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The Comparison

Four Foods, One Method

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

Prices are the lowest per pound we found across bag sizes, from our latest checks. Stores change prices often.

Four Foods, One Method. Each row is one measure; the best figure in a row is marked.
01 FirstMate Skoki Swap Remove 02 FirstMate New Zealand Beef Meal Formula Small Bites Grain-Free Swap Remove 03 Darwin's Natural Pet Products Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Intelligent Design for Dogs Comprehensive Cancer Support Grain-Free Frozen Swap Remove 04 Weruva Dogs in the Kitchen Classic Dog Funky Chunky Chicken Soup with Pumpkin Grain-Free Swap Remove
01 Protein, Dry Matter Higher Is Better 26-32% dm reads typical mainstream. 01 Skoki 26.7% 02 New Zealand Beef Meal Formula Small Bites Grain-Free 27.8% 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Intelligent Design for Dogs Comprehensive Cancer Support Grain-Free Frozen 53.6% 04 Dogs in the Kitchen Classic Dog Funky Chunky Chicken Soup with Pumpkin Grain-Free 64.0% 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 Skoki 46% 41.0% as fed Best in this row 02 New Zealand Beef Meal Formula Small Bites Grain-Free 47% 42.0% as fed 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Intelligent Design for Dogs Comprehensive Cancer Support Grain-Free Frozen 7% 0.0% as fed 04 Dogs in the Kitchen Classic Dog Funky Chunky Chicken Soup with Pumpkin Grain-Free 6% 0.0% 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 Skoki 3 of 5 02 New Zealand Beef Meal Formula Small Bites Grain-Free 2 of 5 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Intelligent Design for Dogs Comprehensive Cancer Support Grain-Free Frozen 4 of 5 04 Dogs in the Kitchen Classic Dog Funky Chunky Chicken Soup with Pumpkin Grain-Free 2 of 5
04 Flagged Additives Level Lower Is Better Matched against the flag list. 01 Skoki None 02 New Zealand Beef Meal Formula Small Bites Grain-Free None 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Intelligent Design for Dogs Comprehensive Cancer Support Grain-Free Frozen None 04 Dogs in the Kitchen Classic Dog Funky Chunky Chicken Soup with Pumpkin Grain-Free None
05 Brand Recall History Level Lower Is Better Manufacturer, not recipe. 01 Skoki None 02 New Zealand Beef Meal Formula Small Bites Grain-Free None 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Intelligent Design for Dogs Comprehensive Cancer Support Grain-Free Frozen None 04 Dogs in the Kitchen Classic Dog Funky Chunky Chicken Soup with Pumpkin Grain-Free 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 Skoki 41.0% 02 New Zealand Beef Meal Formula Small Bites Grain-Free 42.0% 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Intelligent Design for Dogs Comprehensive Cancer Support Grain-Free Frozen 0.0% 04 Dogs in the Kitchen Classic Dog Funky Chunky Chicken Soup with Pumpkin Grain-Free 0.0%
Kcal / Cup 01 Skoki 490 02 New Zealand Beef Meal Formula Small Bites Grain-Free 513 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Intelligent Design for Dogs Comprehensive Cancer Support Grain-Free Frozen -- 04 Dogs in the Kitchen Classic Dog Funky Chunky Chicken Soup with Pumpkin Grain-Free --
Price / Lb Lowest Across Bag Sizes 01 Skoki $1.52 40 lb bag, Tomlinson's Feed 02 New Zealand Beef Meal Formula Small Bites Grain-Free $3.88 25 lb bag, Amazon 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Intelligent Design for Dogs Comprehensive Cancer Support Grain-Free Frozen -- No price on file. 04 Dogs in the Kitchen Classic Dog Funky Chunky Chicken Soup with Pumpkin Grain-Free -- No price on file.
Cost / 1,000 Kcal Lower Is Cheaper To Feed What the same amount of energy costs, so a denser food is not penalized for a higher price per pound. 01 Skoki $1.06 Best in this row 02 New Zealand Beef Meal Formula Small Bites Grain-Free $2.58 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Intelligent Design for Dogs Comprehensive Cancer Support Grain-Free Frozen -- No price on file. 04 Dogs in the Kitchen Classic Dog Funky Chunky Chicken Soup with Pumpkin Grain-Free -- No price on file.
First Five Ingredients 01 Skoki Chicken Meal, Oatmeal, Rice, Chicken Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Fish Meal 02 New Zealand Beef Meal Formula Small Bites Grain-Free Beef Meal, Burbank Potato, Norkotah Potato, Dried Yeast, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols) 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Intelligent Design for Dogs Comprehensive Cancer Support Grain-Free Frozen White Fish (Pollock), Turkey Neck, Turkey Gizzard, Beef Liver, Broccoli 04 Dogs in the Kitchen Classic Dog Funky Chunky Chicken Soup with Pumpkin Grain-Free Chicken (Boneless, Skinless Breast), Chicken Broth, Pumpkin, Carrot, Pea

Add A Food

The comparison holds four foods. Use Swap on a column to put a different one in its place.

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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