Barking Heads

Barking Heads Little Paws Dry Food: Golden Years Chicken review

Name: Barking Heads Little Paws Dry Food: Golden Years Chicken
Brand: Barking Heads

62.6/100Good

DryAdultSenior

Flavour

Barking Heads scaled down for small mouths, with the meat left at full strength: every recipe declares 50% animal. Two chicken options, one for older dogs, sit beside a grain-free duck for the fussy or sensitive. All three land in our Good band.

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Our view

Likely to suit

Small breed adults, with recipes and feeding amounts scaled to little dogs
Owners who like the working shown, fresh and dried parts itemised
Fussy small eaters. The duck changes the meat and the base together
Small dogs greying at the muzzle, on Golden Years with its dosed joint pair and taurine

Worth watching

Salmon oil in both chicken recipes; only the duck is fish free
Rice and oats in both chicken recipes
The duck is the most calorific, so revisit portions after a switch

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

How this scores

How we score

62.6/100Good

Protein and processingGood

Nutritional balanceAverage

TransparencyOutstanding

ValueGood

The details

Dog fit

Listed for small adult dogs, and Golden Years for small seniors too. A real Little Paws dog weighs far less than our 15 kg reference, so feed from the small breed tables on the bag.

Food type

Dry

Life stage

Adult, Senior

Breed size

Small

Main protein

Chicken

The score, in context

Fuss Pot Duck 63.7
Golden Years Chicken 62.6
Bowl Lickin' Chicken 61.6

All three Good. Typical dry food: Good.

The three finish close enough together that life stage and protein history are the better way to choose.

What's in it

Chicken: freshly prepared free run chicken, dried chicken, chicken gravy50% (23%, 23%, 4%)Split evenly fresh and dried.
Rice26%
Barley, potato, peas, oats8% (peas), 6% (oats)
Lucerne, minerals
Salmon oil1%
Yeast products, chicory root extract1000mg/kg each
Glucosamine, chondroitin sulphate500mg/kg, 150mg/kgThe joint pair, dosed.
Seaweed, dried carrot, mixed herbs, beta glucans

Taurine at 1000mg and L-Carnitine at 50mg on top of the shared vitamins and trace elements.

Named ingredients

Chicken 50% (23% Freshly Prepared Free Run Chicken, 23% Dried Chicken, 4% Chicken Gravy), Rice (26%), Barley, Potato, Peas (8%), Oats (6%), Lucerne, Minerals, Salmon Oil (1%), Yeast Products (1000mg/kg), Chicory Root Extract (FOS 1000mg/kg), Seaweed, Glucosamine (500mg/kg), Dried Carrot (500mg/kg), Mixed Herbs (Peppermint, Rosemary, Oregano & Thyme 500mg/kg), Beta Glucans (300mg/kg), Chondroitin Sulphate (150mg/kg).

Against the range

Fat: 11%; The leanest; 15% and 19% on the others.
Senior extras: Joint pair, taurine, L-Carnitine; Not on the other two.
Carbohydrate, dry matter: 49.4%; 44.3% on Bowl Lickin', 39.1% on the duck.

The gentlest of the three, sized for a small dog easing into old age.

Every recipe declares its animal at 50% and prints the split between fresh and dried, the dried share being what carries protein through the oven. Protein converts to 27.2% or 27.3% of dry matter across all three. The two chicken recipes sit on 26% rice with oats and carry salmon oil at 1%; the duck runs on sweet potato, peas and potato with linseed and no fish.

The supporting tail is shared: yeast products and chicory root extract at 1000mg/kg each, seaweed, dried carrot and a mixed herb blend. Golden Years adds glucosamine, chondroitin sulphate, taurine and L-Carnitine for older dogs.

Nutritional analysis

Declared analysis

Energy

357 kcal/100g

Protein

25%

Fat

11%

Fibre

3.5%

Ash

Dry weight

Protein

27.2%

Fat

12%

Fibre

3.8%

Ash

7.6%

Carbs

49.4%

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

46%

Added water

Carbs

46.5%

Veg

0.5%

Oils

Other

1.9%

Pricing & size