Polkadog Small Breed Ancient Grains Recipe

Dry Extruded complete

51out of 100

Average

our rating

Is Polkadog Small Breed Ancient Grains Recipe a good dog food?

We score it 51/100 (Average). This reflects the ingredient quality, composition and label transparency of the recipe as declared on the label.

How we score

Why this score?

This recipe achieves an overall rating of 51 out of 100. The inclusion of ingredients without printed percentages contributed -10.6 points, and the processing format adjusted the score by -6.7. Conversely, the overall quality of the ingredient list added +6.6 points, while being labelled nutritionally complete contributed +2.3 points to the final evaluation.

100% of this recipe has no printed percentage. Estimated shares are model estimates, not label facts.

Recipe
51
Nutritional
Not recorded
Transparency
40
Safety
100
Evidence
Not recorded

The Recipe score measures how attractive and transparent the declared ingredient list is. It is not, by itself, proof that the food is nutritionally appropriate for long-term feeding. The Nutritional and Evidence scores measure what we can verify towards that stronger claim.

Why you might choose it

Nutritionally complete: formulated to be fed as the whole diet.

Why you might not

Meat makes up an estimated 8% of the dry matter (10% as fed); carbohydrates dominate.
No analytical breakdown is published.
100% of the recipe mass has no printed percentage, so the exact split cannot be verified.

View the source page

Estimated composition

supplement37.1%

veg25.7%

meat10.0%

carb9.7%

oil6.5%

additive5.8%

mineral3.1%

fibre2.2%

Typical analysis (as fed)

No analysis recorded yet.

Additives & feeding info

Nutritional additives

Vitamin E supplement; Vitamin A supplement; Niacin supplement; Calcium pantothenate; Riboflavin supplement; Vitamin D3 supplement; Thiamine mononitrate; Vitamin B12 supplement; Pyridoxine hydrochloride; Folic acid; Taurine; Zinc proteinate; Iron proteinate; Copper proteinate; Manganese proteinate; Selenium yeast; Calcium iodate

Technological additives

Mixed tocopherols; Rosemary extract

Reviews

Trustpilot: 0.0/5 · 0 reviews

125 reviews on this product · 4.9/5

Who is this food for?

Suits

Labelled by the manufacturer for adult dogs
Labelling or feeding guide is aimed at small dogs
Doesn't list beef, lamb, venison, pork, duck as ingredients

Consider something else if:

Your dog avoids chicken: the label lists chicken
Your dog avoids turkey: the label lists turkey
Your dog avoids fish: the label lists fish meal
Your dog avoids grain: the label lists barley
You want a single-protein recipe: this one lists more than one animal protein

These points are derived from declared ingredients and analysis, not a substitute for veterinary advice. If your dog has a diagnosed condition, food choice is a medical nutrition decision: speak to your vet. Use the homepage filter to find foods that fit your dog.

Ingredients (52)

