James Wellbeloved

James Wellbeloved Senior Dry: Turkey & Rice Small Breed review

Name: James Wellbeloved Senior Dry: Turkey & Rice Small Breed
Brand: James Wellbeloved

55.1/100Good

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

55.1/100Good

Protein and processingAverage

Nutritional balanceAverage

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

Small

Main protein

Turkey

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

Dried turkey protein26.5%Leads the list, unlike its siblings.
Naked oats
Brown rice, white rice13% eachHalf the rice share of the big bags.
Barley, poultry fatNo bird named for the fat.
Sugar beet pulp, whole linseed3.9% linseed
Turkey gravy, alfalfa meal, tomato pomace
Minerals, seaweed0.5% seaweed
Dried carrots, dried vegetarian stock
Fish oilMarine omega 3.
Chicory extract, yucca extract0.1%, 0.02%

Vitamins A, D3 and E, with zinc as a glycine chelate and selenium as sodium selenite.

No glucosamine or chondroitin, unlike the full size bags.

Named ingredients

Dried turkey protein* (26.5%), naked oats*, brown rice* (13%), white rice* (13%), barley*, poultry fat*, sugar beet pulp*, whole linseed* (3.9%), turkey gravy, alfalfa meal*, tomato pomace*, minerals, seaweed* (0.5%), dried carrots*, dried vegetarian stock, fish oil, chicory extract* (0.1%), yucca extract* (0.02%). *Natural ingredient.Produced in a factory that handles grains and other protein sources.

Against the range

Meat: Dried turkey protein first, 26.5%; Brown rice leads the other four.
Carbohydrate, dry matter: 45.2%; Up to 58.7% on the chicken.
Fat, as fed: 13.7%; 9.4% to 10.0% on the others.
Joint pair: None; Printed on the four full size bags.

Meatier but plainer, trading the joint pair for the bigger meat share.

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

366 kcal/100g

Protein

25.3%

Fat

13.7%

Fibre

Ash

8.4%

Dry weight

Protein

27.5%

Fat

14.9%

Fibre

3.3%

Ash

9.1%

Carbs

45.2%

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

29.6%

Added water

0.4%

Carbs

59.1%

Veg

2.9%

Oils

3.7%

Other

4.3%