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In The Kibble
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The Comparison

Three 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.

Three Foods, One Method. Each row is one measure; the best figure in a row is marked.
01 Royal Canin Size Health Nutrition Puppy Loaf in Sauce Swap Remove 02 Royal Canin Canine Care Nutrition Beauty Adult Loaf in Sauce Swap Remove 03 Darwin's Natural Pet Products Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Intelligent Design for Dogs Joint Support Grain-Free Frozen Swap Remove + Add A Food
01 Protein, Dry Matter Higher Is Better 26-32% dm reads typical mainstream. 01 Size Health Nutrition Puppy Loaf in Sauce 38.1% 02 Canine Care Nutrition Beauty Adult Loaf in Sauce 34.4% 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Intelligent Design for Dogs Joint Support Grain-Free Frozen 56.5% 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 Size Health Nutrition Puppy Loaf in Sauce 24% 1.1% as fed Best in this row 02 Canine Care Nutrition Beauty Adult Loaf in Sauce 29% 2.2% as fed 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Intelligent Design for Dogs Joint Support Grain-Free Frozen 13% 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 Size Health Nutrition Puppy Loaf in Sauce 3 of 5 02 Canine Care Nutrition Beauty Adult Loaf in Sauce 3 of 5 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Intelligent Design for Dogs Joint Support Grain-Free Frozen 3 of 5
04 Flagged Additives Level Lower Is Better Matched against the flag list. 01 Size Health Nutrition Puppy Loaf in Sauce None 02 Canine Care Nutrition Beauty Adult Loaf in Sauce None 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Intelligent Design for Dogs Joint Support Grain-Free Frozen None
05 Brand Recall History Level Lower Is Better Manufacturer, not recipe. 01 Size Health Nutrition Puppy Loaf in Sauce None 02 Canine Care Nutrition Beauty Adult Loaf in Sauce None 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Intelligent Design for Dogs Joint Support Grain-Free Frozen 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 Size Health Nutrition Puppy Loaf in Sauce 1.1% 02 Canine Care Nutrition Beauty Adult Loaf in Sauce 2.2% 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Intelligent Design for Dogs Joint Support Grain-Free Frozen 0.0%
Kcal / Cup 01 Size Health Nutrition Puppy Loaf in Sauce -- 02 Canine Care Nutrition Beauty Adult Loaf in Sauce -- 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Intelligent Design for Dogs Joint Support Grain-Free Frozen --
Price / Lb Lowest Across Bag Sizes 01 Size Health Nutrition Puppy Loaf in Sauce $11.63 4.8 oz bag, Petco 02 Canine Care Nutrition Beauty Adult Loaf in Sauce $8.15 5.3 oz bag, PetSmart 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Intelligent Design for Dogs Joint Support Grain-Free Frozen -- 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 Size Health Nutrition Puppy Loaf in Sauce $24.71 02 Canine Care Nutrition Beauty Adult Loaf in Sauce $17.38 Best in this row 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Intelligent Design for Dogs Joint Support Grain-Free Frozen -- No price on file.
First Five Ingredients 01 Size Health Nutrition Puppy Loaf in Sauce Water sufficient for processing, chicken, pork by-products, pork liver, brewers rice flour 02 Canine Care Nutrition Beauty Adult Loaf in Sauce Water sufficient for processing, chicken, pork by-products, pork liver, corn meal 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Intelligent Design for Dogs Joint Support Grain-Free Frozen White fish (Pollock), Turkey neck, Turkey heart, Broccoli, Sweet potato

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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.

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