Pro Plan Veterinary Diets EN Gastrointestinal Low Fat Dry review

Ingredients, as declared: Rice, Corn, Pea protein, Dried poultry protein, Corn starch, Soya protein, Minerals, Digest, Dried beet pulp, Barley, Refined coconut oil (source of MCTs), Animal fats, Fish oil, Chicory inulin (0.55%), Monoglycerides

Rice opens the list with corn behind it and pea protein third, so starch and plant protein make up the front of the recipe before any animal entry appears. Dried poultry protein is the one named animal ingredient. Poultry is a family of birds, not a single species, so chicken, turkey or duck can all sit behind that word without the wording on the bag changing.

For anyone using this food to narrow down what upsets their dog, a few entries repay a close reading. Animal fats appear with no species attached, fish oil sits near the end so fish is present as an oil, and soya protein and barley are both on the list. The label hides none of it, though the recipe is still not put together as a single-protein exclusion diet.

Digest is the palatant coating that keeps the kibble appealing, which earns its place in a food meant for a dog whose appetite may have taken a knock. Refined coconut oil is where the medium chain triglycerides come from, and chicory inulin is declared at 0.55%, a prebiotic fibre the maker has chosen to print with a figure.

The analysis is where the low fat description shows itself. Fat converts to 8.2% of dry matter against protein at 26.1% and carbohydrate estimated at 55.3%, with crude fibre at 2.2% and energy at 351 kcal per 100g. A fat figure that modest would look unusual on an everyday kibble; here it is the specification the diet is named for. The vet who put him on it is the one to say whether that shape suits your dog.

The added panel is printed in full, vitamin A at 36000 IU per kilo, vitamin D3 at 1000 and vitamin E at 640. Vitamin C is there at 140 mg per kilo, with dosed iron, iodine, copper, manganese, zinc and selenium beneath them. The feeding table starts at 75 grams a day for a 2.5kg dog and reaches 680 grams at 70kg, with 245 grams listed at 15kg.

Bags run at 1.3kg, 3.5kg and 11kg, and the food works out at £5.69 a kilo. For a 15kg dog the energy content implies a 239 gram daily portion, which comes to £1.36 a day at that rate.