Lily's Kitchen Senior Dogs Dry Food review

This one settles in our Good band, keeping company with the average adult dry food and not pulling away from it. Transparency reads Excellent, helped by a 43% freshly prepared meat and fish declaration, and the base is sweet potato and pulses rather than cereal. The supplement column does the rest of the work, since joint doses at this level are the sort you would otherwise be adding from a separate tub. Protein and processing and nutritional balance both read Average, held there by a protein that converts to 25.0% of dry matter once the water has left the fresh fish and bird.

Ingredients, as declared: Turkey & Trout Dry Food for Senior Dogs 1kg & 7kg 43% Freshly Prepared: Turkey (17%), Trout (13%), Seasonal White Fish (13%). Sweet Potatoes, Potatoes, Whole Lentils, Whole Peas (4%), Egg, Pea Protein, Fish Stock, Salmon Oil (1.5%), Botanicals & Herbs* (1%), Nutritional Yeast, Seaweed, Flaxseed (0.7%), Minerals, Joint Care Mix (Glucosamine 1500mg/kg, Chondroitin Sulphate 1500mg/kg, Methylsulfonylmethane 1400mg/kg), Psyllium, Green Lipped Mussel Extract (0.3%), Turmeric (0.1%), Boswellia, Ginger (0.03%), Ginkgo Biloba. *Botanicals & Herbs: Alfalfa, Chickweed, Cleavers, Goldenrod, Nettles, Seaweed, Dandelion Root, Celery Seeds, Milk Thistle, Burdock Root, Marigold Flowers, Rosehips. Turkey & Trout Dry Food for Senior Dogs 2.5kg Turkey* (17%), Dried Sweet Potato* (16.5%), Potato Flour*, Trout* (13%), White Fish* (13%), Dried Lentils*, Dried Whole Peas* (4%), Whole Egg Powder*, Dried Pea Protein*, Hydrolysed Fish Protein, Salmon Oil (1.4%), Botanical Blend* (Goldenrod, Nettles, Aniseed, Rosehips, Marigold Flowers, Cleavers, Chickweed, Alfalfa, Milk Thistle, Dandelion Root, Burdock Root, Celery Seeds) (1%), Dried Yeast* (source of Prebiotic Mannan-oligosaccharides) (1%), Dried Seaweed*, Whole Flaxseed* (0.6%), Minerals, Dried Psyllium*, Dried Green Lipped Mussel Extract* (0.3%), Glucosamine (1500mg/kg), Chondroitin Sulphate* (1500mg/kg), Methylsulfonylmethane (1400mg/kg), Dried Turmeric* (0.1%), Dried Boswellia*, Ground Ginger* (0.03%), Dried Ginkgo Biloba*. *Natural ingredient

The animal column is declared at 43% freshly prepared, and how it splits is worth reading: turkey at 17%, trout at 13% and seasonal white fish at 13%. Senior recipes lean on turkey often, and its leanness among the common birds is part of the reason. The two fish bring marine omega 3s along with their protein. Most of the weight in a fresh ingredient is water, and baking takes it out. The finished kibble holds less than 43% animal material, and the analysis converts to 25.0% protein on a dry matter basis.

The base is sweet potato and potato with whole lentils and whole peas at 4%, so there is no grain in it at all. Sweet potato is the standout of that group, a genuinely good carbohydrate source with more fibre and far more vitamin A than the ordinary potato. The plant side is still doing real work: estimated carbohydrate reaches 51.1% of dry matter, against 46.2% for the typical adult dry food. Psyllium adds soluble fibre further down, a sensible inclusion for an ageing digestion.

What makes this label worth a second look is the joint mix. Glucosamine and chondroitin sulphate are both printed at 1500 mg/kg with methylsulfonylmethane at 1400 mg/kg, quantities that would be doing something on their own rather than simply qualifying the food for the category. Green lipped mussel extract at 0.3% sits alongside them, and turmeric at 0.1%, boswellia and ginger at 0.03% follow, a small tail of botanicals chosen with old bones in mind.

The marine omega source here is salmon oil at 1.5%, with flaxseed at 0.7% for the plant version. Seaweed brings iodine and a spread of trace minerals. Nutritional yeast, egg and pea protein fill in behind them, the pea protein being the one plant concentrate here that is propping up the protein figure. Ginkgo biloba at the very end is an unusual thing to find on a dog food and belongs to the same thinking as everything else in that tail, which is an older dog kept comfortable.

One thing to know about the bags. Two formulations sit under this label. The 1kg and 7kg bags use freshly prepared turkey, trout and white fish. The 2.5kg bag is built from dried sweet potato, potato flour and dried versions of the same meats, with hydrolysed fish protein added. The headline meat percentages and the joint doses match across both, but the texture of the ingredient list is not the same, so it is worth a glance at the pack you are picking up.

£10.50 a kilo, sold in 1kg, 2.5kg and 7kg bags.

A 15kg adult dog in moderate condition would need about 236 grams a day, assuming around 840 kcal a day (110 × bodyweight^0.75, the standard maintenance estimate), giving a day rate of £2.48. An older dog often needs a little under that, so let the waistline set the portion.