Vetspec

VetSpec SuperLite Senior Formula review

Name: VetSpec SuperLite Senior Formula
Brand: Vetspec

63.8/100Good

DryAdultSenior

A light recipe with an older dog's needs built onto it, in our Good band. The chicken pairing and oatfeed bulk come from the standard light food. What changes is the foot of the list: glucosamine at 0.5%, chondroitin at 0.06% and taurine at 0.08%, all with weights.

Where to buy: coming soon

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Our view

Likely to suit

Older dogs whose weight is creeping up as the miles come down
Stiffening joints, with glucosamine and chondroitin in the recipe
Taurine and lysine in print for heart and muscle
A reduced ration that still looks like dinner, with crude fibre at 7.7% of dry matter
A house feeding an older dog alongside a younger adult

Worth watching

Oatfeed is a cereal, so the recipe is not grain free
Modest joint doses. A dog with diagnosed arthritis needs its vet's plan alongside
Fish oil on the list
Fat kept deliberately low, which may not fuel an older dog still working hard

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

How this scores

How we score

63.8/100Good

Protein and processingGood

Nutritional balanceGood

TransparencyOutstanding

ValueGood

The details

Dog fit

Listed for adults and seniors of every size. An older dog on a reduced ration will sit under the bag's middle figure, so let the waistline decide.

Food type

Dry

Life stage

Adult, Senior

Breed size

Toy, Small, Medium, Large, Giant

Main protein

Chicken

The score, in context

VetSpec SuperLite Senior Formula 63.8

All one Good. Typical dry food: Good.

Low fat and oatfeed bulk stop nutritional balance climbing, which is the trade a light senior food sets out to make.

What's in it

Chicken25.5%Fresh, so water-heavy and it shrinks in the oven.
Chicken meat meal23.5%Why protein holds at 29.7% of dry matter.
Potato19.3%
OatfeedThe fibrous fraction of the oat, chosen for bulk. A cereal.
Peas, whole linseeds4.7% eachPlant omega 3 from the linseed.
Sugar beet pulp, chicken digest, chicken fatfat 0.8%Fat pared right back.
Glucosamine HCl, fish oil0.5%, 0.4%The fish oil gives the long-chain omega 3 a dog uses directly.
Calcium carbonate, salt
Herb blend: seaweed, chicory extract, yeast extract and herbsThe prebiotic pair sits in here.
Taurine, chondroitin, methionine, lysine0.08%, 0.06%The senior additions, named.

L-carnitine at 250 mg per kilo, with each main trace mineral given both as a simple salt and as an amino acid chelate, and selenium as selenised yeast.

The calorie figure is our estimate, not the label's.

Named ingredients

Chicken (25.5%), chicken meat meal (23.5%), potato (19.3%), oatfeed, peas (4.7%), whole linseeds (4.7%), sugar beet pulp, chicken digest as gravy (1.6%), chicken fat (0.8%), glucosamine HCl (0.5%), fish oil (0.4%), calcium carbonate, sodium chloride, culinary herbs blend (dried seaweed (0.2%), chicory extract as source of fructo-oligosaccharides (0.31%), yeast extract as source of mannanoligosaccharides (0.08%), alfalfa, yucca extract, rosemary, fennel, basil, thyme, oregano, parsley, aniseed), taurine (0.08%), chondroitin sulphate (0.06%), DL-methionine, Lysine HCl

Against the range

The VetSpec light recipe with senior additions. Fresh chicken and chicken meat meal lead, oatfeed does the bulking, and glucosamine, chondroitin and taurine are printed with weights at the foot of the list.

Nutritional analysis

Declared analysis

Energy

320.2 kcal/100g

Estimated using Modified Atwater factors*

Protein

27%

Fat

10.5%

Fibre

Ash

7.5%

Moisture

Dry weight

Protein

29.7%

Fat

11.5%

Fibre

7.7%

Ash

8.2%

Carbs

42.9%

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

50.6%

Carbs

31.4%

Veg

0.2%

Oils

1.2%

Other

16.6%

Pricing & size