CSJ CP Fat2Fin! - 12.5kg review

Slimming foods rarely flatter themselves in general scoring, and this one lands in our Average band, with the middle of the adult dry shelf a step above it in Good. It gets there by a different route from most of its neighbours. Fat and protein are both held down on purpose, and the starch side is doing more of the work than we would usually want to see. Protein and processing reads Poor, with nutritional balance Average and transparency Good. Judged as what it actually is, a controlled ration for a dog who needs to lose a little, it is doing its job properly.

Ingredients, as declared: Rice, White fish meal (18%), Oats, Barley, Potato, Sweet Potato, Beet pulp, Duck meal, Peas, Salmon gravy, Yeast, Cellulose, Rapeseed oil, Minerals, Carrot, Salmon oil, Activated Charcoal, Dried fruits & herbs (total 2000mg/kg; Blackcurrant, Rosemary, Pomegranate, Milk thistle, Seaweed, Spearmint, Parsley, Marshmallow root, Marjoram, Oregano, Dandelion, Turmeric, Celery seed, Burdock root, Nettle, Devil's claw root), Glucosamine (400mg/kg), MSM (400mg/kg), Yucca schidigera, Chondroitin (200mg/kg).

White fish meal at 18% is the protein anchor. Meal is the dried, ground form, so unlike fresh fish it arrives with its water already gone and nearly all of that declared 18% survives into the finished kibble. No species is pinned down. That is normal for white fish, and it matters only when you are ruling one particular fish in or out. Duck meal further along adds a second animal protein without adding much fat.

Rice, oats and barley form the cereal base, with potato and sweet potato behind them. The label leaves moisture undeclared, so the dry matter figures here assume the 8% usual for a dry food, and on that basis carbohydrate estimates at 56.0% of dry matter. That is the trade a low fat recipe makes: take the fat down to 6% and something has to fill the space it leaves.

Cellulose is the entry that gives the game away. It is purified plant fibre, all but indigestible, and it is there to give a dog a full stomach for very little energy. On a weight plan that is a fair tool to reach for, though it brings none of the nutrition that fibre from vegetables would.

The supplement tail is where this recipe earns its keep. L-carnitine at 400mg/kg is the amino acid that moves fat into muscle to be burned. Tryptophan is dosed at 2000mg/kg and taurine appears on the panel as well. Glucosamine and MSM at 400mg/kg each and chondroitin at 200mg/kg cover the joints, which is sensible thinking on a food written for dogs carrying extra weight.

Activated charcoal is an unusual sight on a complete food and a welcome one in a house that has noticed the smell. Rapeseed oil and salmon oil supply the fats, and carrot adds a little vitamin A and natural antioxidants. The fruit and herb blend runs to 2000mg/kg in total and is set out name by name, with turmeric and devil's claw root among them.

£2.14 a kilo, sold as a 12.5kg sack.

As a guide, a 15kg adult dog in moderate condition would eat about 269 grams a day, assuming around 840 kcal a day (110 × bodyweight^0.75, the standard maintenance estimate). That works out at £0.58 a day. The estimate is for holding weight steady, not for taking it off. The label asks 195 to 325 grams for a dog of 10kg to 20kg, so set the portion against the dog in front of you.