CSJ Lamb Senior/lite review

This food sits in our Average band, with the typical adult dry food a band above it in Good. The score is a story about construction rather than quality control: maize, barley, oats and rice do more of the bowl's work than the lamb does, and the analysis reflects that. The label still does its extras properly, with the joint pair and the carnitine dosed in print. It sets out to be a light, lamb-led recipe for older dogs, and it manages that.

Ingredients, as declared: Lamb (min 26%), Maize, Barley, Oats, Rice, Peas, Vegetarian Gravy, Maize gluten, Beet pulp, Alfalfa, Linseed, Minerals, Salmon oil, Dried fruits & herbs (total 2000mg/kg; Dandelion, Turmeric, Celery seed, Burdock root, Nettle, Devil's claw root, Blackcurrant, Rosemary, Pomegranate, Milk thistle, Seaweed, Fenugreek, Spearmint, Parsley, Marshmallow root, Marjoram, Oregano), Glucosamine (1000mg/kg), Green lipped mussel (350mg/kg), Yucca schidigera.

Lamb leads the list at a minimum of 26%, and then the cereals take over: maize, barley, oats and rice, with peas behind them. Carbohydrate converts to 53.8% of dry matter, above the 46.2% typical for adult dry food. A light recipe commonly takes that shape. Starch is a leaner way to carry energy than fat, and this label uses it deliberately.

The lite machinery is genuine. Fat is declared at 6.5%, converting to 7.1% of dry matter, and the energy comes in at 351 kcal per 100g, so portions can stay sensible on a dog that no longer runs everything off. L-carnitine at 500 mg/kg finishes the job, an additive included to help the body turn fat into usable energy, and one you tend to find on labels that take their weight-control brief seriously.

The senior half of the name is answered by the joint package: glucosamine at 1000 mg/kg and green lipped mussel at 350 mg/kg, both dosed in print. Green lipped mussel is a natural source of the compounds joint supplements are built on, so seeing it with a figure beside it rather than a mention is worth something.

Two quieter entries deserve a look. The vegetarian gravy is a palatant and the label does not give its composition. Maize gluten tops the protein up from a cereal. That is part of how a 24% protein declaration is reached with the meat at a minimum of 26%. Neither is unusual on a dry food at this level, but a label reader should know what they are.

The tail is tidy. The omegas come from salmon oil. That is also the one entry that keeps the recipe from being fish free. The dried fruits and herbs, dandelion through to oregano, total 2000 mg/kg between them. That is a seasoning quantity, and the label prints the figure that says so. The trace minerals arrive in paired forms, a standard salt plus a chelate of each, the chelated form being the one usually chosen for better absorption.

£1.86 a kilo, sold as a 15kg sack.

As a guide, a 15kg adult dog in moderate condition eats roughly 239 grams a day, assuming about 840 kcal a day (110 × bodyweight^0.75, the standard maintenance estimate). That works out at around £0.45 a day. For a less active dog of 10 to 20kg the label's own guide is 150 to 275 grams a day.