Ava

Ava Large Breed Mature review

Name: Ava Ava Large Breed Mature
Brand: Ava

56.5/100Good

DryAdultSenior

Ava Large Breed Mature adjusts the big-dog formula for the second half of life by easing things down rather than starting over. Protein settles at 23% and fat at 12%, chicken at 38.5% still leads a rice, maize and barley base, and the joint pair is stepped up to 0.08% glucosamine and 0.06% chondroitin. It holds a place in our Good band.

Where to buy: coming soon

Live retailer pricing is coming soon. Once we have prices from UK retailers, the best price, cost per day and where to buy will appear here.

Our view

Likely to suit

The dog who once dragged you around the park deserves some looking after now the pace has settled.

Large breeds edging from adult into senior years, since the label spans both stages in one recipe
Older heavy dogs whose joints carry a lifetime of miles, with the joint pair raised to 0.08% and 0.06%
Big dogs that thicken as they slow down, because fat at 12% keeps the bowl deliberately light
Owners feeding a giant appetite week after week, as the recipe comes in a 15kg sack

Worth watching

Age changes what matters on a label, and you will want these facts straight.

Carbohydrate is estimated at 51.4% of dry matter, above the 46.2% typical for adult dry food, so plants do a lot of the feeding
Barley and maize rule the recipe out of grain-free and gluten-avoiding plans
Chicken and fish are both present, through the meat and the salmon oil, so neither can be excluded while feeding it

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

How this scores

How we score

56.5/100Good

Protein and processingAverage

Nutritional balanceAverage

TransparencyOutstanding

ValueGood

The Details

Dog fit

The dog who once dragged you around the park deserves some looking after now the pace has settled. Age changes what matters on a label, and you will want these facts straight.

Food type

Dry

Life stage

Adult, Senior

Breed size

Large

Main protein

Chicken

The score, in context

Softer recipes often drift down our rankings, so a Good band finish here, level with the typical adult dry food, is worth noticing. The gentling is a design choice, openly made: protein and fat both step down while the joint support steps up. Its transparency pillar reads Outstanding, and the itemised chicken bracket keeps the label honest about what does the work.

What's in it

Ingredients, as declared: Chicken (38.5%) (Chicken Meal 20.5%, Fresh Chicken 12.5%, Chicken Fat 3%, Chicken Gravy 2.5%), Rice (20%), Maize (16%), Whole Barley (11.5%), Beet Pulp (7%), Salmon Oil, Brewers Yeast, Whole Dried Egg, Minerals, Chicory Root Extract (as a source of Prebiotic Fructooligosaccharide) (0.16%), Yeasts (as a source of Beta-glucans and Prebiotic Mannanoligosaccharide) (0.11%), Glucosamine (0.08%), Chondoritin (0.06%), Yucca Extract (0.02%), Cranberry Extract (0.01%), Green Tea Extract (0.005%), Pomegranate Extract (0.005%)

Named ingredients

Chicken (38.5%) (Chicken Meal 20.5%, Fresh Chicken 12.5%, Chicken Fat 3%, Chicken Gravy 2.5%), Rice (20%), Maize (16%), Whole Barley (11.5%), Beet Pulp (7%), Salmon Oil, Brewers Yeast, Whole Dried Egg, Minerals, Chicory Root Extract (as a source of Prebiotic Fructooligosaccharide) (0.16%), Yeasts (as a source of Beta-glucans and Prebiotic Mannanoligosaccharide) (0.11%), Glucosamine (0.08%), Chondoritin (0.06%), Yucca Extract (0.02%), Cranberry Extract (0.01%), Green Tea Extract (0.005%), Pomegranate Extract (0.005%)

Nutritional additives

Vitamins: Vitamin A 27,000 IU, Vitamin D3 1,350IU, Vitamin E 450mg Taurine 500 mg; Trace Elements: Zinc (as Zinc Chelate of Protein Hydrolysates) 64.2mg, Manganese (as Manganese Chelate of Protein Hydrolysates) 7.8mg, Copper (as Copper (II) Chelate of Amino Acids Hydrate) 8mg, Iodine (as Calcium Iodate Anhydrous) 1.27mg, Selenium (as Organic form of Selenium produced by saccharomyces cerevisiae CNCM I-3060 (Selenised Yeast Inactivated)) 0.16mg. Technological additives: Antioxidants Sensory additives: Rosemary Extract

Ingredient notes

Chicken at 38.5% is unpacked on the label as meal at 20.5%, fresh chicken at 12.5%, fat trimmed back to 3% and gravy at 2.5%. The trimmed fat inside the bracket is part of the ageing-dog thinking, and the meal-led split still gives the kibble a solid protein spine.

Rice at 20%, maize at 16% and whole barley at 11.5% share the starch, with the whole grain form of barley the best version of that cereal. Beet pulp at 7% is a generous fibre allowance that suits an older digestion.

The senior toolkit reads sensibly: glucosamine at 0.08% and chondroitin at 0.06% get top billing, taurine at 500mg minds the heart, and the chicory and yeast prebiotics tend the gut.

Whole dried egg and brewers yeast fill out the support, trace minerals arrive mostly chelated and dosed, and salmon oil covers marine omega 3. The extract quartet at the end of the list is garnish at trace strength.

Price and value

£3.47 a kilo from the 15kg bag, or £5.45 a kilo in the 2kg size.

The standard maintenance estimate for a 15kg adult in moderate condition is roughly 840 kcal a day (110 × bodyweight^0.75). That works out at about 241 grams and £0.84 a day from the larger bag. The label's own table speaks to bigger dogs, starting at 350 to 435 grams for 30kg to 40kg.

Nutritional analysis

Declared analysis

Energy

348 kcal/100g

Estimated using Modified Atwater factors*

Protein

23%

Fat

12%

Fibre

3.2%

Ash

6.5%

Moisture

Dry weight

Protein

25%

Fat

13%

Fibre

3.5%

Ash

7.1%

Carbs

51.4%

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

38%

Added water

2.5%

Carbs

54.5%

Veg

0.2%

Oils

2.4%

Other

2.5%