Royal Canin German Shepherd Adult 5+ review

Name: Royal Canin German Shepherd Adult 5+
Brand: Royal Canin

Avoid

One of the weakest dry foods we have rated. The label keeps too much vague. Feeding it costs about 97p a day for a typical adult dog - the breakdown below shows exactly what that buys.

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Top 86%scores higher than 14% of rated foodsacross all 3530 foods we've scored

Avoidscore bandthe dot marks where it sits among every food we've rated

£0.97per day for a 15 kg dogcheaper than 41% of dry foods

Where the points went

The full breakdown, exactly as the algorithm scored it. How our rating works

Ingredient quality

Weighted ingredient quality 45/100 across 16 ingredients (declared percentages used for 1, position estimates for the rest). Named meat is only 16% of the recognised recipe, so the quality score is anchored down towards a plant-led food.

16.5 / 40

Label clarity

Vague category terms on the label (animal fat, hydrolysed animal protein, cellulose powder) - naming points withheld; percentages cover 1% of the recipe (+0.1); meat sources named (+2); variable-composition wording - fixed-formula points withheld.

2.1 / 15

Additives

Unnamed preservative - the label does not say which (-4).

6 / 10

Red flags

Animal fat at position 5 (-12).

-12 / 0

Meat content

Meat content not declared and no named meat leads the label.

0 / 15

Nutritional balance

Estimated carbohydrate 42% dry matter (moderate); fat 20.7% DM is high (obesity/pancreatitis watch) (-0.2); moisture not declared - 8% assumed for the dry-matter maths; fibre 3.9% DM (+2); ash 6.4% DM - sensible mineral load (+2); functional extras: omega-3 source, named botanicals (+2).

7.9 / 10

Processing

Assumed extruded kibble (standard high-heat process).

6 / 10

ODF Score

Algorithm v1.4.0 · scored July 28, 2026 · full methodology public

27 / 100

Our analysis

Breaking the 27 down: the biggest single loss is ingredient quality, where it takes 16.5 of a possible 40. Its strongest showing is nutritional balance at 7.9 of 10. On top of that, 12 points are deducted outright for red-flag ingredients - a penalty applied before anything else is counted, which is why the total lands where it does.

The label declares no meat percentage at all, so there is no way to verify how much of the recipe is animal protein, and the ingredient list leans on vague groupings instead of naming what is actually in the bag.

At about 97p a day to feed a 15kg dog, the question is not whether it is cheap but whether the label justifies the price - and on our scoring, it does not.

Ingredients

Straight from the label, grouped by role - every ingredient is coloured by our published classification and links to its full page.

Meat & fish

dehydrated poultry protein animal fat hydrolysed animal protein

Carbs & grains

Rice maize flour wheat gluten*cellulose powder vegetable fibres

Fruit & veg

beet pulp

Oils & fats

soya oil fish oil coconut oil

Supplements & extras

minerals yeasts products hydrolysed collagen 0.9%marigold meal

Good qualityAcceptable / watch the amountRed flagGeneric / neutralOutlined = first five on the label

Feeding & cost

What a bag actually costs to feed - worked out per dog, not per pack.

Pack size	RRP	Per kg
12 kg	-	-
15 kg	-	-
24 kg	-	-
30 kg	-	-

How heavy is your dog?

A typical 15 kg adult dog needs about 189 g a day = £0.97 / day, £29.49 / month.

How we work this out

Energy: an adult dog at rest needs about 95 × weight^0.75 kcal a day (the FEDIAF maintenance formula - a 15 kg dog works out near 725 kcal).
Portion: divide that by this food's energy density, 384 kcal/100g, to get the grams above - a denser food needs fewer grams.
Cost: multiply the grams by this food's price, £5.12 / kg, for the daily cost, then by 30.4 days for the month.

Estimates scale to your dog's weight and the food's calorie density - a denser food needs fewer grams. A rough guide; always follow the pack. Try the full feeding calculator

Nutrition

Declared analysis converted to a dry-matter basis, so wet and dry foods compare fairly.

Protein

27.2 % DM

Directory average: 28.2

Fat

20.7 % DM

Directory average: 14.9

Est. carbs

41.8 % DM

Directory average: 45.1

Fibre

3.9 % DM

Directory average: 3.7

Ash

6.4 % DM

Directory average: 7.9

Moisture isn't declared on this label - dry-matter figures assume 8% (typical for a dry food) and are marked estimated.

Carbohydrates are estimated: 100% minus protein, fat, fibre, ash and moisture.

Similar foods that score higher

Same type and life stage, better ODF Score, comparable price per day.

AkelaAkela 80:20 Fish Feast89

£1.10 / day approx.See review

AkelaAkela 80:20 Free-Range Chicken89

£1.18 / day approx.See review

AkelaAkela 80:20 Scottish Salmon89

£1.07 / day approx.See review

AkelaAkela 80:20 Suffolk Duck89

£1.27 / day approx.See review

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This is label analysis, not veterinary advice - if your dog has a health condition, talk to your vet before switching foods.