Lifestage Naturals Dry Puppy review

Lifestage Naturals Dry Puppy sits in our Average band, a step behind the Good band the middle of the puppy kibble field occupies. Value is the pillar that does best, and the label does its bit too: the fish total is itemised down to the gravy, and the starches are named rather than tucked behind a category word. Protein and processing reads Average and so does transparency, in a bag where rice and barley account for a good deal of what is inside. The missing calcium declaration is the other thing keeping it from climbing.

Ingredients, as declared: Fish (37%, of which freshly prepared white fish 10%, dried white fish 22%, fish gravy 3%, fish oil 2%), brown rice (12%), white rice (12%), barley (10%), peas, chicken fat, pea protein, lucerne, minerals, dried seaweed (0.1%, omega 3 supplement), Yucca schidigera

The 37% fish figure is worth unpacking, because most of it is dried. Dried white fish at 22% arrives with no water left to lose, so the kibble ends up with nearly all of it. The freshly prepared white fish at 10% shrinks in the oven. Fish gravy at 3% and fish oil at 2% make up the rest. The oil earns its place, an abundant natural source of the omega 3 fats a puppy's coat and brain both use.

The cereal side is barley at 10%, plus 12% brown rice and 12% white rice. Carbohydrate works out at an estimated 41.8% of dry matter, against a 39.0% typical for the category. Most young dogs digest rice easily. Cooked barley brings fibre and micronutrients along with it, and it brings gluten too, worth knowing in a house that avoids the stuff.

Chicken fat is the one ingredient that complicates the fish story. It is named to its species, which beats an anonymous animal fat, but it does put chicken in the recipe. A pup moved onto fish because chicken caused trouble needs that line read carefully.

Peas and pea protein follow the chicken fat. Whole peas in moderation are a decent addition, good for fibre and a range of micronutrients. Pea protein is the refined sort, and it pushes the printed protein figure up without the quality or digestibility of meat. Lucerne adds fibre and a little more plant protein behind them.

Calcium is not declared. The maker lists this food across every size of puppy. A large or giant breed owner therefore has nothing on the pack to check their rearing against, and calcium is the mineral a growth food is most often judged on. That is a question for Lifestage, not a fault in the recipe, and it is the one plain gap on this label.

Dried seaweed at 0.1% is flagged on the label as an omega 3 supplement, and it brings iodine and a wide spread of minerals with it. Last on the list is yucca schidigera, an ingredient most makers add with stool odour in mind. Energy is an estimate here at 354 kcal per 100g rather than a declared figure, a little under the 376 kcal typical of a puppy dry food.

£3.10 a kilo, sold in 1.5kg and 10kg bags.

Feeding a puppy means small corrections all the way through. Take the chart on the bag, find the row for your pup's age and grown-up size, then revise as they fill out.