Millies Wolfheart Forager review

This one finishes in our Excellent band, one step clear of our Good band, where the typical adult dry food comes to rest. It gets there by being genuinely meat heavy. Dried turkey opens the list, fresh turkey follows and pork appears on both sides of the fresh and dried line. That puts protein at 37.0% of dry matter and pushes carbohydrate down to 29.8% against the 46.2% typical. Fat at 19.6% of dry matter is the other half of that picture, and it is why the food reads as a working ration rather than a general purpose one.

Ingredients, as declared: Dried Turkey (22%), Sweet Potato (20%), Freshly Prepared Turkey (18%), Turkey Fat (8%), Freshly Prepared Pork (7.5%), Dried Pork (7.5%), Freshly Prepared Venison (5.5%), Tapioca (4.5%), Chickpeas, Turkey Gravy (1.5%), Tomato Pomace, Minerals, Dried Algae, Joint Pack (Glucosamine 177.5 mg/kg, Methylsulfonylmethane 177.5 mg/kg, Chondroitin Sulphate 125 mg/kg), Mixed Herbs, Dried Apple, Burdock Root, Dried Camomile, Dried Carrot, Dried Cranberry, Dried Dandelion, Aniseed & Fenugreek, Dried Seaweed, Dried Peppermint, Yucca Extract

Dried turkey at 22% takes the lead, freshly prepared turkey adds 18% and turkey fat another 8%, with pork appearing on both sides of the fresh and dried line at 7.5% each. Fresh meat is largely water and gives most of it back in the oven. The dried entries are quietly carrying more of the finished kibble, and having two of them near the top is why protein lands at 37.0% of dry matter.

Freshly prepared venison at 5.5% is the interesting one. Deer meat turns up rarely in dog food, so most dogs will not have met it. If yours has a history of reacting to the everyday meats, that is a useful thing to find in a recipe.

Dried algae is the quiet achiever on the list. It is where the recipe gets its omega 3, and because it is algae rather than fish oil, the food stays free of fish from top to bottom. That is unusual in a kibble aiming this high on protein and fat.

Sweet potato at 20%, tapioca at 4.5% and chickpeas do the starch work here. No grain appears at any point. Tapioca brings starch and little besides, and the label does the honest thing by printing its percentage so you can see how little of it there is. Carbohydrate finishes at 29.8% of dry matter, well below the 46.2% typical for adult dry food, and crude fibre is light at 2.7%.

The joint pack carries printed doses: glucosamine and methylsulfonylmethane at 177.5 mg/kg each, chondroitin sulphate at 125 mg/kg. The trace minerals are all given figures as well: zinc and iron at 48 mg, manganese at 34 mg, copper at 14 mg, iodine at 0.96 mg and selenium at 0.29 mg per kilo. Calcium reads 2.28% of dry matter, which sits fine for an adult. Your vet is the person to ask before a large breed pup does its growing on this bag.

The tail is trace level decoration, from mixed herbs and dried fruits through to yucca extract. This recipe rides on its meat, and there is plenty of it.

£5.39 a kilo, sold in 700g, 5kg and 14kg bags.

As a guide, a 15kg adult dog in moderate condition needs about 216 grams a day, assuming around 840 kcal a day (110 × bodyweight^0.75, the standard maintenance estimate), putting the day at £1.16. The bag's chart asks 175 to 240 grams for a dog that size. Where they differ, go by the waistline.