Eukanuba Puppy Large Breed Rich in Lamb & Rice review

This one reads level with the middle of the puppy kibble field, landing in our Good band where the typical growth bag settles too. Protein and processing reads Good alongside transparency and value, while nutritional balance eases back to Average.

The moderate protein and fat figures suit the slow, steady rearing a large breed needs, and the printed calcium is the line that seals the position. Two things keep it from climbing higher: the cereal share behind the meat, and the missing percentage on the leading ingredient.

Ingredients, as declared: dried chicken and turkey (a natural source of glucosamine, chondroitin and taurine), lamb (14%), rice (14%), maize, sorghum, maize grits, dried whole egg, dried beet pulp (2.6%), pork fat, chicken gravy, fish oil (a natural source of omega-3 fatty acids), minerals, fructooligosaccharides (0.25%, a natural prebiotic), brewer's dried yeast (a natural source of B-vitamins and selenium), mannanoligosaccharides (0.13%, a natural prebiotic).

The front of the bag says lamb and rice, and both are there at 14% each, but the ingredient that leads the list is dried chicken and turkey. That is worth knowing rather than worrying about, since dried poultry is a concentrated and highly digestible protein, though it does mean the recipe is poultry based with lamb giving it flavour and character.

Lamb at 14% is an excellent meat for dogs, palatable and easy to digest, and it brings a different amino acid and mineral profile alongside the poultry. Rice at the same figure is the pick of the grains here, gentle on a young gut and quick to cook down.

The starch behind the rice comes from maize, sorghum and maize grits. Sorghum is gluten free and close to maize in what it provides. Together the group takes carbohydrate to an estimated 49.0% of dry matter against 39.0% for the typical puppy dry food. The meat headline sits on a substantial cereal base.

Protein converts to 28.3% of dry matter and fat to 15.2%, figures kept deliberately moderate. Rearing a large breed pup means slowing growth down. A restrained analysis on a big breed bag is a design decision, not a shortfall.

Calcium converts to 1.2% of dry matter and is printed. A large breed puppy owner should be looking for exactly that line. Declared and in range, it takes the guesswork out of the most important part of feeding a big pup.

The rest of the list fills in sensibly. Dried whole egg adds a concentrated protein, and pork fat and fish oil handle the fats. For fibre there is beet pulp at 2.6%, and brewer's dried yeast supplies B vitamins and selenium. The gut population is fed by fructooligosaccharides at 0.25% and mannanoligosaccharides at 0.13%. The label puts the glucosamine, chondroitin and taurine down to the dried poultry. Bone and cartilage really do carry them, with no dose printed.

Two figures come with a caveat attached. Moisture is not declared, so the dry matter column is worked from the 8% that dry foods usually hold, and the 368 kcal per 100g is our estimate rather than the maker's number.

£4.17 a kilo, sold in 3kg and 12kg bags.

A growing dog has no single daily figure, since a big pup's needs build for months before easing off. Set the bag's chart against how old your pup is and how big they will finish, then let condition do the adjusting.