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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 K9 Natural Lamb Feast Grain-Free Swap Remove 02 Halo Puppy Holistic Chicken & Chicken Liver Swap Remove 03 Darwin's Natural Pet Products Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Premium Beef Grain-Free Frozen Swap Remove + Add A Food
01 Protein, Dry Matter Higher Is Better 26-32% dm reads typical mainstream. 01 Lamb Feast Grain-Free 44.6% 02 Puppy Holistic Chicken & Chicken Liver 31.1% 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Premium Beef Grain-Free Frozen 56.0% 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 Lamb Feast Grain-Free 9% 8.5% as fed Best in this row 02 Puppy Holistic Chicken & Chicken Liver 37% 33.0% as fed 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Premium Beef Grain-Free Frozen 12% 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 Lamb Feast Grain-Free 5 of 5 02 Puppy Holistic Chicken & Chicken Liver 3 of 5 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Premium Beef Grain-Free Frozen 3 of 5
04 Flagged Additives Level Lower Is Better Matched against the flag list. 01 Lamb Feast Grain-Free None 02 Puppy Holistic Chicken & Chicken Liver None 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Premium Beef Grain-Free Frozen None
05 Brand Recall History Level Lower Is Better Manufacturer, not recipe. 01 Lamb Feast Grain-Free None 02 Puppy Holistic Chicken & Chicken Liver None 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Premium Beef 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 Lamb Feast Grain-Free 8.5% 02 Puppy Holistic Chicken & Chicken Liver 33.0% 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Premium Beef Grain-Free Frozen 0.0%
Kcal / Cup 01 Lamb Feast Grain-Free -- 02 Puppy Holistic Chicken & Chicken Liver 421 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Premium Beef Grain-Free Frozen --
Price / Lb Lowest Across Bag Sizes 01 Lamb Feast Grain-Free $37.50 8 lb bag, Chewy 02 Puppy Holistic Chicken & Chicken Liver -- No price on file. 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Premium Beef 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 Lamb Feast Grain-Free -- No calorie figure on file. 02 Puppy Holistic Chicken & Chicken Liver -- No price on file. 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Premium Beef Grain-Free Frozen -- No price on file.
First Five Ingredients 01 Lamb Feast Grain-Free Lamb, Lamb Tripe, Lamb Heart, Lamb Lung, Lamb Liver 02 Puppy Holistic Chicken & Chicken Liver Chicken, Chicken Liver, Dried Egg Product, Oat Groats, Pearled Barley 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Premium Beef Grain-Free Frozen Antibiotic-Free Meat (72.41%): Ground Lean Beef Meat, Beef Hearts, Beef Livers. Organic Vegetables (24.43%): Cabbage, Lettuce, Squash (seasonal)

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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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