Acana Puppy Small Breed Recipe review

Our Excellent band holds this recipe, a step above the Good band that holds the typical puppy dry food. Nutritional balance and transparency both read Outstanding, with value Excellent and protein and processing Good. A fully dosed micronutrient panel and a list that keeps meat at the front are the main reasons it sits where it does, rather than any single headline figure.

Ingredients, as declared: Fresh chicken (18%), chicken meal (18%), whole red lentils, whole green peas, fresh chicken giblets (liver, heart) (7%), chicken fat (7%), turkey meal (4%), fresh eggs (4%), raw hake (4%), herring meal (4%), fish oil (3%), whole green lentils, whole chickpeas, whole yellow peas, lentil fibre, pea starch, raw turkey livers (1%), salt, dried kelp, fresh whole pumpkin, fresh whole butternut squash, fresh whole carrots, fresh whole apples, fresh whole pears, fresh whole zucchini, dried chicory root, fresh kale, fresh spinach, fresh turnip greens, fresh beet greens, whole cranberries, whole blueberries, whole saskatoon berries, turmeric, milk thistle, burdock root, lavender, marshmallow root, rosehips.

Fresh chicken at 18% and chicken meal at 18% do most of the heavy lifting, backed by chicken fat at 7% and fresh giblets at 7%. The meal matters more than its share implies, because it is dried before it goes in and therefore loses nothing further in the oven. Declared protein of 33.0% works out at 37.5% of dry matter, a properly meaty figure for a growth kibble.

For a small pup, energy density is the practical question, and this one answers it well. Fat is declared at 20.0%, which is 22.7% of dry matter, and the food carries 366 kcal per 100g. A small breed puppy has a small stomach and a quick metabolism, so a concentrated bowl is easier to finish than a bulky one.

Every plant entry here is a legume. Whole red lentils sit near the top with whole green peas, and below those come chickpeas, yellow peas, then pea starch and lentil fibre. Nothing cereal appears anywhere on the list. Carbohydrate is estimated at 23.0% as fed and 26.1% of dry matter, well under the 39.0% typical of a puppy dry food.

Calcium comes out at 1.7% of dry matter. Small breed bone finishes growing early and quickly, and this is a comfortable supply for that job. It is a higher figure than large breed rearing usually works to, which is precisely why the maker keeps a separate bag for big pups rather than asking one recipe to cover every size.

Fish and egg widen the amino acid picture. Raw hake at 4%, herring meal at 4% and fish oil at 3% bring marine omega 3 fats, and fresh eggs at 4% add an easily digested protein. Turkey meal at 4% and raw turkey livers at 1% put a second bird on the list. Dried kelp adds trace minerals, and salt is there as a palatability entry.

The additive panel is fully itemised, which is not a given at this end of the market. Choline chloride at 700 mg per kilo, zinc at 112.5 mg and copper at 11 mg sit with a complete B group. Vitamin A comes in at 3750 IU, vitamin D3 at 500 IU and vitamin E at 550 IU. Tocopherol extracts at 121 mg and citric acid at 40 mg keep the fats fresh, rosemary extract at 80 mg adds aroma, and a live Enterococcus faecium culture is dosed in as gut support.

£7.50 a kilo, sold in 2kg and 6kg bags.

Portions for a growing dog are a moving line, and the label's own chart shows how fast it moves. It asks 40g a day at 2kg, 80g at 5kg and 120g by 9kg. Follow it upward and let your pup's condition set the pace of the increases.