Gain

GAIN Elite Grain Free Big Dogs: Adult Chicken review

Name: GAIN Elite Grain Free Big Dogs: Adult Chicken
Brand: Gain

56.1/100Good

DryAdult

Flavour

A grain free kibble for large frames, and both recipes sit in our Good band. A quarter of each is fresh meat of one named species, with the dried form close behind. The doses for the joint helpers are printed, which on a food for heavy dogs counts for more than a claim on the front.

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 adults kept off grain
Owners who like the meat broken out: fresh share, dried share and gravy each printed
Big dogs with stiffening joints. Glucosamine and MSM are dosed at 300 mg/kg on each
Switching one dog between bird and fish, since the two recipes swap only the animal

Worth watching

Salmon oil on both and chicken fat on the salmon, so neither is fish or poultry free
Peas and potato doing a fair share of the filling, with carbohydrate at 52.6% and 53.2% of dry matter against 46.2% typical

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

How this scores

How we score

56.1/100Good

Protein and processingAverage

Nutritional balanceAverage

TransparencyExcellent

ValueGood

The details

Dog fit

Listed for large and giant adults. The label asks 340 to 390 grams a day for a dog of 25kg to 30kg, so check the bag size suits that pace before ordering.

Food type

Dry

Life stage

Adult

Breed size

Large, Giant

Main protein

Chicken

The score, in context

Adult Salmon 56.5
Adult Chicken 56.1

All two Good. Typical dry food: Good.

Both earn their place at the front of the list; a little over half the dry matter in carbohydrate holds them back from more.

What's in it

Fresh chicken25%Water is most of that weight, and the oven drives it off.
PeasSecond on the list. Fibre and some protein, and the usual shortcut for a grain free kibble.
Sweet potatoes, potato flakesThe flakes mostly hold the kibble together.
Dried chicken12%Brings more protein to the finished kibble than its place suggests.
Chicken fat
Chicken gravy5%A cooked stock, there for flavour.
Dried beet pulp, dried chicoryChicory supplies FOS and inulin for the gut bacteria.
Linseed, salmon oil0.5% salmon oilOmega 3 from a seed and a fish, so fish is on this label too.
Minerals, TruCal milk mineral complex1,000 mg/kgSome of the calcium arrives in a dairy form.
MSM, glucosamine hydrochloride300 mg/kg each

Salmon oil is on the list, so this chicken recipe is not fish free.

Named ingredients

Fresh chicken (25%), peas, sweet potatoes, potato flakes, dried chicken (12%), chicken fat, chicken gravy (5%), dried beet pulp, linseed, dried chicory (a natural source of FOS and inulin), salmon oil (0.5%), minerals, TruCal Milk Mineral Complex (1,000 mg/kg), Methylsulphonyl Methane (300 mg/kg MSM), Glucosaminem Hydrochloride (300mg/kg).

Against the range

Meat: Fresh chicken 25%, dried chicken 12%, gravy 5%; Salmon: 25% fresh, 13% dried, 4% gravy
Ash: 7.5%; 7% on the salmon
Calcium, dry matter: 1.2%; 1.09% on the salmon

The straightforward pick for a big dog that has always got on with poultry.

Two recipes built to one plan, chicken and salmon, each opening on fresh meat at 25% with the dried form of the same animal and a gravy of it further down. There is no cereal on either label: peas, sweet potatoes and potato flakes carry the starch.

Both use chicken fat and salmon oil, and both print TruCal milk minerals, glucosamine hydrochloride and MSM at 300 mg/kg. Protein converts to 25.0% of dry matter on each. What changes is the animal, and a shade more dried meat on the salmon.

Price and value

The bag sizes for these two recipes are not listed.

As a guide, the label's own table asks 340 to 390 grams a day for a dog between 25kg and 30kg, and 484 to 572 grams for a dog between 40kg and 50kg. The same figures are given on both recipes.

Nutritional analysis

Declared analysis

Energy

343.8 kcal/100g

Estimated using Modified Atwater factors*

Protein

23%

Fat

11%

Fibre

Ash

7.5%

Dry weight

Protein

25%

Fat

12%

Fibre

2.2%

Ash

8.2%

Carbs

52.6%

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

42%

Carbs

50.8%

Veg

Oils

3.6%

Other

2.6%

Pricing & size