Kronch Agility review

This one lands in our Average band, a step behind the Good band the typical adult dry food reaches, and the openness of the label is what holds it up. Two named animals open a short list, and the mineral panel is published in full, which does most of that work. Set against them, the plant side is substantial: carbohydrate is estimated at 50.6% of dry matter where 46.2% is typical, and protein converts to 22.8%, which is gentle for a kibble. Transparency comes back Excellent, while protein and processing reads Average and nutritional balance Poor. Read plainly, the strength here is honesty about what is in the bag, and not raw density. For a dog that trains in bursts and rests in between, that gentler analysis is a fit.

Ingredients, as declared: Fish (16% fresh salmon), 14% Chicken, rice, maize, barley, Far (food grade), blood meal, brewer's yeast, beet pulp, lecithin, garlic, vitamins and minerals.

The list opens with fish at 16% fresh salmon and chicken at 14%, and both figures are fresh weights. Both figures count water that the oven will drive off. The two contribute less to the finished kibble than the printed shares suggest. The analysis lands where you would expect from that: protein at 22.8% of dry matter, fat at 14.1% and energy at 350 kcal per 100g. What matters for a sensitive dog is that both animals are named, which is not always the case at this end of the shelf.

Rice, maize and barley carry the energy, and the estimated carbohydrate of 50.6% of dry matter sits above the 46.2% typical of adult dry food. Cooked barley suits most dogs, and it brings selenium and copper along with its fibre. It does carry gluten. Next comes beet pulp, the fermentable fibre. You tend to see its effect in the consistency of what your dog leaves on the lawn.

One entry on the published list reads Far where Fat belongs, a printing slip, and however it is spelled it names no source beyond food grade. In an otherwise well-declared recipe that is the one genuine gap. Owners tracking every animal that reaches the bowl will want to know. Blood meal, a little further along, is the other entry without a species attached.

Nordic foods of this type often finish with garlic, and this list is no exception. Quantity is what matters with garlic. Its position on the list implies a seasoning amount, which is a very different proposition from a large dose, and plenty of owners have no issue with it at all. Others prefer to steer clear of it altogether, and knowing it is there lets you make that call yourself. Brewer's yeast and lecithin round the small entries off, the first a natural source of B vitamins and the second the emulsifier.

The mineral and vitamin panels are printed line by line, from calcium and phosphorus down to cobalt and selenium, which is a level of detail plenty of larger brands skip. B12 is printed in milligrams on one line, where micrograms are the normal measure for it. Take that as a typing slip in the published panel, not something in the food.

£3.33 a kilo, sold in a single 15kg bag.

For a 15kg adult dog in moderate condition, around 840 kcal a day (110 × bodyweight^0.75, the standard maintenance estimate) puts the bowl at about 240 grams, or £0.80 a day. The label's own table asks 200 to 305 grams for a dog between 10kg and 20kg. Let the waistline pick the number inside that spread.