Wellness Core Adult Large Breed review

Our banding lands this one in the Excellent band, and the reasons sit in the first half of the ingredients list. Chicken sits at 57% with every form spelled out. Carbohydrate works out at an estimated 39.7% of dry matter, against the 46.2% normal for an adult dry food. Ash is down at 6.5% of dry matter, and the supplement panel puts a number against the joint pair, the taurine and the L-carnitine. The typical adult dry food finishes in our Good band, so this sits comfortably ahead of the middle of the shelf. Construction is what gets it there, not decoration.

Ingredients, as declared: Chicken 57% (Fresh Chicken 25%, Dehydrated Chicken 18%, Dried Chicken Protein 5%, Chicken Gravy 5%, Chicken Fat 4%), Peas, Dried Potatoes, Linseed 3%, Beet Pulp 3%, Salmon Oil 2%, Carrots 0.5%, Apples 0.5%, Dried Chicory Root (source of Fructo-oligo-saccharides and Inulin) 0.5%, Yeast Extract (source of mannan-oligosaccharides) 0.5%, D-Glucosamine Hydrochloride 400 mg/kg, Chondroitin Sulphate 300 mg/kg, Broccoli, Spinach, Tomatoes, Cranberries, Blueberries 0.01%, Yucca Schidigera, Mixed Herbs (Dried Rosemary, Dried Turmeric, Dried Citrus, Dried Eugenia).

The 57% chicken headline is not one number hiding a multitude. Fresh chicken is 25%, dehydrated chicken 18%, dried chicken protein 5%, chicken gravy 5% and chicken fat 4%, and that level of detail is rare on any label. It also lets you read the recipe honestly. Fresh chicken is mostly water, and the baking removes it, so the dehydrated entry and the dried protein are what actually carry the finished kibble. Protein ends up at 35.9% on a dry matter basis.

Peas and dried potatoes take on the starch job with no grain anywhere in the recipe. Carbohydrate is estimated at 39.7% of dry matter, a fair way under the adult dry norm. Crude ash comes in at 6.5% of dry matter, low for a food with this much meat in it, and that points to a meat mix that is more flesh than frame.

The joint package is the reason to choose this bag over a general adult recipe. Glucosamine hydrochloride at 400 mg/kg and chondroitin sulphate at 300 mg/kg are meaningful amounts rather than a token nod to the category. They are aimed squarely at a dog that may end up carrying 40kg or more on its frame. The evidence for glucosamine is mixed, as it always is. On a large breed label, though, a printed figure at this level is exactly what you hope to find.

Behind them sits a considered set of extras. Salmon oil at 2% brings marine omega 3 and linseed at 3% the plant form. Beet pulp at 3% supplies the fermentable fibre, and the prebiotic pair is dried chicory root with yeast extract, 0.5% each. Taurine at 1500 mg and L-carnitine at 150 mg per kilo finish it off, the first for heart muscle and the second for the way the body handles fat.

The tail of fruit and vegetables runs from broccoli and spinach down to blueberries at 0.01%, and it is decoration, not nutrition. Behind it the mixed herbs are the natural preservative system. The one honest caveat is that salmon oil. It is a good ingredient in its own right, but it does mean this recipe cannot be the food you use to rule fish in or out for a suspicious dog.

Sold in a single 10kg bag size.

As a guide, a 15kg adult dog in moderate condition would eat about 231 grams a day, assuming around 840 kcal a day (110 × bodyweight^0.75, the standard maintenance estimate). The recipe is written for far bigger dogs than that. The label asks 330 grams at 30kg and 485 grams at 50kg, so portion to the frame you actually have and let the waistline confirm it.