Dr John Titanium review

Titanium reads in our Good band, the same band as the typical adult dry food, and the two halves of the label explain why. On the credit side, poultry meal at 32% chicken puts real protein at the front. Protein converts to 27.5% of dry matter and fat to 16.5%, with carbohydrate landing at 46.2% of dry matter, exactly the adult dry food typical. On the other side, wheat, barley and maize take the next three places and the meat term stays general below its named chicken share. Protein and processing and transparency both read Good, with nutritional balance at Average. This is a recipe that does several things right without doing any of them dramatically, and the readings say so plainly.

Ingredients, as declared: Poultry meal (32% chicken), wheat, barley, maize, chicken fat, rice (4%), vegetables (4% peas), chicken gravy, minerals, salmon oil (0.25%), alfalfa, linseed, mixed herbs (sage, oregano, mint, rosemary, turmeric and ginger), New Zealand green lipped mussel extract, yucca extract.

Poultry meal with 32% chicken leads, and the meal format is what makes that figure meaningful. The water is already out, so nearly all of that third is concentrated protein rather than moisture waiting to evaporate. Protein reads 25.0% as fed and 27.5% of dry matter, a solid reading for an everyday dry food.

Wheat, barley and maize then take the next three places, which is where the recipe gives some ground back. Carbohydrate settles at 46.2% of dry matter, exactly the adult dry food typical, so the grain is doing an ordinary share rather than an outsized one. Of the three, barley goes easiest on digestion, maize is a dense energy source, and wheat is the one to watch in a dog prone to intolerance.

Fat at 15.0% is the number that gives this recipe its character. Chicken fat supplies most of it, named to its animal, with salmon oil at 0.25% added for marine omega 3, and 4% rice and 4% peas sitting behind them. Energy is estimated at 362 kcal per 100g against the 357 typical for adult dry food.

The joint and antioxidant additions are modest but real. New Zealand green lipped mussel extract carries the omega profile joint supplements are built on. Alfalfa and linseed add plant minerals and plant omega 3. The six herb blend runs sage, oregano and mint, then rosemary, turmeric and ginger, there for flavour with the rosemary a useful antioxidant. Yucca extract finishes the list and earns its keep on stool odour.

Fibre converts to 2.7% of dry matter and ash to 7.1%. Calcium is the one absence that matters, because the recipe is written for puppies as well as adults, and a large breed puppy's growth depends on that figure being pitched correctly.

£1.63 a kilo, in 4kg and 15kg bags.

As a guide, a 15kg adult dog in moderate condition would eat about 232 grams a day, working from around 840 kcal a day (110 × bodyweight^0.75, the standard maintenance estimate). That comes to £0.38 a day. A dog in genuine work will want more than that, and the label's medium dog band of 200 to 360 grams for a 10kg to 20kg dog leaves room for it.