Ava

Ava Wet Food Adult Chunks in Gravy: Small Breed review

Name: Ava Wet Food Adult Chunks in Gravy: Small Breed
Brand: Ava

57.4/100Good

WetAdult

Flavour

Chicken chunks in gravy, sized three ways for small, medium and large adults, with joint doses and analysis tuned to each. The labels print inclusions down to 0.001%. All three sit in our Good band, a step below the typical wet food, with the small breed version a shade ahead.

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Our view

Likely to suit

Dogs that prefer chunks in gravy to a smooth pâté
Matching the bowl to your dog's build, with small, medium and large versions
Dogs fine on poultry: chicken at 32% is the only meat
Homes avoiding cereal. Sweet potato, pea protein and tapioca carry the starch
Older dogs feeling their joints, glucosamine and chondroitin printed on every version

Worth watching

Pea protein high on all three lists, so part of the protein is plant
Fish oil on every label, so none is strictly poultry only
Carbohydrate above the wet-food norm, reaching an estimated 33.4% of dry matter on the medium version against 15.8% typical

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

How this scores

How we score

57.4/100Good

Protein and processingAverage

Nutritional balanceOutstanding

TransparencyOutstanding

ValueGood

The details

Dog fit

Listed for adults, with a version for each size. Pick by your dog's weight band on the label; if your vet has set a joint dose, keep to that.

Food type

Wet

Life stage

Adult

Breed size

Small

Main protein

Chicken

The score, in context

Small Breed 57.4
Large Breed 56.6
Medium Breed 55.8

All three Good. Typical wet food: Excellent.

The range shows its workings in full, but pea protein and starch take up much of what follows the chicken.

What's in it

Chicken32%The only meat in the range. Easy on most digestions, though chicken intolerance is the most reported.
Pea proteinThe refined fraction, used to lift the protein figure; it does less work than chicken protein.
Sweet potato4%
Tapioca starchStarch and very little else.
Cellulose fibre1%Refined fibre for bulk and a firmer stool.
Sunflower oil, minerals
Fish oilOmega 3, and the reason no version is purely poultry.
Yeast, chicory root extract0.055%, 0.02%Prebiotics for the useful gut bacteria.
Glucosamine, chondroitin0.011%, 0.004%A supportive extra for an older dog, not a joint treatment.
Yucca, cranberry, pomegranate, green tea extracts0.005% down to 0.001%Trace level.

Chelated zinc, manganese, copper and iron, with vitamin E at 105mg.

Named ingredients

Chicken (32%), Pea Protein, Sweet Potato (4%), Tapioca Starch, Cellulose Fibre (1%), Sunflower Oil, Minerals, Fish Oil, Yeast (as a source of Prebiotic Mannan-oligosaccharides and Beta-glucans) (0.055%), Chicory Root Extract (as a source of Prebiotic Fructo-oligosaccharides)(0.02%), Glucosamine (0.011%), Yucca Extract (0.005%), Chondroitin (0.004%), Cranberry Extract (0.002%), Pomegranate Extract (0.001%), Green Tea Extract (0.001%)

Against the range

Pea protein: Second on the list; Third, behind sweet potato, in the others
Energy: 97 kcal per 100g, the densest; 87 to 89
Protein, dry matter: 36.9%; 34.7% to 35.7%
Fish oil: No percentage given; 0.3% on the others

The densest of the three and the top scorer, sized for dogs of 2 to 10 kg.

One chicken recipe cut three ways, with chicken at 32% on every label and no other meat. Pea protein, sweet potato at 4% and tapioca starch follow, with cellulose fibre at around a percent, so carbohydrate runs to between 25.3% and 33.4% of dry matter. Sunflower oil and fish oil supply the added fats.

Glucosamine and chondroitin are printed with inclusions on all three, and the trace elements are chelates of protein hydrolysates. What varies is the joint dose, the fat and energy, and the pack size.

Nutritional analysis

Declared analysis

Energy

97 kcal/100g

Protein

7.9%

Fat

5.7%

Fibre

Ash

1.4%

Moisture

78.6%

Dry weight

Protein

36.9%

Fat

26.6%

Fibre

4.7%

Ash

6.5%

Carbs

25.3%

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

32%

Added water

13.6%

Carbs

44.4%

Oils

6.2%

Other

3.8%

Pricing & size