To have a meaningful comparison of pet foods, 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”