Basil's Dog Food

Basil's Dog Food Basil's Superfood: Venison review

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

86.4/100Outstanding

RawAdult

Flavour

Raw chubs with a longer guest list behind the meat, all four in our Outstanding band. Organ meats are written in with their own percentages on every label. The catch is the offal: each recipe borrows it, or the bone, from a second animal.

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

Owners who want a little more going on behind the meat
Dogs that do well on organ meat; liver and kidney are printed on every recipe
Whole-food extras, with kelp, chicory root and shiitake on the label
A dog carrying too much condition. The venison is the leanest by far
Small dogs and big ones, with a feeding guide from 2kg to 45kg

Worth watching

Two animals in every recipe and an unnamed omega 3, so neither a single-species nor a fish-free plan holds
Freezer space, a fridge thaw and a careful clean of bowls and hands

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

How this scores

How we score

86.4/100Outstanding

Protein and processingOutstanding

Nutritional balanceOutstanding

TransparencyExcellent

ValueOutstanding

The details

Dog fit

Listed for adults of every size. Every recipe feeds in the same portion from the maker's chart, so let the waistline settle where in the band your dog sits.

Food type

Raw

Life stage

Adult

Breed size

Toy, Small, Medium, Large, Giant

Main protein

Venison

The score, in context

Beef 89.4
Chicken 88.3
Lamb 87.0
Venison 86.4

All four Outstanding. Typical raw food: Outstanding.

The four finish close together, so the animal and the richness matter far more than the order.

What's in it

Venison meat54%
Venison meat with bone20.5%
Beef heart, beef liver, beef kidney5% eachAll the offal is beef.
Parsnip, carrot4%, 3%
Barley grassThe leaf, not the grain, though it still registers as grain on an allergen index.
Hempseed oil
Omega-3Source unnamed, the one real gap on the label.
Chicory root powder, kelp, shiitake mushroom powderInulin for the gut bacteria, kelp for iodine; seasoning at this level.

Named ingredients

Venison Meat 54%, Venison Meat with Bone 20.5%, Beef Heart 5%, Beef Liver 5%, Beef Kidney 5%, Parsnip 4%, Carrot 3%, Barley grass, Hempseed oil, Chicory root powder, Kelp, Omega-3, Shiitake mushroom powder

Against the range

Fat, dry matter: 16.8%; Leanest by some distance; beef is 39.2%
Protein, dry matter: 64.9%; Highest of the four
Energy: 111 kcal per 100g; Bowls run largest here

Reach for this one when a dog needs the fat kept down.

Each 400g chub leads with a named meat and itemises the offal behind it, usually liver and kidney at 5% apiece, with parsnip and carrot on the plant side. Every recipe brings in a second animal, mostly beef for the organs, so none keeps to one species. The tail of barley grass, chicory root, kelp, an unnamed omega 3 and shiitake carries no percentages.

Protein converts to between 50.3% and 64.9% of dry matter and fat to between 16.8% and 39.2%. The carbohydrate estimate never passes 6.4%.

Nutritional analysis

Declared analysis

Energy

110.8 kcal/100g

Estimated using Modified Atwater factors*

Protein

18.5%

Fat

4.8%

Fibre

1.3%

Ash

2.4%

Moisture

71.5%

Dry weight

Protein

64.9%

Fat

16.8%

Fibre

4.6%

Ash

8.4%

Carbs

5.3%

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

89.5%

Carbs

1.9%

Veg

7.8%

Oils

0.6%

Other

0.3%

Pricing & size

Price per kilo: £6.52 (RRP)
Pack: 400g chub - 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: £2.61

Middle 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.