Calibra

Calibra Life Senior Small Breed review

Name: Calibra Life Senior Small Breed
Brand: Calibra

65.2/100Good

DryAdultSenior

Lamb leads this small senior kibble at 40%, which is unusual and welcome in a food like this. It sits in our Good band. The small print carries a joint, prebiotic and postbiotic set, each with its dose declared.

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Our view

Likely to suit

Small breed dogs in later life
Older dogs bored of chicken-led bowls
Little seniors with creaky joints, given 260 mg/kg of glucosamine and 160 mg/kg of chondroitin
Owners who value digestive housekeeping: beet pulp, three prebiotics and a postbiotic culture

Worth watching

Hydrolysed chicken liver and unnamed poultry fat, so it is neither single-protein nor chicken free
Salmon oil puts fish on the list
Fairly energy dense for a small senior who mostly supervises from a cushion

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

How this scores

How we score

65.2/100Good

Protein and processingGood

Nutritional balanceAverage

TransparencyOutstanding

ValueGood

The details

Dog fit

Listed for small adult and senior dogs. Weigh the portion: at 375 kcal per 100g, a little extra soon adds up.

Food type

Dry

Life stage

Adult, Senior

Breed size

Small

Main protein

Lamb

The score, in context

Calibra Life Senior Small Breed 65.2

All one Good. Typical dry food: Good.

An honest label lifts it, and a fairly rich, starch-forward analysis holds it in the middle of the field.

What's in it

Lamb protein40%Dried and concentrated, so the headline holds up in the finished kibble.
Rice, brewer's rice30%, 10%Two fifths of the list is rice in some form.
Dried apple pulp5%Fibre.
Poultry fat5%The bird is not named.
Yeasts
Hydrolysed chicken liver2%The palatant, and the reason chicken is in a lamb-led food.
Salmon oil2%Omega 3s, and fish on the label.
Dried beet pulp, prebiotics (MOS, beta glucans, FOS)
Glucosamine, chondroitin sulphate260 and 160 mg/kgThe joint set, dosed in print.
Rosemary and thyme, Mojave yucca, inactivated Lactobacillus acidophilus

A full vitamin panel with zinc, iron, manganese, copper and selenium in organic forms.

Hydrolysed chicken liver and unnamed poultry fat: not a chicken-free food despite the lamb lead.

Named ingredients

Lamb protein (40 %), rice (30 %), brewer's rice (10 %), apple pulp dried (5 %), poultry fat (5 %, preserved with tocopherols), yeasts, hydrolysed chicken liver (2 %), salmon oil (2 %), dried beet pulp, prebiotics (mannan-oligosaccharides 120 mg/kg, β-glucans 100 mg/kg, fructo-oligosaccharides 70 mg/kg), glucosamine (260 mg/kg), dried rosemary & thyme (200 mg/kg), chondroitine sulphate (160 mg/kg), Mojave yucca (80 mg/kg), Lactobacillus acidophilus HA - 122 inactivated (15 × 109 cells/kg).

Against the range

A single recipe: dried lamb leads, rice and brewer's rice make up two fifths of the list, and poultry fat with salmon oil brings energy to 375 kcal per 100g.

Nutritional analysis

Declared analysis

Energy

375 kcal/100g

Protein

24%

Fat

14%

Fibre

2.8%

Ash

6.5%

Moisture

Dry weight

Protein

26.4%

Fat

15.4%

Fibre

3.1%

Ash

7.1%

Carbs

48%

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

42.3%

Veg

Oils

Other

3.7%

Pricing & size