Lakes Collection Lakes Established Hypoallergenic Small Breed: Turkey review

On our scoring this sits in the Good band, alongside where the middle of the adult dry category falls, and the story behind it is one of proportion. The turkey is dried-led, which is the better way round. Protein reaches 25.0% of dry matter, respectable for a recipe built on rice. Pulling the other way, three cereals share the bulk of the bag and carbohydrate finishes at 56.0% of dry matter. Transparency reads Outstanding while the other three pillars read Average, which is the honest description of a food that gets the fundamentals right without reaching for anything showy. For a small dog eating a small amount, that balance works perfectly well, and the itemised extras are a nicer touch than the placement suggests.

Ingredients, as declared: Turkey 30% (Including Dried Turkey 22%, Freshly Prepared Turkey 4%, Turkey Fat 2% & Turkey Gravy 2%), White Rice (22%), Brown Rice (22%), Oats (19%), Linseed, Beet Pulp, Alfalfa, Minerals, Seaweed, Omega 3 Supplement, FOS (970 mg/kg), Chicory Extract (0.05%), Yucca Extract (190 mg/kg), Dandelion. No Added Artificial Colours, Flavours or Preservatives. Naturally preserved using rosemary extract.

Turkey is declared at 30%. Dried turkey takes 22% of that, freshly prepared turkey 4%, and turkey fat and turkey gravy 2% each. Leading with the dried form is the more honest construction. A fresh entry loses its water in the cooking, and a dried one does not, so the bag's figure sits near what actually reaches the kibble. Protein reaches 25.0% of dry matter as a result, a step up on what rice-led recipes usually manage. Turkey itself digests easily and runs leaner than chicken. That is one reason gentler recipes reach for it so often.

White rice and brown rice both sit at 22%, with oats at 19% just behind. This is a deliberately plain plant side: rice is quick to cook down into something a small stomach handles easily, and oats add fibre and a useful set of trace nutrients on top. The trade shows up in the carbohydrate figure, which converts to 56.0% of dry matter.

Linseed comes before beet pulp on the list, which is unusual and welcome. It is the recipe's omega 3 source in plant form, and it brings fibre and natural antioxidants with it. Alfalfa and seaweed follow as mineral sources, seaweed in particular for its iodine, which is why it appears in the small amounts it does.

The gut support is specific: FOS at 970 mg/kg with chicory extract at 0.05% behind it, both feeding the bacteria in the large intestine that a dog wants more of. Yucca extract at 190 mg/kg is there for what happens after digestion rather than during it, and dandelion rounds off a short botanical tail.

This recipe carries no joint supplements. If you have come to the brand through one of its senior bags, that is worth knowing. Preservation is by rosemary extract, and the label declares no added artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.

£9.33 a kilo, sold in a 1.5kg bag.

For a rough sense of it, feeding a 15kg dog of moderate build comes out at £2.27 a day on about 243 grams. That works from an estimated 840 kcal a day (110 × bodyweight^0.75, the usual maintenance sum). The label's own table stops at that size and asks 185 to 205 grams for a dog of 13kg to 15kg, so a genuinely small dog will be eating a fraction of either figure.