Wellness Core Adult Low Fat review

Our banding puts this one in the Excellent band. The lower fat has not been bought by watering down the meat, which is the usual trap on a lighter recipe, and turkey and chicken make up over half the bag by declared weight. Protein converts to 35.9% of dry matter and carbohydrate to 38.7%, under the 46.2% a typical adult dry food runs at. That typical food sits in our Good band, so the gap is real, and the ingredients list is where it was earned, not the front of the pack.

Ingredients, as declared: Turkey 29% (Fresh Turkey 17%, Dehydrated Turkey 12%), Chicken 24% (Dehydrated Chicken 17%, Chicken Gravy 5%, Chicken Fat 2%), Dried Potatoes, Peas, Beet Pulp 4%, Potato Protein, Linseed 2%, Lignocellulose, Salmon Oil 1%, Carrots 0.5%, Apples, Dried Chicory Root (source of Fructo-oligo-saccharides and Inulin) 0.5%, Yeast Extract (source of mannan-oligosaccharides) 0.5%, Broccoli 0.01%, Spinach, Tomatoes, Blueberries 0.01%, Cranberries, D-Glucosamine Hydrochloride 100 mg/kg, Chondroitin Sulphate 100 mg/kg, Yucca Schidigera, Mixed Herbs (Dried Rosemary, Dried Turmeric, Dried Citrus, Dried Eugenia).

Turkey at 29% opens the list, split 17% fresh and 12% dehydrated, with chicken at 24% behind it as dehydrated chicken, chicken gravy and chicken fat. Turkey is the leaner bird here and the lower in calories. For a recipe with this name that is a sensible starting point. Between them they deliver protein at 35.9% of dry matter, higher than plenty of full fat kibbles manage.

The lightness sits in the fat, at 11.0% as fed and 12.0% of dry matter, and in the energy, 333 kcal per 100g against the 357 that is typical of an adult dry food. That is the entire mechanism: a dog eats a normal looking bowl and takes in rather less than before, which is far easier to sustain than cutting portions on a richer food.

Fibre does the rest of the work. Beet pulp at 4% is the fermentable part, and lignocellulose adds bulk for almost no calories. Lignocellulose is honest about what it is, a purified plant fibre powder and nothing that grew as a vegetable. Light diets use it precisely because it fills a bowl without filling a dog. Crude fibre lands at 4.7% of dry matter.

The rest of the Core furniture is all still present. Glucosamine and chondroitin at 100 mg/kg each, taurine at 1500 mg per kilo, linseed at 2% for plant omega 3 and salmon oil at 1% for the marine kind. The prebiotic pair is yeast extract with dried chicory root, 0.5% apiece. Potato protein sits among the starches and is worth spotting, since it contributes to the protein figure from a plant rather than a bird.

The vegetable tail is where the label flatters itself slightly. Broccoli and blueberries are both printed at 0.01%, which is a decoration, and the herb mix at the end is preservation rather than medicine. None of that matters much, because the case for this bag rests on the two birds at the top and the fat figure in the analysis.

Sold in 10kg bags, with a smaller bag available too.

As a guide, a 15kg adult dog in moderate condition would eat about 252 grams a day, assuming around 840 kcal a day (110 × bodyweight^0.75, the standard maintenance estimate). A lighter food means slightly more of it by weight, which is normal and not a reason to cut a dog below what they need. Weigh the portion, watch the waistline and adjust from there.