James Wellbeloved

James Wellbeloved Senior Dry: Chicken and Rice review

Name: James Wellbeloved Senior Dry: Chicken and Rice
Brand: James Wellbeloved

51.3/100Good

DryAdultSenior

Flavour

A senior range built the way much senior food is: gentler in fat and protein, heavier on cereal, with glucosamine and chondroitin printed on the four full size bags. The small breed turkey breaks the pattern and puts meat first. The fish sits in our Average band, the other four in Good.

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Our view

Likely to suit

Older dogs easing into a quieter routine, as the four full size recipes are light in fat
Stiffening joints. Glucosamine and chondroitin are printed on all four full size labels
Small seniors, who get their own turkey bag with a far larger meat share
Owners who take the antioxidant end of a label seriously, with vitamin E at 460 mg on the chicken and fish
A choosy older appetite, as meat gravy makes the kibble taste of the animal on the front

Worth watching

Brown rice first on the four full size bags, so cereal fills more of the bowl than meat
Fish oil and poultry fat on every label, so no bag is fish free
A small breed turkey that is its own recipe, so moving to it is a change of food

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

How this scores

How we score

51.3/100Good

Protein and processingAverage

Nutritional balancePoor

TransparencyOutstanding

ValueGood

The details

Dog fit

Listed for senior dogs, with one bag for small breeds. For a lean old dog with a fading appetite, the gentle protein may mean a slightly larger bowl.

Food type

Dry

Life stage

Adult, Senior

Breed size

Toy, Small, Medium, Large, Giant

Main protein

Chicken

The score, in context

Turkey 55.4
Turkey 55.1
Chicken 51.3
Lamb 50.4
Fish 43.2

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

A deliberate senior build, lighter in fat and protein, explains the gap to the shelf midpoint; the turkey bags lead the range and the fish trails it.

What's in it

Brown rice26%First on the label, so cereal fills more of the bowl than meat.
Dried chicken protein16.5%The meat share, in dried form.
Naked oats, barley, white rice10% white rice
Whole linseed3.5%Plant omega 3.
Poultry fatNo bird named, and on every label.
Chicken gravy, sugar beet pulp, alfalfa meal, pea fibreGravy for flavour; the rest is the brand's usual fibre set.
Seaweed, minerals0.5% seaweedSeaweed for iodine.
Fish oilMarine omega 3, which older joints and coats take up readily.
Nettles, parsley, chicory extract, yucca extract0.1% chicory, 0.02% yuccaChicory brings inulin; the herbs are seasoning.
Glucosamine, chondroitin0.045%, 0.005%Printed on all four full size bags.

Vitamin E at 460 mg, a generous antioxidant level, with zinc as a glycine chelate and the other trace minerals as sulphates and oxides.

Fish oil and poultry fat are on every label, so no bag here is fish free or fit for a strict elimination trial.

Named ingredients

Brown rice* (26%), dried chicken protein* (16.5%), naked oats*, barley*, white rice* (10%), whole linseed* (3.5%), poultry fat*, chicken gravy, sugar beet pulp*, alfalfa meal*, pea fibre*, seaweed* (0.5%), minerals, fish oil, nettles*, parsley*, chicory extract* (0.1%), glucosamine (0.045%), yucca extract* (0.02%), chondroitin (0.005%). *Natural ingredient.

Against the range

Carbohydrate, dry matter: 58.7%; The highest in the range; 45.2% on the small breed.
Protein, as fed: 20.1%; 18.5% on the lamb up to 25.3% on the small breed.
Bag sizes: No 12kg option; The fish, lamb and turkey come in 12kg too.

The most cereal-heavy bowl in the range, with the full senior extras.

The four full size bags share a skeleton: brown rice at 26% first, a dried meat protein between 16% and 19.5% behind it, then naked oats, barley and white rice at 10%. Each prints glucosamine and chondroitin, whole linseed, fish oil and poultry fat, with fat held near 10%.

The small breed turkey is built the other way round, dried turkey protein first at 26.5% and the rices at 13% each, with no joint pair. None of the labels declares moisture.

Nutritional analysis

Declared analysis

Energy

353 kcal/100g

Protein

20.1%

Fat

9.4%

Fibre

3.5%

Ash

5.1%

Dry weight

Protein

21.8%

Fat

10.2%

Fibre

3.8%

Ash

5.5%

Carbs

58.7%

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

21.2%

Carbs

68.7%

Veg

Oils

3.9%

Other

4.1%

Pricing & size