My Pet Says Grain Free Adult Light: Trout with Salmon, Sweet Potato & Asparagus review

The trout and salmon recipe and the turkey both settle in our Good band, the same band the typical adult dry food manages. Half the food is named animal, and that does most of the work, helped by a grain-free base and a set of joint and weight extras with their doses printed. Transparency reads Outstanding on both recipes, value Good and nutritional balance Average on each, while protein and processing splits: Good for the turkey, Average for the trout. There is very little between the two, so the protein your dog enjoys most is the sensible way to choose.

Ingredients, as declared: Trout & Salmon 50% (including Freshly Prepared Trout 30%, Dried Salmon 11%, Freshly Prepared Salmon 4%, Salmon Oil 3%, Salmon Stock 2%), Sweet Potato (24%), Potato, Peas (6%), Beet Pulp, Pea Protein, Linseed, Potato Protein, Minerals, Vitamins, Vegetable Stock, Asparagus (0.3%), Glucosamine (170 mg/kg), Methylsulfonylmethane (170 mg/kg), Chondroitin Sulphate (125 mg/kg), FOS (96 mg/kg), MOS (24 mg/kg). Vitamins: Vitamin A 15,000 IU, Vitamin D3 2,000 IU, Vitamin E 95 IU. Provitamin: L-Carnitine 480mg. Trace Elements: Zinc (Zinc Sulphate Monohydrate) 50mg, Iron (Iron (II) Sulphate Monohydrate) 50mg, Manganese (Manganous Sulphate Monohydrate) 35mg, Copper (Copper (II) Sulphate Pentahydrate) 5mg, Iodine (Calcium Iodate Anhydrous) 1mg.

Half of each recipe is declared as named animal, and both labels break the figure down instead of leaving it as a headline. On the trout side that is 30% freshly prepared trout and 11% dried salmon, then 4% freshly prepared salmon. Salmon oil adds 3% and salmon stock 2%. On the turkey side: 27% freshly prepared, 21% dried and 2% turkey stock. Water is the bulk of fresh meat, and the oven removes it. That makes the dried entries count for more than their position suggests. The turkey carries the larger dried share, and its protein comes out higher at 29.3% of dry matter against 27.2%.

Sweet potato runs the plant side at 24% in the trout and 16% in the turkey, with potato and peas behind it and beet pulp for fibre. There is no grain in either bag. Estimated carbohydrate converts to 51.6% of dry matter in the trout, 47.9% in the turkey, against 46.2% for the typical adult dry food. A light food takes its energy out by trimming fat, and the starch stays where it was.

The light thinking is easy to follow. Fat is held at 8.7% and 9.8% of dry matter, gentle for a kibble, and L-Carnitine is dosed at 480mg in the trout and 500mg in the turkey. Carnitine has a central part in how the body uses fat. That is why weight recipes carry it, and printing the amount is worth more than the word on its own. The label's own feeding guide already sits below what a maintenance calculation would ask, which is the point of the range.

The joint entries come with figures attached: glucosamine and methylsulfonylmethane at 170 mg/kg each, chondroitin sulphate at 125 mg/kg. A figure is what separates a real inclusion from a claim on the front of a bag. FOS at 96 mg/kg and MOS at 24 mg/kg follow as prebiotics, and the friendly gut bacteria live on them. Both are small helpings and best read as a nudge.

For omega 3, the trout recipe has salmon oil at 3% doing the work in its marine form, with linseed alongside. The turkey lists linseed too but names its other source only as an omega 3 supplement, so an owner keeping a dog away from fish cannot rule it out from the label. The vitamins and trace elements are dosed throughout. International unit figures are given for vitamins A and D3, and vitamin E is at 95 IU. Zinc is at 50mg, iron at 50mg and manganese at 35mg per kilo in both, with the turkey adding selenium at 0.3mg. Calcium works out at 1.2% of dry matter in the trout and 1.63% in the turkey.

Trout and salmon together make up the 50%. Freshly prepared trout at 30% leads, and dried salmon at 11% does much of the work once the water has gone. Behind them come freshly prepared salmon at 4%, with 3% salmon oil and 2% salmon stock. Sweet potato is set high at 24% with peas at 6%, and asparagus makes a token 0.3% appearance. Behind the meat sit pea protein and potato protein. Fat runs 8.7% on a dry matter basis here, lighter than its stablemate, with calcium at 1.2%. If fish suits your dog, this is the recipe to choose.

£5.04 a kilo for the trout and salmon and £5.12 for the turkey, both sold in 6kg, 12kg and 24kg bags.

As a rough guide, 840 kcal a day (110 × bodyweight^0.75, the standard maintenance estimate) is what a 15kg adult dog in moderate condition needs. That comes to about 247 grams of the trout or 245 of the turkey, and £1.25 a day either way. Both labels ask 135 to 225 grams for a dog between 10kg and 20kg. This is a food chosen to bring weight down, so start at the lower end of any guide.