Vitalin Small Breed: Chicken with Thyme review

The two bags finish in the same band, and in the order the meat shares suggest. Chicken with Thyme leads our scoring with Lamb with Mint just behind, and both sit in our Good band alongside the middle of the adult dry shelf. That gap is narrower than it sounds. The chicken declares more meat and more protein, at 29.7% of dry matter against 25.3%, while the lamb reads leaner on fibre at 2.7%. Since both are the same recipe idea at a small kibble size, the meat your dog prefers is the more useful tie breaker.

Ingredients, as declared: Chicken (40%, including Dried Chicken 29%, Freshly Prepared Chicken 10%, Chicken Gravy 1%), Potato, Sugar Beet, Chicken Oil, Whole Peas (5.0%), Sweet Potato, Dried Carrot (4.0%), Dried Parsnip (4.0%),Whole Linseed, Chicory Root Extract (as a source of Prebiotic FOS) (0.3%), Citrus Extracts (0.2%), Mannan-oligosaccharides (Prebiotic MOS) (0.1%), Glucosamine (340mg/kg), MSM (340mg/kg), Chondroitin (240mg/kg), Apple Cider Vinegar Powder (200mg/kg), Dried Spearmint (200mg/kg), Honey Powder (200mg/kg), Dried Nettle (200mg/kg), Dried Thyme (200mg/kg), Extract of Yucca Schidigera, Tyndallised Lactobacillus Helveticus HA-122 (0.005%).

Chicken at 40% is the largest declaration in the Vitalin range, printed as 29% dried, 10% freshly prepared and 1% gravy. The lamb bag reads 36.5%, made up of 25% dried, 10% fresh and 1.5% gravy. Put fresh meat in an oven and most of it leaves as water, so the dried figure tells you what really ends up in a small dog's bowl. Both are substantial.

There is no cereal in either recipe. Potato and sweet potato take that role, whole peas at 5.0% sit behind them on the chicken, and sugar beet does the fibre work. Estimated carbohydrate sits either side of the 46.2% typical for adult dry food: 43.9% of dry matter for the chicken, 47.8% for the lamb.

The chicken recipe carries dried carrot and parsnip at 4.0% each. Those are real inclusions and not dust at the bottom of the list. Whole linseed supplies the plant form of omega 3 in both bags. Chicory root extract at 0.3% and MOS at 0.1% cover the prebiotic side, with a tyndallised Lactobacillus culture at 0.005% behind them.

The joint additions are not scaled down for the smaller kibble. Glucosamine and MSM come in at 340 mg/kg with chondroitin at 240 mg/kg, the same as the full size bags. That is a useful thing on breeds that tend to carry kneecap and joint niggles into middle age.

The fat choice is what really tells the recipes apart. Chicken oil keeps the chicken bag on a single bird, while rapeseed oil leaves the lamb bag free of poultry from top to bottom. The herb, honey and vinegar entries at 200 mg/kg each are seasoning rather than medicine, and the label is candid enough to print the doses that say so.

Chicken at 40%, split 29% dried, 10% freshly prepared and 1% gravy, with chicken oil as the fat and dried carrot and parsnip at 4.0% each. It is the higher protein bag at 29.7% of dry matter, and its transparency reads Outstanding.

£7.00 a kilo, sold in a single 2kg bag in both recipes.

Because the range is portioned for small dogs, the bag's own table is the better guide than any general estimate. It asks 30 to 50 grams a day for a dog of 1kg to 2kg, and 85 to 115 grams for one of 4kg to 6kg. A dog between 8kg and 10kg takes 145 to 170 grams. Feed to the waistline and adjust from there.