Calibra

Calibra Verve Junior Small Breed review

Name: Calibra Verve Junior Small Breed
Brand: Calibra

71.7/100Excellent

DryPuppy

A grain-free growth bag for small pups, led by two named birds. The dried duck protein does at least as much of the protein work as the fresh chicken in front of it. It sits in our Excellent band, one rung above the middle of the puppy dry field.

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Our view

Likely to suit

Small-breed puppies, with portions drawn for that size
Homes keeping cereal out, as potato, pumpkin and peas bind it
Pups who eat better for fresh meat, with deboned chicken at 30% first
Owners who like the second bird named: duck protein at 26%
Lively little dogs, at 389 kcal per 100g against 376 for a typical puppy dry food

Worth watching

Fresh chicken weighed wet, so the 30% shrinks in the oven
Poultry fat and hydrolysed poultry protein with no bird named
Salmon oil at 2% adds a third animal

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

How this scores

How we score

71.7/100Excellent

Protein and processingGood

Nutritional balanceGood

TransparencyOutstanding

ValueExcellent

The details

Dog fit

Listed for small-breed puppies. Calcium at 1.67% of dry matter suits small frames and is above a large-breed growth plan, so keep it to the size on the bag.

Food type

Dry

Life stage

Puppy

Breed size

Small

Main protein

Chicken

The score, in context

Calibra Verve Junior Small Breed 71.7

All one Excellent. Typical dry food: Good.

Strength is spread evenly across the pillars; the fresh-weight headline and the anonymous poultry entries keep it from climbing further.

What's in it

Fresh deboned chicken30%Weighed before cooking, so most of it is water.
Duck protein26%Dried, so it reaches the kibble roughly as declared.
Poultry fatNo bird named.
Potatoes10%
Hydrolysed poultry protein8%Also anonymous, which matters on an exclusion diet.
Pumpkin, peas4%, 3%Pumpkin is soft and easy on a young gut.
Hydrolysed chicken liver, salmon oil2% eachThe liver is the palatant; the oil brings marine omega 3s.
Dried apple pulp, yeasts, chicory root powder2%, unstated, 0.2%
Dried pineapple, prebiotics, Mojave yucca, dried sea buckthorn0.1% down to 100 mg/kgSmall, but named and numbered.

A full panel with organic zinc, iron, manganese, copper and selenium, zinc at 120 mg per kilo, and vitamins E and C at 400 mg and 300 mg.

Calcium converts to 1.67% of dry matter, right for small breeds and too high for large-breed growth.

Named ingredients

Fresh deboned chicken (30 %), duck protein (26 %), poultry fat, potatoes (10 %), hydrolysed poultry protein (8 %), pumpkin (4 %), peas (3 %), hydrolysed chicken liver (2 %), salmon oil (2 %), apple pulp dried (2 %), yeasts, 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), Mojave yucca (100 mg/kg), sea buckthorn dried (100 mg/kg).

Against the range

One grain-free recipe for small-breed puppies, built on two named birds: fresh deboned chicken at 30% and dried duck protein at 26%. Potatoes, pumpkin and peas carry the starch, and the fruit and prebiotic entries at the bottom are each numbered.

Nutritional analysis

Declared analysis

Energy

389 kcal/100g

Protein

30%

Fat

18%

Fibre

2.5%

Ash

Moisture

10%

Dry weight

Protein

33.3%

Fat

20%

Fibre

2.8%

Ash

8.9%

Carbs

35%

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

66%

Carbs

13%

Veg

6.2%

Oils

Other

7.8%

Pricing & size