Three Foods, One Method

• 01 Merrick Lil’ Plates Petite Pates Lamb Grain-Free Swap Remove
• 02 Merrick Lil’ Plates Small Breed Beef Stew Grain-Free Swap Remove
• 03 TruDog Raw Turkey Meal Bites Grain-Free Swap Remove

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

	01 Merrick Lil’ Plates Petite Pates Lamb Grain-Free Swap Remove	02 Merrick Lil’ Plates Small Breed Beef Stew Grain-Free Swap Remove	03 TruDog Raw Turkey Meal Bites Grain-Free Swap Remove	+ Add A Food
01 Protein, Dry Matter Higher Is Better 26-32% dm reads typical mainstream.	01 Lil’ Plates Petite Pates Lamb Grain-Free 36.4%	02 Lil’ Plates Small Breed Beef Stew Grain-Free 44.4%	03 Raw Turkey Meal Bites Grain-Free 54.3% Best in this row
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 Lil’ Plates Petite Pates Lamb Grain-Free 23% 1.0% as fed	02 Lil’ Plates Small Breed Beef Stew Grain-Free 20% 0.0% as fed	03 Raw Turkey Meal Bites Grain-Free 16% 15.0% as fed Best in this row
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 Lil’ Plates Petite Pates Lamb Grain-Free 4 of 5	02 Lil’ Plates Small Breed Beef Stew Grain-Free 5 of 5	03 Raw Turkey Meal Bites Grain-Free 4 of 5
04 Flagged Additives Level Lower Is Better Matched against the flag list.	01 Lil’ Plates Petite Pates Lamb Grain-Free None	02 Lil’ Plates Small Breed Beef Stew Grain-Free None	03 Raw Turkey Meal Bites Grain-Free None
05 Brand Recall History Lower Is Better Manufacturer, not recipe.	01 Lil’ Plates Petite Pates Lamb Grain-Free 1 None in the last 3 years	02 Lil’ Plates Small Breed Beef Stew Grain-Free 1 None in the last 3 years	03 Raw Turkey Meal Bites Grain-Free None Best in this row
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 Lil’ Plates Petite Pates Lamb Grain-Free 1.0%	02 Lil’ Plates Small Breed Beef Stew Grain-Free 0.0%	03 Raw Turkey Meal Bites Grain-Free 15.0%
Kcal / Cup	01 Lil’ Plates Petite Pates Lamb Grain-Free --	02 Lil’ Plates Small Breed Beef Stew Grain-Free --	03 Raw Turkey Meal Bites Grain-Free 231
Price / Lb Lowest Across Bag Sizes	01 Lil’ Plates Petite Pates Lamb Grain-Free -- No price on file.	02 Lil’ Plates Small Breed Beef Stew Grain-Free $10.36 3.5 oz bag, PetSmart	03 Raw Turkey Meal Bites 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 Lil’ Plates Petite Pates Lamb Grain-Free -- No price on file.	02 Lil’ Plates Small Breed Beef Stew Grain-Free $25.27	03 Raw Turkey Meal Bites Grain-Free -- No price on file.
First Five Ingredients	01 Lil’ Plates Petite Pates Lamb Grain-Free Deboned Lamb, Beef Broth, Beef Liver, Dried Egg Product, Carrots	02 Lil’ Plates Small Breed Beef Stew Grain-Free BEEF, BEEF BROTH, VENISON BROTH, BEEF LIVER, DRIED EGG WHITES	03 Raw Turkey Meal Bites Grain-Free Turkey, Turkey Heart, Turkey Liver, Herring Oil (source of Omega 3 Fatty Acids), Mixed Tocopherols (preservative)

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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.