Nature's Variety Meat Boost Adult review

Meat Boost earns a place in our Good band, comfortably clear of the middle of the adult dry shelf, which sits in that same band. The meat declarations are the reason. Three separate chicken entries are printed with their percentages, protein converts to 33.7% of dry matter, and the estimated carbohydrate lands at 32.1% of dry matter against the 46.2% typical of an adult dry food. Protein and processing and nutritional balance both read Good, with transparency Outstanding. Two entries name no species at all, the poultry fat and the protein hydrolysate, and the label prints no moisture figure. That is what stops it climbing higher.

Ingredients, as declared: Deboned Free Range Chicken Meat (28.5%), Dried Chicken Protein (21%), Dried Peas (11%), Dried Chickpeas (5%), Poultry Fat (5%),Freeze Dried Free Range Chicken -2.5% Deboned- (4%), Dried Sweet Potato (4%), Protein Hydrolysate (3.5%), Pea Starch, Potato Starch, Pea Fibre, Dried Chicory Root, Dried Pumpkinseed, Minerals, Dried Carrot (0.5% Equiv. To 4% Of Fresh Carrot), Dried Broccoli (0.5% Equiv. To 4% Fresh Broccoli), Dried Apple (0.3% Equiv. To 2% Fresh Apple), Dried Kelp, Dried Rosemary

The chicken arrives in three forms and all three are counted. At 28.5% the deboned free range chicken is a fresh ingredient, and most of what it weighs cooks off as water. Dried chicken protein at 21% is the entry that survives cooking more or less as declared. Freeze dried chicken at 4%, of which 2.5% is deboned, is the least common way to add meat to a kibble and it usually earns its place on taste as much as on protein.

Behind the meat, the plant side is modest by kibble standards. Dried peas at 11% and dried chickpeas at 5% lead it, with dried sweet potato at 4%. Pea starch and potato starch are the binders that hold a grain free biscuit together, with pea fibre behind them. Carbohydrate is estimated at 32.1% of dry matter, low for a dry food and very much what the name on the bag is claiming.

The protein hydrolysate at 3.5% is a palatability entry, proteins broken into fragments that taste stronger to a dog. It is the one line on an otherwise specific label that names no animal, a pity on a recipe this careful elsewhere. It is also why a strict elimination trial would need a different bag.

The tail is short and it is dosed. Dried chicory root supplies inulin, a prebiotic for the gut bacteria further down. Dried pumpkinseed is an unusual and welcome inclusion. Dried carrot and dried broccoli come in at 0.5% each, with dried apple at 0.3%. Kelp and rosemary close the list. The kelp is there for iodine, and the rosemary is a natural antioxidant that holds the fats back from turning.

The analysis is the whole story in miniature: protein at 33.7% of dry matter, fat at 20.7% and fibre at 4.8%, with energy declared at 386 kcal per 100 grams rather than estimated. It is a rich bowl, and a dog whose routine is a quiet one will need less of it than their appetite suggests. With no moisture declared, the dry matter readings here work from an assumed 8%, which is the usual level for a kibble.

Sold in 1.5kg and 7kg bags.

As a guide, a 15kg adult dog in moderate condition eats about 218 grams a day of this one, assuming around 840 kcal a day (110 × bodyweight^0.75, the standard maintenance estimate). The recipe is dense, so that daily amount is smaller than a lighter kibble would ask for. Judge it by the waistline and not by the scoop.