The scores
Crave Grain-Free High Protein Adult with Chicken: B (78/100) — Very Good. Chicken + chicken meal lead the formula, with split peas + lentils + pork meal filling the carbohydrate and protein-diversity slots. Mars’s premium-shelf grain-free play.
Taste of the Wild High Prairie Grain-Free: B (78/100) — Very Good. Water buffalo + lamb meal + chicken meal as the opening triple — one of the few mainstream formulas leading with a game meat. Diamond Pet Foods’ flagship grain-free line.
How the ingredients compare
The top five ingredients:
Crave Chicken: Chicken, Chicken Meal, Split Peas, Lentils, Pork Meal
Taste of the Wild High Prairie: Water Buffalo, Lamb Meal, Chicken Meal, Sweet Potatoes, Peas
Both formulas open with a named fresh protein and a named protein meal — the gold-standard opening for a grain-free formulation. They diverge on protein strategy and carbohydrate architecture. Crave keeps the protein story poultry-family-dominant (chicken + chicken meal + pork meal) with a legume-heavy carb base (split peas + lentils). Taste of the Wild High Prairie runs a multi-species red-meat strategy (water buffalo + lamb meal + chicken meal) with a more balanced carb base (sweet potatoes + peas, not a double-legume stack).
The multi-protein approach in TOTW is the Diamond Pet Foods signature — ancestral-diet framing with three named animal sources in the top three ingredients. For dogs who thrive on red-meat diversity or who may have mild chicken sensitivities, water buffalo as the lead protein is a meaningful differentiator. Crave’s chicken-first strategy is more conventional and likely cheaper to source, but it doesn’t offer the novel-protein appeal.
On the DCM conversation: both formulas are grain-free and both include peas in the top five. Crave also includes lentils and split peas. TOTW uses peas once but also includes sweet potatoes as a non-legume carbohydrate base. TOTW High Prairie is slightly less legume-stacked than Crave, but both fall into the category FDA flagged in the 2018–2022 DCM investigation. For at-risk breeds (Golden Retrievers, Dobermans, Great Danes, Cocker Spaniels, Newfoundlands), cardiologists recommend grain-inclusive formulas during growth and close taurine monitoring with either of these formulas in adult feeding.
Further down, Crave adds dried plain beet pulp, chicken fat, salmon oil, flaxseed, natural flavor, chicken liver flavor, and a vitamin/mineral premix. TOTW adds bison, egg product, roasted bison, roasted venison, beef, ocean fish meal, canola oil, tomato pomace, peas, and an extensive premix including probiotics and chelated minerals. TOTW’s protein diversity continues deep into the formula — seven named animal proteins total — which is the Champion Petfoods–style WholePrey signature adapted to Diamond’s budget-friendlier manufacturing.
Where Crave pulls ahead
Consistent supply chain: Crave is manufactured by Mars Petcare with the infrastructure of a multinational pet-food leader — consistent ingredient sourcing, modern QC protocols, and a well-funded recall-response system. Diamond Pet Foods (TOTW’s manufacturer) has had a less polished recall history.
Higher protein minimum: Crave labels at 34% protein minimum, above TOTW High Prairie’s 32% protein minimum. Small delta, but the trend matters for high-protein-seeking buyers.
Cleaner carbohydrate architecture at the top: Split peas + lentils in positions three and four keeps the entire opening ingredient list as either named protein or legume — no grain, no filler. TOTW interleaves sweet potatoes at position four, which some owners prefer and others don’t. Shop on Amazon →
Where Taste of the Wild holds its own
Novel-protein lead ingredient: Water buffalo as position-one is genuinely uncommon in the mass market — no other brand in the B-tier grain-free space leads with buffalo. For dogs with a chicken sensitivity or owners specifically seeking novel proteins, this is a real differentiator.
Seven named animal proteins across the formula: Water buffalo, lamb meal, chicken meal, bison, roasted bison, roasted venison, beef, ocean fish meal — the protein diversity is far deeper than Crave’s chicken + pork combination. Matches the ancestral-diet framing with real ingredient backing.
Price per pound: Taste of the Wild is materially cheaper than Crave at Chewy, Amazon, Walmart, and most pet retailers — often 20–30% less per pound for the functionally comparable B/78 score. That’s the Diamond-manufacturing cost advantage showing up at retail. Shop on Amazon →
The bottom line
If protein diversity and novel-protein leadership matter more than Mars-grade supply-chain consistency, Taste of the Wild High Prairie is the right pick — seven named proteins, water buffalo in position one, and a cheaper sticker price. If you value Mars Petcare’s manufacturing consistency and prefer a cleaner poultry-first protein profile, Crave Chicken delivers the same B/78 score with tighter ingredient-source control. Both fall into the grain-free legume-heavy category FDA flagged — owners of at-risk breeds should weigh taurine supplementation or pivot to grain-inclusive for growth feeding. See our best grain-free dog food guide for more options.