Aatu For Dogs Dry: Free Run Duck review

All four varieties sit in our Excellent band, a step clear of the Good band the typical adult dry food lands in. They finish close together, so choose on protein.

Ingredients, as declared: Duck (66%), Dried Duck (14%), Peas, Sweet Potato, Apple, Chickpeas, Minerals, Salmon Oil, Tapioca, Glucosamine 178mg/kg, Methylsulfonylmethane 178 mg/kg, Chondroitin 125 mg/kg, Lucerne, Cranberry, Pear, Blueberry, Mulberry, Orange, Bilberry, Cowberry, Carrot, Tomato, Chicory, Parsley, Peppermint, Spirulina, Seaweed, Oregano, Sage, Marjoram, Thyme, Chamomile, Rosehip, Stinging Nettle, Yucca, Marigold, Aniseed, Fenugreek, Cinnamon

The 80% meat headline leans on fresh meat, and fresh meat loses most of its water in the oven, so the dried share is doing more of the finished kibble's work than its position suggests. Read cautiously, these are still genuinely meat-first recipes, and the analysis backs that up. Carbohydrate converts to between 29.4% and 35.1% of dry matter across the range, where the typical adult dry food runs at 46.2%.

Sweet potato, tapioca, peas and chickpeas do the binding. There is no grain anywhere in the range, and no white potato either.

Every label prints the joint trio with a dose beside it: glucosamine and MSM at 178 mg/kg each, chondroitin at 125 mg/kg. The trace minerals come as chelates, the form usually chosen for better absorption, and each is dosed in print.

Salmon oil runs through every variety as the omega source. It earns its place, but it does mean the chicken, duck and turkey recipes all carry fish, which matters if you are keeping your dog off it.

The parade of botanicals from lucerne to cinnamon is the label's flourish rather than its substance. Everything after the minerals sits at trace level, and a recipe is not better for containing marjoram. This food stands on its meat content, which is where you want the weight to be.

Duck at 66% fresh and 14% dried. Duck is a useful landing spot for dogs that have grown bored of, or itchy on, the more common birds.

Per kilo, the chicken and turkey are £8.35, the duck £8.90 and the salmon £9.39, each at their best from the 10kg bag. All three bag sizes, 1.5kg, 5kg and 10kg, are available in every flavour.

As a guide, feeding works out at between £1.83 and £2.06 a day for a 15kg adult dog in moderate condition, assuming about 840 kcal a day (110 × bodyweight^0.75, the standard maintenance estimate). Portion to the waistline rather than the table on the bag.