Ava Breed Health Yorkshire Terrier Dry review

A finish in our Good band puts this a shade ahead of the typical adult dry food, which lands in the same band. Openness is this label's strongest suit, reflected in a transparency pillar rating of Outstanding, with percentages printed deep into the list. Carbohydrate at 38.5% of dry matter, against the typical 46.2%, does the nutritional heavy lifting.

Ingredients, as declared: Chicken 43.8% (Chicken Meal (23.7%), Chicken (18.0%)), Brown Rice (14.1%), Beet Pulp (7.0%), Barley (7.0%), Sorghum (7.0%), Chicken Fat (5.4%), Flaked Oats (5.2%), Maize (4.3%), Brewers Yeast, Chicken Gravy (2.1%), Salmon Oil, Minerals, Dried Whole Egg, Chicory Root Extract (a source of Prebiotic Fructooligosaccharides (0.2%)), Yeasts (as a source of Beta-glucans and Prebiotic Mannanoligosaccharide) (0.14%), Marigold Meal, Yucca Extract (0.025%), Cranberry Extract (0.018%), Glucosamine (0.017%), Chondroitin Sulphate (0.013%), Pomegranate Extract (0.009%), Green Tea Extract (0.009%)

Chicken at 43.8% is declared with the meal share, 23.7%, ahead of the fresh at 18%. That ordering favours the finished food, because meal has already surrendered its water and delivers protein at full strength, while fresh chicken shrinks considerably in the oven.

Rather than lean on one cereal, the recipe deals the starch out in small hands: brown rice at 14.1%, barley and sorghum at 7% each, flaked oats at 5.2% and maize at 4.3%. No single grain dominates, and beet pulp at 7% covers the fibre.

Chicken fat at 5.4% carries flavour and energy, salmon oil adds marine omega 3, and chicken gravy at 2.1% is the palatability play for a breed with opinions. Dried whole egg adds complete protein and brewers yeast brings its B vitamins.

The prebiotic pairing of chicory fructooligosaccharides and yeast mannanoligosaccharides tends the gut, while glucosamine at 0.017% and chondroitin at 0.013% are inclusions in name more than in quantity. Marigold and the trio of fruit and tea extracts sit at trace level.

Trace minerals come mainly in chelated form with every dose printed. The vitamins stop at A, D3 and E, and calcium goes undeclared, the one gap in an otherwise forthcoming label.

£7.19 a kilo from a 1.5kg bag.

Feeding a 15kg adult in moderate condition to the standard 840 kcal maintenance estimate (110 × bodyweight^0.75) means about 235 grams and £1.69 a day. A Yorkshire Terrier's real numbers are tiny, though: the label offers 45 to 75 grams for dogs of 2kg to 4kg.