Basil's Dog Food

Basil's Dog Food: Venison review

Name: Basil's Dog Food: Venison
Brand: Basil's Dog Food

86.5/100Outstanding

RawAdult

Flavour

Five raw chubs on one plain recipe, every one in our Outstanding band, so the animal makes the decision. The labels describe their meat exactly and their plants by principle. Half the appeal is building the box yourself.

Where to buy: coming soon

Live retailer links are coming soon. Once we have them from UK retailers, where to buy and the best price will appear here.

Our view

Likely to suit

Dogs kept to one animal: beef, chicken, lamb and venison are each a single species
A novel protein, as most dogs have never been fed venison
Rotation feeders, building the box chub by chub
A terrier and a labrador under one roof, the guide running from a 2kg dog to a 45kg one

Worth watching

No vitamin and mineral panel, so the micronutrition rests on the ingredients alone
The venison may contain copper shot, the honest reality of wild game
Frozen chubs: freezer space, a fridge thaw and a proper wash-up

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

How this scores

How we score

86.5/100Outstanding

Protein and processingOutstanding

Nutritional balanceOutstanding

TransparencyOutstanding

ValueOutstanding

The details

Dog fit

Listed for adults of every size. Every recipe feeds in the same portion, so start in the middle of the maker's chart, 400 grams for a 15kg dog, and let the waistline settle it.

Food type

Raw

Life stage

Adult

Breed size

Toy, Small, Medium, Large, Giant

Main protein

Venison

The score, in context

Duck 87.2
Venison 86.5
Chicken 86.1
Lamb 85.3
Beef 84.9

All five Outstanding. Typical raw food: Outstanding.

Matching the raw field's own high standard five times over, with barely a whisker between the chubs, leaves the choice to your dog's tastes.

What's in it

Venison meat60%No heart on this label.
Venison bone10%
Seasonal vegetables30%The loosest entry, and not a small one. The plants follow whatever is in the ground.

May contain copper shot, the mark of meat taken in the field.

Named ingredients

60% Venison Meat, 10% Venison Bone, 30% Seasonal Vegetables, (May Contain Copper Shot).

Against the range

Meat: Venison, no heart; Heart on the other four.
Protein, dry matter: 46.5%; 41.7% to 54.0% across the range.
Availability: Seasonal; The other four are always listed.

The novel protein of the range, for a dog that has been fed everything ordinary.

One recipe shape, five animals: 70% animal, 30% seasonal vegetables, with no oils, no premix and no botanicals. The animal share splits between muscle meat, heart and ground bone or carcass, and bone does the calcium work throughout.

No liver appears on any label, so the vitamin A and copper it usually brings are not on show. Four chubs keep to one species; the fifth pairs duck with lamb. No vitamin and mineral panel is printed.

Nutritional analysis

Declared analysis

Energy

129.6 kcal/100g

Estimated using Modified Atwater factors*

Protein

13.4%

Fat

Fibre

0.7%

Ash

2.5%

Moisture

71.2%

Dry weight

Protein

46.5%

Fat

27.8%

Fibre

2.4%

Ash

8.7%

Carbs

14.6%

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

70%

Veg

30%

Pricing & size

Price per kilo: £3.34 (RRP)
Pack: 400g chub (Seasonal) - sold only inside a Small (16 chub) / Medium (32 chub) / Large (48 chub) "Create Your Own" box
A 15kg dog eats: 200 to 600 g a day, 400 in the middle
Cost per day, 15kg dog: £1.34

Budget end of the market for a raw food, and strong value for what is in the recipe.

Ingredients and nutrition are taken from manufacturer data. Retailer pricing is not yet live for this food.