Calibra Verve Adult Large Breed review

Good is the verdict here, level with where the typical adult dry food lands. Transparency reads Outstanding, with nutritional balance, protein and processing and value all coming back Good. Open labelling is the standout, and the rest holds a comfortable middle: solid named animal content, moderate carbohydrate and a properly dosed additive list. For a large breed owner, the joint stack is the practical reason to shortlist it.

Ingredients, as declared: fresh deboned chicken (30 %), duck protein (26 %), potatoes (16 %), poultry fat, pumpkin (4 %), peas (4 %), apple pulp dried (3 %), hydrolysed poultry protein (3 %), yeasts, hydrolysed chicken liver (2 %), salmon oil (2 %), chicory root powder (0.2 %), pineapple dried (0.1 %), prebiotics (mannan-oligosaccharides 150 mg/kg, β-glucans 120 mg/kg, fructo-oligosaccharides 100 mg/kg), glucosamine (260 mg/kg), chondroitine sulphate (160 mg/kg), Mojave yucca (100 mg/kg), Boswellia serrata dried (80 mg/kg), green-lipped mussels extract (Perna canaliculus, 50 mg/kg).

Fresh deboned chicken at 30% leads with duck protein at 26% behind it, the familiar Verve pairing of fresh meat plus a concentrated dried protein that holds its weight through cooking. Protein comes out at 33.3% of dry matter while fat sits at a measured 15.6%, and estimated carbohydrate lands at 39.4% of dry matter against the 46.2% typical of adult dry food.

Potatoes at 16% carry the starch with pumpkin at 4% and peas at 4% in support, keeping the recipe grain free, while dried apple pulp at 3% adds gentle fibre.

The joint stack is the recipe's signature. Glucosamine at 260 mg/kg and chondroitin sulphate at 160 mg/kg are joined by Boswellia serrata at 80 mg/kg, a plant resin with a long history in joint care. Green-lipped mussel extract at 50 mg/kg comes in as well, prized for its unusual omega 3s. On a food aimed at heavy dogs, that is exactly where the help is needed.

The marine omega 3s are supplied by salmon oil at 2%. Hydrolysed poultry protein at 3% and hydrolysed chicken liver at 2% do the flavour work, and every trace mineral arrives in an organic chelated form, dosed in the additive table. The prebiotic trio is printed too: mannan-oligosaccharides at 150 mg/kg, beta-glucans at 120 mg/kg and fructo-oligosaccharides at 100 mg/kg.

£8.07 a kilo, currently sold in a 2kg bag.

As a guide, feeding works out at about £1.85 a day for a 15kg adult dog in moderate condition, assuming around 840 kcal a day (110 × bodyweight^0.75, the standard maintenance estimate). The label's own feeding table starts at 30kg, where it suggests 290 grams a day.