Paleo Ridge Paleo Puppy: Chicken review

All four of these recipes reach our Outstanding band, which is where the typical raw puppy food sits. Raw for puppies is the most competitive corner of the most competitive category we score, so the whole range is keeping very good company.

Protein and processing, nutritional balance and transparency all come back Outstanding on every recipe in the range.

Ingredients, as declared: 65% Chicken Thigh, 20% Organic Chicken Meat with Bone, 5% Chicken Heart, 5% Chicken Liver, 4.8% Puppy Supplement Mix (inc. Butternut Squash, Carrot, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Kale, Blueberries, Blackberries, Nettles, Pumpkin Seeds, Wheatgrass), 0.2% Reishi Mushroom Tinctures

The construction is consistent across all four. A generous lead cut takes 60% to 65% of the bowl, and a bone-bearing cut follows at 20% to supply the calcium and phosphorus a growing skeleton needs. Then heart and liver at 5% each, and the puppy mix and reishi tincture close the label. Everything is named and everything is percentaged, and nothing is doing duty as a filler.

The organ share is what makes a raw puppy recipe work. Liver gives a dog about the richest natural source there is of vitamin A, of B vitamins and of copper and iron. Heart is a dense muscle meat with its own useful profile. At a combined 10% on the poultry recipes that is a real share of the meal, well past a token gesture.

The 4.8% Puppy Supplement Mix is fully itemised, which is more than most blends manage. The butternut squash and carrot supply beta carotene along with soluble fibre, the brassicas and berries bring antioxidants, and pumpkin seeds add minerals and fats. Nettles have a long history as a mineral-rich tonic plant. Wheatgrass is leaf and not grain, so no gluten comes with it. Reishi mushroom tincture at 0.2% is a traditional inclusion and sits at gesture level.

The analyses are properly meaty. Protein converts to between 53.1% and 67.9% of dry matter and fat to between 25.0% and 37.5%, with carbohydrate at or near zero because nothing starchy is present to supply it. Calcium is declared on every recipe, from 1.0% of dry matter on the beef tripe and duck up to 2.24% on the lamb. That is the figure large breed puppy owners will want to look at first.

Two of the four recipes lean on tripe, which is a shrewd choice for a young dog. Unbleached green tripe is packed with the digestive enzymes and friendly bacteria a gut makes for itself, it is easy on a developing stomach and dogs rarely turn it down. All of that helps when a puppy is still deciding what food is.

Chicken thigh takes 65% and organic chicken meat with bone 20%, plus chicken heart and liver. Nothing but chicken appears anywhere on it, and it is the richest recipe here at 182 kcal per 100g with fat converting to 37.5% of dry matter, so portions run smaller than the rest.

The turkey and chicken recipes are £9.78 a kilo, and the beef tripe and duck and the lamb are £9.18. All four come in 500g packs.