Caboodle Superfood Senior Light Dry Food: Scottish Salmon review

On our scale there is barely anything between the two flavours. Scottish Salmon earns a place in our Excellent band, a step above the Good band where the typical adult dry food finishes. It gets there on a complete declaration, a strong protein conversion and a restrained carbohydrate estimate. The turkey lands in the same band.

Ingredients, as declared: 65% Salmon (Freshly Prepared Scottish Salmon (35%), Dried Salmon 24.5%), Salmon Oil (3%), Salmon Gravy (2.5%), Sweet Potato, Beans, Beet Pulp, Dried Superfood Blend* (Including Dill, Spinach, Fennel, Asparagus, Tomato), Minerals, Omega 3 Supplement, Joint Pack (Glucosamine 178 mg/kg, Methylsulfonylmethane 178 mg/kg, Chondroitin Sulphate 125 mg/kg), Fructooligosaccharides (175 mg/kg), Mannanoligosaccharides (50 mg/kg), Olive Extract (0.01%)

Both flavours declare 65% animal content led by a 35% fresh share. In the salmon that is fish from top to bottom, with dried salmon at 24.5% plus salmon oil and gravy behind the fresh fish. In the turkey the dried backup is split between pork at 14% and turkey at 11.5%, worth registering if you chose it expecting one bird and nothing else.

The light construction shows in the analysis. Fat is held at 11% in both flavours, and the salmon's estimated carbohydrate converts to 35.9% of dry matter against the 46.2% typical of adult dry food. Declared protein stays generous, 35% in the salmon and 37.5% in the turkey, so what these recipes cut is energy and not substance.

L-Carnitine at 240 mg is the senior-and-light signature. It is an amino acid central to fat metabolism, and it helps the body burn stored fat while holding on to lean muscle. Both flavours print the whole joint trio: glucosamine and MSM at 178 mg/kg with chondroitin sulphate at 125 mg/kg, exactly the additions an older small dog is most likely to want.

Sweet potato, beans and beet pulp handle the plant side with no grain anywhere, and each flavour brings its own dried superfood blend, parsley and papaya in the turkey, dill and spinach in the salmon. Prebiotic fructooligosaccharides at 175 mg/kg and mannanoligosaccharides at 50 mg/kg look after the gut.

The one real gap is the turkey label's missing ash figure, which leaves its mineral picture unstated. The salmon declares in full, ash at 9.5% included, and reads all the better for it.

Scottish Salmon keeps every animal entry to the fish, fresh at 35% and dried at 24.5%, and declares its analysis in full. It is the stronger reading of the pair and the obvious pick wherever fish suits.

The turkey is £9.33 a kilo and the salmon £7.83, both sold in 2kg and 6kg bags.

A 15kg adult dog in moderate condition would get through roughly 241 grams of the turkey or 239 grams of the salmon each day, about £2.25 and £1.87 respectively. That assumes around 840 kcal daily on the standard maintenance estimate of 110 × bodyweight^0.75. These are small breed recipes, so real portions will usually run smaller than that; the figures are for comparison.