Essential Foods

Essential Foods Essential Nautical Living review

Name: Essential Foods Essential Nautical Living
Brand: Essential Foods

65.5/100Good

DryAdult

A fish kibble in our Good band, and one of the tidier answers on the shelf for a dog that has fallen out with land meats. Salmon and trout lead at 42%, and dried fish follows at 18%. Whole eggs are the only animal ingredient that did not swim.

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Our view

Likely to suit

Dogs kept off chicken, beef and lamb. Fish and egg are the only animal ingredients
Skin and coat, with oily fish and a dedicated omega oil
Stiffening joints: glucosamine, MSM and chondroitin are all on the list
Several sizes of dog on one bag, from toy to giant
Fussy eaters that perk up at fish. Salmon gravy at 2% adds to the smell

Worth watching

Two fish entries named by season, so a single protein trial cannot pin the recipe to one fish
Egg at 3%
Fat at 15.3% of dry matter may be short for a dog in heavy work

Written by our editorial team. Independent guidance, not veterinary advice.

How this scores

How we score

65.5/100Good

Protein and processingGood

Nutritional balanceGood

TransparencyExcellent

ValueGood

The details

Dog fit

Listed for adults of every size. If your dog is on a one-fish elimination trial, the seasonal entries are the check to make first.

Food type

Dry

Life stage

Adult

Breed size

Toy, Small, Medium, Large, Giant

Main protein

Salmon

The score, in context

Essential Nautical Living 65.5

All one Good. Typical dry food: Good.

Fish leads four times before any plant appears, and the seasonal fish wording is the one thing holding transparency back.

What's in it

Fresh Scottish salmon and trout42%Long chain omega 3 a dog uses directly. Mostly water before the oven
Sweet potato
The season's dried fish18%Concentrated, and the species is not fixed
Peas, potato, pea fibreBinding, with pea fibre for a firmer stool
Dried salmon6%
Whole eggs3%The only animal ingredient that did not swim
The season's fresh fish3%Whatever is landing
ESSENTIAL the OMEGA 3 OIL, linseed3% (oil)The label never says what the oil is pressed from
Alfalfa, salmon gravy2% (gravy)
MOS, FOS, glucosamine, MSM, chondroitin, fruit, vegetables and botanicalsJoint trio named with no amounts

Taurine at 1,500 mg per kilo, with zinc, iron and manganese as amino acid chelates and rosemary extract as the preservative.

Calcium reads 1.86% of dry matter, a generous mineral load that comes with a fish heavy list.

Named ingredients

Fresh Scottish salmon and trout (42%), sweet potato, the season's dried fish (18%), peas, dried salmon (6%), whole eggs (3%), the season's fresh fish (3%), ESSENTIAL the OMEGA 3 OIL (3%), linseed, alfalfa, salmon gravy (2%), potato, pea fibre, vitamins, minerals, mannan oligosaccharides, fructooligosaccharides, glucosamine, MSM (methylsulfonylmethane), chondroitin, cranberry, acai, bilberry, mulberry, apple, tomato, orange, pear, carrot, spinach, cauliflower, seaweed, marigold, ginseng, decaffeinated green tea, ginger.

Against the range

One adult kibble with every animal ingredient from the water except whole eggs. Fresh salmon and trout lead at 42%, then the season's dried fish, dried salmon and the season's fresh fish, so two of the fish entries change species through the year. No grain appears: sweet potato, peas and potato do the binding. Glucosamine, MSM and chondroitin are named without amounts.

Nutritional analysis

Declared analysis

Energy

358 kcal/100g

Protein

29%

Fat

14%

Fibre

Ash

Moisture

8.5%

Dry weight

Protein

31.7%

Fat

15.3%

Fibre

4.4%

Ash

8.7%

Carbs

39.9%

As-fed composition

Estimated breakdown of the finished product by ingredient category, from the declared ingredient list and ingoing weights. These are estimates, not measurements.

Meat

74%

Carbs

18.4%

Veg

1.6%

Oils

Other

Pricing & size