Acana Singles: Free-run Duck review

The duck and the pork land in our Good band, level with the typical adult dry food, and the lamb finishes a step above them in Excellent. That looks unremarkable until you know why: keeping every second species out of the recipe means legumes shoulder more of the load, and our scoring notices. It is the trade the single-animal promise asks for, and for a dog that needs that promise, it is the right trade to make.

Ingredients, as declared: Raw duck (18%), duck meal (17%), whole green peas, whole red lentils, raw duck liver (9%), duck fat (6%), fresh pears (4%), whole chickpeas, whole green lentils, whole yellow peas, pea starch, lentil fibre, algae (source of EPA and DHA), fresh whole butternut squash, fresh whole pumpkin, dried kelp, salt, dried chicory root, whole cranberries, whole blueberries, turmeric, milk thistle, burdock root, lavender, marshmallow root, rosehips.

Each recipe is the same machine with a different animal in it. Raw meat and a matching meal sit at the top, the species' own liver is at a named percentage, and in two cases its own fat is there too. Nothing animal on any list belongs to a second species, which is precisely what an elimination diet needs and surprisingly hard to find in a mainstream kibble.

The omega 3 problem is solved neatly. Most single-protein foods quietly add fish oil and bend their own promise; here algae supplies EPA and DHA directly, the same long-chain omega 3s fish oil is prized for, without a fish in sight.

The starch side is broad: green and yellow peas, red and green lentils, chickpeas, pea starch and lentil fibre. Estimated carbohydrate converts to 33.6% of dry matter, still below the 46.2% typical for adult dry food, though the legume share is higher than in the brand's meat-heavier lines.

Taurine is dosed at a substantial 1500 mg per kilo on every variety, worth noting because legume-rich diets have had questions asked about taurine status, and adding it in print is the right response. A live probiotic strain sits on the panel, and the vitamins and trace minerals each come with a printed dose.

Raw duck at 18%, duck meal at 17%, duck liver at 9% and duck fat at 6%, with fresh pears at 4% as the fruit note. Duck is a natural first try for a dog that has reacted to the common poultries. The label covers adults only.

The duck is £8.77 a kilo, the lamb £8.33 and the pork £7.63, all in 2kg, 6kg and 11.4kg bags.

Daily feeding for a 15kg adult in moderate condition spans £1.89 to £2.17 on about 248 grams, using 110 × bodyweight^0.75 kcal as the maintenance basis.