K9 Optimum Puppy Mini/Medium review

This one lands in our Good band, level with the middle of the puppy dry food field. Transparency reads Excellent. Nutritional balance and value are Good, protein and processing Average, and the position rests on the label as a whole instead of any single figure.

The variety and quality of the meat list is what does the work. Protein converts to 32.6% of dry matter and the carbohydrate estimate is 39.1%, almost exactly the 39.0% the puppy field runs at. The mineral side is what stops it going further, since ash and calcium both convert high for a growth food, and the tail of the recipe leans on prebiotics that carry no printed dose.

Ingredients, as declared: Freshly Prepared Chicken (22%), Rice, Dried Poultry Meat (16%), Maize, Freshly Prepared Poultry Liver (7%), Freshly Prepared Salmon & Trout (6%), Dried Fish Meat (4%), Oats, Poultry Fat (2%), Beet Pulp, Linseed, Brewers Yeast, Dl-Methionine, Dried Egg (1%), Minerals, Vitamins, Poultry Gravy (1%), Pork Gravy (1%), Mannanoligosaccharides, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Fructooligosaccharides, L-Carnitine, Beta Carotene

Meat arrives here from several directions at once, and that is unusual at this end of the market. The freshly prepared chicken at 22% goes into the mix wet and loses a fair share of that weight during cooking. Dried poultry meat at 16% gave up its water before it went in, so more of what it declares carries through. Freshly prepared poultry liver at 7% is the entry to note. Little else a young dog eats packs as much nutrition per mouthful, and few things make a bowl as worth finishing.

Fish adds another layer, with freshly prepared salmon and trout at 6% and dried fish meat at 4%, and linseed further down brings a plant omega 3 alongside them. Dried egg at 1% adds highly digestible protein. Between the birds, the fish and the egg, protein reaches 30.0% as fed and 32.6% of dry matter, a strong figure for a kibble.

The starch arrives as rice, maize and oats. Carbohydrate works out at 36.0% as fed and an estimated 39.1% of dry matter, which is right on the puppy field's usual level, so the meat headline is not hiding a starchy middle. Beet pulp brings a gentle fibre and brewers yeast sits alongside it.

On a dry matter basis, calcium is 2.17%. For the small and medium breed pups this recipe names, growth is faster over a shorter run and less exposed to the consequences of a generous mineral level. The figure does sit above what a large breed growth plan would be built around, so a pup who will finish big belongs on a plan of their own. Ash converting to 9.8% of dry matter is the same story from a wider angle.

Elsewhere on the panel it is protein 30.0%, fat 14.0%, fibre 3.0% and moisture 8.0%. With the water out, fat reads 15.2%. Energy is our estimate at 350 kcal per 100g, under the 376 typical of a puppy dry food. Portions therefore run a touch more generous by weight than the field average, and the growth curve stays unhurried.

The tail is short and sensible. Mannan oligosaccharides and fructooligosaccharides make a prebiotic pairing aimed at the gut, and DL-methionine tops up an amino acid. L-carnitine plays its part in moving fat towards being burned, with beta carotene and yucca schidigera extract finishing the list. The label doses none of them, so they are supporting cast and not the reason to choose the bag.

£3.17 a kilo, bags at 2kg and 12kg.

A young dog's daily amount never stands still for long. Take the maker's guide as your opening position, then let weekly checks on your pup's condition decide whether the scoop goes up or comes back down.