If you switch between our formulas and follow the feeding chart, you will notice the Chicken numbers are higher. A 50 lb dog eats 4 cups of Chicken a day against 3½ cups of Beef.
That is not a typo, and it is not a way of selling more bags. Here is the actual reason.
The numbers
Chicken is 200 calories per cup. Beef and Turkey with Salmon are both 230. Fewer calories in the same volume means more volume is needed to deliver the same energy — so the chart has to ask for more cups.
Across the range, per cup:
- Beef — 230 kcal, 39% protein
- Chicken — 200 kcal, 40% protein
- Turkey with Salmon — 230 kcal, 40% protein
Why chicken is lower
It comes down to what the animal is. Chicken is a leaner protein than beef, and lean means less fat.
Fat is the most energy-dense thing in any food: roughly 9 calories per gram, against about 4 for both protein and carbohydrate. So a formula built on a leaner meat is lower in calories almost by definition, even with identical or slightly higher protein.
This is not a quality difference. It is a composition difference, and which one suits your dog depends entirely on the dog.
Which formula to choose
Not the one with the biggest number on the front.
Chicken is the leanest, and at 40% it carries the joint-highest protein of the three. For a dog who needs to lose a little, more volume for the same calories is a genuine feature — a fuller-looking bowl at the same energy, which matters more to the owner than the dog but keeps everyone honest.
Beef is the most energy-dense per cup, alongside Turkey. For a hard-working dog, a dog who struggles to hold weight, or a fussy eater who only ever finishes half, that density is exactly what you want. It also has the lowest protein of the three at 39% — a one-point difference that is unlikely to matter in practice, but it is on the label and we are not going to leave it out.
Turkey with Salmon matches Beef on calories and Chicken on protein, and the salmon brings omega-3 fatty acids that tend to show up in coat condition over four to six weeks. If you cannot decide, this is the one that makes the fewest compromises.
Switching between them
If you rotate proteins — and rotating is a reasonable thing to do for variety and for spreading any single-ingredient sensitivity risk — re-check the chart each time rather than keeping the same scoop.
Moving a 50 lb dog from Beef to Chicken and keeping 3½ cups would quietly underfeed by around 100 calories a day. Not dangerous, but over a few months it shows up on the dog.
Why we print any of this
The commercially clever move is to quote one calorie figure across the range and let the differences sit in a chart nobody opens.
We do not, for a fairly boring reason: the feeding chart is what customers use to work out what this food costs them per day. A chart that is quietly wrong for one formula is a chart that lies about the price — and price is precisely where trust in premium dog food gets lost.
Every serving figure on this site is derived from the printed panel on the bag. There is exactly one source, so the site cannot drift from the label.
If you are working out the daily cost for a bigger dog, start with the quarter-bowl rule. If you want to understand why our cups are not comparable to a kibble cup at all, that is here.
Common questions
Is higher protein always better?
No. Beyond what a dog can use, extra protein is metabolised for energy or excreted. Source and digestibility matter more than the percentage, and a one-point difference is well inside the noise.
Can I mix two formulas in one bowl?
Yes. If you do, work out the portion from whichever formula makes up most of the meal, then adjust by body condition over a few weeks.
Do I need to transition between your formulas?
Usually not — they are built the same way and processed identically. For a dog with a sensitive stomach, mix over three or four days anyway.
Which formula is best for a puppy?
All three are formulated for all life stages. Puppies need considerably more energy per pound than adults, so the denser Beef or Turkey with Salmon often means less volume for a small stomach.
