Royal Canin Mini Adult 8+ review

Set against the Good band that the typical adult dry food occupies, this recipe reads a tier lower for us, at Average. Two things drive that. The cereal fraction is broken into a long run of separate entries, so the grain never looks dominant even while it carries much of the load. Almost nothing on the animal side is named. Nothing in the analysis raises an eyebrow: protein converts to 29.3% of dry matter and estimated carbohydrate to 44.9%, a shade under the 46.2% typical of adult dry food. Moisture is not declared, so those dry matter figures assume the 8% standard for a kibble.

Ingredients, as declared: Dehydrated poultry proteins, maize, rice, wheat flour, animal fats, wheat gluten, maize gluten, maize flour, wheat, hydrolysed animal proteins, beet pulp, minerals, soya oil, yeasts products, fish oil, fructo-oligosaccharides, algal oil Schizochytrium sp.

Dehydrated poultry proteins take the top spot, and the dehydrated form counts. The water has gone before the recipe is mixed, so the listed weight is near enough the weight in the bowl. Protein lands at 27% as fed, which converts to 29.3% of dry matter.

The cereal side is where most of the bulk sits. Maize, rice, wheat flour, maize flour and whole wheat all appear on their own, with wheat gluten and maize gluten among them raising the protein figure without adding meat. Estimated carbohydrate works out at 44.9% of dry matter.

Fat at 16% and 392 kcal per 100g make this a fairly rich kibble for its size, which suits a small dog that burns through dinner quickly. Crude fibre is low at 1.5%, so the recipe is built around digestibility rather than bulk, with beet pulp and fructo-oligosaccharides the only fibre and prebiotic entries of note.

In the small print, the oils are the part worth reading. Fish oil brings long chain omega 3s. Algal oil from Schizochytrium is an algae grown source of DHA, the omega 3 best known for its work in the brain and the eyes. On a recipe for an older dog that is a sensible pair to find.

Trace minerals are dosed in print, zinc at 134 mg and manganese at 50 mg per kilo among them, with vitamin A at 21800 IU. What is not in print is any species at all. Nothing is given away by the animal fats, nothing by the hydrolysed animal proteins, and poultry names the family and stops there. That is this label's main blind spot for an owner tracking down a sensitivity.

£5.94 a kilo, sold in 2kg and 8kg bags.

On our standard comparison a 15kg adult dog in moderate condition would eat about 214 grams a day, assuming around 840 kcal a day (110 × bodyweight^0.75, the standard maintenance estimate). That comes to £1.27 a day. A small breed dog weighs far less than that. On the label's own low activity guide, a 6kg dog is given 93 grams, so scale the daily figure to your own dog.