My Pet Says Super Premium Puppy: Chicken and Rice review

This recipe finishes just under the middle of the puppy kibble market, though both it and that midpoint fall inside our Good band. Transparency reads Outstanding. Nutritional balance and value read Good, and protein and processing Average. The dried chicken share and an additive panel printed line by line are what lift it. Holding it where it is are the cereal load and a protein figure of 30.4% of dry matter.

Ingredients, as declared: Chicken 38% (Including Dried Chicken 31%, Chicken Fat 5% & Chicken Gravy 2%) Rice (18%), Maize, Oats, Beet Pulp (5%), Dried Fish, Vegetable Stock, Freshly Prepared Free Range Egg, Brewer's Yeast, Linseed, Minerals, Vitamins, Omega 3 Supplement, MOS (530 mg/kg), FOS (530 mg/kg), Yucca Extract (240 mg/kg), Glucosamine (90 mg/kg), Methylsulfonylmethane (90 mg/kg), Chondroitin Sulphate (60 mg/kg). Vitamins: Vitamin A 25,800 IU, Vitamin D3 1,750 IU. Provitamins: L-Carnitine 100 mg. Trace Elements: Zinc (Zinc Chelate of Amino Acids Hydrate/ Zinc Sulphate Monohydrate) 153 mg, Iron (Iron (II) Sulphate Monohydrate/ Iron (II) Chelate of Amino Acids Hydrate) 95 mg, Manganese (Manganous Sulphate Monohydrate) 35 mg, Copper (Copper (II) Sulphate Pentahydrate/Copper (II) Chelate of Amino Acids Hydrate) 15 mg, Iodine (Calcium Iodate Anhydrous) 1 mg, Selenium (Sodium Selenite) 0.3 mg. Amino Acids: DL-Methionine 2,600 mg.

The label splits its 38% chicken three ways: 31% dried chicken, then 5% fat and 2% gravy from the same bird. The dried share is the number to read. Dehydrated meat arrives with its water gone, so it lands in the finished kibble close to the printed figure. Protein is declared at 28.0% and converts to 30.4% of dry matter.

Rice at 18% sits with maize and oats behind it. Carbohydrate converts to an estimated 44.0% of dry matter, against 39.0% for the typical puppy kibble. The grain is doing real work in the bowl here. Beet pulp at 5% is a generous helping of a fibre most young guts handle without fuss.

Behind the chicken sits a scattering of other animal protein. Dried fish is on the list too, with brewer's yeast and freshly prepared free range egg beside it. Egg is as digestible as protein comes, and the yeast carries a full spread of B vitamins with it. Neither the fish nor the vegetable stock says what it is made from. Those two lines need an answer from the maker before this bag goes to a dog kept on a strict exclusion diet.

On a growth food the mineral side is the first thing to read, and this label prints it. Ash is declared at 7.5%, and calcium converts to 1.30% of dry matter. A growing skeleton wants it in that range, and the medium breed pups named on the front are who this bag was built for.

The additive tail is busy in a good way. MOS and FOS arrive at 530 mg/kg each on the gut and immune side, with yucca extract behind them at 240 mg/kg. Linseed brings plant omega 3. L-Carnitine is in the panel at 100 mg, and it has a part to play in turning fat into energy the body can use. The joint entries are much lighter at 90 mg/kg for glucosamine and methylsulfonylmethane and 60 mg/kg for chondroitin sulphate, a gentle nod towards a job that matters more later in life. Energy is declared at 369 kcal per 100g.

£3.37 a kilo, sold in 12kg and 24kg bags, with 15kg and 30kg bags carrying working dog labelling.

The right portion shifts every few weeks in puppyhood. Weigh meals against the bag's own chart, then let your pup's condition settle the final amount.