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The Comparison

Four Foods, One Method

The same five measures, applied to each food from its own figures.

These foods are different formats, so cost is shown but not ranked: wet and kibble are priced on very different amounts of water.

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 Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream Canine Swap Remove 02 Taste of the Wild Ancient Mountain Canine Swap Remove 03 K9 Natural Lamb Feast Grain-Free Swap Remove 04 Darwin's Natural Pet Products Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Premium Beef Grain-Free Frozen Swap Remove
01 Protein, Dry Matter Higher Is Better 26-32% dm reads typical mainstream. 01 Pacific Stream Canine 27.8% 02 Ancient Mountain Canine 27.8% 03 Lamb Feast Grain-Free 44.6% 04 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 Pacific Stream Canine 44% 40.0% as fed 02 Ancient Mountain Canine 46% 41.0% as fed 03 Lamb Feast Grain-Free 9% 8.5% as fed Best in this row 04 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 Pacific Stream Canine 2 of 5 02 Ancient Mountain Canine 2 of 5 03 Lamb Feast Grain-Free 5 of 5 04 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 Pacific Stream Canine None 02 Ancient Mountain Canine None 03 Lamb Feast Grain-Free None 04 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Premium Beef Grain-Free Frozen None
05 Brand Recall History Lower Is Better Manufacturer, not recipe. 01 Pacific Stream Canine 1 None in the last 3 years 02 Ancient Mountain Canine 1 None in the last 3 years 03 Lamb Feast Grain-Free None Best in this row 04 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Premium Beef Grain-Free Frozen 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 Pacific Stream Canine 40.0% 02 Ancient Mountain Canine 41.0% 03 Lamb Feast Grain-Free 8.5% 04 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Premium Beef Grain-Free Frozen 0.0%
Kcal / Cup 01 Pacific Stream Canine 408 02 Ancient Mountain Canine 411 03 Lamb Feast Grain-Free -- 04 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Premium Beef Grain-Free Frozen --
Price / Lb Lowest Across Bag Sizes 01 Pacific Stream Canine $2.11 28 lb bag, Chewy 02 Ancient Mountain Canine $2.11 28 lb bag, PetMeds 03 Lamb Feast Grain-Free $37.50 8 lb bag, Chewy 04 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Premium Beef Grain-Free Frozen -- No price on file.
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 Pacific Stream Canine $1.29 02 Ancient Mountain Canine $1.28 03 Lamb Feast Grain-Free -- No calorie figure on file. 04 Darwin’s Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Premium Beef Grain-Free Frozen -- No price on file.
First Five Ingredients 01 Pacific Stream Canine Salmon, ocean fish meal, sweet potatoes, potatoes, peas 02 Ancient Mountain Canine Lamb, lamb meal, grain sorghum, millet, cracked pearled barley 03 Lamb Feast Grain-Free Lamb, Lamb Tripe, Lamb Heart, Lamb Lung, Lamb Liver 04 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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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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