Wainwright's Sensitive Adult Cans: Atlantic Salmon with Superfoods review

This tin lands in our Excellent band, which is also where the typical adult wet food sits, because wet is a strong performer on our scoring. What lifts this one within it is the ingredient side. Salmon at 70% with nothing cereal-based behind it gives protein and processing an Excellent reading, with transparency Outstanding, nutritional balance Good and value Excellent. The brake on the nutrition side is how rich the recipe runs. Fat is 45.5% of dry matter and energy near 145 kcal per 100g, where the typical adult wet food sits closer to 97.

Ingredients, as declared: Salmon (70%), Dehydrated Sweet Potato (3%)(equivalent to 15% Sweet Potato), Dehydrated Peas (1.3%)(equivalent to 4% Peas), Krill Meal (1%), Minerals, Salmon Oil (0.3%), Dried Seaweed (0.1%), Green Lipped Mussel (0.05%), Chicory Root Extract (0.05% as a source of Prebiotic Fructo-oligosaccharide), Yucca Extract (0.01%)

This tin is salmon at 70%, a share the label prints out in full. Protein converts to 29.1% of dry matter and fat to 45.5%. That analysis is unusually fat-forward for a wet food. A modest serving goes a long way.

The plant side is kept thin on purpose. Dehydrated sweet potato at 3% comes back to the equivalent of 15% sweet potato. Dehydrated peas at 1.3% come back to the equivalent of 4% peas. Estimated carbohydrate lands at 10.9% of dry matter against 15.8% for the typical adult wet food. Whole peas carry fibre and a fair range of minerals, and at this level they are seasoning.

Krill meal at 1% and green lipped mussel at 0.05% are the marine extras, joined by salmon oil at 0.3% and dried seaweed at 0.1%. Seaweed is a natural source of iodine and a wide range of trace minerals, and green lipped mussel is what makers reach for when they want a nod towards joints. At these amounts all four are finishing touches rather than working doses.

The prebiotic fructo-oligosaccharide the label names comes from chicory root extract at 0.05%, feeding what lives further along the gut. Yucca extract at 0.01% is there for bowl-to-garden odour. The added panel is short but everything in it carries a printed dose, from vitamin A and vitamin E through zinc, iron, copper, manganese, iodine and selenium.

£5.06 a kilo, in 395g cans sold in packs of 6.

Because the recipe carries so much energy for a wet food, portions run smaller than the category usually asks. A 15kg adult dog in moderate condition works out at about 580 grams a day, which is £2.94, taking the daily requirement as roughly 840 kcal (110 × bodyweight^0.75, the standard maintenance estimate).