Gain

GAIN Elite Big Dogs: Light review

Name: GAIN Elite Big Dogs: Light
Brand: Gain

48.1/100Average

DryAdult

Flavour

A cereal-based kibble range portioned and dosed for large and giant frames, with the joint package printed on every bag. The salmon and the puppy land in our Good band, while the adult, the light and the senior sit a step below in Average. Transparency reads Excellent across all five.

Where to buy: coming soon

Live retailer links are coming soon. Once we have them from UK retailers, where to buy and the best price will appear here.

Our view

Likely to suit

Large and giant breeds, the only frames these recipes are sized and portioned for
Owners who want joint support written down, with glucosamine and MSM at 300 mg/kg each
One big dog followed from puppy to senior on the same construction
Fussier big eaters. A hydrolysed protein in each recipe makes the kibble taste of the animal on the front
Dogs with a temperamental middle, where beet pulp and chicory work together on the gut

Worth watching

Fishmeal or salmon oil in every recipe, so none is fish free
Chicken and turkey declared as a pair, and chicken fat in the salmon recipe: no bird can be isolated
Calcium at 1.63% of dry matter on the puppy. Get your vet's view before growing a giant breed slowly on it

Written by our editorial team. Independent guidance, not veterinary advice.

How this scores

How we score

48.1/100Average

Protein and processingAverage

Nutritional balancePoor

TransparencyExcellent

ValueAverage

The details

Dog fit

Listed for large and giant breeds only, with a puppy, adult, light and senior recipe. TruCal is a dairy mineral complex, so check with your vet first if milk is a live question in your house.

Food type

Dry

Life stage

Adult

Breed size

Large, Giant

Main protein

Chicken

The score, in context

Puppy 52.3
Adult Salmon 51.5
Adult 49.6
Light 48.1
Senior 44.6

Five recipes across Good and Average. Typical dry food: Good.

A named dried meat opens each list at a useful share, and how much of the bowl the cereals then carry decides where each recipe lands.

What's in it

Dried chicken and turkeymin 23%Declared as a pair.
Ricemin 15%
Dehulled oats, wholegrain maize, maize flourThe grain side, with maize flour added on this one.
Dried sugar beet pulp, pea fibreFibre lifted so a dieting dog still sees a full bowl.
Hydrolysed chicken protein
Linseed, poultry fat
Maize gluten mealPlant protein to raise the figure.
Fishmeal, salmon oilSo not fish free.
Sodium chloride, potassium chloride, chicory FOS, dicalcium phosphateFOS min 0.3%
TruCal milk mineral complex, MSM, glucosamine hydrochloride1,000mg/kg, 300 mg/kg each

Named ingredients

Dried Chicken & Turkey (min 23%), Rice (min 15%), Dehulled Oats, Wholegrain Maize, Dried Sugar Beet Pulp, Maize Flour, Pea Fibre, Hydrolysed Chicken Protein, Linseed, Poultry Fat, Maize Gluten Meal, Fishmeal, Salmon Oil, Sodium Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Chicory FOS (min 0.3%), Dicalcium Phosphate, TruCal Milk Mineral Complex (1,000mg/kg), Methylsulphonyl Methane (MSM 300mg/kg), Glucosamine Hydrochloride (300 mg/kg), Products from processing of plants.

Against the range

Fat: 6.5%; 11% on the adults, 14% on the puppy.
Fibre: 7.0%; 2% to 3.3% elsewhere.
Energy: 300 kcal per 100g; The lowest in the range.

Built for the big dog who needs to come down a notch without facing an empty bowl.

Dried chicken and turkey open four of the five lists, at a minimum of 24% on the adult and puppy, 23% on the light and 18% on the senior. The fifth puts dried salmon in the same spot. Dried meat is the form worth seeing at the top, as the water is already out of it. Rice at a minimum of 20% or 21% leads the plant side, then wholegrain maize and dehulled oats, with dried beet pulp as the fibre on all five.

Every bag prints glucosamine hydrochloride and MSM at 300 mg/kg each, plus TruCal, a milk mineral complex at 1000 mg/kg. Maize gluten meal lifts the protein figure on the poultry recipes, so not all of that protein is animal in origin.

Price and value

Sold in 3kg and 12kg bags for the adult, light, puppy and senior recipes. The bag size for the salmon is not listed.

As a guide, the label's own table asks 415 grams a day for a 30kg dog on the adult and senior recipes, 387 grams on the salmon and 380 grams on the light. Portions climb from there as the dog gets bigger.

Nutritional analysis

Declared analysis

Energy

300.2 kcal/100g

Estimated using Modified Atwater factors*

Protein

22%

Fat

6.5%

Fibre

Ash

8.5%

Dry weight

Protein

23.9%

Fat

7.1%

Fibre

7.6%

Ash

9.2%

Carbs

52.2%

As-fed composition

Estimated breakdown of the finished product by ingredient category, from the declared ingredient list and ingoing weights. These are estimates, not measurements.

Meat

25.6%

Carbs

72.1%

Veg

0.3%

Oils

0.7%

Other

1.3%

Pricing & size