Alpha

Alpha Sensitive review

Name: Alpha Sensitive
Brand: Alpha

35.9/100Average

DryAdult

Flavour

A plain, cereal-led kibble in the working dog tradition, made as an everyday recipe and a salmon one, both in our Average band. That reflects how much of the bowl is grain, not anything worrying in the food. The lists are short enough to take in at a glance.

See it on eBay

Affiliate link. Off the Leash may earn a commission from purchases on eBay, at no cost to you.

Our view

Likely to suit

Easily unsettled digestion, given how little there is on the list to react to
Prebiotic support in print, with FOS and MOS at 0.1% each in both recipes
Working and country dogs raised on a cereal-based diet
A big dog fed from one 15kg sack
Dogs that suit a lighter bowl: fat at 10.0% in the everyday recipe and 8.0% in the salmon

Worth watching

Maize heading both lists, carbohydrate at 54.4% and 58.8% of dry matter against 46.2% typical
No species named for any animal in the everyday recipe; the salmon version is the one for an elimination plan
Fish on both lists, so neither suits a fish-free home

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

How this scores

How we score

35.9/100Average

Protein and processingPoor

Nutritional balancePoor

TransparencyAverage

ValueAverage

The details

Dog fit

Listed for adults of every size, and neither label declares calcium, so these are not growth foods. Read both lists before choosing, since the two are less alike than the name suggests.

Food type

Dry

Life stage

Adult

Breed size

Toy, Small, Medium, Large, Giant

The score, in context

Salmon 44.6
Alpha Sensitive 35.9

All two Average. Typical dry food: Good.

Cereal does most of the carrying in both, and the everyday recipe's unnamed animals pull it lower than the salmon.

What's in it

Whole maizeLeads the list, so starch sets the tone.
Whole oatsKept whole, and gentle on a dog once cooked.
Meat and bone mealNo species. Bone meal brings calcium and phosphorus, but it is the vaguest entry here.
White rice12.0%
Poultry meal, poultry oil7.0% (meal)Chicken, turkey or duck, free to change between batches.
Fish mealUnnamed fish.
Whole linseed2.5%Plant omega 3.
Brewers yeast
Chicory root extract (FOS), mannan-oligosaccharides (MOS)0.1% eachPrebiotics for the friendly bacteria of the large intestine.
Yucca extractLargely for the smell of what the garden receives.

Vitamins A, D3 and E with zinc, iron, manganese, copper and iodine as oxides and sulphates, which a dog absorbs a little less readily than chelates, and selenium as sodium selenite.

Named ingredients

Whole Maize, Whole Oats, Meat & Bone Meal, White Rice (12.0%), Poultry Meal (7.0%), Poultry Oil, Fish Meal, Whole Linseed (2.5%), Brewers Yeast, Chicory Root Extract (as a source of Prebiotic FOS) (0.1%), Mannan-oligosaccharides (Prebiotic MOS) (0.1%), Extract of Yucca Schidigera.

Against the range

Animals on the label: Meat and bone meal, poultry meal, poultry oil, fish meal; Salmon meal only
Fat, as fed: 10.0%; 8.0% on the salmon
Carbohydrate, dry matter: 54.4%; 58.8% on the salmon
Linseed: 2.5%; 0.5% on the salmon

The everyday choice for a settled dog, though its unnamed animals make it no help in narrowing a sensitivity down.

Both recipes open on whole maize and whole oats, and both carry chicory-sourced FOS and mannan-oligosaccharides at 0.1% each, with brewers yeast, linseed and yucca. The vitamin and trace mineral panel is identical and printed in full, though neither label declares calcium.

The animal side is where they split. The everyday recipe draws on meat and bone meal, poultry meal, poultry oil and fish meal, none named to a species; the salmon recipe has salmon meal alone, with rapeseed oil for fat.

Nutritional analysis

Declared analysis

Energy

328.2 kcal/100g

Estimated using Modified Atwater factors*

Protein

20%

Fat

10%

Fibre

Ash

7.5%

Moisture

Dry weight

Protein

22%

Fat

11%

Fibre

4.4%

Ash

8.2%

Carbs

54.4%

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

25.9%

Carbs

64%

Veg

0.1%

Oils

4.3%

Other

5.6%

Pricing & size