James Wellbeloved Puppy Lamb & Rice

Weaning a puppy off its mother's milk is the first time its digestion has to cope with something solid, and it is usually a few weeks later, once the excitement of the new food has worn off, that a sensitivity actually shows itself. A single-protein recipe means that if it does, you are looking at one ingredient rather than a list.

Dried lamb protein is the largest named ingredient here, ahead of the white rice, naked oats and pea protein that make up the rest of the mix. It is a complete food, meaning it is built to be the whole diet on its own, and James Wellbeloved's stated approach across this range is to exclude beef, pork, soya, eggs, dairy and wheat.

• Complete food for puppies, built on lamb as the named protein
• Protein 28.5%, fat 16.0%, crude ash 8.3%, crude fibre 2.0%
• Calcium 1.5% and phosphorus 1.1% for growing bone
• Omega-3 at 1.9%, omega-6 at 3.1%
• Excludes beef, pork, soya, eggs, dairy and wheat
• 2KG bag

On the recipe. Lamb is the named protein and the largest single ingredient by weight, but it is not the only source of grain in the mix — white rice, naked oats and brown rice are all present, so this is not a grain-free food even though it is a single-protein one. No feeding chart is published on the pages we can access, so go by the guide printed on the bag rather than estimating a portion.

Who it's for: owners weaning a puppy that has shown any sign of sensitivity to more common proteins, or anyone whose vet has suggested a lamb-based diet as a starting point.