A dog that has slowed down still needs feeding to the same routine, just with less energy going in — cutting portions of an ordinary adult food is the blunt way to do that, and a recipe built specifically to be lower in oil and calories is the less blunt one.

Simpsons' Senior/Light recipe uses a minimum 35.5% chicken — dried and deboned — with brown rice at a minimum 31%, alongside maize, oats, beet pulp, brewer's yeast, dried egg, chicken gravy and chicken fat, plus salmon oil, L-Carnitine, glucosamine, MSM and chondroitin. Protein comes in at 24%, oil 10%, fibre 3.5% and ash 8.5%, with calcium at 1.28% and phosphorus at 0.89%.

• 12kg bag
• Chicken minimum 35.5%, brown rice minimum 31%
• Protein 24%, oil 10%, fibre 3.5%, ash 8.5%
• Lower in oil and calories than Simpsons' standard adult recipe
• Twice the glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM of the adult range
• L-Carnitine included

One thing worth knowing. Simpsons position this for mature, overweight or neutered dogs and those with a bigger appetite who don't need to gain weight — it is a broad "light" positioning rather than a food matched to a specific medical condition, so a dog with a diagnosed weight or health issue is still one for your vet to advise on directly.

Who it's for: owners of a senior dog, an overweight dog, or a neutered dog prone to putting on weight, who want a lower-oil recipe with extra joint support built in rather than simply feeding less of a standard food.