Briantos Adult: Lamb & Rice review

The chicken version sits level with the typical adult dry food in our Good band, with the lamb and the salmon a step behind in our Average band. Nothing here is a red flag. What shapes all three is construction: unnamed poultry protein leads every recipe, the named meats are small, and starch runs well above what is typical. As simple, filling everyday food for a dog with no sensitivities, it still does the job it was built for.

Ingredients, as declared: Dried poultry protein, rice (15%), maize, barley, millet, dried lamb protein (5%), poultry fat, desugared dried beet pulp, dried pork protein, protein hydrolysate, dried peas, dried yeast, fish oil, sodium chloride, potassium chloride

Dried poultry protein heads every list. As a dried ingredient it is concentrated and genuinely protein-rich. Poultry names a family of birds, not a single species. That leaves an owner of a sensitive dog guessing, and lets the recipe flex from batch to batch. Protein finishes at a modest 23.4% of dry matter in the chicken and lamb versions and 24.5% in the salmon.

The flavour names deserve a plain reading. The chicken version has the strongest claim, declaring 17.5% dried poultry protein of which 14% is chicken. The lamb and salmon versions each add just 5% of their namesake on top of the poultry base, so pick between them by your dog's taste rather than by protein strategy.

Grains do the volume work: rice at 17.5% in the chicken version and 15% in the others, backed by maize, barley and millet, with desugared beet pulp adding fibre. Estimated carbohydrate reaches 54.9% of dry matter in the chicken and lamb and 53.8% in the salmon, against the 46.2% typical for adult dry food.

The supporting cast is functional. Protein hydrolysate does the palatant job, dried pork protein and dried yeast add more protein, and fish oil supplies omega 3s. Every vitamin and mineral carries a printed dose, and some of the zinc is chelated, a form that a dog absorbs more easily.

Lamb appears as a 5% dried lamb protein entry behind the leading poultry, so treat this as a poultry recipe with a lamb accent. For a dog that simply enjoys the taste, it does the job asked of it.

Per kilo, the chicken is £1.93 and the salmon £2.00, both in 14kg bags, while the lamb is £3.29 in a 1kg bag.

On our standard maintenance estimate, a 15kg adult dog eats around 243 grams a day of the chicken or lamb, or 246 grams of the salmon. The daily cost lands between £0.47 and £0.80 depending on the version.