Cutting a dog's calories without cutting the size of the bowl is the trick behind every "light" dog food, because a dog that finishes its meal in four seconds and looks up for more doesn't know it's eating less — it only knows the bowl is empty.

This is Arden Grange's reduced-activity recipe for adult dogs, built on rice (30%) and chicken (20%, split between 15% dried chicken and 5% fresh chicken), with beet pulp, chicken digest, chicken oil, yeast, dried krill and small amounts of linseed and whole dried egg. It also carries added glucosamine, MSM, chondroitin sulphate and cranberry extract, plus prebiotic FOS and MOS. It comes in a 12KG bag.

• Protein 18%, fat 7.5%, fibre 3.5%
• Calcium 1.2%
• Chicken (20%) and rice (30%) as the main named ingredients
• Added glucosamine, MSM and chondroitin sulphate
• Omega-3 at 0.42%, omega-6 at 2.1%
• 6kg or 12kg bag

What the label does not say. Arden Grange's own allergen note for this food claims "no added grains", but the composition panel two lines above it opens with rice (30%) and maize as the largest named ingredients after chicken — both of which are grains. The two statements on the same card don't agree, so if grain content specifically is what you're checking for, go by the composition list rather than the allergen note.

Who it's for: owners of an adult dog who has been advised to manage its weight, or one that is simply carrying a bit more condition than it should — not a growing puppy, and not a dog that needs the higher energy of a standard adult formula.