Husse Optimal Mini review

Mini finishes in our Good band alongside the middle of the adult dry category, though the two arrive there by different routes. This recipe's numbers are the strongest part of its case: protein converts to 31.5% of dry matter and carbohydrate to only 38.0%, comfortably under the 46.2% typical for a dry food. What holds it where it is are the label's silences, an undeclared meat percentage and two animal entries without a species between them, rather than anything in the analysis.

Ingredients, as declared: chicken, rice, maize, animal fat, linseed, vegetable fibres, maize protein, hydrolysed animal protein, salmon, salmon oil, yeast, salt, fructo-oligosaccharides (0.5%), dried whole eggs, potassium chloride, mannan-oligosaccharides, lecithin, sea algae, rosemary.

Chicken leads, and the analysis behind it is a lively one: 29.0% protein and 18.0% fat as fed, which convert to 31.5% and 19.6% of dry matter once the declared 8.0% moisture is removed. Energy lands at 395 kcal per 100g. A small dog eats small amounts, so a denser kibble is a reasonable way of fitting everything a day needs into a modest bowl.

Rice and maize do the binding, with no wheat on the list at all, which is worth knowing if wheat is the cereal your dog has struggled with in the past. Maize is a thoroughly digestible grain for most dogs once it has been cooked properly, and it brings a little more protein along with it than rice does.

Maize protein appearing sixth is the entry to read carefully. This is a concentrated plant protein. It is not a poor ingredient, but it raises the protein figure with no meat behind it, so the 29.0% headline is not all coming from the chicken. On a food otherwise this well supplied with animal ingredients, that is a small point rather than a serious one.

The gut gets proper attention. Fructo-oligosaccharides are dosed at 0.5% and mannan-oligosaccharides are listed separately just behind the potassium chloride. The two feed different populations of friendly bacteria in the large intestine, so having both on one label is genuine belt and braces.

Salmon and salmon oil sit mid list as the marine omega source, linseed supplies the plant form alongside them, and dried whole eggs add a small amount of protein about as complete as protein gets. Rosemary closes the list, almost certainly as the extract, where its job is to keep the fats from turning rancid.

The additive panel gives figures, not vague assurances. Vitamin A is at 20853 IU/kg, vitamin E at 583 mg/kg, iron at 201 mg/kg, zinc at 108 mg/kg plus 12 mg/kg from a second source and manganese at 62.5 mg/kg. Calcium converts to 1.3% of dry matter, a settled adult level, and clinoptilolite at 10 g/kg keeps the kibble loose in the bag.

£4.70 a kilo, sold in 2kg and 7kg bags.

As a guide, a 15kg adult dog in moderate condition would eat about 213 grams a day at roughly 840 kcal (110 × bodyweight^0.75, the standard maintenance estimate), or £1.00 a day. Most dogs fed this recipe are a fair bit smaller than that. The label asks 65 to 150 grams for a dog between 5kg and 10kg, so the real daily figure comes down accordingly.