Barking Heads Puppy Days Dry Food review

This one reaches our Excellent band, a rung above the Good band that most growth kibbles reach.

Transparency reads Outstanding, with Good readings for protein and processing and for nutritional balance. The lift comes from the parts of a puppy label that matter most: the share that is named meat, a declared and sensible calcium figure, and amounts printed against the extras. All of those land the right way here.

Ingredients, as declared: Turkey 60% (33% Freshly Prepared Free Run Turkey, 23% Dried Turkey, 4% Turkey Gravy), Sweet Potato (14%), Potato, Peas (10%), Potato Protein, Lucerne, Salmon Oil (1%), Minerals, 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)

The turkey figure is worth unpicking, because the three forms behave differently in the bag. The freshly prepared 33% is meat that still holds its water, so a good deal of it cooks away. The dried 23% has already been through that and arrives concentrated. The 4% gravy is there for flavour. Between them the analysis lands at 32.8% protein on a dry matter basis, a properly meaty result for a kibble.

A growth food lives or dies on its calcium, and this label declares it. Converting to 1.53% of dry matter, it sits inside the window a puppy should be reared in, which matters whether your dog finishes at 5kg or 40kg. Owners of the bigger breeds in particular get to feed without guessing at a number that most labels never give them.

There is no cereal in the recipe. The starch begins with sweet potato at 14%, then potato, then peas at 10%. Carbohydrate is estimated at 37.1% of dry matter, a shade under the 39.0% typical of a puppy dry food. Lucerne and seaweed round out the plant side, seaweed being a natural source of iodine and a range of other minerals.

Every functional addition here comes with a number. Yeast products and chicory root FOS are at 1000mg/kg each, glucosamine at 500mg/kg, beta glucans at 300mg/kg and chondroitin sulphate at 150mg/kg, with taurine added at 1000mg/kg as well. These are small quantities by nature, and printing them is how an owner tells a real inclusion from a marketing one.

Two entries deserve reading twice. Salmon oil at 1% brings the omega 3 fats that a growing brain and coat both use. It is also why fish sits next to turkey on the allergen picture. Potato protein, a byproduct of potato processing, is doing part of the protein work, and plant protein does not match meat for quality or digestibility.

The analysis is fully declared, with protein at 30.0%, fat at 16.0%, fibre at 3.0%, ash at 8.5% and moisture at 8.5% printed alongside the maker's energy figure of 385 kcal per 100g.

£5.65 a kilo, sold in 2kg and 6kg bags.

Portions follow the weight your pup will finish at, not the weight on the scales this morning. The guide runs from 125g a day for a dog finishing around 10kg to 515g for one heading towards 40kg. Step along the chart as the months pass and trim to how your pup is covering over the ribs.