Eukanuba Grain Free Adult Large Breed Rich in Fresh Chicken review

Sitting in our Good band puts this in with the crowd of adult dry foods, which land in that same band as a rule, and what sets this one apart is in the small print. The gap comes from honest construction rather than a flourish. Meat entries take the first two places on the list, protein converts to 26.1% of dry matter, and the label prints percentages against exactly the entries a reader most wants pinned down. Estimated carbohydrate at 49.7% of dry matter runs a little above the 46.2% typical, which is the sweet potato and pea base making itself felt, and the transparency pillar still reads Outstanding.

Ingredients, as declared: fresh chicken (20%), dried chicken and turkey (17.5% including chicken 12%, a natural source of glucosamine, chondroitin and taurine), dried sweet potatoes (17.5%), whole peas, dried potatoes, poultry fat, dried beet pulp (4%), chicken gravy, minerals (including sodium hexametaphosphate 0.4%), linseed, dried whole egg, brewer's dried yeast, fructooligosaccharides (0.25%, a natural prebiotic), glucosamine (from animal tissues) (0.045%).

The two meat entries at the top are the same bird in different states, and the difference matters. Fresh chicken at 20% goes into the mixer mostly as water, and that water leaves during cooking. The dried pair at 17.5%, chicken making up 12% of it, has no water left to lose. So the dried entry is the one holding the finished kibble up. Protein converts to 26.1% of dry matter, a good result for a food this size of dog will eat by the bowlful.

The plant side starts with dried sweet potatoes at 17.5%. Of the grain free starches sweet potato is the best of the bunch, carrying more fibre and considerably more vitamin A than ordinary potato. Whole peas and dried potatoes come in behind it, and between them the three push estimated carbohydrate to 49.7% of dry matter. Grain free is a change of starch here rather than an absence of it, which is worth understanding before you choose.

Large breed thinking shows up in the doses and in the balance. Glucosamine is declared at 0.045% and taurine at 500mg per kilo of food, and the label credits the dried chicken and turkey as a natural source of glucosamine, chondroitin and taurine before that. Fat sits at 14.1% of dry matter, enough for condition without overfuelling a dog that should not be gaining. Calcium works out at 1.3% of dry matter, a comfortable adult level for a heavy frame.

The list runs short and to the point. Linseed brings plant omega 3, dried whole egg adds easily used protein, brewer's dried yeast carries B vitamins and selenium, and dried beet pulp at 4% with fructooligosaccharides at 0.25% handle the digestive side. Chicken gravy is the palatant, which is no surprise on a recipe with chicken on the front.

The supporting panel is dosed in print: zinc at 62.5mg, iron at 50mg, manganese at 10mg, copper at 8mg and iodine at 1.5mg per kilo of food, in sulphate forms. Vitamin E at 250mg and tocopherol extracts at 18mg keep the fats fresh. Sodium hexametaphosphate at 0.4% is the tartar ingredient. The only entry left vague is the poultry fat.

One bag size is listed, a 12kg.

A 15kg adult in moderate condition would take roughly 237 grams a day on the standard maintenance estimate of about 840 kcal (110 × bodyweight^0.75). The dogs this bag is meant for are considerably bigger than that, and the label's own table reaches 755 to 875 grams a day at 90kg.