My Pet Says Superfood 65 Adult Light: Scottish Salmon review

This finishes in our Excellent band, and it gets there without the compromise light foods usually make. Cutting fat leaves a hole in a recipe, and the common fix is cereal, which is why so many diet kibbles stall in the Good band alongside everything else. Here the hole is filled with meat, so protein converts to 38.0% of dry matter while carbohydrate stays at 35.9%. That is an unusual shape for a food built to take weight off a dog, and it is the whole reason this one scores where it does.

Ingredients, as declared: 65% Salmon (35% Freshly Prepared Scottish Salmon, 24.5% Dried Salmon, 3% Salmon Oil & 2.5% Salmon Gravy), Sweet Potato, Beans, Beet Pulp, Dried Superfood Blend* (Including Dill, Spinach, Fennel, Asparagus, Tomato), Minerals, Omega 3 Supplement, Joint Pack (Glucosamine 180 mg/kg, Methylsulfonylmethane 180 mg/kg, Chondroitin Sulphate 125 mg/kg), Fructooligosaccharides (FOS, 175 mg/kg), Mannanoligosaccharides (MOS, 50 mg/kg), Olive Extract (0.01%). Vitamins: Vitamin A 14,423 IU, Vitamin D3 2,000 IU, Vitamin E 96 IU. Provitamins: L-Carnitine 240 mg. Trace Elements: Zinc (Zinc Sulphate Monohydrate) 48 mg, Iron (Iron (II) Sulphate Monohydrate) 48 mg, Manganese (Manganous Sulphate Monohydrate) 34 mg, Iodine (Calcium Iodate Anhydrous) 0.96 mg.

Of the 65% salmon, 35% is freshly prepared Scottish fish, 24.5% is dried, 3% comes as oil and 2.5% as gravy. Fresh fish loses its water to the oven. The 24.5% dried share is therefore what carries the finished kibble, and by any measure that is a substantial dried figure. It shows up in the analysis as 38.0% protein on a dry matter basis, which is high for a food with fat this low.

Sweet potato, beans and beet pulp are the entire plant side, so no cereal comes into the bag at all. Carbohydrate converts to 35.9% of dry matter against the 46.2% that is typical of a dry adult food, and that gap is where most of the calorie saving is found.

The label prints its weight-management thinking. L-carnitine at 240 mg does real work moving fat to the cells that burn it. Fibre sits at 3.8% of dry matter to help a hungry dog feel settled. Energy lands at 352 kcal per 100g where 357 is typical.

The joint pack is printed in full, glucosamine at 180 mg/kg, methylsulfonylmethane at 180 mg/kg and chondroitin at 125 mg/kg. Pairing that with a diet recipe is sensible thinking, because the dogs that need to drop a few kilos are very often the same dogs whose joints have been complaining about them.

Prebiotics come dosed as well, fructooligosaccharides at 175 mg/kg and mannanoligosaccharides at 50 mg/kg, with olive extract at 0.01% as a trace antioxidant. The dried blend sits low on the list, so treat it as seasoning: dill, spinach, fennel, asparagus and tomato. The minerals are declared one by one: zinc and iron at 48 mg, manganese at 34 mg and iodine at 0.96 mg per kilo.

£6.50 a kilo, in 6kg, 12kg and 24kg bags.

Taking the standard maintenance estimate for a 15kg dog in moderate condition, about 840 kcal a day (110 × bodyweight^0.75), the portion works out at roughly 239 grams and £1.55. A dog being fed this to lose weight should be eating below its maintenance figure. The label's own table is the better starting point, and it asks 130 to 215 grams for a dog of 10kg to 20kg.