Calibra Life Fresh Beef Adult Large review

Our scoring awards it a place in our Good band, level with the typical adult dry food. Transparency reads Outstanding, with protein and processing and value Good and nutritional balance Average, a report card built on how openly this label is written.

Ingredients, as declared: beef protein (26 %), fresh beef (26 %), rice (26 %), beef fat (preserved with tocopherols, 8 %), dried apple pulp (8 %), hydrolysed yeasts (2 %), salmon oil (2 %), egg shells (a source of calcium, 1 %), pea flour, dried blackcurrant (0.2 %), glucosamine (310 mg/kg), chondroitine sulphate (210 mg/kg), mannan-oligosaccharides (120 mg/kg), dried rosemary (100 mg/kg), dried thyme (100 mg/kg), Mojave yucca (80 mg/kg), fructo-oligosaccharides (70 mg/kg), inactivated bacteria and parts thereof (Lactobacillus helveticus HA - 122, 15 x 109 cells/kg).

Listing beef protein at 26% and fresh beef at 26% separately is the transparent way to do it. The concentrated protein carries the finished kibble. The fresh share earns its keep in taste, though most of its weight leaves as water in the oven. Protein converts to 27.5% of dry matter.

Rice at 26% is the sole grain and the main starch, with pea flour in a supporting role. The carbohydrate estimate converts to 48.3% of dry matter, a little above the 46.2% typical for adult dry food, the one figure here that reads ordinary.

Egg shells at 1% are a food-derived calcium source, and calcium finishes at 1.21% of dry matter, a comfortable adult level. Beef fat at 8% keeps even the energy on-species, and salmon oil at 2% adds the omega 3s no land meat supplies.

The joint pair comes in generous doses, glucosamine at 310 mg/kg and chondroitin sulphate at 210 mg/kg, pitched with heavy frames in mind.

Dried apple pulp at 8% and a pinch of blackcurrant handle fibre and polish, and hydrolysed yeasts at 2% add savoury depth. The gut deck runs mannan-oligosaccharides at 120 mg/kg, fructo-oligosaccharides at 70 mg/kg and an inactivated Lactobacillus helveticus strain. Chelated trace minerals, each with a printed dose, close the label.

£4.74 a kilo. Bags come in 100g, 2.5kg and 12kg, with a 20kg size sold under Calibra's Dog Breeder trade name.

For a 15kg adult dog in moderate condition the maths works out at roughly 222 grams and £1.05 a day, on the usual 840 kcal maintenance estimate (110 × bodyweight^0.75).