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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 The Honest Kitchen Grain-Free Turkey Swap Remove 02 The Honest Kitchen Grain-Free Beef Swap Remove 03 TruDog Raw Beef Meal Bites Grain-Free Swap Remove 04 TruDog Garden of Vegan Plant-Based Swap Remove
01 Protein, Dry Matter Higher Is Better 26-32% dm reads typical mainstream. 01 Grain-Free Turkey 29.5% 02 Grain-Free Beef 29.5% 03 Raw Beef Meal Bites Grain-Free 43.5% Best in this row 04 Garden of Vegan Plant-Based 26.1%
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 Grain-Free Turkey 42% 36.5% as fed 02 Grain-Free Beef 42% 36.5% as fed 03 Raw Beef Meal Bites Grain-Free 9% 8.0% as fed Best in this row 04 Garden of Vegan Plant-Based 40% 4.8% 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 Grain-Free Turkey 2 of 5 02 Grain-Free Beef 2 of 5 03 Raw Beef Meal Bites Grain-Free 5 of 5 04 Garden of Vegan Plant-Based 0 of 5
04 Flagged Additives Level Lower Is Better Matched against the flag list. 01 Grain-Free Turkey None 02 Grain-Free Beef None 03 Raw Beef Meal Bites Grain-Free None 04 Garden of Vegan Plant-Based None
05 Brand Recall History Lower Is Better Manufacturer, not recipe. 01 Grain-Free Turkey 1 None in the last 3 years 02 Grain-Free Beef 1 None in the last 3 years 03 Raw Beef Meal Bites Grain-Free None Best in this row 04 Garden of Vegan Plant-Based None Best in this row
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 Grain-Free Turkey 36.5% 02 Grain-Free Beef 36.5% 03 Raw Beef Meal Bites Grain-Free 8.0% 04 Garden of Vegan Plant-Based 4.8%
Kcal / Cup 01 Grain-Free Turkey 423 02 Grain-Free Beef 427 03 Raw Beef Meal Bites Grain-Free 233 04 Garden of Vegan Plant-Based --
Price / Lb Lowest Across Bag Sizes 01 Grain-Free Turkey $5.14 20 lb bag, Amazon 02 Grain-Free Beef $5.88 20 lb bag, PetSmart 03 Raw Beef Meal Bites Grain-Free -- No price on file. 04 Garden of Vegan Plant-Based -- 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 Grain-Free Turkey $2.95 Best in this row 02 Grain-Free Beef $3.34 03 Raw Beef Meal Bites Grain-Free -- No price on file. 04 Garden of Vegan Plant-Based -- No price on file.
First Five Ingredients 01 Grain-Free Turkey Turkey, peas, potatoes, lentils, eggs 02 Grain-Free Beef Beef, peas, potatoes, beef liver, lentils 03 Raw Beef Meal Bites Grain-Free Beef, Beef Heart, Beef Liver, Beef Lung, Beef Kidney 04 Garden of Vegan Plant-Based Vegetable broth, chickpeas, potatoes, pea protein, carrots

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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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