Ava Medium Breed Puppy review

Good band for this one, in the same company as the middle of the puppy dry field, and it gets there on meat rather than on decoration. Transparency reads Outstanding with protein and processing and nutritional balance both at Good, and the meat share is the part of the label that stands out.

Two things keep it at that level: the cereal base underneath the chicken, and an energy figure we have to estimate because the label stops before printing one. The recipe itself is doing the right things for a fast-growing medium breed.

Ingredients, as declared: Chicken (54.5%) (Chicken Meal 27.5%, Fresh Chicken 17.5%, Chicken Fat 7%, Chicken Gravy (2.5%), Brown Rice (22.5%), Maize (12.5%), Beet Pulp (3.5%), Whole Dried Egg, Salmon Oil, Brewers Yeast, Minerals, Chicory Root Extrat (as a source of Pre-biotic Fructooligosaccharide) (0.16%), Yeasts (as a source of Beta-glucans, Prebiotic Mannanoligosaccharides (0.11%), Yucca Extract (0.02%), Glucosamine (0.02%), Chondroitin (0.015%), Cranberry Extract (0.01%), Green Tea Extract (0.005%), Pomegranate Extract (0.005%)

Chicken at 54.5% is set out in full: chicken meal at 27.5%, fresh chicken at 17.5%, chicken fat at 7% and chicken gravy at 2.5%. The meal is the workhorse, dried before it goes in so its share survives into the finished kibble. The fresh chicken adds flavour and quality protein while giving up much of its weight in the oven. The analysis follows the label, with protein at 30.0% as fed and 32.6% of dry matter.

Calcium is declared on the label and converts to 1.63% of dry matter. For a medium breed puppy that is comfortable territory, and the reason it matters is simple: young bones build to their own timetable and a steady mineral supply serves them better than a lavish one. A printed figure lets you feed to the chart and forget about it.

The starch load is lighter here than in most growth kibbles. Brown rice at 22.5% and maize at 12.5% supply it, with carbohydrate at 34.8% as fed and an estimated 37.8% of dry matter against the 39.0% typical for a puppy dry food. Beet pulp at 3.5% keeps the fibre gentle, and fat at 18.0% lifts our energy estimate to 380 kcal per 100g.

The functional tail is short and named to the decimal point. Prebiotic fructooligosaccharide comes from chicory root extract at 0.16%, and beta-glucans with mannanoligosaccharides from yeasts at 0.11%. Yucca extract at 0.02% sits alongside glucosamine at 0.02% and chondroitin at 0.015%. The joint pair are modest, so read them as quiet support for a pup who is going to be jumping off the sofa more than is good for them.

Whole dried egg and brewers yeast round out the protein side. Salmon oil brings the marine omega 3 that skin, coat and brain draw on through the growing months, and it is why a chicken recipe carries fish on its allergen list. Cranberry at 0.01% with green tea and pomegranate at 0.005% each close the list, and the additive panel names vitamins A, D3 and E along with chelated zinc, manganese, copper, iodine and selenium.

£5.45 a kilo, sold in a 2kg bag.

Portion sizes for a growing dog are always a work in progress. Take the guide printed on the pack as your starting point, and let the way your puppy is filling out decide whether to nudge it up or down.