Virbac

Virbac Veterinary HPM Senior Neutered Dog Small & Toy review

Name: Virbac Veterinary HPM Senior Neutered Dog Small & Toy
Brand: Virbac

66.6/100Good

DryAdultSenior

The leanest recipe in the Virbac HPM range, cut down for little dogs, and it sits in our Good band. Fat is kept to 12% and crude fibre pushed to 10.5%, so a smaller ration still looks like a meal. Carbohydrate is estimated at 33.0% of dry matter, well under the 46.2% a typical adult dry food carries.

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Our view

Likely to suit

Neutered small and toy dogs in later life who have started to look round in the middle
Owners who want the bowl to stay filling as the ration shrinks
Older little dogs with tired joints. Egg membrane and fermented hyaluronic acid are both on the list
A lean food that keeps protein up, declared at 32% with fat at 12%

Worth watching

Fish oil and egg membrane, for households avoiding either
Poultry never named, and pork travels with it through both protein entries, so an elimination trial has nothing to work from

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

How this scores

How we score

66.6/100Good

Protein and processingGood

Nutritional balanceExcellent

TransparencyGood

ValueGood

The details

Dog fit

Listed for neutered small and toy dogs, adult to senior. Weigh the ration: the label asks 95 grams a day at 5kg and 150 grams at 10kg.

Food type

Dry

Life stage

Adult, Senior

Breed size

Small

Main protein

Pork

The score, in context

Virbac Veterinary HPM Senior Neutered Dog Small & Toy 66.6

All one Good. Typical dry food: Good.

Level with the everyday adult dry food on the headline, it pulls ahead on protein and starch and loses ground on shared species names and powdered fibre.

What's in it

Dehydrated pork and poultry proteinsThe bird is never named. Pork will be new to a good many older dogs.
RiceThe only cereal.
LignocellulosePurified fibre powder, part of how crude fibre reaches 10.5%.
Hydrolysed pork and poultry proteins
Peas, pea fibre
Poultry fatsAgain, no species given.
Minerals, linseed, fish oilFish oil brings marine omega 3.
Dried sugar beet pulp, fructo-oligosaccharides, psylliumBeet pulp is the fibrous residue after sugar extraction, not a sweetener.
Brewer's yeast, seaweed mealSeaweed adds iodine and trace minerals.
Egg membrane, hyaluronic acid from fermentation, Lactobacillus helveticusThe joint extras. No percentages, so treat them as helpful additions and not a measured supplement.

Every added vitamin and mineral is dosed in print, including taurine and choline.

Contains fish oil and egg membrane.

Named ingredients

Dehydrated pork and poultry proteins; Rice; Lignocellulose; Hydrolysed pork and poultry proteins; Peas; Poultry Fats; Pea fiber, Minerals; Linseed; Fish oil; Dried (sugar) beet pulp; Fructo- oligosaccharides; Psyllium fibre (Plantago (L.) spp.); Inactivated brewer's yeast; Seaweed meal (Ascophyllum nodosum); Egg membrane; hyaluronic acid from fermentation; Inactivated Lactobacillus helveticus.

Against the range

One recipe for small and toy seniors: fat held to 12%, crude fibre raised to 10.5% and protein at 35.2% of dry matter, with rice the only cereal.

Nutritional analysis

Declared analysis

Energy

311 kcal/100g

Protein

32%

Fat

12%

Fibre

10.5%

Ash

6.5%

Moisture

Dry weight

Protein

35.2%

Fat

13.2%

Fibre

11.5%

Ash

7.1%

Carbs

33%

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.

Oils

100%

Pricing & size