My Pet Says Grain Free Small Breed Puppy: Turkey with Duck, Sweet Potato & Dill review

This kibble finishes in our Excellent band, a clear step up from where the typical puppy dry food settles in our Good band. Transparency reads Outstanding, with protein and processing and nutritional balance each reading Good and value Excellent. The strength is a 60% bird inclusion set out piece by piece, a calcium figure declared and suited to growth, and joint and prebiotic support that comes with numbers attached. What tempers it is the potato protein carried alongside the meat.

Ingredients, as declared: 60% Turkey & Duck (including Freshly Prepared Turkey 32%, Dried Turkey 18%, Turkey Fat 5%, Freshly Prepared Duck 4%, and Turkey Stock 1%) Sweet Potato (20%), Potato Protein, Peas (4%), Potato, Beet Pulp, Linseed, Minerals, Vitamins, Omega 3 Supplement, Vegetable Stock, Camomile (0.3%), Dill (0.3%), Nucleotides, 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 1923 IU, Vitamin E 95 IU. Trace Elements: Zinc (Zinc Sulphate Monohydrate) 85 mg, Iron (Iron (II) Sulphate Monohydrate) 50 mg, Manganese (Manganous Sulphate Monohydrate) 35 mg, Copper (Copper (II) Sulphate Pentahydrate) 12 mg, Iodine (Calcium Iodate Anhydrous/Potassium Iodide) 1.3 mg, Selenium (Sodium Selenite) 0.1 mg.

The bird content is itemised in full. Freshly prepared turkey is 32% and dried turkey 18%. Turkey fat adds 5%, freshly prepared duck 4% and turkey stock 1%, for 60% in total. Dried turkey has given up its water already, so weight for weight it delivers more protein to the finished kibble than the fresh meat beside it. Naming the fat as turkey fat keeps the whole animal picture on two birds.

Sweet potato at 20% opens the plant side, then peas at 4%, potato and beet pulp. Potato protein comes high up too, and that is the entry to weigh up. Potato processing throws it off, and its job here is to raise the protein figure. Plant protein does not stand comparison with meat for quality or digestibility. Carbohydrate still converts to an estimated 35.3% of dry matter, under the 39.0% puppy typical, so the starch load itself is on the lighter side.

The analysis is rich for a puppy food. Protein converts to 32.6% of dry matter and fat to 19.6%, with energy declared at 389 kcal per 100g against a 376 typical. That combination suits a small pup with a quick metabolism and a small stomach to fill it from.

Calcium converts to 1.52% of dry matter, right where growing bone wants it, and ash sits at 9.2%. Small breeds finish their growing sooner than big ones, but the same principle holds while they are at it, and a printed figure lets you check rather than assume.

The tail is thoughtfully put together. Glucosamine and methylsulfonylmethane sit at 170 mg/kg apiece, and chondroitin sulphate at 125 mg/kg. Nucleotides sit alongside them, and FOS at 96 mg/kg pairs with MOS at 24 mg/kg as the prebiotics. Camomile and dill at 0.3% each are gentle finishing touches. The vitamin and trace element panel is fully dosed, with vitamin D3 at 1923 IU, vitamin E at 95 IU and zinc at 85 mg among the figures printed.

£6.54 a kilo, in 6kg and 12kg bags.

The label's chart sits between 35g and 60g a day for the small pups it is written for, though even that will shift as they grow. Weigh to the chart for their current weight, then let their condition settle the rest.