To have a meaningful comparison of pet food, you have to look at the guaranteed analysis numbers on a “Dry Matter Basis”.  This simply means that you are evaluating the food as if it contained no water.  Since water has no protein, fat or fiber; you have to analyze the food with out water in the mix.  

The Dog Food Adviser has written a very helpful article (Dry Matter Basis… the Only Fair Way to Compare Dog Foods) on the importance of Dry Matter Comparisons.

Dry Matter

	Steve’s	NWN	Nat. V	Primal	S&C	Bravo!	Vital	HK	GL
Protein	43.9%	35.7%	40.6%	44.1%	43.3%	60.4%	53.9%	22.8%	32.2%
Fat	36.3%	32.1%	25.0%	35.7%	36.7%	29.2%	33.7%	8.1%	17.2%
Fiber	5.0%	5.4%	6.3%	2.9%	6.7%	4.4%	3.0%	5.4%	7.3%
Calories/oz	43	43	65	77	46	34	55	NA	32

Wet matter guaranteed analysis taken from manufacture websites on 7/18/11.

Price

	Steve’s	NWN	Nat. V	Primal	S&C	Bravo!	Vital	HK	GL
Price/Bag	$22.95	NA	$32.99	$32.99	$32.99	$20.99	$20.99	NA	NA
Bag Size (lbs)	5		6	8	6	5	6
Price / LB	$4.59		$5.50	$6.00	$5.50	$4.20	$3.50
Daily Feeding Cost*	$3.44		$4.12	$4.50	$4.12	$3.15	$2.62	NA	32

*for a 30lb adult dog

Pricing obtained from online and brick and mortar stores on 7/18/11

Abbreviation Key NWN = Northwest Naturals’s “Beef” Nat. V = Natures Variety’s “Beef Formula” Primal = Primal’s “Canine Beef Formula” S&C = Stella & Chewy’s “Super Beef” Bravo! = Bravo Balance Premium Beef Vital = Vital Essential’s “Beef Entree For Dogs” HK = Honest Kitchen’s “Verve” GL = Grandma Lucy’s “Artisan Bison”