My Pet Says Superfood 65 Senior Light: Scottish Salmon review

This reaches our Excellent band, a rung above the Good band a middling dry food gets to. Nothing was given away on meat when the recipe was pointed at older dogs. Carbohydrate converts to 35.9% of dry matter where 46.2% is the usual figure, and protein to 38.0%, which is not what a bag marked senior normally reads. Ageing dogs lose muscle well before they lose their appetite, so holding protein up while easing the calories back is the right way round, and the scoring reflects it.

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.

The 65% salmon reads 35% freshly prepared Scottish fish, 24.5% dried, 3% oil and 2.5% gravy. Hold on to the dried quarter. Fresh fish arrives full of water, and the oven takes it straight back out. What survives into the bowl shows up as a protein figure of 38.0% of dry matter.

There is no cereal here at all. Sweet potato and beans hold the kibble together and beet pulp supplies the fibre at 3.8% of dry matter, which helps an older dog on a slightly smaller portion feel comfortably full between meals.

The senior additions are printed rather than hinted at. Glucosamine sits at 180 mg/kg with methylsulfonylmethane matching it and chondroitin at 125 mg/kg. L-carnitine at 240 mg is the standard choice on a food meant to keep weight in check, since it plays a direct part in how the body handles fat.

Salmon oil at 3% is the recipe's own omega source, which is welcome on a food for older dogs, where a dull coat and creaking joints tend to arrive together. Vitamin E at 96 IU sits behind it, doing the quiet work of keeping those oils stable in the bag.

The rest of the label is fully declared. Fructooligosaccharides at 175 mg/kg and mannanoligosaccharides at 50 mg/kg feed the gut's useful bacteria, and olive extract appears at 0.01%. The minerals are listed dose by dose, with zinc and iron at 48 mg, manganese at 34 mg and iodine at 0.96 mg per kilo. A garnish is what the dried blend amounts to: dill, spinach, fennel, asparagus and tomato.

£6.46 a kilo, with bags at 6kg, 12kg and 24kg and a 15kg bag labelled for working dogs.

Using the usual maintenance estimate for a 15kg dog in moderate condition, around 840 kcal a day (110 × bodyweight^0.75), the daily portion here comes to about 239 grams, or £1.54. The bag's own table asks 145 to 240 grams for a dog between 10kg and 20kg, so begin at the lower end and let the waistline settle it.