My Pet Says Superfood 65 Small Breed Adult: Angus Beef review

All three sit in our Excellent band, and the broad middle of dry adult food settles a tier below in our Good band. What separates these from that middle is simply how much animal each label declares. At 65% apiece, carbohydrate falls to between 29.9% and 36.9% of dry matter, where 46.2% is the ordinary figure for a dry food, and protein rises to match. The gap between the three is small enough that the real question is which meat suits your dog.

Ingredients, as declared: 65% Beef (35% Freshly Prepared Angus Beef, 25% Dried Beef, 5% Beef Fat), Sweet Potato, Beans, Beet Pulp, Dried Superfood Blend* (Including Carrot, Green Beans, Cauliflower, Tomato, Courgette), Minerals, Omega 3 Supplement, Vitamins, Fructooligosaccharides (192 mg/kg), Glucosamine (170 mg/kg), Methylsulfonylmethane (170 mg/kg), Chondroitin Sulphate (125 mg/kg), Mannanoligosaccharides (48 mg/kg), Olive Extract (0.01%). Vitamins: Vitamin A 15,000 IU, Vitamin D3 2,000 IU, Vitamin E 95 IU. Trace Elements: Zinc (Zinc Sulphate Monohydrate) 50 mg, Iron (Iron (II) Sulphate Monohydrate) 50 mg, Manganese (Manganous Sulphate Monohydrate) 35 mg, Copper (Copper (II) Sulphate Pentahydrate) 15 mg, Iodine (Calcium Iodate Anhydrous & Potassium Iodide) 1.6 mg, Selenium (Sodium Selenite) 0.3 mg.

Each recipe declares 65% of its animal and prints the split. The beef is 35% freshly prepared Angus beef with 25% dried beef and 5% beef fat. The salmon is 35% freshly prepared Scottish salmon with 22% dried salmon and 5% salmon oil. The turkey and pork bag is 35% freshly prepared British turkey with 23% dried pork behind it. Fresh meat is largely water before it meets the oven. The dried shares are what actually reach the bowl, and in all three they are substantial.

Sweet potato and beans replace cereal completely, with beet pulp behind them supplying the fibre. Carbohydrate lands between 29.9% and 36.9% of dry matter, which is low for a dry food and is the direct result of holding the meat share so high.

On every list the dried superfood blend comes in below the beet pulp, so it is a garnish. The beef gets green beans, cauliflower, carrot, courgette and tomato; the salmon gets fennel, dill, spinach, asparagus and tomato. These recipes stand on their meat, which is the right thing for them to stand on.

The beef and the salmon both carry a printed joint pack at glucosamine 170 mg/kg, methylsulfonylmethane 170 mg/kg and chondroitin 125 mg/kg. The salmon goes further still. It adds nucleotides and a much larger zinc dose at 85 mg per kilo, and zinc is the trace mineral that skin and coat draw on most.

All three print their prebiotics: fructooligosaccharides at 192 mg/kg and mannanoligosaccharides at 48 mg/kg. Olive extract at 0.01% follows as a trace antioxidant. The trace minerals are the standard sulphate salts and each one is declared with its dose, which is more transparency than a small bag usually offers.

Beef at 65%: 35% freshly prepared Angus, then 25% dried and 5% beef fat. It is much the richest of the three at 18.0% fat and 391 kcal per 100g. It carries the joint pack and the trio's lightest ash at 7.1% of dry matter. For a small dog that never stops moving, this is the one.

The beef is £5.67 a kilo, the salmon £5.58 and the turkey and pork £5.12, and all three come in 6kg, 12kg and 24kg bags.

Working from about 840 kcal a day for a 15kg dog in moderate condition (110 × bodyweight^0.75, the standard maintenance estimate), the day rate would be £1.22 on the beef. The salmon comes to £1.23 and the turkey and pork to £1.16. Small dogs eat far less than that reference of course. The labels' own tables run from 1kg to 10kg, asking 80 to 100 grams a day for a 5kg to 7kg dog on the beef.