Alpha Sensitive Extra review

The Average band is where this food finishes, a step under the typical adult dry food, so think of it as a middle-of-the-road performer with a clear speciality. Transparency reads Good on our breakdown, with protein and processing and nutritional balance both at Average. The duck meal and fish meal give it respectable animal protein, while the unnamed meat and bone meal and the plainer mineral forms keep it from climbing higher.

Ingredients, as declared: White Rice (23.0%), Whole Oats, Duck Meal (15.5%), Meat and Bone Meal, Whole Maize, Poultry Oil, Fish Meal, Whole Linseed, Brewers Yeast, Chicory Root Extract (as a source of Prebiotic FOS) (0.1%), Mannan-oligosaccharides (Prebiotic MOS) (0.1%), Extract of Yucca Schidigera

White rice at 23% takes the first slot with whole oats just behind, so the base of this kibble is cereal rather than meat. Both are gentle choices as cereals go: rice is about as digestible as starch gets, and cooked oats bring soluble fibre along with a spread of minerals. The estimated carbohydrate works out at 46.1% of dry matter, in step with the 46.2% typical of adult dry food.

Duck meal at 15.5% is the named protein, and meal is the concentrated form, already dried before it reaches the oven, so it delivers more finished protein than the same weight of fresh meat would. Duck itself is an easily digested, palatable meat and a sensible lead for a sensitive recipe. Behind it sit meat and bone meal and poultry oil, both of which keep their species to themselves. Fish meal is in there too, topping up the amino acids and adding a savoury smell most dogs approve of.

The gut support is more than a name on the bag. Chicory root extract supplies FOS and there is MOS alongside, each at 0.1%, the two prebiotics most often used to feed the beneficial bacteria in the large intestine. Linseed adds plant omega 3 for skin and coat, and brewers yeast brings B vitamins.

Every added trace mineral carries a printed dose: zinc at 100 mg/kg, iron at 60 mg/kg, manganese at 25 mg/kg, copper at 5 mg/kg, iodine at 1 mg/kg and selenium at 0.15 mg/kg. The forms are the plain oxides and sulphates. A dog's gut takes up chelates more readily.

£2.80 a kilo, sold in a 15kg bag.

For a 15kg adult dog in moderate condition, the standard maintenance estimate (110 kcal × bodyweight^0.75) points to roughly 250 grams a day, which comes to about £0.70. The label's own guide suggests around 235 grams for the same dog, so split the difference and let the waistline decide.