Riverwood Junior Large Breed review

Our reading puts this food in the Excellent band, a step clear of the Good band where the middle of the puppy dry shelf sits. The distance comes from the pillars rather than from one flourish. Outstanding is the reading for both nutritional balance and transparency. Value comes in at Excellent, and protein and processing at Good.

What earns the position is construction. Dried meats lead the list, the calcium figure is declared and in range for large breed growth, and the supplements are printed with their doses instead of being name-dropped in the marketing.

Ingredients, as declared: Duck dehydrated (26%), turkey dehydrated (17%), yellow peas (16%), yellow pea starch (14%), poultry fat (preserved with tocopherols, 8%), dried apple pulp (7%), pheasant dehydrated (4%), pea protein (3%), hydrolysed protein (2%), spinach (1%), evening primrose oil (0.5%), carrots (0.5%), glucosamine sulphate (290 mg/kg), mannan -oligosaccharides (170 mg/kg), chondroitin sulphate (160 mg/kg), fructo-oligosaccharides (110 mg/kg), Yucca schidigera (95 mg/kg), marigold (90 mg/kg), nettle (90 mg/kg ), spirulina (40 mg/kg), turmeric (35 mg/kg), citrus pulp (35 mg/kg), cranberries (35 mg/kg), chamomile (30 mg/kg), cinnamon (30 mg/kg).

Every meat here goes in dehydrated, and that changes how the percentages should be read. Dried duck at 26%, dried turkey at 17% and dried pheasant at 4% were weighed with their water already gone. So the shares Riverwood prints are close to the shares in the bag, where a fresh meat headline would shrink in the oven. The analysis agrees, with protein converting to 40.0% of dry matter.

Riverwood prints what a large breed puppy owner hunts for first. Calcium is 1.44% of dry matter. That is inside the window, neither too high nor too low. Getting calcium wrong during the fast months is where rearing a big pup usually goes astray. A declared, in-range number on a bag sold for large breeds is exactly the pairing you want.

The structure comes from yellow peas at 16%, with pea starch at 14% behind them. Cereal appears nowhere on the list. Dried apple pulp at 7% adds a gentle fibre. The carbohydrate estimate is 31.3% of dry matter, under the 39.0% a typical puppy dry food carries. No starchy middle is hiding behind the meat headline.

The tail of the list carries real quantities, not a passing mention. Glucosamine sulphate at 290 mg/kg and chondroitin sulphate at 160 mg/kg look after the joints, and mannan-oligosaccharides at 170 mg/kg and fructo-oligosaccharides at 110 mg/kg look after the gut. Evening primrose oil at 0.5% is a well known source of gamma-linolenic acid for skin and coat. The vitamin and mineral panel is printed in full, down to selenium at 0.3 mg.

That run of botanicals, from Yucca schidigera at 95 mg/kg down to nettle, spirulina, turmeric and cranberries at 35 mg/kg, is seasoning, not substance. The recipe stands up without it. A pair of entries repay slower reading if allergies are in play. The poultry fat at 8% and the hydrolysed protein at 2% both decline to say which animal they came from. That is fine for a dog with a preference and awkward for one on a genuine elimination plan.

£6.00 a kilo, sold in 2kg and 12kg bags.

A large breed puppy's daily ration does not hold still. It climbs quickly through the early months, then eases back as growth slows. Set the amount by age and expected adult weight, and keep adjusting it to the pup standing in front of you.