Millies Wolfheart Turkey & Veg review

Our scoring places Turkey & Veg well up in our Excellent band, with the typical adult dry food coming to rest in our Good band. The arithmetic behind that is refreshingly simple. Protein converts to 40.2% of dry matter and estimated carbohydrate to only 27.8%, against the 46.2% the typical adult dry food carries. That gap comes straight from the two turkey entries taking the top two places on the list. The label also reads cleanly, because there is nothing on it you cannot put a species to.

Ingredients, as declared: Freshly Prepared Turkey (38%), Dried Turkey (31%), Sweet Potato (13%), Chickpeas, Tapioca (5%), Turkey Fat (4%), Pea Fibre, Turkey Gravy (1.5%), Tomato Pomace, 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

The first two entries are turkey: fresh at 38%, then dried at 31%. That dried share is where the headline really comes from. Fresh meat is roughly three quarters water before cooking, so a recipe leaning only on fresh meat finishes thinner than its label implies. This one does not: protein converts to 40.2% of dry matter, a genuinely meat heavy result for a kibble.

Turkey is a sensible choice for the job it is doing here. Lean, gentle on the digestion, and a good deal rarer in a bowl than chicken. For a dog off the usual bird, that makes turkey a sensible move. Right down the list it stays turkey, with turkey fat at 4% and turkey gravy at 1.5% the only other animal entries.

Sweet potato at 13%, chickpeas and tapioca at 5% do the binding, with pea fibre for bulk and tomato pomace adding a little more. There is no grain and, unusually for a kibble, not a great deal of starch either, with estimated carbohydrate at 27.8% of dry matter. The plant side here is genuinely a supporting act.

The joint pack carries real figures behind it, glucosamine and methylsulfonylmethane at 177.5 mg/kg with chondroitin sulphate at 125 mg/kg. Each mineral has its dose printed alongside as well. Zinc and iron come in at 48 mg each, manganese at 34 mg, copper at 12 mg and iodine at 0.96 mg in every kilo.

The tail of apple, carrot, cranberry, seaweed, burdock root, camomile, dandelion and peppermint sits at trace level and adds character rather than nutrition. One number does need reading properly. Calcium comes out at 2.61% of dry matter. That is entirely comfortable for an adult, though a large breed puppy still laying down bone wants less. If you are rearing a big youngster, put the question to your vet.

Bags come in 700g, 5kg and 14kg, at £5.61 a kilo.

As a guide, a 15kg adult dog in moderate condition needs about 236 grams a day, assuming roughly 840 kcal a day (110 × bodyweight^0.75, the standard maintenance estimate). That works out at £1.33 a day. The bag's own table asks 150 to 175 grams for a dog of 10kg to 15kg, so let the dog's shape decide between the two.