Belcando Puppy Grain-Free review

The analysis on this bag is genuinely strong for a growth food, so the Good band it lands in, with protein and processing held to Average, needs its reasoning laid out. Two things pull against the numbers. The first is naming. Nothing here says which bird the 40% fresh meat and the 16% dried protein came from, and the fat and hydrolysed liver further down say no more. The second is what the protein figure is made of, because pea flour and hydrolysed gelatin both feed into that 29.5%, and neither gives a growing pup what meat protein gives it. Set against a typical growth kibble, that is what keeps this one level.

Ingredients, as declared: Fresh poultry meat (40%); Low-ash poultry protein, dried (16%); Amaranth (14%); Potato starch; Pea flour; Sea fish meal (5%); Poultry fat; Ground zooplankton (Krill, 2.5%); Hydrolyzed gelatin (2.5%); Dried baker's yeast (2.5%); Dried egg; Dried carob bean gum; De-sugared dried beet pulp; Dicalcium phosphate; Salmon oil; Hydrolyzed poultry liver; Chia seeds; Sodium chloride; Potassium chloride

Fresh poultry meat at 40% with a low-ash dried poultry protein at 16% is a strong opening pair. The dried entry has had its water taken out already, so it reaches the finished kibble almost as printed. The fresh figure shrinks considerably during cooking. Between them they deliver 29.5% protein, 32.8% on a dry matter basis, which is a meaty reading for a puppy food.

The catch is that neither entry names a species. Poultry covers chicken, duck, goose and turkey, and a maker using the term keeps the freedom to change birds between batches. Most pups are entirely unbothered. An owner narrowing down a reaction is left without the one detail that would help.

With no cereal in the recipe, amaranth at 14%, potato starch and pea flour do the binding. Amaranth is a seed rather than a grain and brings more with it than pure starch does, though potato starch is close to starch alone. The result is 31.5% carbohydrate as fed, 35.0% of dry matter, which sits under the 39.0% typical for a growth kibble.

Fat is where this recipe is most generous, at 19.0% as fed and 21.1% of dry matter, from poultry fat with salmon oil and chia seeds behind it. Paired with an estimated 375 kcal per 100g, close to the 376 typical, it makes a food for a pup with a real engine. A steadier pup needs a careful eye on portions.

Sea fish meal at 5% is a meaningful inclusion rather than a garnish, and ground zooplankton, listed as krill at 2.5%, is unusual on a puppy label. Both bring marine protein and fats that support a growing brain and coat, and both are the reason fish shows on the allergen picture.

Two entries deserve a careful read. Pea flour is milled from roasted peas and carries a good deal of plant protein, and hydrolysed gelatin at 2.5% is animal protein of limited biological value. Both are counted in the headline protein figure, so the 29.5% is not quite as meat-derived as the first two lines of the list imply.

Minerals and additives are handled properly. Dicalcium phosphate is added, calcium converts to 1.39% of dry matter and ash reads 7.5%, or 8.3% of dry matter, all sensible for growth across any size. The panel prints vitamin D3 at 1,500 IU, vitamin E at 150 mg, taurine at 500 mg, iron at 200 mg, zinc at 125 mg and tocopherol extracts at 48 mg. Vitamin A is dosed above the other vitamins, and the energy figure is the only estimate among them.

£6.41 a kilo, sold in 4kg and 12.5kg bags.

Because a growing pup's needs shift every few weeks, treat the chart on the bag as a running instruction. Check it again each time the scales move on, and let condition decide the final scoop.