Royal Canin

Royal Canin Mini Starter review

Name: Royal Canin Mini Starter
Brand: Royal Canin

46.2/100Average

DryPuppyAdult

The richest recipe in Royal Canin's small breed family by some distance, at 421 kcal per 100g. Estimated carbohydrate converts to only 32.9% of dry matter, well under what a kibble usually carries. It lands in our Average band on naming, and in the bowl it is a dense, meat leaning food.

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Our view

Likely to suit

Small dogs with high energy demands and small stomachs
DHA in the bowl, from an algal oil the label names as its source
Settling a little dog's digestion. Hydrolysed yeast and fructo-oligo-saccharides are both there as prebiotics
Dogs that find ordinary kibble hard going

Worth watching

A quiet adult needs a noticeably smaller bowl at this fat level
Poultry with no bird named, so the species can vary batch to batch
Wheat gluten fourth on the list, so not wheat free

Written by our editorial team. Independent guidance, not veterinary advice.

How this scores

How we score

46.2/100Average

Protein and processingAverage

Nutritional balanceGood

TransparencyAverage

ValueAverage

The details

Dog fit

Listed for small breed puppies and adults. With a kibble this dense, level the scoop each time; the gap to a heaped one matters here.

Food type

Dry

Life stage

Puppy, Adult

Breed size

Small

Main protein

Poultry

The score, in context

Royal Canin Mini Starter 46.2

All one Average. Typical dry food: Good.

The gap to the typical dry food is about naming, not nourishment; the analysis itself leans towards meat.

What's in it

Dehydrated poultry proteinLeads the list. No bird named.
Rice
Animal fatsNothing named behind them.
Wheat glutenA concentrated plant protein that lifts the panel figure without adding meat.
Maize, beet pulpBeet pulp handles the fibre.
Hydrolysed animal proteinsAgain no species.
Minerals, soya oil, fish oilCrude ash at 8.5% is a generous mineral inclusion for a dry food.
Fructo-oligo-saccharides, hydrolysed yeast0.30% (yeast)Prebiotics; the yeast supplies manno-oligo-saccharides and betaglucans.
Algal oil (Schizochytrium)Named as the DHA source, the omega 3 a developing brain and eye draw on most.
Butyric acid salt, marigold mealThe butyrate feeds the cells lining the gut wall.

Trace minerals dosed in print, zinc at 131 mg and manganese at 52 mg per kilo among them, plus clinoptilolite as a technological additive.

Fish oil and algal oil both feature, so the recipe carries marine ingredients.

Named ingredients

Dehydrated poultry protein, rice, animal fats, wheat gluten*, maize, beet pulp, hydrolysed animal proteins, minerals, soya oil, fish oil, fructo-oligo-saccharides, hydrolysed yeast (source of manno-oligo-saccharides and betaglucans) (0.30%), algal oil Schizochytrium sp. (source of DHA), butyric acid salt, marigold meal.

Against the range

Dehydrated poultry protein leads with rice behind it, and the distance between the two gives the recipe its balance. Fat runs at 22% and crude fibre is kept to 1.3% for easy digestion. Several animal entries name no species.

Nutritional analysis

Declared analysis

Energy

420.9 kcal/100g

Protein

30%

Fat

22%

Fibre

1.3%

Ash

8.5%

Moisture

Dry weight

Protein

32.6%

Fat

23.9%

Fibre

1.4%

Ash

9.2%

Carbs

32.9%

As-fed composition

Estimated breakdown of the finished product by ingredient category, from the declared ingredient list and ingoing weights. These are estimates, not measurements.

Meat

41.7%

Carbs

47.3%

Oils

9.4%

Other

1.7%

Pricing & size