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Suitable for all breeds of dogs
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In general, unless your dog has health issues, you probably won't have to worry about these figures. Click here for more information
Mixing bowl composition
This is the ingredients list as printed on the packaging or manufacturer's website.
Think of the 'mixing bowl' composition like a recipe - all the ingredients you would need to put in a 'mixing bowl' in order to make the food.
Ingredients have to be listed in descending order of their weight so the higher it appears, the more there is.
Highlighted ingredients
Ingredients that we believe to be controversial or inferior are highlighted in yellow with particularly low grade, highly contentious or excessively vague ingredients in red.
As fed composition
While the 'mixing bowl' composition is useful for knowing what went into the food, it doesn't always reflect what your dog is actually eating. This is because the processes that turn the ingredients into the finished pet food can significantly alter the relative weights of the ingredients.
For this reason we've calculated the approximate 'as fed' percentages for the main ingredient categories in the finished product.
Please note that these figures are very approximate. They are estimates based on the information provided by the manufacturer in the ingredients list so the clearer the terminology and the more percentages they provide, the more accurate our estimates will be. Wherever information is lacking, we always assume the worst.
Ingredient categories
◉ Meat ingredients: includes all meat and fish ingredients except isolated fats/oils.
◉Added oils and fats: includes all isolated oil and fat ingredients.
◉ Carb-rich ingredients: includes all ingredients derived from grains, pseudo-grains, potatoes and other starchy root vegetables, sweet potato and legumes (except whole peas which are categorised under fruit and veg) except for isolated protein and extracted oils. Also includes fibre supplements.
◉ Fruit and veg: includes all whole vegetables and fruits.
◉ Other: all other ingredients. Mostly made up by nutritional supplements and additives.
For more information on any ingredient, please take a look at our Dog Food Ingredient Glossary
The dry matter level of a nutrient is the percentage there would be in the food if all of the water was removed.
With water taken out of the equation, these figures allow the nutrient levels of foods of different types (like wet and dry) to be compared on an even playing field.
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94.14 out of 100 - Excellent
Our unique product ratings are calculated based on a number of characteristics including the quality and quantity of the stated ingredients, certain nutritional and technological additives and the processing methods used to create the food. They are designed to indicate how beneficial we think a food is likely to be for the majority of dogs when fed on a daily basis for an extended period. Click here for more information
Country of origin:Germany
A technological additive is any substance added to a pet food "for a technological purpose and which favourably affects the characteristics of feed".
The most common categories of technological additives include preservatives and antioxidants, gelling agents and thickeners and probiotics.
While the primary effects of technoloical additives are certainly 'favourable' (increased shelf life in the case of preservatives & antioxidants, better food texture and consistency in the case of gelling agents and thickeners etc.) some have been linked to health problems in pets and should be treated with caution.
Unfortunately, many technological additives do not have to be declared by the manufacturer so just because they do not appear on the label does not necessarily mean they are not in the food. If in doubt, ask the manufacturer directly exactly what technological additives their foods contain.
Ava Dad •one year ago
Thank you. Very interesting feedback. It's certainly expensive, but if my fussy Toy Poodle enjoys it, then it's worth it. I notice the Naturavetal seems to have dropped it's ratings into the following the updated algorithms applied!GemmaCockapoo Ava Dad •one year ago
I've stopped feeding it now - I contacted Rockster again, as I wasn't entirely convinced I'd been given the correct info when Iwas assured that the nutritional additives were not synthetic. Turns out I was correct and they are indeed synthetic - I really think the loophole which allows brands to legally say there are no chemicals or that the food is natural when synthetic vitamins and minerals are included needs to be removed. In addition, Rockster did give my cockapoo the runs, despite gradual transition to it. So, even though I'm sorry they've stopped their organic version, I'm back to Naturavetal's complete meals (tinned) which have much better quality ingredients than their cold pressed, which I'm not very impressed by. I didn't know Naturavetal was listed here, but their wet food doesn't seem to be.B T GemmaCockapoo •2 months ago
Yes but EVERY food manufacturer will add synthetic additives, I mean we as humans eat enough foods that contain them, vitamins for instance. The foods have to include them to ensure dogs are getting the right trace levels of minerals.GemmaCockapoo B T •2 months ago
No, you're wrong - not EVERY producer adds synthetics. There are several who don't and all of those have top quality ingredients which contain natural vitamins and minerals. Just google "synthetic vitamins in dog food" and the first thing that comes up is "At best, synthetic nutrients allow dog food companies to meet the bare minimum for nutritional quality. At worst, they impart dangerous side effects and leave your dog deficient in essential vitamins, minerals, and amino acids."GemmaCockapoo •one year ago
I've just had a delivery of a selection of flavours and put some of the beef variety and her usual brand separately in her dish. She gobbled them both up, but didn't show a preference for either. I've read everything I can find about Rocksters and, whilst the ingredients in her current wet food (Naturavetal) are very similar, with the same level of transparency and equally as good, they are not bio organic, and I do worry about glyphosate, growth hormones, etc. This is the only reason I bought Rocksters, but it is a big plus in my view. The low cooking temperature and the fact that everything is cooked only once and in the tin also impressed me. I contacted them because, by the way the nutritional additives are listed, it looks as if the vitamins and minerals are synthetic, but I was assured that they are natural. The deer and rabbit versions are killed with lead shot, so I'll stick to the other varieties. I will alternate it with Naturavetal, as Rocksters is double the price. It seems to me that all the best dog food is German and, whilst Rocksters is very expensive, you can't really expect something of that quality to be anything else.