Ava Small Breed Puppy review

Ava Small Breed Puppy lands in our Good band, the same band the typical puppy kibble occupies, and it finishes clear of that middle mark rather than level with it. Its transparency reading is Outstanding and the other three are Good, so nothing is being propped up by anything else. Part of the reason sits in the starch. Carbohydrate converts to an estimated 35.0% of dry matter where a puppy dry food typically runs at 39.0%, so the grain does slightly less of the work than usual.

Ingredients, as declared: Chicken (56.5%) (Chicken Meal 29%, Fresh Chicken 17.5%, Chicken Fat 7.5%, Chicken Gravy 2.5%), Brown Rice (22.5%), Maize (10%), Beet Pulp (3.5%), Whole Dried Egg, Salmon Oil, Brewers Yeast, Minerals, Chicory Root Extract (as a source of Pre-biotic Fructooligosaccharide) (0.16%), Yeasts (as a source Beta-glucans, Pre-biotic Mannanoligosaccharide) (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%)

The label breaks chicken at 56.5% into its parts, which tells you far more than one headline would. Chicken meal at 29% has already had its water taken out, so it carries into the finished kibble close to as printed, while fresh chicken at 17.5% loses most of its weight in the oven. Chicken fat at 7.5% and chicken gravy at 2.5% complete the share, and protein comes out at 33.7% of dry matter.

The binding comes from brown rice at 22.5% with maize at 10%. Both are whole grains, not milled fractions, and the rice brings its bran along with the starch. Beet pulp at 3.5% adds the sort of gentle, well tolerated fibre that most puppy digestion takes in its stride, with fibre landing at 2.4% of dry matter.

In any growth food calcium is the figure that works hardest, and here it is printed. Converting to 1.74% of dry matter, it is pitched for a dog that grows quickly and finishes early, which is exactly the pattern a small breed puppy follows.

The prebiotic side is named and given a number. Chicory root extract at 0.16% supplies fructooligosaccharide, and a yeast source at 0.11% brings beta-glucans and mannanoligosaccharide, the pairing that feeds the friendly bacteria along the gut.

At the tail of the list the enthusiasm outruns the dosage. Glucosamine at 0.02% and chondroitin at 0.015% are present but slight, and yucca, cranberry, green tea and pomegranate extracts sit at trace level. They are garnish. What the recipe stands on is its chicken and its analysis.

Salmon oil and whole dried egg are both worth noticing. The oil supplies the marine omega 3 fats a developing brain and coat draw on, and the egg is an easily used protein. Together they are the reason a chicken only claim does not survive a full read of the list.

The declared analysis is complete, with protein at 31.0%, fat at 19.0%, fibre at 2.2%, ash at 7.5% and moisture at 8.0% all printed. The vitamin and mineral panel carries doses, and the selenium arrives as selenised yeast, where most panels use the mineral salt. Energy at 383 kcal per 100g is our estimate rather than a declaration.

£4.43 a kilo, sold in 2kg and 7.5kg bags.

A small pup's daily amount climbs for a few months and then eases back, so read the growth chart on the bag afresh every week or two. Its own guide starts at 45g a day for the smallest pups and tops out at 145g.