Terrines for dogs: what "complete" means, and how much to serve
Open one of our Terrines and you will not find a smooth pâté. You will find a loaf you can slice, with pieces of meat you can recognise. Your dog will not care what it is called. You might, so here is what is inside, what "complete" means on the label, and how much to put in the bowl.
What a terrine is
In a kitchen, a terrine is a loaf of meat cooked in a mould, firm enough to slice, with visible pieces rather than a uniform paste. Ours follow the same idea: meat and organs, cooked in broth, set into a loaf, with the pieces still there when you cut it.
There are three recipes:
- Black Angus beef with pumpkin: 67% Black Angus beef (meat, heart, liver and lung), cooked in beef broth.
- Chicken & goose with parsnips and fennel: 41% free-run chicken and 26% goose, with the meat, organs and necks.
- Wild boar with chestnut: 67% wild boar, cooked in game broth.
All three include a small amount of green-lipped mussel powder, an ingredient studied for joint health in dogs.
What "complete" means
In Europe, pet food is labelled either complete or complementary, and the difference matters.
- A complete food covers everything a dog needs every day: protein, fat, vitamins and minerals in the right balance. A dog can eat it as its only food.
- A complementary food (treats, toppers, many tins) is meant to be added to something else.
Our Terrines are complete meals for adult dogs. You can serve them on their own, or as part of the day next to kibble. They are formulated for grown dogs: for a puppy, keep a puppy food as the base; a spoonful of Terrine on top is fine.
Why the organs are there
Our beef Terrine is not just steak in a tin. It also contains heart, liver and lung, and the chicken recipe includes organs and necks. That is deliberate. Organs are among the most nutrient-dense parts of an animal, rich in vitamins and minerals. We list them by name on the label rather than hiding them behind "meat and animal derivatives".
How to read our percentages
You may see other brands with higher meat percentages. Before you compare, check how they are counted.
We give each ingredient as a share of the whole tin, broth included. That is why the beef Terrine reads 67% beef and 28.9% broth: the broth is part of the recipe, so it is part of the maths. Calculated without the broth, the meat share would look much higher, but it would not describe what is actually in the tin.
A more useful number is where the protein comes from. In all three Terrines, 97% of the protein comes from animal sources. The rest comes mainly from the plant ingredients: pumpkin, parsnip, fennel or chestnut.
How much to serve
A 400 g tin is a big portion for a small dog and a light one for a large dog. As a starting point for an adult dog fed only Terrines, per day:
| Dog's weight | Per day (Black Angus beef) |
|---|---|
| 5 kg | about ¾ tin |
| 10 kg | 1 to 1½ tins |
| 20 kg | about 2 tins |
| 30 kg | 2½ to 3 tins |
The chicken & goose and wild boar recipes contain a little fewer calories (about 102–103 kcal per 100 g, against 130 for the beef), so dogs need slightly more of them. The exact amounts for each recipe are on its product page.
These are starting points. An active young dog needs more than a calm older one. Weigh your dog every few weeks, look at its shape, and adjust: you should be able to feel the ribs without seeing them.
Terrine and kibble together
Many owners split the day: a Terrine in the evening, kibble in the morning, or half and half in each meal. That works well, as long as the total stays right. If your dog gets half its day from Terrines, give half the Terrine amount and half the kibble amount. Our feeding calculator does the maths for you, recipe by recipe.
Practical tips
- Change slowly. Mix the Terrine into your dog's current food over about a week, increasing the share every day or two.
- Opened tin: cover it, keep it in the fridge, and use it within two days.
- Serve at room temperature. Take the tin out of the fridge a little before the meal; cold food smells of less.
- Fresh water, always.
In short
- A terrine is a sliceable loaf with real pieces of meat, not a pâté.
- "Complete" means it covers all of an adult dog's daily needs on its own.
- Our percentages include the broth; 97% of the protein comes from animal sources.
- About one tin a day for a 10 kg dog, two for a 20 kg dog, as a starting point.
- On its own or with kibble: the feeding calculator splits the day for you.
Your dog will not read any of this. It will simply hear the tin open, which, in most homes, is the fastest-travelling sound there is.
In the bowl
Every recipe page lists the full composition and how much to feed.