#	As declared	Matched	Category	Tier	Declared %	Est. %
1	Humanely raised chicken	Chicken	meat	medium	-	2.5
2	humanely raised turkey	Turkey	meat	medium	-	2.5
3	ocean menhaden fish meal	Fish Meal	meat	medium	-	2.5
4	barley	Barley	carb	medium	-	2.5
5	brown rice	Rice - brown / whole grain	carb	medium	-	2.4
6	herring meal	Herring Meal	meat	medium	-	2.4
7	sweet potato	Sweet Potatoes	carb	good	-	2.4
8	natural flavor	Flavor	additive	poor	-	2.4
9	quinoa	Quinoa	carb	good	-	2.4
10	coconut oil	Coconut Oil	oil	medium	-	2.3
11	pumpkin	Pumpkin	veg	good	-	2.3
12	flaxseed	Linseed	veg	good	-	2.3
13	kale	Kale	veg	good	-	2.3
14	carrots	Carrots	veg	good	-	2.2
15	apples	Apples	veg	good	-	2.2
16	blueberries	Blueberries	veg	good	-	2.2
17	miscanthus grass	Miscanthus Grass	fibre	medium	-	2.2
18	sunflower oil	Sunflower oil	oil	good	-	2.1
19	dicalcium phosphate	Dicalcium phosphate	supplement	medium	-	2.1
20	calcium carbonate	Calcium Carbonate	supplement	medium	-	2.1
21	cranberries	Cranberries	veg	good	-	2.1
22	potassium chloride	Potassium Chloride	supplement	medium	-	2.0
23	salmon oil	Salmon Oil	oil	good	-	2.0
24	dried chicory root	Chicory root	veg	good	-	2.0
25	salt	Salt	additive	medium	-	2.0
26	choline chloride	Choline	supplement	good	-	1.9
27	vitamin E supplement	Vitamin E	supplement	good	-	1.9
28	vitamin A supplement	Vitamin A	supplement	good	-	1.9
29	niacin supplement	Niacin	supplement	good	-	1.9
30	calcium pantothenate	Calcium pantothenate	supplement	good	-	1.8
31	calcium pantothenate	Calcium pantothenate	supplement	good	-	1.8
32	riboflavin supplement	Riboflavin	supplement	good	-	1.8
33	vitamin D3 supplement	Vitamin D3 supplement	supplement	good	-	1.8
34	thiamine mononitrate	Thiamine mononitrate	supplement	good	-	1.7
35	vitamin B12 supplement	Vitamin B12	supplement	good	-	1.7
36	pyridoxine hydrochloride	Pyridoxine hydrochloride	supplement	good	-	1.7
37	folic acid	Folic acid	supplement	good	-	1.7
38	taurine	Taurine	supplement	good	-	1.6
39	zinc proteinate	Zinc Proteinate	supplement	good	-	1.6
40	iron proteinate	Iron Proteinate	mineral	good	-	1.6
41	copper proteinate	Copper proteinate	supplement	good	-	1.6
42	manganese proteinate	Manganese proteinate	supplement	good	-	1.5
43	selenium yeast	Selenium	mineral	good	-	1.5
44	calcium iodate	Calcium iodate	supplement	medium	-	1.5
45	dried kelp	Kelp	veg	good	-	1.5
46	new zealaond green lipped mussel	Green-Lipped Mussel	supplement	good	-	1.4
47	mixed tocopherols	Tocopherols	additive	good	-	1.4
48	parsley	Parsley	veg	good	-	1.4
49	peppermint	Peppermint	veg	good	-	1.4
50	cinnamon	Cinnamon	veg	good	-	1.3
51	turmeric	Turmeric	veg	good	-	1.3
52	rosemary extract.	Rosemary	veg	good	-	1.3

Brand

Website: https://www.polkadog.com/
Social: Facebook · Instagram

Trust and provenance

Recall history: No recalls recorded in our database
Label data last checked: 2026-09-14
Scored with: Model v3 (methodology)
Product page: www.polkadog.com

Recall history is presentation-only and never affects the score. Dates are when we recorded the data, not when the manufacturer last changed the recipe.

Spotted a mistake in this listing? Report it here and we'll take a look.

Recipe: how the 1-100 score is calculated

Scored with model v3 on 2026-09-26. Each component is the feature value for this product multiplied by the model's published coefficient.

Component	Input	Coefficient	Contribution
Base score	-	30.909	+30.91
Average ingredient quality	0.7	9.191	+6.62
Carb share of dry matter	9.5%	-0.115	-1.09
Oil share of dry matter	8.7%	-0.092	-0.80
Vegetable share of dry matter	13.8%	-0.005	-0.07
Additive share of dry matter	7.0%	0.163	+1.14
Supplement share of dry matter	46.3%	-0.012	-0.57
Recipe graded poor	2.4%	-0.065	-0.15
Number of poor ingredients	1	-0.876	-0.88
Largest single poor ingredient	2.4%	0.060	+0.14
Undeclared quantities	100.0%	-0.106	-10.56
Complete diet	yes	2.294	+2.29
Low meat (under 10% of dry matter)	yes	-3.158	-3.16
Additive penalty	-6.95	0.222	-1.54
Processing multiplier	0.98	33.786	+33.11
Processing: Dry Extruded	yes	-6.713	-6.71

