Darf Complete Hypoallergenic review

This lands in our Excellent band, a step clear of where the cold-pressed category settles as a whole. The novel protein and the fully printed nutrient panel are what carry it, while the carbohydrate share and a protein figure that stays modest for the format are what keep it from climbing further. For the dog this is aimed at, the ingredient list matters more than where it finishes anyway.

Ingredients, as declared: 42% Insect protein (larvae of the Black Soldier Fly), North Sea fish 9%, eggs 9%, 15% dried carrot, 14% dried apple, 5% millet, 2% krill, 2% coconut oil, 1% nettle, 1% vitamins and minerals

Black soldier fly larvae at 42% make this recipe what it is. Insect protein is a complete protein with a good amino acid spread, and its real appeal is that almost no dog has ever met it before, which is the whole point of an exclusion diet. It is farmed rather than caught or reared, so it also asks less of the land than the meats it replaces.

North Sea fish and eggs at 9% each round out the protein, and both are worth knowing about. Fish is an excellent second protein when land animals are off the menu. Egg is about as digestible a protein as exists. Neither is exotic, though, so a dog whose trouble is with fish or with egg will not find this label as clear a run as the front of the bag suggests.

The plant side is conventional and none the worse for it. Soluble fibre and antioxidants come from the dried carrot at 15% and the dried apple at 14%, while millet at 5% supplies the starch that holds a cold-pressed pellet together. Recipes for sensitive dogs lean on millet a lot, because it is a gentle grain with no gluten in it. It does mean this bag cannot serve a strictly grain-free plan.

Krill at 2% adds marine omega fats, coconut oil at 2% adds a fat that is metabolised more readily than most, and nettle at 1% closes the list. Carbohydrate converts to 59.0% of dry matter, a meaningful share of the bowl, and that is the trade a cold-pressed pellet makes to exist at all.

The vitamins and minerals are printed properly rather than gestured at, with vitamin E at 60mg, biotin at 312mcg and organic selenium at 0.18mg among the entries. That level of declaration is a real courtesy on a diet aimed at dogs with sensitivities, where owners often need to know exactly what is going in. Calcium converts to 0.84% of dry matter, which is a sound adult level.

The bags come in 4kg and 14kg, at £5.61 a kilo.

Feeding a 15kg adult dog in moderate condition, which works out at about 840 kcal a day on the usual 110 × bodyweight^0.75 maintenance estimate, takes roughly 228 grams, or £1.28 a day.