Ava Breed Health Cockapoo Dry: Puppy review

The two editions finish alongside each other on our scale. The adult recipe sits in our Good band, which is also where the midpoint of the adult dry market falls, carried by an open label and a restrained carbohydrate load. The puppy edition lands in that same Good band, even though growth diets are held to stricter standards. Its transparency pillar reads Outstanding, yet the label leaves calcium undeclared exactly where a puppy buyer most needs certainty. Same kitchen, different examinations.

Ingredients, as declared: Chicken (41.4%) (Chicken Meal (20.5%), Chicken (18.8%), Chicken Gravy (2.1%)), Potato (17.1%), Sweet Potato (17.1%), Beet Pulp (6.2%), Chicken Fat (5.5%), Peas, Minerals, Salmon Oil, Brewers Yeast, Egg, Pea Protein, Chicory Inulin (a source of Prebiotic Fructooligosaccharides (0.2%)), Yeasts (as a source of Beta-glucans and Prebiotic Mannanoligosaccharide) (0.14%), Glucosamine (0.05%), Valerian Root, Skullcap, Chamomile (0.04%), Dandelion Root, Carrots, Broccoli, Chondroitin Sulphate (0.04%), Yucca Extract (0.025%), Cranberry Extract (0.018%), Pomegranate Extract (0.009%), Green Tea Extract (0.009%)

Of the 41.4% chicken, 20.5% is meal and 18.8% is fresh, with gravy at 2.1% and chicken fat at 5.5% further down. Meal goes in with its water already taken out. Gram for gram it beats the fresh entry beside it on protein. In the adult recipe, protein converts to 28.6% of dry matter and the carbohydrate estimate to 39.5%, against a 46.2% typical figure for adult dry food.

Potato and sweet potato at 17.1% apiece form the entire starch base, with no grain anywhere on either label. Beet pulp at 6.2% handles fibre, and peas plus pea protein add plant protein, the latter being the economical way to lift a protein figure, which is worth reading with open eyes.

The herb selection is what sets this recipe apart from its Breed Health siblings: valerian root, skullcap, chamomile at 0.04% and dandelion root, a quartet chosen for calm. Carrots and broccoli sit alongside at similar trace levels. Treat them as a thoughtful gesture rather than a guarantee of a quieter dog.

Both labels declare their functional extras: glucosamine at 0.05% and chondroitin sulphate at 0.04%, plus taurine and L-carnitine at doses that differ slightly between the editions. Trace minerals are chelated and dosed in print on both, and the gut gets fructooligosaccharides at 0.2% with mannanoligosaccharides at 0.14%.

The Puppy edition raises taurine to 600 mg and L-carnitine to 700 mg and refits the feeding chart for growth, from 140 grams a day at 3.5kg. It finishes in our Good band, and with calcium undeclared on the label it is worth a word with your vet before relying on it for a larger, faster-growing pup.

Both editions come in 3kg bags at £5.90 a kilo.

Feeding the adult recipe to a 15kg dog in moderate condition costs about £1.44 a day at 244 grams, taking the customary maintenance estimate of about 840 kcal a day (110 × bodyweight^0.75). There is no single puppy figure. The bag's growth chart starts at 140 grams a day for a 3.5kg pup.