Calibra

Calibra Premium Line Energy: Chicken review

Name: Calibra Premium Line Energy: Chicken
Brand: Calibra

69.4/100Good

DryAdult

Flavour

A working-dog kibble in two versions, beef and chicken, both in our Good band. Fat is set deliberately high at 20% because the recipe is written for dogs that graft for a living. Carbohydrate comes in well under the 46.2% typical of adult dry food.

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Our view

Likely to suit

Working and sporting dogs doing real daily graft
A choice of headline animal on one construction
Dogs that burn through meals and struggle to hold condition
Hard-working joints, with glucosamine at 260 mg/kg and chondroitin sulphate at 160 mg/kg

Worth watching

Salmon oil and an unnamed poultry fat in both, so neither is fish free or fit for a strict elimination diet
A dog that does not work will want smaller portions than the bag suggests

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

How this scores

How we score

69.4/100Good

Protein and processingGood

Nutritional balanceGood

TransparencyOutstanding

ValueGood

The details

Dog fit

Listed for adult dogs of every size. A dog in real work needs more than the label's guide, so feed to workload and waistline.

Food type

Dry

Life stage

Adult

Breed size

Toy, Small, Medium, Large, Giant

Main protein

Chicken

The score, in context

Chicken 69.4
Beef 69.0

All two Good. Typical dry food: Good.

A meaty analysis and genuinely dosed extras lift both towards the top of their band, and the two sit close enough to choose by animal.

What's in it

Chicken protein40%A dried concentrate, so it puts more into the analysis than fresh meat would.
CornSecond, with no percentage: the label's least transparent corner.
Poultry fat14%The energy behind a working day. The bird is never named.
Oats14%Fibre and minerals.
Dried apple pulp, brewer's yeast2% apple pulp
Hydrolysed chicken liver2%Does the flavour work.
Salmon oil2%Omega 3, and the reason neither version is fish free.
Carrots, peas, dried parsley, dried kelp1%, 1%, 0.5%, 0.4%
Glucosamine, chondroitin sulphate260 mg/kg and 160 mg/kg, printed.
Mannan-oligosaccharides, fructo-oligosaccharides, yucca, beta-glucansThe gut package, every dose printed.

Vitamins A, D3 and E with biotin, copper, zinc, iron, manganese, iodine and selenium, all dosed per kilo.

Named ingredients

Chicken protein 40 %, corn, poultry fat 14 %, oats 14 %, dried apple pulp 2 %, brewer's yeast, hydrolysed chicken liver 2 %, salmon oil 2 %, carrots 1 %, peas 1 %, dried parsley 0.5 %, dried kelp 0.4 % (Ascophyllum nodosum), glucosamine (260 mg/kg), chondroitine sulphate (160 mg/kg), mannan-oligosaccharides (150 mg/kg), fructo-oligosaccharides (80 mg/kg), Mojave yucca (80 mg/kg), β-glucans (40 mg/kg).

Against the range

Headline protein: Chicken protein, 40%; Beef protein, 40%, on the other
Flavour: Hydrolysed chicken liver; Hydrolysed yeast on the beef
Dried kelp: 0.4%; 0.2% on the beef

The cheaper of the pair per kilo, and level with the beef on every pillar.

Both versions declare their headline animal at 40% as a dried protein concentrate, with corn and oats at 14% for the starch and poultry fat at 14% for the energy. Salmon oil at 2%, a printed joint pair and three dosed prebiotics sit in the tail of each. Fat is declared at 20% on both, and estimated carbohydrate converts to 36.3% and 36.0% of dry matter. Only the protein source and the flavour entry change.

Nutritional analysis

Declared analysis

Energy

408 kcal/100g

Protein

29%

Fat

20%

Fibre

Ash

7.2%

Moisture

Dry weight

Protein

31.9%

Fat

22%

Fibre

2.2%

Ash

7.9%

Carbs

36%

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

27.3%

Veg

3.4%

Oils

16%

Other

11.3%

Pricing & size