My Pet Says Naturals Senior Light: Turkey & Rice review

Our reading takes in the whole label, and on that reading this food comes out in the Good band. Two things put it there: turkey at 26% is a moderate meat share, and carbohydrate converts to 58.8% of dry matter where the adult dry category runs at 46.2%. What a general nutrition assessment cannot weigh is the specific job printed on the bag, and that job is done properly here. Fat is trimmed to 8%, energy is held to 342 kcal per 100g, the joint trio carries real figures and the prebiotics are in place. For an older dog who needs the calories eased down without losing the extras, it earns its space in the cupboard.

Ingredients, as declared: Turkey 26% (Including Dried Turkey 17%, Freshly Prepared Turkey 5%, Turkey Fat 2% & Turkey Gravy 2%), Brown Rice (23%), White Rice (23%), Oats (18%), Beet Pulp, Linseed, Alfalfa, Minerals, Vitamins, Seaweed, Omega 3 Supplement, FOS (960 mg/kg), Glucosamine (178 mg/kg), Methylsulfonylmethane (178 mg/kg), Chondroitin Sulphate (125 mg/kg), Chicory Extract (0.05%), Yucca Extract (190 mg/kg), Dandelion. VITAMINS: Vitamin A 14423 IU, Vitamin D3 2000 IU, Vitamin E 149mg. PROVITAMIN: L- Carnitine 24mg. TRACE ELEMENTS: Zinc (Zinc Sulphate Monohydrate) 48mg, Iron (Iron (II) Sulphate Monohydrate) 48mg, Manganese (Manganous Sulphate Monohydrate) 34mg, Copper (Copper (II) Sulphate Pentahydrate) 14mg, Iodine (Calcium Iodate Anhydrous) 0.96mg, Selenium (Sodium Selenite) 0.29mg.

Turkey is declared at 26% and the split is printed: 17% dried turkey, 5% freshly prepared, 2% turkey fat and 2% turkey gravy. For a light food, leading with the dried share is the right way round. Drying takes the water out first, so gram for gram this meat carries more protein than the fresh version does. The fat entry comes off the same bird as the meat too. Protein converts to 21.7% of dry matter and fat to 8.7%.

The rest of the plant side is brown rice and white rice at 23% each with oats at 18%, with beet pulp for fibre behind that. All three are gentle, digestible cereals, and they are also the reason carbohydrate is estimated at 58.8% of dry matter, well above the 46.2% typical for adult dry food. Fibre sits at 4.3% of dry matter, and in a light diet that is useful: a smaller bowl still eats like a proper dinner.

The senior extras are the reason to look at this food at all. Glucosamine and methylsulfonylmethane are printed at 178 mg/kg each, chondroitin sulphate at 125 mg/kg. Three joint ingredients, and every one of them carries a number you can read on the bag. L-Carnitine is there too at 24mg per kilo. It is an amino acid that gives the body a hand with its fat stores, though 24mg is a nudge, not the reason to buy the bag.

The gut side is well covered for an older dog. FOS at 960 mg/kg and chicory extract are the prebiotics, both working on the bacteria that live further down the intestine. Yucca extract at 190 mg/kg has been in dog food for a long time, and its job is what the garden smells like afterwards. Dandelion, alfalfa and seaweed round the list off, seaweed being a natural source of iodine and a spread of trace minerals.

The minerals are printed to the milligram: zinc at 48 mg, iron at 48 mg, manganese at 34 mg, copper at 14 mg and iodine at 0.96 mg per kilo, all in sulphate form. Vitamin E is declared at 149mg. Linseed provides plant omega 3 alongside the omega 3 supplement, and calcium works out at 1.2% of dry matter, comfortable ground for an adult or senior dog.

£5.85 a kilo, sold in 10kg and 20kg bags.

Using about 840 kcal a day for a 15kg adult in moderate condition as the reference point (110 × bodyweight^0.75, the standard maintenance estimate), that comes to 246 grams a day and £1.44. The label asks 150 to 250 grams a day for a 10kg to 20kg dog. The two line up closely, and an older dog who has stopped moving much may well sit at the lower end of that range.