Davies Chomping Chew Beef

The sentence nobody reads on a treat packet is the one asking you to take the equivalent back out of dinner. It is on this bag too, and it matters more here than on most, because these are handed out by the piece rather than weighed — and a large dog is allowed four of them in a day.

Davies cook them gently and describe them as moist and meaty, to be given any time as a snack, a reward or a training aid, broken into smaller pieces if you need them to go further. They state the chews are made with 50% fresh meat, and the ingredient list reads meat and animal derivatives with beef at 15%, cereals, vegetables, various sugars, minerals and yeasts. They are wheat gluten free. The bag is 1.4kg, and the daily count runs by dog weight: one a day up to 5kg, two from 5 to 10kg, three from 10 to 20kg and four from 20 to 45kg.

• 1.4kg bag of gently cooked, moist chews
• Beef declared at 15%, within meat and animal derivatives
• Davies describe them as made with 50% fresh meat
• Wheat gluten free
• One a day up to 5kg, two to 10kg, three to 20kg, four to 45kg
• Store cool and dry; keep in an airtight container once opened

Two different analyses reached us for the same bag, and we are not going to pick one for you. One reads protein 30%, oil 9%, ash 8%, fibre 3% and moisture 22.5%. The other reads crude protein 20%, fat 9%, ash 8%, fibre 3% and moisture 25%. Those cannot both be true, so until the bag in your hand settles it, treat the protein figure as unknown. Two other things the front of the pack does not lead with: it is called Beef and beef is 15% of it, sitting inside unnamed meat and animal derivatives, and while the description says no artificial colours the additive list plainly includes colours, along with antioxidants and preservatives. Various sugars are in the recipe too.

Who it's for: owners who train with food and need something softer and more interesting than a dry biscuit, and anyone with a dog that has decided kibble-shaped rewards are beneath them.