Lakes Collection Lakes Pioneer Sensitive Senior: Fish with Rice review

This one finishes Average on our scoring, a step under the everyday adult dry food it shares a shelf with. The reading follows the construction rather than anything troubling. One named meat sits second on the list with three grains around it, and the minerals come as a group with no itemised doses. The joint entries pull firmly in the other direction, all three printed with a dose, which is precisely what a senior label ought to be doing. Transparency comes out Outstanding while protein and processing and nutritional balance both read Poor, and on a food built this gently for an older stomach that is a fair shape for it to have.

Ingredients, as declared: Brown Rice (22%), Dried Fish (20%), Barley, Oats, White Rice (10%), Chicken Fat, Beet Pulp (4%), Pea Fibre, Brewer's Yeast, Minerals, Yucca Schidigera Extract (190 mg/kg), Glucosamine (180 mg/kg), Methylsulfonylmethane (180 mg/kg), Chondroitin Sulphate (125 mg/kg). Yucca Extract from natural sources, this plant extract is thought to help reduce stool odour. No Added Artificial Colours & Preservatives Naturally preserved using rosemary extract. Formulated without wheat gluten.

Dried fish at 20% is where the animal protein comes from, and dried is the word that earns its keep. With the water already out, the label figure is close to what arrives in the bowl, and the finished kibble converts to 22.8% protein by dry matter. That is unhurried rather than lean, which suits a dog whose kidneys and appetite are both a little older than they were.

Rice does the heavy lifting, brown at 22% and white at 10%, with barley and oats behind them. It is a familiar, forgiving combination for an older digestive system, all of it cooked soft and none of it novel. The trade is a carbohydrate figure of 57.1% by dry matter, which is where most of this recipe's bulk sits.

Beet pulp at 4% and pea fibre keep things regular, and regularity matters more as a dog slows down and takes fewer of its own walks.

The joint set is the clearest senior signal on the bag. Glucosamine and methylsulfonylmethane appear at 180 mg/kg apiece and chondroitin sulphate at 125 mg/kg, all three carrying a number, not just a mention. Whether supplements of this family transform a stiff morning is still argued over among researchers, but if you want them in the bowl, printed figures are the version worth having.

Yucca extract at 190 mg/kg is aimed at stool odour, brewer's yeast brings the B vitamins, and rosemary extract handles preservation in place of anything synthetic. The entry that complicates the fish story is chicken fat, a good fat and a common one, though it does stop this being a poultry free bowl.

The bag comes in 1.5kg and 12kg.

As a rough daily rate, an older 15kg dog in moderate condition would eat about 246 grams a day, assuming around 840 kcal a day (110 × bodyweight^0.75, the standard maintenance estimate). For dogs between 10kg and 20kg the label suggests 150 to 250 grams, so start near the middle and let the waistline do the deciding.