Calibra Life Fresh Beef Senior Large review

Good is where our scoring places this recipe, level with the typical adult dry food. Transparency reads Outstanding, with protein and processing and value both Good and nutritional balance Average, so a well declared label, a genuine beef share and a sensible analysis are what do the work here.

Ingredients, as declared: beef protein (26 %), fresh beef (26 %), rice (26 %), dried apple pulp (10.5 %), beef fat (preserved with tocopherols, 5 %), hydrolysed yeasts (2 %), salmon oil (2 %), egg shells (a source of calcium, 1 %), pea flour, milk thistle seed (0.5 %), 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).

Beef arrives twice, and the order of forms matters. The dried beef protein at 26% survives the oven with its weight intact, so it supplies much of the finished kibble's protein. The 26% fresh beef brings the flavour, and most of its water goes in cooking. Between them, protein lands at 27.5% of dry matter, a solid level for a senior recipe.

The only grain is rice at 26%, and it does the binding. Estimated carbohydrate converts to 49.5% of dry matter, a little above the 46.2% typical of adult dry food, a shape that suits steadier, older dogs rather than working ones.

The senior additions all carry doses. Glucosamine at 310 mg/kg and chondroitin sulphate at 210 mg/kg make up the joint pair. Mannan oligosaccharides at 120 mg/kg and fructo oligosaccharides at 70 mg/kg feed the gut's friendly bacteria, and a heat-treated Lactobacillus helveticus culture rounds out the digestive support.

Gentle fibre comes from dried apple pulp at 10.5%. Egg shell at 1% supplies calcium in a food-derived form, and milk thistle seed at 0.5% is a herb traditionally chosen with older livers in mind. Dried blackcurrant, rosemary, thyme and Mojave yucca finish the list in trace amounts.

The fat is named beef fat, preserved with tocopherols, with salmon oil at 2% adding long-chain omega 3s. Every added trace mineral is in an organic form, the type generally absorbed more readily, with its dose printed in the additive table.

£4.99 a kilo, in 100g, 2.5kg and 12kg pack sizes.

For a 15kg adult dog in moderate condition, that works out at roughly 231 grams and £1.15 a day, based on a daily need of about 840 kcal (110 × bodyweight^0.75, the standard maintenance estimate). The label's own table starts at 310 grams for a 30kg dog, so scale to your dog and let the waistline arbitrate.