Alpha

Alpha Adult Grain Free: Lamb review

Name: Alpha Adult Grain Free: Lamb
Brand: Alpha

49.8/100Average

DryAdult

Flavour

A pair of workmanlike kibbles that take grain out and put potato and pea starch in. For a dog that simply needs cereal gone from the bowl, both do that in full. Both sit in our Average band, mostly because so many of the animal entries go unnamed.

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Our view

Likely to suit

Dogs that do better without cereals
Homes with several dogs, since it comes in 15kg sacks
Working and country dogs used to a plain, steady bowl
A prebiotic pair, FOS and MOS, in both recipes

Worth watching

Meat and bone meal, poultry oil and fish meal with no species, so no use for an elimination diet
The lamb version is lamb led, with poultry oil and fish meal too
Starch doing much of the lifting in both

Written by our editorial team. Independent guidance, not veterinary advice.

How this scores

How we score

49.8/100Average

Protein and processingAverage

Nutritional balanceAverage

TransparencyGood

ValueAverage

The details

Dog fit

Listed for adult dogs. The maker's chart gives a wide range for a 15kg dog, so start in the middle and adjust by condition.

Food type

Dry

Life stage

Adult

Breed size

Toy, Small, Medium, Large, Giant

Main protein

Lamb

The score, in context

Lamb 49.8
Alpha Adult Grain Free 45.2

All two Average. Typical dry food: Good.

The lamb sits a little ahead of the original inside the same band; unnamed animal entries are the main drag on both.

What's in it

Sweet potato30%
Pea starch15%
Lamb meal14%The only named meat.
Beet pulp, meat and bone mealThe meat and bone meal names no animal.
Potato proteinHelps the protein figure along.
Poultry oilA bird in the lamb recipe.
Whole peas6%
Brewers yeast, fish mealFish, species unnamed.
Whole linseed0.5%
Chicory root extract, MOS, yucca extractFOS and MOS 0.1% each

The same dosed panel as the original: vitamins A, D3 and E with inorganic trace minerals.

Poultry oil and fish meal sit alongside the lamb, so it stops short of single protein.

Named ingredients

Sweet Potato (30%), Pea Starch (15%), Lamb Meal (14%), Beet Pulp, Meat and Bone Meal, Potato Protein, Poultry Oil, Whole Peas (6%), Brewers Yeast, Fish Meal, Whole Linseed (0.5%), Chicory Root Extract (as a source of Prebiotic FOS) (0.1%), Mannan-oligosaccharides (Prebiotic MOS) (0.1%), Yucca Extract.

Against the range

Lead starch: Sweet potato 30%; Potato flake on the original.
First animal: Lamb meal 14%; Poultry meal on the original.
Carbohydrate, dry matter: 48.9%; 45.6% on the original.

A useful lean for a dog that sits better on red meat than poultry.

Two grain-free kibbles that put potato or sweet potato and pea starch ahead of the first animal entry, a meal at 14% in both. Meat and bone meal, poultry oil and fish meal appear on both labels with no species given.

Whole peas, brewers yeast, linseed and a FOS and MOS prebiotic pair make up the tail of each. The trace minerals are inorganic forms, each dosed on the label.

Nutritional analysis

Declared analysis

Energy

326.5 kcal/100g

Estimated using Modified Atwater factors*

Protein

24%

Fat

10%

Fibre

3.5%

Ash

9.5%

Dry weight

Protein

26.1%

Fat

10.9%

Fibre

3.8%

Ash

10.3%

Carbs

48.9%

As-fed composition

Estimated breakdown of the finished product by ingredient category, from the declared ingredient list and ingoing weights. These are estimates, not measurements.

Meat

24.7%

Carbs

70.9%

Veg

0.1%

Oils

1.9%

Other

2.4%

Pricing & size