Alpha

Alpha Sporting Maintenance review

Name: Alpha Sporting Maintenance
Brand: Alpha

47.7/100Average

DryPuppyAdult

A no-frills kibble for busy country dogs, in our Average band, with nothing troubling behind that reading. Poultry meal at 28% sits on white rice, barley and maize. For a fit working dog with no sensitivities, it does what its name promises.

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

Working and sporting dogs kept busy through the season
Kennels and multi-dog homes, with one feeding table from tiny terriers up to 80kg
Owners who like a label they can read in one breath
Dogs that get on with poultry and rice

Worth watching

Poultry never names a species, so no help on a chicken elimination plan
Salmon oil, so not fish free
Fat at 12.1% of dry matter feeds more like a maintenance ration than a high-octane one

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

How this scores

How we score

47.7/100Average

Protein and processingPoor

Nutritional balanceAverage

TransparencyExcellent

ValueAverage

The details

Dog fit

Listed for puppies and adults of every size, but no calcium figure is declared, so for a growing dog it is the safer pick in the smaller breeds.

Food type

Dry

Life stage

Puppy, Adult

Breed size

Toy, Small, Medium, Large, Giant

The score, in context

Alpha Sporting Maintenance 47.7

All one Average. Typical dry food: Good.

Unnamed poultry and a cereal-heavy build pull protein and processing down to Poor, while transparency holds up at Excellent.

What's in it

Poultry meal28.0%Dried and protein-dense. Poultry spans the farmed birds without committing to one
White rice26.0%
Whole barley, whole maizeCarbohydrate lands at an estimated 52.2% of dry matter
Poultry oilThe everyday fat
Sugar beet pelletsA well-established digestive fibre
Salmon oilA named fish oil with ready-made marine omega 3s, welcome on a label this plain
Chicory root extract0.3%Prebiotic FOS
Extract of Yucca schidigera

Vitamins A, D3 and E, with trace minerals dosed in print from zinc at 100 mg/kg down to selenium at 0.15 mg/kg.

No calcium figure declared, though the bag is listed for puppies of every size.

Named ingredients

Poultry Meal (28.0%), White Rice (26.0%), Whole Barley, Whole Maize, Poultry Oil, Sugar Beet Pellets, Salmon Oil, Chicory Root Extract (as a source of Prebiotic FOS) (0.3%), Extract of Yucca Schidigera.

Against the range

One working kibble. Poultry meal at 28% leads, a dried and protein-dense meal that never names its bird. White rice, whole barley and whole maize follow, so cereals carry the recipe. Salmon oil and a chicory prebiotic are the only flourishes, and the trace minerals are dosed in the simpler oxide and sulphate forms.

Nutritional analysis

Declared analysis

Energy

343.8 kcal/100g

Estimated using Modified Atwater factors*

Protein

24%

Fat

11%

Fibre

2.5%

Ash

Moisture

Dry weight

Protein

26.4%

Fat

12.1%

Fibre

2.7%

Ash

6.6%

Carbs

52.2%

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

28%

Carbs

64.5%

Veg

0.3%

Oils

Other

1.2%

Pricing & size