Show all 40 components

Component	Input	Coefficient	Contribution
Base score	-	30.909	+30.91
Average ingredient quality	0.7	9.191	+6.62
Meat share of dry matter	0.0%	0.096	+0.00
Carb share of dry matter	9.5%	-0.115	-1.09
Oil share of dry matter	8.7%	-0.092	-0.80
Vegetable share of dry matter	13.8%	-0.005	-0.07
Additive share of dry matter	7.0%	0.163	+1.14
Supplement share of dry matter	46.3%	-0.012	-0.57
Other share of dry matter	0.0%	-0.375	+0.00
Unrecognised share of dry matter	0.0%	-0.027	+0.00
Recipe graded poor	2.4%	-0.065	-0.15
Poor-quality meat in recipe	0.0%	-0.179	+0.00
Number of poor ingredients	1	-0.876	-0.88
Largest single poor ingredient	2.4%	0.060	+0.14
Undeclared quantities	100.0%	-0.106	-10.56
Prints ingredient percentages	no	0.000	+0.00
Complete diet	yes	2.294	+2.29
Frozen or chilled fresh	no	0.000	+0.00
High meat (30%+ of dry matter)	no	0.707	+0.00
Low meat (under 10% of dry matter)	yes	-3.158	-3.16
High carb and low meat	no	-1.180	+0.00
Meat share × printed percentages	0.0	0.000	+0.00
Meat share × fresh	0.0	0.000	+0.00
Fresh × high meat	0.0	11.084	+0.00
Additive penalty	-6.95	0.222	-1.54
Processing multiplier	0.98	33.786	+33.11
Processing: Raw	no	-0.054	+0.00
Processing: Fresh Chilled	no	-2.354	+0.00
Processing: Fresh Frozen	no	-2.354	+0.00
Processing: Fresh Refrigerated	no	0.000	+0.00
Processing: Fresh Shelf	no	-0.672	+0.00
Processing: Dry Freeze Dried	no	6.629	+0.00
Processing: Dry Air Dried	no	6.331	+0.00
Processing: Dry Cold Pressed	no	-6.713	+0.00
Processing: Dry Baked	no	-6.713	+0.00
Processing: Dry Extruded	yes	-6.713	-6.71
Processing: Dry Semi Moist	no	-6.174	+0.00
Processing: Dry Muesli	no	-10.146	+0.00
Processing: Wet Pate	no	-0.672	+0.00
Processing: Wet Chunks	no	-0.672	+0.00

Processing-type offset: +0.02
Additives declared on label: +2 transparency bonus
Subtotal: 50.7
Final score: 51/100

Contributions are rounded to two decimals, so they may not sum exactly to the subtotal. The full coefficient table is published on the methodology page.

Nutritional: declared analysis vs reference ranges

Analytical constituents not declared

Transparency: what the label discloses

How much the manufacturer discloses, measured against the FEDIAF Code of Good Labelling Practice and Regulation 767/2009. Mandatory items dominate the weighting.

Item	Points
✓ Ingredient list on the label (mandatory)	10/10
✗ Printed percentages on the label (voluntary) - not on file	0/20
✗ Analytical constituents declared (mandatory) - not on file	0/15
✓ Additives declared (mandatory)	10/10
✗ Energy value declared (voluntary) - not on file	0/5
✓ Complete/complementary designation (mandatory)	5/5
✗ Feeding guidance given (mandatory) - not on file	0/10
✓ Manufacturer identity and address (mandatory)	5/10
✓ Country of manufacture stated (voluntary)	10/10
✗ Batch and date labelling (mandatory) - not on file	0/5

Capped at 60: mandatory items missing (Analytical constituents declared, Feeding guidance given, Batch and date labelling).

Safety: recall history

Recall and safety-notice history, time-decayed. This dimension is shown alongside the score and never feeds the headline number.

No recalls recorded in our database.

Evidence: what the brand claims, and what supports it

The claims made on the pack and product page, checked against the declared label. We record claims as stated; "consistent" means our stored label data supports the claim, "contradicted" means it conflicts with it. Functional claims are recorded but never scored.

Claims on file; none we can check against the label

Claim	Type	Check	Substantiation
Formulated specifically for smaller breeds with higher metabolic rates (on page)	Functional	not checkable	Manufacturer assertion
bite sized recipe (on page)	Content	not checkable	Manufacturer assertion
free of peas, potato, and legumes (on page)	Free-from	not checkable	Manufacturer assertion
features a combination of humanely raised chicken, turkey and ancient grains blend (on page)	provenance	not checkable	Manufacturer assertion

The full scoring method is published. See the methodology for exactly how the headline score and each dimension are calculated.

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