Guru Tasty Tucker review

On our scoring this lands in our Good band. The typical cold-pressed food lands there too, and Guru finishes a shade behind the middle of that group. That is a respectable place to stand in a category that has raised its game a long way in recent years. The named chicken lead, the named fish and a list where nearly every entry says exactly what it is are what carry it. The size of the rice, potato and pea fraction is what stops it climbing. Protein and processing, transparency and value all read Good with nutritional balance just behind at Average, so there is no weak spot dragging on the total.

Ingredients, as declared: Dried Ground Chicken (27%), Brown Whole Grain Rice (thermally pre-treated), (26%), Dried Ground White Fish (6%), Sweet Potato, Potato, Peas, Cold Pressed oils (rapeseed & linseed), Chicory Pulp, Apple, Broad Beans, Alfalfa, Blackcurrant, Carrot, Gelatine, MOS, FOS, Glucosamine, Yucca, Green Lipped Mussels, Parsley, Rosemary, Green Tea Extract, Chondroitin.

Cold pressing is the decision that shapes everything else on this label. The mix is pressed into pellets at low temperature, with none of the cooking and puffing that makes conventional kibble. That keeps the pellet dense and lets it break apart quickly once it is eaten. Owners usually arrive at the format for a dog that bolts its dinner, or one that has never much liked kibble.

Dried ground chicken at 27% is the lead, and it is a dried meat. That figure is already water free, worth considerably more in the bowl than the same number set against fresh meat. Dried ground white fish at 6% adds a second animal and a different fat profile behind it. Protein converts to 29.7% of dry matter, a sensible level for a food meant to suit every age under one roof.

Brown whole grain rice at 26% is the counterweight, thermally pre-treated so the starch digests properly, with sweet potato, potato, peas and broad beans following it. Carbohydrate converts to 45.2% of dry matter against a cold-pressed typical of 43.2%. That is what a recipe built on a grain base honestly looks like. Chicory pulp, MOS and FOS all sit in there as prebiotic fibre, and crude fibre reads 5.2% of dry matter.

Fat is the figure that stands out, converting to only 10.8% of dry matter, well under what most cold-pressed recipes carry. What is there comes from cold pressed rapeseed and linseed oils, linseed bringing plant form omega 3 along with it. Energy works out at 328 kcal per 100g against a cold-pressed typical of 351, so portions run a little larger than the category average.

Glucosamine, chondroitin and green lipped mussels all appear in the last third of the list. Yucca and green tea extract sit alongside them, with a short herb tail of parsley and rosemary. None of them prints a dose, so treat them as a considered addition to a food that already suits an older dog. Gelatine sits in the same stretch, and it is the entry that never names its animal.

Crude ash reads 9.1% of dry matter and calcium 1.73%, both of which follow from dried ground chicken and dried ground white fish carrying their minerals along with them. An adult handles that calcium level comfortably. It runs higher than a large breed puppy needs while the frame is still building. A giant breed pup is the one case that deserves a conversation with your vet before you commit.

£4.90 a kilo. It comes in a 5kg bag and a 13kg bag.

Working from the standard maintenance estimate, a 15kg adult dog in moderate condition needs about 840 kcal a day (110 × bodyweight^0.75). On this food's estimated energy that is roughly 256 grams, or £1.26 a day. Guru's own guide for a 15kg dog is 180 grams a day.