Rating: 
Purina One Canned Dog Food receives the Advisor’s mid-tier rating of three stars.
Currently, the Purina One product line includes seven canned dog foods… six designed to meet AAFCO nutrient profiles for adult maintenance and one for growth (puppies).
- Purina One Wholesome Turkey and Barley
- Purina One Wholesome Beef and Brown Rice
- Purina One Healthy Puppy Wholesome Entree
- Purina One Healthy Weight Wholesome Entree
- Purina One Wholesome Salmon and Brown Rice
- Purina One Wholesome Chicken and Brown Rice
- Purina One Wholesome Lamb and Long Grain Rice
Purina One Wholesome Salmon and Brown Rice Dog Food was selected to represent the others in the line for this review.
Purina One Wholesome Salmon and Brown Rice Entree
Canned Dog Food
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Ingredients: Water sufficient for processing, salmon, chicken, meat by-products, liver, turkey, brown rice, oat meal, potatoes, carrots, potassium chloride, egg product, spinach, guar gum, carrageenan, calcium phosphate, salt, choline chloride, locust bean gum, zinc sulfate, vitamin E supplement, ferrous sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, copper sulfate, vitamin A supplement, manganese sulfate, niacin, calcium pantothenate, vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, vitamin D3 supplement, potassium iodide, folic acid, sodium selenite, biotin
Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 6.8%
Red items when present indicate controversial ingredients
The first ingredient in this dog food lists water… which (of course) adds nothing but moisture to this food. Water is a routine finding in most canned dog foods.
The second ingredient includes salmon. Salmon is a fatty marine and freshwater fish naturally high in protein as well as omega-3 fatty acids… essential oils needed by every dog to sustain life.
The third ingredient lists chicken. Chicken is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin… derived from the parts or whole carcasses of chicken”.1
Chicken is naturally rich in the ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.
The fourth item lists meat by-products… slaughterhouse waste. Meat by-products are the inedible leftovers of slaughter considered “unfit for human consumption”.
Since the source animals are not named, the meat can come from almost anywhere. Road kill, dead zoo animals, diseased or dying livestock… even euthanized cats and dogs.
Many consider meat by-products nutritious animal protein. We still see it as nothing more than anonymous slaughterhouse waste.
The fifth ingredient lists liver. Normally, liver can be considered a quality component. However, in this case, the source of the liver is not identified. Because it is anonymous, this liver could come from almost anywhere.
For this reason, it is impossible to judge the quality of this item.
The sixth item is turkey… another high protein meat ingredient.
The seventh item is brown rice. Brown rice is a quality ingredient… a complex carbohydrate that (once cooked) is fairly easy to digest.
The eighth ingredient is oatmeal… a whole-grain product made from coarsely ground oats. Oatmeal is naturally rich in B-vitamins, fiber and is (unlike many other grains) mostly gluten-free.
The ninth ingredient is potato. Assuming they’re whole, potatoes are a good source of digestible carbohydrates and other healthy nutrients.
The next item lists carrots. Carrots are loaded with beta-carotene, minerals and dietary fiber.
From here, the list goes on to include a number of other items.
But to be realistic, ingredients located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to have much of an effect on the overall rating of this product.
With one exception…
We note the minerals here do not appear to be chelated. And that can make them more difficult to absorb. Non-chelated minerals are usually associated with lower quality dog foods.
Purina One Canned Dog Food
The Bottom Line
Judging by its ingredients alone, Purina One appears to be only an average dog food.
But ingredient quality by itself cannot tell the whole story. We still need to estimate the product’s meat content before determining a final rating.
The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 36%, a fat level of 32% and an estimated carbohydrate content of 24%.
As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 37% and an average fat level of 31%. Together, these figures suggest an overall carbohydrate content of 24% for the full product line.
Near-average protein. Above-average fat. And below-average carbs when compared to a typical canned dog food.
With no evidence of any plant-based protein concentrates, this is the profile of a wet food containing a moderate amount of meat.
However, we believe it is unfortunate Purina One chooses to include generic meat by-products and lower-quality minerals in these otherwise decent recipes.
Bottom line?
Purina One Canned Dog Food is a meat-based wet product using a moderate amount of poultry, beef or lamb as its main sources of animal protein… thus earning the brand three stars.
Recommended.
Those looking for a better wet food from the same company may wish to see our review of Purina Pro Plan Selects Canned Dog Food.
A Final Word
Remember, no dog food can possibly be appropriate for every life stage, lifestyle or health condition. So, choose wisely. And when in doubt consult a veterinarian for help.
Have an opinion about this dog food brand… or maybe the review itself? Please know… we welcome your comments.
Notes and Updates
12/04/2009 Original review
07/13/2010 Review updated
- Association of American Feed Control Officials ↩
