Cobbydog Grain Free: Salmon & Sweet Potato review

Both members of this range land in our Good band, the ground a typical adult dry food holds too, and they finish close enough together that the choice can rest on your dog's tastes. Big declared meat shares, restrained carbohydrate and an unusually forthcoming label do the lifting, and the transparency pillar reads Outstanding on each.

Ingredients, as declared: Dehydrated Salmon (24%) Fresh Salmon (18%), Sweet Potato (18%) Potato (18%), Chicken Oil, Yeast & Yeast Extracts, Peas, Alfalfa, Digest, Whole Linseed, Minerals, Seaweed Meal, Prebiotics FOS, Pumpkin, Carrots, Apples, Tomatoes, Glucosamine, Yucca Extract, Chondroitin, Marigold, Rosemary, Fennel, Peppermint, Spinach, Thyme, Majoram, Oregano, Parsley, Sage, Fenugreek Seeds, Rubbed Mint, Green Tea, Cranberry, Prebiotic MOS. Additives: Antioxidants (A rich blend of mixed tocopherols and rosemary extract).

Each recipe pairs a dehydrated meat with a fresh one, and the order matters. The dehydrated share leads, so most of the declared meat has lost its water before it goes in and carries straight through to the finished kibble. Protein lands a shade over 30% of dry matter in both varieties.

The starch duties fall to sweet potato and potato, and estimated carbohydrate sits comfortably below the 46.2% of dry matter typical for adult kibble in both cases. Chicken oil is the main added fat, linseed brings plant omega 3s, and seaweed meal adds minerals from the other direction.

The tail is long and mostly cosmetic: pumpkin, carrots, apples and tomatoes ahead of a dozen herbs from marigold to sage. More substantive are the FOS and MOS prebiotics and the joint pair of glucosamine and chondroitin, though none of these carries a printed dose, so read them as support rather than as measured therapy.

The trace minerals lean chelated, with zinc supplied in both chelated and standard forms, and the selenium comes as selenised yeast. Vitamin E at 245IU is a generous antioxidant level, and preserving is handled by tocopherols with rosemary extract.

At 391 kcal per 100g these are dense feeds, among the richer kibbles going, which is good news for the busy dog and a reason to weigh carefully for the idle one.

Salmon at 24% dehydrated and 18% fresh makes this the natural pick for a fish-first dog. Peas join the vegetable roster, and the label covers adults and seniors but not puppies. Ash runs slightly higher at 9.9% of dry matter, a common trait of fish-led kibbles.

The duck is £5.12 a kilo and the salmon £5.26, both sold in 3kg and 12kg bags.

For a 15kg adult in moderate condition on the standard maintenance estimate of about 840 kcal a day (110 × bodyweight^0.75), that is roughly 215 grams daily. The cost is about £1.10 on the duck and £1.13 on the salmon.