More Puppy review

This kibble lands in our Good band. Most puppy dry food finishes in that same band, so the two keep close company. What holds it there is the double chicken opening and an analysis that backs up the front of the bag. Protein and processing and nutritional balance both read Good. Value reads Good too and transparency Outstanding, so no one strength is carrying this. The ceiling comes from the cereal base and from a calcium figure pitched higher than large breed rearing usually asks for.

Ingredients, as declared: Fresh Chicken (23%), Chicken Meal (23%), Rice, Whole Maize, Beet Pulp, Chicken Fat, Brewers Yeast, Dried Egg, Chicken Digest, Salmon Oil (2%), Fish Meal, Minerals, Linseed, L-Carnitine (1200mg/kg), MOS (1000mg/kg), FOS (1000mg/kg), Rosemary Extract (150mg/kg), Yucca Extract (100mg/kg), Marigold Meal (50mg/kg), Citrus Extract (50mg/kg)

The label opens with the same bird twice: fresh chicken at 23% and chicken meal at 23%. Fresh meat is mostly water and shrinks during cooking. Meal comes to the mixer already dried, and its printed share carries into the kibble nearly intact. Between them they explain a declared protein of 29.0%, which converts to 31.5% of dry matter.

Rice and whole maize provide the structure, with beet pulp behind them for gentle fibre. Carbohydrate converts to an estimated 38.6% of dry matter, just under the 39.0% typical of a puppy kibble. The grain here does an ordinary job and is not padding the bag. Energy is declared at 391 kcal per 100g against a 376 typical, so this is a reasonably rich bowl for its size.

Calcium is the figure to weigh up here. It converts to 1.85% of dry matter, which small and medium pups take in their stride. Large and giant breeds are usually reared on less, because too much calcium during the fast growing months can unsettle the way the skeleton develops. The pack lists the food from toy through to giant, so owners of a big pup are the ones who should take that number to their vet before committing.

Chicken fat and chicken digest keep the flavour on one bird. Salmon oil at 2% and fish meal bring the marine omega 3, and linseed adds the plant source. Those two fish entries keep fish on the allergen picture even with a chicken headline on the front, and dried egg with brewers yeast quietly adds more protein and B vitamins.

The functional tail is printed with its doses: MOS and FOS at 1000 mg/kg each for the gut, then L-Carnitine at 1200 mg/kg. That amino acid helps turn fat into usable energy. Rosemary extract at 150 mg/kg does the preserving, while yucca extract at 100 mg/kg with marigold meal and citrus extract at 50 mg/kg each finish the list at trace level.

£5.33 a kilo, in 2kg and 12kg bags.

From 54g a day for the smallest pups, the label's own guide climbs to 508g a day at the top of its chart. That shows how quickly the ration moves while a puppy is growing. Check the chart against your pup's current weight each week, because one scoop set now will not hold for long.