Benyfit Natural Puppy review

Our Outstanding band is where this lands, and the middle of the raw puppy field lands there too. That is a measure of how high the bar sits in this category, and no sign of a soft result. Named meat at a stated percentage, a genuine organ share and a plant side of three named vegetables are what carry it. Protein and processing and transparency read Outstanding, with nutritional balance Excellent behind them.

Ingredients, as declared: 65% Free Range Turkey with Bone, 9% Carrot, 8% Parsnip, 5% Ox Liver, 5% Ox Heart, 5% Ox Kidney, 3% Broccoli, <1% Verm-X, Botanicals Including: Flaxseed Oil, Kelp, Turmeric, Celery Seeds, Alfalfa, Nettles, Psyllium Husk, Clivers & Wild Yam. Also contains Verm-X natural supplement.

Free range turkey with bone at 65% carries both the muscle meat and the calcium. Turkey is lean and easily digested, a sensible choice for a young stomach. Ground bone through the grind does the mineral job a premix would otherwise cover, and calcium lands at 1.9% of dry matter.

Each of ox liver, heart and kidney sits at 5%, making a proper organ share. For a growing dog that counts, because liver is where vitamin A, copper, folate and the B vitamins sit in quantity, while heart adds taurine and eats like ordinary muscle meat. It also means beef is in every bowl, whatever the turkey on the front of the pack suggests.

Carrot takes 9%, parsnip 8% and broccoli 3%, each named and given its own percentage, with no vegetables heading pooling them. The remaining micronutrition arrives through a botanical blend of celery seeds, alfalfa, turmeric, nettles, clivers, wild yam, psyllium husk, kelp and flaxseed oil. Kelp is the iodine, flaxseed oil the omega 3 fats, psyllium husk a gentle soluble fibre.

Verm-X is the one entry that is not simply food. It is a proprietary herbal supplement, included at under 1%, and the label names it without listing what goes into it. Read it as a small herbal extra rather than as part of a worming plan, and let your vet tell you how it fits with what you already do.

Protein converts to 35.1% of dry matter and fat to 32.1%, a fair raw balance for growth, with ash at 12.1% reflecting the bone in the grind. Carbohydrate is estimated at 18.0% of dry matter against 3.2% for the typical raw puppy food, which looks odd on a label with nothing starchier than root vegetables. That figure is arrived at by subtraction, so the ingredients list is the better guide. What the panel cannot settle is whether the calcium suits a fast growing large breed puppy, and that is a conversation for your vet.

£6.35 a kilo, sold in 500g and 1kg packs.

Benyfit's feeding guide works from bodyweight, with age left out of it. A 5kg dog is given 100 to 150 grams a day, and a 40kg one 800 to 1200 grams. A growing puppy generally eats more than its current weight suggests, so work upwards from the guide and let condition settle it.