Eukanuba Breed Specific Labrador Retriever Adult review

This recipe finishes in the Good band, and the middle of the adult dry category finishes there too, which makes the comparison a fair one rather than a generous one. The dosed joint compounds, the printed chicken share and a properly named fat all help. The cereals carry a good deal of the load, and protein converts to 25.0% of dry matter, which is what holds it level.

Ingredients, as declared: dried chicken and turkey (22% including chicken 13%, a natural source of glucosamine, chondroitin sulphate and taurine), maize, wheat, sorghum, barley, pork fat, fresh chicken (4%), dried beet pulp (2.8%), chicken gravy, minerals (including sodium hexametaphosphate 0.38%), dried whole egg, fish oil (a natural source of omega-3 fatty acids), fructooligosaccharides (0.28%, a natural prebiotic), linseed, brewer's dried yeast (a natural source of B-vitamins and selenium), glucosamine (from animal tissues) (450mg/kg), chondroitin sulphate (45mg/kg).

The list starts with dried chicken and turkey at 22%. Chicken is specified at 13% inside that figure. The water has already gone from it, so it holds its weight through cooking. The fresh chicken at 4% does the opposite, giving up a lot of its weight to the oven. Protein lands at 25.0% of dry matter, a level that suits a dog whose waistline needs managing more than one running all day.

The cereals do a lot here. Maize and wheat lead with sorghum and barley behind them, and carbohydrate reaches 51.5% of dry matter. Sorghum carries no gluten. Barley digests easily once cooked and brings fibre with it. Wheat is the one that counts if grain has caused your dog problems before.

Weight is plainly the concern this recipe was built around. Fat is declared at 13.0%, well below what a hard-working kibble carries. L-carnitine is dosed at 50mg/kg, a compound that helps the body get fat to where it is burned. For a breed with a genuine appetite problem written into its genetics, that combination is the right instinct.

The joint pairing is properly quantified, glucosamine at 450mg/kg and chondroitin sulphate at 45mg/kg, both drawn from animal tissues. That is exactly what you would hope to see printed on a food built for a breed that so reliably develops elbow and hip trouble in later life.

What is left at the bottom is short and sensible. The fibre is dried beet pulp at 2.8%, with fructooligosaccharides at 0.28% as the prebiotic. Brewer's dried yeast brings B vitamins and selenium, and dried whole egg puts in a little very good protein. For omega 3 there is fish oil, backed by linseed. Calcium works out at 1.36% of dry matter.

£3.01 a kilo, sold in a 12kg bag.

As a comparison figure, feeding a 15kg adult dog in moderate condition takes about 235 grams a day and £0.71 a day. The basis is the standard maintenance estimate, roughly 840 kcal a day (110 × bodyweight^0.75). A Labrador at full size eats more than that. Portion to the ribs, not to the number.