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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 Natural Choice Nutro Natural Choice Small Breed Adult Chicken & Brown Rice Swap Remove 02 Purina ONE SmartBlend Digestive Health Formula with Real Chicken Swap Remove 03 Darwin's Natural Pet Products Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Premium Beef Grain-Free Frozen Swap Remove 04 Weruva Dogs in the Kitchen Classic Dog Funky Chunky Chicken Soup with Pumpkin Grain-Free Swap Remove
01 Protein, Dry Matter Higher Is Better 26-32% dm reads typical mainstream. 01 Nutro Natural Choice Small Breed Adult Chicken & Brown Rice 28.9% 02 SmartBlend Digestive Health Formula with Real Chicken 28.4% 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Premium Beef Grain-Free Frozen 56.0% 04 Dogs in the Kitchen Classic Dog Funky Chunky Chicken Soup with Pumpkin Grain-Free 64.0% 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 Nutro Natural Choice Small Breed Adult Chicken & Brown Rice 42% 38.0% as fed Best in this row 02 SmartBlend Digestive Health Formula with Real Chicken 43% 38.0% as fed 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Premium Beef Grain-Free Frozen 12% 0.0% as fed 04 Dogs in the Kitchen Classic Dog Funky Chunky Chicken Soup with Pumpkin Grain-Free 6% 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 Nutro Natural Choice Small Breed Adult Chicken & Brown Rice 2 of 5 02 SmartBlend Digestive Health Formula with Real Chicken 1 of 5 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Premium Beef Grain-Free Frozen 3 of 5 04 Dogs in the Kitchen Classic Dog Funky Chunky Chicken Soup with Pumpkin Grain-Free 2 of 5
04 Flagged Additives Lower Is Better Matched against the flag list. 01 Nutro Natural Choice Small Breed Adult Chicken & Brown Rice None Best in this row 02 SmartBlend Digestive Health Formula with Real Chicken 1 Menadione 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Premium Beef Grain-Free Frozen None Best in this row 04 Dogs in the Kitchen Classic Dog Funky Chunky Chicken Soup with Pumpkin Grain-Free None Best in this row
05 Brand Recall History Lower Is Better Manufacturer, not recipe. 01 Nutro Natural Choice Small Breed Adult Chicken & Brown Rice None Best in this row 02 SmartBlend Digestive Health Formula with Real Chicken 6 None in the last 3 years 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Premium Beef Grain-Free Frozen None Best in this row 04 Dogs in the Kitchen Classic Dog Funky Chunky Chicken Soup with Pumpkin Grain-Free 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 Nutro Natural Choice Small Breed Adult Chicken & Brown Rice 38.0% 02 SmartBlend Digestive Health Formula with Real Chicken 38.0% 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Premium Beef Grain-Free Frozen 0.0% 04 Dogs in the Kitchen Classic Dog Funky Chunky Chicken Soup with Pumpkin Grain-Free 0.0%
Kcal / Cup 01 Nutro Natural Choice Small Breed Adult Chicken & Brown Rice 373 02 SmartBlend Digestive Health Formula with Real Chicken 384 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Premium Beef Grain-Free Frozen -- 04 Dogs in the Kitchen Classic Dog Funky Chunky Chicken Soup with Pumpkin Grain-Free --
Price / Lb Lowest Across Bag Sizes 01 Nutro Natural Choice Small Breed Adult Chicken & Brown Rice $2.92 13 lb bag, PetSmart 02 SmartBlend Digestive Health Formula with Real Chicken $0.58 31.1 lb bag, Tractor Supply 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Premium Beef Grain-Free Frozen -- No price on file. 04 Dogs in the Kitchen Classic Dog Funky Chunky Chicken Soup with Pumpkin 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 Nutro Natural Choice Small Breed Adult Chicken & Brown Rice $1.74 02 SmartBlend Digestive Health Formula with Real Chicken $0.34 Best in this row 03 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Premium Beef Grain-Free Frozen -- No price on file. 04 Dogs in the Kitchen Classic Dog Funky Chunky Chicken Soup with Pumpkin Grain-Free -- No price on file.
First Five Ingredients 01 Nutro Natural Choice Small Breed Adult Chicken & Brown Rice Chicken, Chicken Meal, Brown Rice, Barley, Oatmeal 02 SmartBlend Digestive Health Formula with Real Chicken Chicken, rice, whole grain corn, corn protein meal, whole grain wheat 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) 04 Dogs in the Kitchen Classic Dog Funky Chunky Chicken Soup with Pumpkin Grain-Free Chicken (Boneless, Skinless Breast), Chicken Broth, Pumpkin, Carrot, Pea

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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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