Complete or complementary: what the label on a dog tin means

Most dogs have a simple view of food labels: if it smells good, it is food. The rest of us might want one more piece of information, printed on every tin and bag in Europe: is it complete or complementary? The two words mean different things, and both can have a place in the bowl.

What "complete" means

A food labelled complete has been formulated to cover everything a dog needs every day: protein and fat, but also vitamins, minerals and trace elements in the right amounts and proportions. A dog can eat a complete food as its only food and get everything it needs.

Most kibble is complete. Some wet foods are too: our Terrines, for example, are complete meals for adult dogs.

What "complementary" means

A complementary food is made to be eaten alongside a complete one. It is not designed to provide every nutrient on its own. Treats and chews are complementary. So are many tins, including our 90 g dog fillets.

Complementary does not mean lower quality. Our dog fillets are pieces of free-run chicken, with duck, beef, tuna or vegetables depending on the recipe, cooked in their own broth. What makes them complementary is not what is in them, but what is not: they are not formulated to balance every vitamin and mineral a dog needs over the long term. That is the job of a complete food.

What a fillet brings to the bowl

• Real meat, in pieces you can see, high in protein and very low in fat.
• Water. Our dog fillets are around 81–82% moisture.
• Taste. A spoonful on top of the usual food is often enough to turn a dutiful eater into an enthusiastic one.
• Few calories. About 70 kcal per 90 g tin, so a fillet adds flavour without adding much to the day.

The different ways owners combine them

Every dog and every household is different. These are the usual combinations:

• Kibble as the base, a fillet on top. The most common one. Reduce the kibble slightly to make room for the fillet.
• A Terrine as the base, a fillet on top. Both wet, both with pieces you can recognise; the Terrine covers the nutrients.
• Terrine and kibble together, with or without a fillet, for owners who like to mix textures through the day.
• Fillets as a treat or a training reward, next to whatever complete food your dog already eats.

Whichever you choose, our feeding calculator works out how much of each to serve.

If your dog eats mostly fillets

Some dogs become very attached to their fillet, and some owners are happy to keep it that way. If that is your dog, it is worth knowing that a diet made mostly of complementary food may not cover everything over time, even if your dog looks perfectly well. If its weight, coat or energy changes, that is a good moment to look at the diet as a whole.

If you would like to bring in a complete food, mix it in gradually over about a week, and keep the fillet on top: most dogs accept a new base quickly when the familiar smell is still there.

In short

1. Complete food covers all of a dog's daily needs on its own: most kibble, and our Terrines.
2. Complementary food, like our dog fillets, is made to go with a complete food.
3. Fillets bring real meat, water and taste, for few calories.
4. Kibble or a Terrine as the base, a fillet on top: the feeding calculator splits the day.
5. If your dog eats mostly fillets, keep an eye on weight, coat and energy.

Your dog will not check the label. It will check whether the fillet went in the bowl. Some priorities are fixed.