Harringtons Complete: Lamb & Rice, Turkey & Veg or Chicken & Veg?
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Read the ingredient lists on the three Harringtons adult recipes and one thing stands out: every one of them contains chicken. Lamb & Rice, Turkey & Veg and Chicken & Veg are budget-range dry foods from the same UK maker, and the flavour name on the front tells you about the lead meat, not the only one.
The listings in one table
| Lamb & Rice | Turkey & Veg | Chicken & Veg | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pack on the listing | 15 kg | 15 kg | 4 kg x 3 (12 kg total) |
| Lead meat line | Lamb and meat meals 28% | Turkey and meat meals 26% | Chicken and meat meals 26% |
| Named dried meat | Dried lamb, quoted as 7% in one place and 6.5% in another | Dried turkey 6.5% | Dried chicken 6.5% |
| Fresh chicken | 4% | 4% | 4% |
| Rice | 5.6% | 14% | 14% |
| Oats | 10% | Not listed | 4% |
| Peas | Not listed | 4% | Not listed |
| Protein / fat | Not given | 21% / 10% | 20.5% / 7.5% |
| Calories | 340 kcal per 100 g | Not given | Not given |
| Amazon.co.uk rating | 4.6 from 10,186 ratings | 4.6 from 6,510 ratings | 4.6 from 113 ratings |
Ratings are as shown at the time of writing. All three score the same at one decimal place, so the number of ratings tells you more about how widely a recipe is bought than about how it compares.
What the lists mean in practice
Each recipe is built on a "meat meals" line of 26 to 28%, of which only about 6.5 to 7% is the named dried meat. The rest of that figure is unspecified meat meal. That is common in budget kibble and is not a problem in itself, but it explains why "rich in lamb" on the listing should be read modestly. The lamb recipe's own page quotes the dried lamb at 7% in the ingredients and 6.5% in the recipe note, so the listing is not consistent with itself. Check the figures on the bag.
All three include maize and barley, so none is grain-free, and the listings carry a "wheat may contain" allergen note. That is worth knowing for dogs with a diagnosed grain or wheat issue. The Chicken & Veg listing says the range never uses added wheat, but the may-contain note means traces cannot be ruled out.
The practical differences are small. Turkey and Chicken carry 14% rice against 5.6% in the lamb recipe, while lamb has the most oats at 10%, Chicken lists 4% and Turkey lists none. One oddity: the Chicken & Veg ingredient list names no vegetables beyond beet pulp and seaweed, so "veg" in the name is generous. The Chicken & Veg listing has the lowest fat of the three on the figures given, at 7.5%, which may matter if your dog tends to put on weight, though your vet is the right person to ask about that. The lamb recipe is the only one to publish calories, which makes it the easiest to portion by calorie count.
Because all three contain chicken, none works as a chicken-free diet. A dog that reacts to chicken needs a different food altogether, and one chosen with your vet's guidance.
Pack format
The lamb and turkey recipes come in a single 15 kg bag on the listings. That is a lot of kibble to store, and a dog that rejects it leaves you with plenty to use up. Dry food should be kept in a cool, dry place and resealed, so a bag that size suits a larger dog or a multi-dog household. The Chicken & Veg listing is three 4 kg bags, which is easier to store, lets you open one at a time and gives you a way to test a recipe before committing. The trade-off is that its 113 ratings are far fewer than the others.
For cost per day, divide the pack price by the number of days it lasts at the feeding amount for your dog's weight. The lamb listing's feeding guide runs from 65 to 180 g for dogs of 3 to 10 kg up to 540 g or more for dogs over 40 kg, and these are guides only. Compare the per-day figure instead of the price of the bag.
Avoiding flavour-hopping upsets
The temptation with a budget range is to rotate flavours to keep a dog interested. Many dogs cope with that, but a sudden change in the bowl is a common cause of loose stools. - Pick one recipe and stay with it for several weeks before judging it. - If you do change, mix the new food into the old over a week to ten days, shifting the ratio each day. Our guide to switching your dog's food sets out how. - Hold back the move if stools soften, and go back a step. - Keep treats and chews steady during the change, so you can tell what caused any upset.
Because the three recipes share many ingredients, swapping between them is likely to be gentler than swapping to a different brand, though that is an inference from the ingredient lists, not a promise. Persistent diarrhoea, vomiting or loss of appetite is a reason to call the vet.
Which to pick
Choose Lamb & Rice if you want the recipe with the most published detail, including calories, and the largest base of ratings. Our Harringtons Lamb & Rice review goes through it in full.
Choose Turkey & Veg if you prefer turkey as the lead meat and a rice-and-peas base, and are happy with a large bag.
Choose Chicken & Veg if you want smaller bags and the lowest listed fat, and your dog does well on chicken. If you are shopping on price alone, our budget dry food roundup puts these among other value options.
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