Three Foods, One Method

• 01 NutriSource Large Breed Trout & Rice Swap Remove
• 02 NutriSource Element Series Open Waters Swap Remove
• 03 K9 Natural Lamb Feast Grain-Free Swap Remove

Three Foods, One Method. Each row is one measure; the best figure in a row is marked.

	01 NutriSource Large Breed Trout & Rice Swap Remove	02 NutriSource Element Series Open Waters Swap Remove	03 K9 Natural Lamb Feast Grain-Free Swap Remove	+ Add A Food
01 Protein, Dry Matter Higher Is Better 26-32% dm reads typical mainstream.	01 Large Breed Trout & Rice 24.4%	02 Element Series Open Waters 37.8%	03 Lamb Feast Grain-Free 44.6% Best in this row
02 Carbohydrate Load, Dry Matter Lower Is Better Estimated, 6% ash assumed. iEstimated, 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 Large Breed Trout & Rice 48% 43.0% as fed	02 Element Series Open Waters 32% 29.0% as fed	03 Lamb Feast Grain-Free 9% 8.5% as fed Best in this row
03 Named Proteins In The First Five Count of named animal proteins. iThe 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 Large Breed Trout & Rice 2 of 5	02 Element Series Open Waters 4 of 5	03 Lamb Feast Grain-Free 5 of 5
04 Flagged Additives Level Lower Is Better Matched against the flag list.	01 Large Breed Trout & Rice None	02 Element Series Open Waters None	03 Lamb Feast Grain-Free None
05 Brand Recall History Lower Is Better Manufacturer, not recipe.	01 Large Breed Trout & Rice 1 None in the last 3 years	02 Element Series Open Waters 1 None in the last 3 years	03 Lamb Feast Grain-Free None Best in this row
Starch, As Fed iEstimated, 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 Large Breed Trout & Rice 43.0%	02 Element Series Open Waters 29.0%	03 Lamb Feast Grain-Free 8.5%
Kcal / Cup	01 Large Breed Trout & Rice 405	02 Element Series Open Waters 504	03 Lamb Feast Grain-Free --
Price / Lb Lowest Across Bag Sizes	01 Large Breed Trout & Rice $2.58 26 lb bag, Walmart	02 Element Series Open Waters $4.41 24 lb bag, Petflow	03 Lamb Feast Grain-Free $37.50 8 lb bag, Chewy
Cost / 1,000 Kcal What the same amount of energy costs, so a denser food is not penalized for a higher price per pound.	01 Large Breed Trout & Rice $1.49	02 Element Series Open Waters $2.45	03 Lamb Feast Grain-Free -- No calorie figure on file.
First Five Ingredients	01 Large Breed Trout & Rice trout, menhaden fish meal, brown rice, barley, oatmeal	02 Element Series Open Waters haddock, trout, duck, salmon, salmon meal	03 Lamb Feast Grain-Free Lamb, Lamb Tripe, Lamb Heart, Lamb Lung, Lamb Liver

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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.