Millies Wolfheart Riverside Mix review

Riverside Mix reaches our Excellent band, a step clear of the Good band where adult dry food more usually stops. The lift comes from two places. A dried entry heads the meat side, so the protein survives the oven intact. The plant side is kept unusually light, with estimated carbohydrate converting to 33.7% of dry matter where the typical adult dry food runs at 46.2%. Protein finishes at 33.2% of dry matter and fat at 17.4%, which reads as a properly fuelled bowl rather than a lean one.

Ingredients, as declared: Dried Duck (32%), Freshly Prepared Trout (22%), Sweet Potato (17%), Potato, Duck Fat (6%), Pea Fibre, Duck Stock (1.5%), Salmon Oil, Minerals, Joint Pack (Glucosamine 177.5 mg/kg, Methylsulfonylmethane 177.5 mg/kg, Chondroitin Sulphate 125 mg/kg), Mixed Herbs, Dried Apple, Dried Carrot, Dried Cranberry, Aniseed & Fenugreek, Dried Seaweed, Burdock Root, Dried Camomile, Dried Dandelion, Dried Peppermint

Dried duck at 32% is the single largest entry, and having the dried form in front matters more than it looks. Fresh meat loses its water to the oven. A label that opens with a dried meat is being honest about what ends up in the kibble. Duck is easy to digest and tastes strong enough to win over most dogs. It turns up rarely in the food aisle, so plenty of dogs will never have tried it.

The second animal is freshly prepared trout at 22%. Skin and coat lean on marine omega 3s, and salmon oil further down tops those up. Between the two, this is a fish carrying recipe, and that is the thing to know for a fish-avoiding dog.

Binding is sweet potato's job at 17%, with potato behind it, and pea fibre adds bulk without much nutrition. There is no grain on the list at all. Fat comes largely from duck at 6%, so the animal side stays consistent right the way down.

Glucosamine and methylsulfonylmethane both arrive at 177.5 mg/kg, with chondroitin sulphate at 125 mg/kg. Milligrams printed on the back are what you can actually check. Zinc and iron are dosed at 48 mg, manganese at 34 mg, copper at 12 mg and iodine at 0.96 mg per kilo.

A long tail follows: apple and carrot, cranberry and seaweed, then burdock root, camomile, dandelion and peppermint, all of it seasoning. The mixed herbs heading keeps its own counsel about what is in it. One figure does deserve a second look. Calcium works out at 3.15% of dry matter. An adult dog takes that in its stride. For a large breed puppy still building a skeleton that is on the high side, so talk to your vet before starting a big youngster on it.

£5.00 a kilo, in bags of 700g, 4kg and 12kg.

As a guide, a 15kg adult in moderate condition needs about 230 grams a day, assuming roughly 840 kcal a day (110 × bodyweight^0.75, the standard maintenance estimate). That puts the daily figure at £1.15. The label's own table asks 150 to 175 grams for a dog of 10kg to 15kg. Portion to the waistline first, and treat the chart as a starting point.