Edmondson's Senior/Light: Turkey review

Both bags finish in our Good band, level with the typical adult dry food, so the pair sit right on the mark of the shelf they come from. Nutritional balance reads Average on each, which is the low fat showing its working. Take fat out of a kibble and starch moves in to fill the space, and the pillar notices exactly that. Transparency reads Outstanding on both, with protein and processing Average on the fish and Good on the turkey. The dog these recipes name is an older one carrying a little too much, and for that dog the trade is deliberate.

Ingredients, as declared: Turkey 50% (contains 27% Freshly Prepared Turkey, 21% Dried Turkey & 2% Turkey Stock), 16% Sweet Potato, Potato, Peas, Beet Pulp, Linseed, Omega 3 Supplement, Minerals, Vitamins, Vegetable Stock, Cranberry, Glucosamine (170 mg/kg), Methylsulfonylmethane (170 mg/kg), Chondroitin Sulphate (125 mg/kg), Fructooligosaccharides (96 mg/kg), Mannanoligosaccharides (24 mg/kg).

Each bag names its animal at 50% and then itemises it properly. The turkey is 27% freshly prepared, 21% dried and 2% turkey stock. The fish is more detailed still: 30% freshly prepared trout, then 11% dried salmon and 4% freshly prepared salmon, with 3% salmon oil and 2% salmon stock. Protein lands at 28.3% of dry matter on the turkey and 26.1% on the fish, gentler than a working dog's food and about right for the job these are doing.

Low fat is what this range is built around. It converts to 8.7% of dry matter on the turkey and 7.6% on the fish, and energy comes out at 343 and 340 kcal per 100g against 357 typical for an adult dry food. That means a dog can have a satisfying bowlful without the calories that usually come attached, which is the kindest way to manage an older waistline.

The starch is where the fat's absence shows. Sweet potato comes first on the plant side, at 24% on the fish and 16% on the turkey, with potato, peas and beet pulp behind it. Estimated carbohydrate runs to 53.8% and 50.0% of dry matter. It is above the category norm and worth knowing, though for a less active dog eating a measured portion it is a reasonable way to build the food.

L-carnitine is the extra that gives the range its name in practice, dosed at 480 mg on the fish and 500 mg on the turkey. It is an amino acid the body already makes, and its role is in moving fat into the cell to be burned, which is why it turns up on weight programmes. The joint trio backs it up, and each one arrives with a dose on the label: glucosamine and methylsulfonylmethane at 170 mg/kg each, chondroitin sulphate at 125 mg/kg.

What is left in the small print is quietly sensible. Fructooligosaccharides at 96 mg/kg and mannanoligosaccharides at 24 mg/kg feed the gut bacteria, and beet pulp gives fibre at 4.3% of dry matter on both. The trace minerals are printed with their doses. Zinc runs at 50 mg to 65 mg per kilo depending on the bag, with iron at 50 mg, manganese at 35 mg and iodine at 1 mg. The fish recipe also brings pea protein and potato protein in behind the trout, so some of its protein comes from a plant and not the animal.

Turkey at 50%, split 27% freshly prepared and 21% dried with 2% turkey stock, and the higher protein of the pair at 26% as fed. Its sweet potato share is 16%, noticeably lighter than its stablemate's, cranberry finishes the list, and L-carnitine is dosed a little higher here at 500 mg.

£5.75 a kilo for both, sold in 2kg, 6kg and 12kg bags.

As a guide, a 15kg adult in moderate condition would eat 245 to 247 grams a day, which comes to £1.41 or £1.42 a day depending on the bag. The figure assumes about 840 kcal a day (110 × bodyweight^0.75, the standard maintenance estimate). The senior column on the pack asks 145 to 250 grams for a dog between 10kg and 20kg, and an older dog usually wants the lower end of any range.