Essential Foods Essential The Beginning Large Breed review

The standard recipe settles in our Excellent band, a step clear of the Good band that holds both the middle of the puppy kibble field and the Nautical Edition. Transparency reads Outstanding on the standard bag and Excellent on the Nautical. For a large breed growth food, that position is earned on the panel as much as in the pot. Calcium is declared and in range on both, protein and energy are moderate, and meat runs to three quarters of the recipe.

There is a data gap worth naming. The Nautical Edition declares no ash, so its dry matter picture stops short and its carbohydrate share cannot be worked out and set against other foods. Its calcium figure and its energy are declared, so the parts that matter most for rearing a big pup are still on the table.

Ingredients, as declared: Fresh free-range British chicken and free-run welfare assured British country duck (30%), dried chicken & duck (28%), sweet potato, peas, fresh salmon and trout (7%), whole egg (7%), linseed, chicken fat (4%), potato, chicken gravy (3%), lucerne sprout, vitamins, minerals, MOS (mannan oligosaccarides), FOS (fructooligosaccharides), glucosamine, MSM (methylsulfonylmethane), chondroitin, cranberry, acai, bilberry, mulberry, apple, tomato, orange, pear, carrot, spinach, cauliflower, seaweed, marigold, ginseng, decaffeinated green tea, ginger.

The standard recipe opens with fresh free range British chicken and duck at 30%, then dried chicken and duck at 28%. Whole egg at 7% comes next, and fresh salmon and trout add another 7%. Chicken fat at 4% and chicken gravy at 3% finish the animal entries. That dried entry is doing more than its share suggests, because the water has already gone and its weight carries through into the finished kibble. Sweet potato, peas and potato make up the plant side with linseed and lucerne sprout behind them.

The Nautical Edition takes the same shape and swaps every animal for fish. Freshly prepared salmon and trout at 44% lead, with dried salmon at 12% and the season's dried fish at 9% behind them. Then come the maker's own omega 3 oil at 5.5%, the season's fresh fish at 4%, salmon gravy at 2.5% and whole eggs at 2%. The seasonal fish entries are the only loose ones. They are honest about being variable, but they do not name a species, so an owner running a strict trial would need to ask what is in the current batch.

Calcium is the line to read first on any large breed puppy food, and both recipes print it. The standard converts to 1.53% of dry matter and the Nautical Edition to 1.41%, and both sit inside what growth calls for. A big pup's skeleton is the least forgiving thing you will ever feed. A declared figure in range takes the anxiety out of the decision, in a way that no amount of marketing on the front of the bag can.

The standard recipe's analysis reads protein at 30.6% of dry matter, fat at 15.3%, fibre at 3.8% and ash at 8.7%, with carbohydrate at 41.6% and energy at 362 kcal per 100g. Moderate protein and fat are the point in a food aimed at big pups, not a shortfall. The aim is steady building rather than a growth spurt. The Nautical Edition declares protein at 28.0%, fat at 15.0% and fibre at 5.5% as fed with moisture at 8.0%, but no ash, which is why its dry matter conversions are not offered here.

The functional tail is the same on both recipes. Fructo oligosaccharides and mannan oligosaccharides do the gut work. Glucosamine, methylsulfonylmethane and chondroitin do the joints. After them runs a long line of fruits and botanicals. Cranberry and acai come first, then spinach and seaweed, then green tea and ginger. None of it is dosed on the label, so the intent shows and the strength does not, and the botanicals are seasoning rather than substance.

The added panels are among the better ones in this category. The standard recipe prints vitamin D3 at 2000 IU, vitamin E at 240 IU and taurine at 1,500 mg. Its trace elements are supplied as amino acid chelates: zinc and iron at 50 mg each, manganese at 35 mg, copper at 15 mg, iodine at 0.96 mg and selenium at 0.3 mg. The Nautical Edition runs slightly lower across the board. It prints 1,346 IU of vitamin D3, 240 IU of vitamin E and 1,428 mg of taurine, then 48 mg each of zinc and iron, 34 mg of manganese and 0.96 mg of iodine. Both are preserved with rosemary extract.

This is the poultry led recipe of the pair, and the more fully declared of the two. Fresh free range British chicken and duck at 30% head the list, with dried chicken and duck at 28% behind them. Whole egg at 7% and fresh salmon and trout at 7% fill out the animal content. Chicken fat at 4% and chicken gravy at 3% sit below. The full analysis is printed, so protein converts to 30.6% of dry matter, fat to 15.3%, ash to 8.7% and carbohydrate to 41.6%, with energy at 362 kcal per 100g. Calcium converts to 1.53% of dry matter, inside the growth range. Chicken, duck, egg and fish all appear on its allergen picture.

£6.75 a kilo for the standard recipe and £7.50 a kilo for the Nautical Edition. The standard comes in 2.5kg and 10kg bags, each also sold as a multi bag case, and the Nautical Edition comes in a 10kg bag.

Growth feeding is a moving target, not a fixed scoop. Work from the expected adult weight column on the pack, and trim the amount as your pup develops.