Two Foods, One Method
The same five measures, applied to each food from its own figures.
Every food here is made by NutriSource, so the recall row cannot separate them.
Prices are the lowest per pound we found across bag sizes, from our latest checks. Stores change prices often.
Open Your Saved Comparison- 01 NutriSource Beef & Rice Swap Remove
- 02 NutriSource Element Series Open Waters Swap Remove
| 01 NutriSource Beef & Rice Swap Remove | 02 NutriSource Element Series Open Waters Swap Remove | + Add A Food | + Add A Food | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 Protein, Dry Matter Higher Is Better 26-32% dm reads typical mainstream. | 01 Beef & Rice 24.4% | 02 Element Series Open Waters 37.8% 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 Beef & Rice 48% 43.0% as fed | 02 Element Series Open Waters 32% 29.0% as fed Best in this row | ||
| 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 Beef & Rice 2 of 5 | 02 Element Series Open Waters 4 of 5 | ||
| 04 Flagged Additives Level Lower Is Better Matched against the flag list. | 01 Beef & Rice None | 02 Element Series Open Waters None | ||
| 05 Brand Recall History Level Manufacturer, not recipe. | 01 Beef & Rice 1 None in the last 3 years | 02 Element Series Open Waters 1 None in the last 3 years | ||
| 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 Beef & Rice 43.0% | 02 Element Series Open Waters 29.0% | ||
| Kcal / Cup | 01 Beef & Rice 398 | 02 Element Series Open Waters 504 | ||
| Price / Lb Lowest Across Bag Sizes | 01 Beef & Rice $2.03 26 lb bag, Menards | 02 Element Series Open Waters $4.41 24 lb bag, Petflow | ||
| 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 Beef & Rice $1.19 Best in this row | 02 Element Series Open Waters $2.45 | ||
| First Five Ingredients | 01 Beef & Rice beef, lamb meal, brown rice, barley, oatmeal | 02 Element Series Open Waters haddock, trout, duck, salmon, salmon meal |
Swap A Food
Replacing column 02.
- K9 Natural Baked & Coated Wild-Ocean Fish 44.4% protein Swap In
- TruDog Garden of Vegan Plant-Based 26.1% protein Swap In
- NutriSource PureVita Puppy Lamb & Pumpkin Entree Grain-Free 30.0% protein Swap In
- K9 Natural Lamb Feast Grain-Free 44.6% protein Swap In
- Darwin's Natural Pet Products Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Premium Beef Grain-Free Frozen 56.0% protein Swap In
- Darwin's Natural Pet Products Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Intelligent Design for Dogs Comprehensive Cancer Support Grain-Free Frozen 53.6% protein Swap In
- Darwin's Natural Pet Products Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Intelligent Design for Dogs Joint Support Grain-Free Frozen 56.5% protein Swap In
- Stella & Chewy's Stella & Chewy’s Wild Red : Whole Prey Chicken & Lamb 46.7% protein Swap In
- OC Raw Dog Complete Meals Beef & Produce Grain-Free Frozen 56.3% protein Swap In
- Weruva Dogs in the Kitchen Classic Dog Funky Chunky Chicken Soup with Pumpkin Grain-Free 64.0% protein Swap In
- Darwin's Natural Pet Products Darwin’s Natural Pet Products BioLogics Raw Chicken for Healthy Dogs Grain-Free Frozen 57.7% protein Swap In
- TruDog Raw Turkey Meal Bites Grain-Free 54.3% protein Swap In
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.
Think You Know What Your Dog Can Eat?
Ten everyday foods. Safe, In Moderation or Never. No googling, no second guesses. Then share your score with your friends, however embarrassing it turns out to be.
115 foods in the deck. Grapes are in there. So is cheese.
Think You
Know?
Ten foods, one at a time. Call each one Safe, In Moderation or Never, then flip the card to see if you had it right. The ones you miss are listed at the end.
Keys: 1 Safe 2 Moderation 3 Never Enter Next
Copied. Paste it anywhere your friends will see it.
Want the reason behind every answer? The 80-page e-book, $7.99
Now, is your dog's food any good?
Look it up: estimated starch, calories per cup and every ingredient, for 3,207 foods.

