Sorghum

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.