Sainsbury's Complete Nutrition Small Dog Dry review

Our Poor band holds this one, while our Good band holds the middle of the adult dry shelf. The distance between them is mostly a matter of description. Four of the five entries on the list are umbrella terms, which leaves a reader unable to check the quality of anything except the named chicken and the peas. Where it does better than its stablemates is in the analysis. The animal block is declared at 31.5%, protein converts to 26.1% of dry matter and estimated carbohydrate comes in at 49.9%, closer to the shelf norm than the rest of this line manages. A small dog fed to condition on it will do perfectly nicely.

Ingredients, as declared: Cereals, Meat and Animal Derivatives (31.5% including 4% Chicken), Oils and Fats, Minerals, Vegetables (0.5% Dried Peas equivalent to 4% Peas).

Cereals lead the list, which makes grain the base and the bulk. With no particular grain named, the maker can change source between production runs without changing a word on the pack. That is the trade a term this broad asks you to accept.

The animal block is meat and animal derivatives at 31.5%, with 4% of the recipe named as chicken. The category takes in the fleshy parts and processing by-products of land animals and covers material of every grade, so the figure tells you how much is in there and not what it is. On the how much question, at least, this recipe answers more generously than its siblings.

Vegetables come in as 0.5% dried peas, given on the label as the equivalent of 4% fresh peas. Whole peas carry fibre and antioxidants, with a spread of vitamins too. At this level they are a garnish on the recipe.

Where the pack does best is the analysis. Protein at 24.0% and fat at 10.0% as fed convert to 26.1% and 10.9% of dry matter, on the 8% moisture a kibble usually carries. Estimated carbohydrate is 49.9% against the 46.2% typical of adult dry food. Energy reads 350 kcal per 100g. Every mouthful counts more when a dog eats small amounts, and a decent protein share is exactly the right way round here.

The added minerals come as oxides and sulphates, with chelates left out, and selenium is supplied as sodium selenite, the mineral salt option. Vitamin A at 17000 IU, vitamin D3 at 1500 IU and vitamin E at 70mg per kilo are all printed, along with zinc at 100mg and iron at 60mg.

£1.17 a kilo, in a 3kg bag.

As a guide, our standard comparison dog is a 15kg adult in moderate condition needing about 840 kcal a day (110 × bodyweight^0.75, the standard maintenance estimate). That dog would eat around 240 grams a day, about £0.28 a day. Most dogs fed from this bag will be a fair bit smaller than that. Scale the portion down to suit your own dog and feed to their waistline.