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Step Up Dry Food Puppy review

Name: Step Up Dry Food Puppy
Brand: Step Up

61.1/100Good

DryPuppy

A cereal-based growth kibble that gets the most important number right. Calcium is declared and converts to 1.54% of dry matter, inside the range growing bone needs, so the toy-to-giant claim stands up. Glucosamine, chondroitin and taurine are all printed.

Where to buy: coming soon

Live retailer links are coming soon. Once we have them from UK retailers, where to buy and the best price will appear here.

Our view

Likely to suit

Large and giant breed pups: calcium is declared and in range
Puppies that get on with cereal, with whole grain barley at 15% and oats at 4.5%
Joint care from the start, glucosamine at 0.025% and chondroitin at 0.015%
A steadier pup, at 345 kcal per 100g against the 376 typical for a puppy kibble
A little fruit and veg in the bag

Worth watching

Poultry fat and poultry gravy name no species, and only part of the poultry meal is named as chicken
Turkey meal and salmon oil join the chicken, so not a single-bird or fish-free food
Carbohydrate at 44.0% of dry matter, above the 39.0% typical for a puppy kibble

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

How this scores

How we score

61.1/100Good

Protein and processingAverage

Nutritional balanceGood

TransparencyOutstanding

ValueGood

The details

Dog fit

Listed for puppies of every size. Start from the growth chart on the bag, which runs from 60g to 410g a day, and let your pup's condition fine-tune it; a pup who runs everywhere may need the upper end.

Food type

Dry

Life stage

Puppy

Breed size

Toy, Small, Medium, Large, Giant

Main protein

Chicken

The score, in context

Step Up Dry Food Puppy 61.1

All one Good. Typical dry food: Good.

Part-named meal poultry and a starch load above the puppy average hold it in the middle, while the growing-up essentials are all covered.

What's in it

Poultry meal, including chicken 20.5%26%Already dried, so the share carries through. The rest of the bird is unspecified.
Rice
Whole grain barley15%Whole grain keeps its fibre and micronutrients.
Maize
Poultry fat6%No species named.
Dried peas, whole grain oats5%, 4.5%
Beet pulp, turkey meal, poultry gravy4% turkey mealTurkey is a second named bird; the gravy names none.
Dried apple, dried sweet potato1% eachPrinted with fresh equivalents of 6.5% and 3%.
Salmon oil, minerals, dried chicory0.5% salmon oilMarine omega 3, and inulin for the gut bacteria.
Glucosamine, chondroitin0.025%, 0.015%An early nod to the joints, well short of a therapeutic dose.

Taurine at 500mg, a thoughtful extra in a growth recipe, with vitamins A, D3 and E and sulphate and oxide trace minerals.

The energy figure is our estimate, not a label declaration.

Named ingredients

Poultry Meal (26% incl. Chicken 20.5%), Rice, Whole Grain Barley (15%), Maize, Poultry Fat (6%), Dried Peas (5%), Whole Grain Oats (4.5%), Beet Pulp, Turkey Meal (4%), Poultry Gravy, Dried Apple (1% equivalent to 6.5% Apple), Dried Sweet Potato (1% equivalent to 3% Sweet Potato)Salmon Oil (0.5%),Minerals, Dried Chicory, Glucosamine (0.025%), Chondroitin (0.015%)

Against the range

One cereal-inclusive puppy kibble. Poultry meal at 26% leads, with chicken named for 20.5% of the bag and turkey meal at 4% behind. Rice, whole grain barley, maize and oats carry the starch. Calcium, taurine and the joint pair all carry figures.

Nutritional analysis

Declared analysis

Energy

345 kcal/100g

Estimated using Modified Atwater factors*

Protein

27%

Fat

13%

Fibre

3.5%

Ash

7.5%

Moisture

Dry weight

Protein

29.7%

Fat

14.3%

Fibre

3.8%

Ash

8.2%

Carbs

44%

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

28.4%

Added water

4.4%

Carbs

57.4%

Veg

2.4%

Oils

6.5%

Other

Pricing & size