Forthglade Complete Grain Free Senior: Lamb review

Both recipes reach our Excellent band, finishing a shade behind the adult wet trays Forthglade builds elsewhere, and the typical adult wet food occupies that same band. Protein and processing and value both read Excellent, with transparency Outstanding. Nutritional balance splits: Outstanding for the lamb, Excellent for the turkey. For a senior recipe with a printed joint dose and a deliberately light calorie count, that is a solid showing rather than a compromise.

Ingredients, as declared: Lamb (60%), Butternut Squash (6%), Carrots (4%), Peas (4%), Minerals, Chicory Root Extract (0.45%), Salmon Oil (0.15%), Linseed Oil (0.15%), Dried Seaweed, Herbs (Parsley, Rosemary, Nettle, Camomile) (0.12%), Glucosamine (100mg/kg), Chondroitin (100mg/kg), Yucca Extract (0.005%). *natural ingredient

Lamb or turkey at 60% leads each list, and the meat is the only animal ingredient except for the salmon oil further down. That oil is a small but real detail: at 0.15% it is a source of marine omega-3, and it also means fish belongs on the allergen list for both recipes. For a dog with no fish issue it is a genuine plus, and for a dog on a strict lamb-only or turkey-only trial it is the thing that rules the recipe out.

The vegetables are generous for a wet meal and all carry percentages: butternut squash at 6%, carrots at 4% and peas at 4%. They do not push the recipe towards starch, though. Carbohydrate converts to an estimated 11.4% of dry matter on the lamb and 18.0% on the turkey, which is modest against the 15.8% typical of adult wet food.

Glucosamine and chondroitin at 100 mg/kg apiece are the reason the senior badge is on the box. Both are printed with a figure, which is more than many joint claims manage, and 100 mg/kg is a supporting level for everyday maintenance. A dog already diagnosed with arthritis stays on the vet's prescription, with this as the meal underneath it.

The rest of the list is small and purposeful. Chicory root extract at 0.45% is there as a prebiotic, and dried seaweed brings iodine with a spread of trace minerals. Linseed oil at 0.15% adds plant omega-3 next to the salmon oil. The herb blend at 0.12% names parsley, rosemary, nettle and camomile. It does not hide behind the word herbs. Yucca extract at 0.005% is the closing trace.

Ash reads 18.2% of dry matter on the lamb, 20.0% on the turkey, high for wet food. That usually points to bone coming through with the meat and to the mineral premix on top. On a healthy adult or older dog that is a normal thing to see. A dog under veterinary care for kidney or urinary trouble needs the vet to choose the diet.

The added panel is dosed on both labels. Vitamin A is at 2,500 IU with vitamin D3 at 200 IU and vitamin E at 30 mg. The minerals read zinc at 50 mg, iron at 10 mg, copper at 5 mg and iodine at 0.5 mg per kilo. The zinc and copper are chelated to glycine, a form dogs tend to absorb well.

Lamb at 60%, with 78.0% moisture making it the wetter of the two, and the lighter on energy at an estimated 94 kcal per 100g. Carbohydrate converts to an estimated 11.4% of dry matter, low even by wet food standards, and fat reads 29.5% of dry matter.

£4.81 a kilo on both recipes, sold in boxes of 18 and 36 trays.

As a guide, feed a 15kg adult dog in moderate condition from a maintenance estimate of around 840 kcal a day, or 110 × bodyweight^0.75. That comes to roughly 896 grams a day on the lamb at about £4.31, and 855 grams on the turkey at £4.11. These are light trays, so the daily weight is higher than a richer wet food would ask for.