Two Foods, One Method

• 01 Merrick Wilderness Blend Grain Free in Gravy Swap Remove
• 02 Merrick Lil’ Plates Small Breed Thanksgiving Grain-Free Swap Remove

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

	01 Merrick Wilderness Blend Grain Free in Gravy Swap Remove	02 Merrick Lil’ Plates Small Breed Thanksgiving Grain-Free Swap Remove	+ Add A Food	+ Add A Food
01 Protein, Dry Matter Level Higher Is Better 26-32% dm reads typical mainstream.	01 Wilderness Blend Grain Free in Gravy 44.4%	02 Lil’ Plates Small Breed Thanksgiving Grain-Free 44.4%
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 Wilderness Blend Grain Free in Gravy 8% 0.0% as fed	02 Lil’ Plates Small Breed Thanksgiving Grain-Free 17% 0.0% 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 Wilderness Blend Grain Free in Gravy 4 of 5	02 Lil’ Plates Small Breed Thanksgiving Grain-Free 5 of 5
04 Flagged Additives Level Lower Is Better Matched against the flag list.	01 Wilderness Blend Grain Free in Gravy None	02 Lil’ Plates Small Breed Thanksgiving Grain-Free None
05 Brand Recall History Level Manufacturer, not recipe.	01 Wilderness Blend Grain Free in Gravy 1 None in the last 3 years	02 Lil’ Plates Small Breed Thanksgiving Grain-Free 1 None in the last 3 years
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 Wilderness Blend Grain Free in Gravy 0.0%	02 Lil’ Plates Small Breed Thanksgiving Grain-Free 0.0%
Kcal / Cup	01 Wilderness Blend Grain Free in Gravy --	02 Lil’ Plates Small Breed Thanksgiving Grain-Free --
Price / Lb Lowest Across Bag Sizes	01 Wilderness Blend Grain Free in Gravy $4.78 12 x 12.6 oz bag, Amazon	02 Lil’ Plates Small Breed Thanksgiving Grain-Free $10.42 12 x 3.5 oz bag, Amazon
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 Wilderness Blend Grain Free in Gravy $10.36 Best in this row	02 Lil’ Plates Small Breed Thanksgiving Grain-Free $23.71
First Five Ingredients	01 Wilderness Blend Grain Free in Gravy Deboned Duck, Beef Broth, Vegetable Broth, Bison, Venison	02 Lil’ Plates Small Breed Thanksgiving Grain-Free DEBONED TURKEY, TURKEY BROTH, CHICKEN BROTH, CHICKEN LIVER, DEBONED CHICKEN

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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.