Europa Adult Nutrition Lamb & Rice review

This one lands in our Good band, the same place the typical adult dry food sits. It gets there the plain way. A named meat at 28% is almost entirely dried, the cereals are listed one by one instead of behind a catch-all term, and the analysis holds no surprises. Protein finishes on the gentler side and the mineral content reads high, and those two together are what keep it from climbing. If your dog has nothing in particular to avoid, this is still an easy, undemanding bowl to put down every evening.

Ingredients, as declared: Lamb 28% (Including Dried Lamb 26% & Lamb Gravy 2%), Rice (26%), Barley, Oats, Brewer's Yeast, Chicken Fat, Beet Pulp (2%), Minerals, Yucca Schidigera Extract (190 mg/kg)

The 28% lamb is 26% dried lamb plus 2% lamb gravy, and the dried form is the one that counts. Dried meat parts with its water before the weighing, so nearly all of that 26% carries through into the finished kibble. A modest-looking dried figure often beats a headline fresh one for that reason. Protein converts to 23.9% of dry matter and fat to 10.3%.

Rice at 26% leads the cereals, with barley and oats behind. Cooked rice is among the easiest grains for a dog to digest, barley adds fibre and micronutrients along with gluten, and oats bring more fibre and B vitamins. The result is estimated carbohydrate at 52.7% of dry matter, above the 46.2% typical for adult dry food, which is simply what a rice-led recipe looks like on paper.

Chicken fat is the entry a careful reader needs to catch. It does a proper job, since animal fat carries flavour and energy better than most plant oils. The bird it comes from is not the animal in the name on the bag, so the lamb billing leaves this short of poultry-free. That matters only if you are ruling chicken out; for every other dog it is a non-event.

Brewer's yeast earns its place. It supplies B vitamins from thiamine through to folic acid, and it counts as a complete protein on its own. Beet pulp at 2% provides the fermentable fibre that firms up stools. Yucca schidigera extract at 190 mg/kg is dosed in print, and the usual reason for it is a less pungent stool.

The mineral reading is the one number that stands out. Ash finishes at 9.8% of dry matter and calcium at 2.5%, both towards the top of what an adult maintenance food usually shows, and the likeliest reason is the bone that travels with dried meat. For a healthy adult dog it is not a problem. Keep it in mind only if your vet has minerals on the watch list.

£3.80 a kilo, sold in a 15kg bag.

On the standard estimate, a 15kg adult dog in moderate condition needs around 840 kcal a day (110 × bodyweight^0.75), which is about 243 grams of this food and £0.93 a day. The bag's table asks 195 to 325 grams for a dog between 10kg and 20kg, so let your dog's outline decide where in that spread it belongs.