Lakes Collection Lakes Heritage Grain Free Senior: Trout with Sweet Potato review

This one lands in the Good band that the typical adult dry food occupies too, which for a senior recipe is a good result. Half the bag being declared fish is most of the reason, along with a starch base of sweet potato and potato instead of cereal. Protein holds at 27.2% of dry matter despite the low fat. Transparency reads Outstanding, with protein and processing at Good and nutritional balance at Average. The placement rests on the whole recipe, and no single strong feature explains it. Carbohydrate at 51.6% of dry matter is the honest brake on it, and the unnamed vegetable stock is the one entry that would read better with a species or a plant beside it.

Ingredients, as declared: Salmon & Trout 50% (36% Freshly Prepared Salmon & Trout, 12% Dried Salmon & 2% Fishstock), Sweet Potato (26%), Peas, Potato (6%), Beet Pulp, Linseed, Vitamins& Minerals, Vegetable Stock, Omega 3 Supplement, Asparagus (equivalent to7.5g per kg of product), FOS (92mg/kg), MOS (23mg/kg).

The 50% fish declaration breaks down as 36% freshly prepared salmon and trout, then 12% dried salmon, then 2% fish stock. The fresh share catches the eye first. Most of that fresh weight is water and the oven removes it, leaving the 12% dried salmon to carry a good part of the finished kibble quietly. Protein comes out at 27.2% of dry matter, which is a comfortable adult figure and more than adequate for an older dog.

Sweet potato at 26% comes first among the plants, with peas and potato next and beet pulp providing the fibre. Wheat, maize, rice and barley are all absent, so the grain-free label holds. Sweet potato releases its energy slowly. That is one reason gentler recipes reach for it so readily.

The senior thinking shows in restraint rather than additions. Fat is held at 8%, energy at 340 kcal per 100g against the 357 typical for adult dry food, and linseed brings plant omega 3 alongside a supplement listed simply as omega 3. What you do not get is a joint pack. Some of the brand's other older-dog recipes print one in full, so give the bag a look if that is what you came for.

Asparagus is declared in an unusual way, as an amount equivalent to 7.5g per kg of product, which works out as a garnish however you read it. It gives the recipe its name and very little else, and there is no harm in that.

Both prebiotics carry a printed dose: fructooligosaccharides at 92 mg/kg and mannanoligosaccharides at 23 mg/kg. One comes from fruit and vegetables, the other from yeast cell walls, and both are aimed at the bacteria that matter further down the gut. An ageing digestion is exactly where that kind of support earns its keep.

Available in 2kg and 12kg bags.

Feeding a 15kg dog of average build works out at around 247 grams daily, using the standard maintenance estimate of about 840 kcal a day (110 × bodyweight^0.75). For a dog of 10kg to 20kg the bag's own table asks 150 to 250 grams, so the two guides end up close together. Let the waistline settle the rest.