Country Kibble Grain Free Puppy: Salmon review

Both recipes reach our Excellent band, a step clear of the Good band where the middle of the puppy dry field lands. Transparency reads Outstanding on each, with value Excellent on both, and protein and processing and nutritional balance both reading Good.

The meat share, the itemised breakdown and an analysis that leaves nothing off are what carry them up. The starch share is the part keeping them from pressing higher, and it is set out in full below.

Ingredients, as declared: Salmon, Haddock & White Fish 60% (Freshly Prepared Salmon 21%, Dried Salmon 16%, Freshly Prepared Haddock 11%, Freshly Prepared White Fish 10% & Salmon Stock 2%), Sweet Potato (20%), Potato, Beet Pulp, Peas (6%), Linseed, Omega 3 Supplement, Minerals, Asparagus (0.1%), Glucosamine (170 mg/kg), Methylsulfonylmethane (170 mg/kg), Chondroitin Sulphate (125 mg/kg), Nucleotides, Fructooligosaccharides (FOS, 96 mg/kg), Mannanoligosaccharides (MOS, 24 mg/kg)

Sixty per cent of each bag is animal, and neither label asks you to take that on trust. In the mixed recipe that is 20% freshly prepared chicken and 14% dried chicken. Behind them come 7% each of freshly prepared turkey, freshly prepared salmon and dried turkey, then dried salmon at 3% with chicken stock at 2%. The fish recipe runs 21% freshly prepared salmon, 16% dried salmon, 11% freshly prepared haddock, 10% freshly prepared white fish and 2% salmon stock.

Dried entries matter more than they look. A fresh bird or fresh fish is mostly water before the kibble is made, while a dried one has already lost it. So dried salmon at 16% or dried chicken at 14% contributes far more protein to the finished food than the figure implies.

Both recipes declare moisture, which is the quiet detail that makes everything else comparable. Protein converts to 31.5% of dry matter in the mixed recipe and 30.4% in the fish one, with fat at 14.1% in both. Carbohydrate comes to 44.1% and 42.0% against the 39.0% typical of a puppy dry food. Energy reads 384 kcal per 100g and 359 kcal per 100g respectively.

On the plant side sweet potato leads at 22% and 20%, with potato behind it and no grain in either. The fish recipe also carries peas at 6%, a real inclusion rather than a trace, which is part of why its fibre reads 4.0%, while the mixed recipe keeps peas and carrot at garnish level. Linseed and an omega 3 supplement that does not name its source handle the added plant fats.

Calcium converts to 1.3% of dry matter in the mixed recipe and 1.41% in the fish one, both declared and both inside the range growth needs. That is why the maker is comfortable listing them from toy through to giant. Ash reads 7.6% and 9.2% of dry matter, the fish recipe carrying the heavier mineral load, as fish based foods generally do.

The supplement work is printed and consistent across the pair: glucosamine and methylsulfonylmethane at 170 mg/kg each, chondroitin sulphate at 125 mg/kg, fructooligosaccharides at 96 mg/kg, mannanoligosaccharides at 24 mg/kg, and nucleotides alongside them. The trace elements are dosed too, among them zinc at 50 mg, iron at 50 mg and manganese at 35 mg, with vitamin E at 95 IU.

This is the all fish recipe, built on salmon with haddock and white fish behind it and no bird anywhere on the list. It declares protein at 28.0%, fat at 13.0%, fibre at 4.0%, ash at 8.5% and moisture at 8.0%. That works out at 30.4% protein and 42.0% carbohydrate in dry matter, with energy lower at 359 kcal per 100g. Calcium converts to 1.41% of dry matter, and the heavier ash reading reflects the fish. Peas at 6% do far more work here than in its sibling, and asparagus at 0.1% closes the list.

The mixed chicken, turkey and salmon recipe is £4.33 a kilo and the fish one £4.60 a kilo, each sold in a 15kg bag.

Growth is the one stretch of a dog's life where a feeding chart really earns its keep, since the right portion this month will be the wrong one next month. Follow the chart for your pup's weight and expected adult size, then adjust by how they are filling out.