Calibra

Calibra Life Junior Large Breed: Lamb review

Name: Calibra Life Junior Large Breed: Lamb
Brand: Calibra

68.3/100Good

DryPuppy

Flavour

Two large breed puppy recipes, chicken in our Excellent band and lamb just behind in Good. Calcium is printed on both bags, 1.54% of dry matter on the chicken and 1.43% on the lamb. While a frame this size is being built, that is the line that matters most.

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Our view

Likely to suit

Large breed puppies, the only size either recipe is written for
Owners who insist on seeing the calcium figure
Big pups with a lifetime of carrying weight ahead: glucosamine at 300 mg/kg and chondroitin sulphate at 200 mg/kg
Gut support spelled out, with three prebiotics dosed
Pups that need persuading into the bowl. Hydrolysed chicken liver at 2% does the palatability work

Worth watching

Poultry fat with no bird named
Chicken liver in the lamb bag, so it is not chicken free
Rice in both, with carbohydrate above the 39.0% typical for puppy dry food

Written by our editorial team. Independent guidance, not veterinary advice.

How this scores

How we score

68.3/100Good

Protein and processingGood

Nutritional balanceGood

TransparencyOutstanding

ValueGood

The details

Dog fit

Written for large breed puppies. The daily amount climbs then falls back as growth slows, so follow the chart on the bag and keep checking condition.

Food type

Dry

Life stage

Puppy

Breed size

Large

Main protein

Lamb

The score, in context

Chicken 70.5
Lamb 68.3

Two recipes across Excellent and Good. Typical dry food: Good.

The sourcing and the declaration are the strong parts, and the analysis is more ordinary once the rice is counted.

What's in it

Lamb protein40%Dried, water-free meat.
Rice30%The larger cereal share of the pair.
Poultry fat9%A bird in a lamb bag, and not a named one.
Brewer's rice9%
Dried apple pulp, yeasts4%
Hydrolysed chicken liver2%Chicken in the allergen picture.
Salmon oil2%
Prebiotics: mannan-oligosaccharides, beta-glucans, fructo-oligosaccharides150, 120, 100 mg/kg
Glucosamine, chondroitine sulphate300 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg
Rosemary and thyme, Mojave yucca, inactivated Lactobacillus acidophilus

The same panel as the chicken: vitamin D3 at 1,750 IU and largely organic trace minerals.

Lamb-led, not lamb-only. Poultry fat and chicken liver rule it out as a novel protein.

Named ingredients

Lamb protein (40 %), rice (30 %), poultry fat (9 %, preserved with tocopherols), brewer´s rice (9 %), apple pulp dried (4 %), yeasts, hydrolysed chicken liver (2 %), salmon oil (2 %), prebiotics (mannan-oligosaccharides 150 mg/kg, β-glucans 120 mg/kg, fructo-oligosaccharides 100 mg/kg), glucosamine (300 mg/kg), dried rosemary & thyme (250 mg/kg), chondroitine sulphate (200 mg/kg), Mojave yucca (100 mg/kg), Lactobacillus acidophilus HA - 122 inactivated (15 × 109 cells/kg).

Against the range

Meat protein: 40% lamb protein; 45% chicken protein
Rice: 30% plus 9% brewer's rice; 22% plus 7%
Calcium, dry matter: 1.43%; 1.54%
Fat, dry matter: 16.5%; 17.6%

A fine choice for a pup that prefers lamb, as long as chicken is not the problem.

Both bags lead on a concentrated, water-free meat protein, so the declared share and the share in the kibble stay close. Rice and brewer's rice carry the starch, poultry fat with no bird named supplies the energy, and salmon oil at 2% brings the marine omega 3. Hydrolysed chicken liver sits in both. The joint and prebiotic tail is identical and dosed in milligrams per kilo, and both declare calcium inside the large breed growth window.

Nutritional analysis

Declared analysis

Energy

382.5 kcal/100g

Protein

28%

Fat

15%

Fibre

Ash

5.8%

Moisture

Dry weight

Protein

30.8%

Fat

16.5%

Fibre

3.3%

Ash

6.4%

Carbs

43%

As-fed composition

Estimated breakdown of the finished product by ingredient category, from the declared ingredient list and ingoing weights. These are estimates, not measurements.

Meat

42%

Carbs

39%

Veg

Oils

11%

Other

Pricing & size

Price per kilo: £4.31 (RRP)
Pack: 100g, 2.5kg, 12kg, 20 kg (sold under the trade name "Calibra Dog Breeder Junior Large Lamb 20kg" - https://calibrastore.co.uk/products/calibra-dog-breeder-junior-large-lamb-20kg)
A 15kg dog eats: 300 g a day
Cost per day, 15kg dog: £1.29

Middle of the market for a dry food, and a little dear for what the analysis shows.

Ingredients and nutrition are taken from manufacturer data. Retailer pricing is not yet live for this food.