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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 Merrick Kitchen Comforts Turkey Meatloaf Swap Remove 02 Merrick Lil’ Plates Small Breed Beef Stew Grain-Free Swap Remove 03 Stella & Chewy's Stella & Chewy’s Wild Red : Whole Prey Chicken & Lamb Swap Remove 04 NutriSource PureVita Puppy Lamb & Pumpkin Entree Grain-Free Swap Remove
01 Protein, Dry Matter Higher Is Better 26-32% dm reads typical mainstream. 01 Kitchen Comforts Turkey Meatloaf 44.4% 02 Lil’ Plates Small Breed Beef Stew Grain-Free 44.4% 03 Stella & Chewy’s Wild Red : Whole Prey Chicken & Lamb 46.7% Best in this row 04 PureVita Puppy Lamb & Pumpkin Entree Grain-Free 30.0%
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 Kitchen Comforts Turkey Meatloaf 14% 0.0% as fed 02 Lil’ Plates Small Breed Beef Stew Grain-Free 20% 0.0% as fed 03 Stella & Chewy’s Wild Red : Whole Prey Chicken & Lamb 13% 0.0% as fed 04 PureVita Puppy Lamb & Pumpkin Entree Grain-Free 40% 36.0% 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 Kitchen Comforts Turkey Meatloaf 3 of 5 02 Lil’ Plates Small Breed Beef Stew Grain-Free 5 of 5 03 Stella & Chewy’s Wild Red : Whole Prey Chicken & Lamb 3 of 5 04 PureVita Puppy Lamb & Pumpkin Entree Grain-Free 2 of 5
04 Flagged Additives Level Lower Is Better Matched against the flag list. 01 Kitchen Comforts Turkey Meatloaf None 02 Lil’ Plates Small Breed Beef Stew Grain-Free None 03 Stella & Chewy’s Wild Red : Whole Prey Chicken & Lamb None 04 PureVita Puppy Lamb & Pumpkin Entree Grain-Free None
05 Brand Recall History Lower Is Better Manufacturer, not recipe. 01 Kitchen Comforts Turkey Meatloaf 1 None in the last 3 years Best in this row 02 Lil’ Plates Small Breed Beef Stew Grain-Free 1 None in the last 3 years Best in this row 03 Stella & Chewy’s Wild Red : Whole Prey Chicken & Lamb 2 None in the last 3 years 04 PureVita Puppy Lamb & Pumpkin Entree Grain-Free 1 None in the last 3 years 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 Kitchen Comforts Turkey Meatloaf 0.0% 02 Lil’ Plates Small Breed Beef Stew Grain-Free 0.0% 03 Stella & Chewy’s Wild Red : Whole Prey Chicken & Lamb 0.0% 04 PureVita Puppy Lamb & Pumpkin Entree Grain-Free 36.0%
Kcal / Cup 01 Kitchen Comforts Turkey Meatloaf -- 02 Lil’ Plates Small Breed Beef Stew Grain-Free -- 03 Stella & Chewy’s Wild Red : Whole Prey Chicken & Lamb -- 04 PureVita Puppy Lamb & Pumpkin Entree Grain-Free 406
Price / Lb Lowest Across Bag Sizes 01 Kitchen Comforts Turkey Meatloaf $5.04 12 x 12.6 oz bag, Amazon 02 Lil’ Plates Small Breed Beef Stew Grain-Free $10.36 3.5 oz bag, PetSmart 03 Stella & Chewy’s Wild Red : Whole Prey Chicken & Lamb -- No price on file. 04 PureVita Puppy Lamb & Pumpkin Entree 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 Kitchen Comforts Turkey Meatloaf $10.96 Best in this row 02 Lil’ Plates Small Breed Beef Stew Grain-Free $25.27 03 Stella & Chewy’s Wild Red : Whole Prey Chicken & Lamb -- No price on file. 04 PureVita Puppy Lamb & Pumpkin Entree Grain-Free -- No price on file.
First Five Ingredients 01 Kitchen Comforts Turkey Meatloaf Deboned Turkey, Turkey Broth, Vegetable Broth, Chicken, Brown Rice 02 Lil’ Plates Small Breed Beef Stew Grain-Free BEEF, BEEF BROTH, VENISON BROTH, BEEF LIVER, DRIED EGG WHITES 03 Stella & Chewy’s Wild Red : Whole Prey Chicken & Lamb Cage-Free Chicken, Chicken Broth, Beef Broth, Pumpkin, Organic Carrots 04 PureVita Puppy Lamb & Pumpkin Entree Grain-Free lamb, lamb meal, garbanzo beans, chickpea flour, dried plain beet pulp

Add A Food

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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