Skipper's Ocean Puppy Grain Free review

This one lands in our Good band, alongside the middle of the puppy kibble market. Transparency is the strongest pillar at Outstanding. Value and protein and processing both read Good, nutritional balance Average, so the placing rests on all-round competence and not one big figure.

The fish share, the declared calcium and a supplement tail that gives every entry a dose are what lift it. Very little here is left for the reader to assume.

Ingredients, as declared: Salmon, Haddock & Blue Whiting 60% (Freshly Prepared Salmon 21%, Dried Salmon 16%, Freshly Prepared Blue Whiting 11%, Freshly Prepared Haddock 10% & Salmon Stock 2%), Sweet Potato (20%), Potato, Beet Pulp, Peas (6%), Linseed, Omega 3 Supplement, Minerals, Vitamins, Vegetable Stock, Asparagus (0.2%), Glucosamine (170 mg/ kg), Methylsulfonylmethane (170 mg/kg), Chondroitin Sulphate (125 mg/kg), Nucleotides, FOS (96 mg/kg), MOS (24 mg/kg)

Skipper's breaks the 60% fish headline open properly. Not every label bothers. Freshly prepared salmon at 21% leads, dried salmon at 16% follows, then freshly prepared blue whiting at 11% and haddock at 10%, with salmon stock at 2% closing the meat block. The water in that dried portion has gone before the kibble is formed, so it matters more than its number suggests.

Every animal ingredient in this bag came out of the sea, which makes it a genuinely easy choice for a pup avoiding poultry or red meat. Three species share the one recipe, so this is fish feeding and not a single protein plan. The omega 3 supplement names no source either. Check that with the maker before you start a formal exclusion trial.

Binding comes from sweet potato at 20%, backed by potato. Peas at 6% and beet pulp bring a gentle, well tolerated fibre. Linseed adds plant omega 3 to sit alongside the marine fats the fish is already supplying. Carbohydrate works out at 44.1% of dry matter where the typical puppy kibble runs at 39.0%, so the starch load is real without being the point of the recipe.

A growth food is judged on its calcium, and Skipper's prints the number: 1.52% of dry matter. That sits well inside what growing bone needs. Owners of a big pup should look for that number on any puppy food. In black and white like this, the bag's toy to giant breed claim stands up.

At the tail of the list, every entry carries a number. Glucosamine and methylsulfonylmethane come in at 170 mg/kg apiece with chondroitin sulphate at 125 mg/kg, an early start on joints. FOS at 96 mg/kg and MOS at 24 mg/kg feed the friendly gut bacteria, with nucleotides beside them. Asparagus at 0.2% is garnish, and nothing about this recipe leans on it.

Protein is declared at 27.0% and fat at 13.0%, converting to 29.3% and 14.1% of dry matter. Ash and moisture both sit at 8.0%. Energy is declared at 363 kcal per 100g, a shade under the 376 typical for a puppy kibble, so a pup who never sits still may want the upper end of the feeding guide.

£7.08 a kilo, sold in 2kg and 12kg bags.

A growing pup's portion keeps moving. Set the amount by the bag's growth chart and by how your pup is filling out, adjusting as the weeks go by. On the printed guide the smallest pups get 70g a day, and the top of it is 260g.