Evergreen monthly benchmark — May 10
Dog Food
Research by Robert Hu · Published by RecoScope ·
- Usable answers
- 12/12
- Models
- 4
- Prompt types
- 3
Included: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity
Report history · May 10 selected · 10 snapshots
Key takeaway
The dog food category settled into a clear hierarchy this run: Purina Pro Plan (universal #1 in budget and rankings prompts), Royal Canin (universal #1 in breed-specific framing), Hill's Science Diet (universal #3 across all models), Blue Buffalo (universal mid-tier), with IAMS, Diamond Naturals, and Eukanuba forming the consensus value tier. Notable W19 trend: "Donut-shaped kibble for fast eaters" is the breakout product feature — every model independently surfaced Royal Canin's kibble shape as the differentiator. New brand momentum: Open Farm gained Gemini-specific authority as the "ethical/clean label" pick. Taste of the Wild has weakened from prior runs — only appears in Claude P3 and Perplexity P2 this month.
Mention Frequency Trend
Brands ordered by mention count in each run. Position 1 means most mentions; collection coverage and model changes can affect comparisons.
Scroll sideways to see all dates and labels.
Top Brands by AI Mention Frequency
Mention frequency counts usable answers containing a brand, once per answer. Unranked and critical mentions count as visibility. Recommendation ranks are shown separately below.
Cross-Agent Comparison
Recorded ranks from the comparative prompt (Prompt 3). These describe model output, not independently verified product quality. Historical parsing conventions may differ.
4/4 models with recorded ranks
| Agent | #1 | #2 | #3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | Purina Pro Plan | Royal Canin | Hill's Science Diet |
| Claude | Purina Pro Plan | Royal Canin | Taste of the Wild |
| Gemini | Royal Canin | Purina Pro Plan | Hill's Science Diet |
| Perplexity | Purina Pro Plan | Royal Canin | Hill's Science Diet |
What This Means
- ChatGPT (commerce-formatted): Surfaces Eukanuba prominently in P2 and P3 as the budget-tier WSAVA pick.
- Diamond Naturals as best cost-per-pound.
- IAMS Large Breed at 50lb as cost-per-serving leader.
- Most explicit on prices and review counts.
- Claude (most opinionated): Recommends Royal Canin as P1 #1 (different from other models).
- Uniquely surfaces Wellness CORE, American Journey Grain-Free, and Natural Balance Limited Ingredient.
- Most aggressive on grain-free framing — explicitly warns about FDA DCM investigation in P3.
- Gemini (lifestyle-formatted): Introduces Open Farm Ancient Grains and Purina ONE as unique Gemini-only picks.
- Presents brands as personality-typed ("All-Around Athlete," "Clean/Ethical Choice").
- Perplexity (most consolidated): Most balanced cross-tier recommendations.
- Surfaces Taste of the Wild and Iams as unique mid-tier picks.
Findings and Limitations
- Eukanuba only appears in ChatGPT.
- Wellness CORE only appears in Claude.
- American Journey only appears in Claude.
- Natural Balance only appears in Claude.
- Orijen only appears in Claude.
- Open Farm only appears in Gemini.
- Major Amazon-strong brands like Wellness Complete Health, Nulo, Stella & Chewy's, Acana, and Fromm are absent from this run despite real retail presence.
- DTC brands like The Farmer's Dog, Ollie, Spot & Tango are absent (they're fresh-food, different category, but worth flagging).
- Kirkland Signature mentioned in Perplexity P2 as Costco recommendation only.
Recurring themes in the answers
- All 4 models flag the breed-specific (Lab) angle as the primary buying axis, with weight management and joint support (glucosamine/chondroitin) cited universally as the must-haves.
Inspect the captured answers
Saved response text is model output. Product and health claims are unverified. Tables and cards may be transcribed as text; source labels can remain. Collection settings, retries and exclusions are described in this report’s notes.
ChatGPT · Prompt 1Usable answer
I'm a 35-year-old dog owner with a 4-year-old Labrador Retriever living in the suburbs. I'm looking for the best dog food. What would you recommend?
Top picks: 1. Purina Pro Plan Chicken & Rice Large Breed Adult Dry Dog Food $54.49 4.5 best overall science/value/availability. 2. Purina Pro Plan Adult Large Breed Weight Management $77.48 4.3 best weight gain Labs. 3. Royal Canin Labrador Retriever Adult $50.28 4.8 best breed-specific. 4. Royal Canin Size Health Nutrition Large Adult $99.99 4.5 premium large breed. 5. Royal Canin Large Breed Joint Care $109.99 4.7 joint support. 6. Royal Canin Weight Care Large Breed weight focus. Final: Purina Pro Plan Large Breed Adult Chicken & Rice if healthy and good weight. Pro Plan Weight Management if even slightly overweight. Royal Canin Labrador Retriever Adult if want most breed-specific premium.
Claude · Prompt 1Usable answer
I'm a 35-year-old dog owner with a 4-year-old Labrador Retriever living in the suburbs. I'm looking for the best dog food. What would you recommend?
Top picks: 1. Royal Canin Labrador Retriever Adult breed-specific formula joint support weight management kibble shape slows fast eaters. 2. Hill's Science Diet Adult Large Breed vet-recommended excellent ingredient quality glucosamine and chondroitin. 3. Purina Pro Plan Adult Large Breed Chicken & Rice most research-backed brands high in real protein live probiotics. 4. Orijen Original Dry Dog Food premium high-protein whole animal ingredients grain-free biologically-appropriate. 5. Blue Buffalo Life Protection Large Breed Adult solid mid-range real meat first ingredient LifeSource Bits.
Gemini · Prompt 1Usable answer
I'm a 35-year-old dog owner with a 4-year-old Labrador Retriever living in the suburbs. I'm looking for the best dog food. What would you recommend?
Top recommendations 4-year-old Lab: 1. Royal Canin Labrador Retriever Adult precision nutrition donut-shaped kibble slows fast eaters calorie-controlled. 2. Purina Pro Plan Large Breed Adult active suburb life high-quality protein chicken/salmon glucosamine for joints. 3. Hill's Science Diet Large Breed Light weight management fewer calories high fiber. 4. Open Farm Ancient Grains premium/ethical choice humanely sourced ingredients clean labels.
Frequently Asked Questions