Purina Pro Plan (Dry)

by Mike Sagman
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Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Purina Pro Plan Dry Dog Food receives the Advisor’s second-lowest rating of two stars.

Currently, the Purina Pro Plan product line lists twenty-two dry kibbles… five designed to meet AAFCO nutrient profiles for all life stages, sixteen for adult maintenance and for for both growth and maintenance (Large Breed Puppy).

  • Purina Pro Plan Toy Breed
  • Purina Pro Plan Small Breed
  • Purina Pro Plan Giant Breed
  • Purina Pro Plan Large Breed
  • Purina Pro Plan Performance
  • Purina Pro Plan Toy Breed Puppy
  • Purina Pro Plan Small Breed Puppy
  • Purina Pro Plan Large Breed Puppy
  • Purina Pro Plan Large Breed Senior
  • Purina Pro Plan Puppy Chicken and Rice
  • Purina Pro Plan Senior Chicken and Rice
  • Purina Pro Plan Large Breed Weight Mgmt
  • Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach
  • Purina Pro Plan Puppy Natural Lamb and Rice
  • Purina Pro Plan Shredded Blend Beef and Rice
  • Purina Pro Plan Chicken and Rice Weight Mgmt
  • Purina Pro Plan All Life Stages Chicken and Rice
  • Purina Pro Plan Shredded Blend Chicken and Rice
  • Purina Pro Plan Shredded Blend Natural Lamb and Rice
  • Purina Pro Plan Shredded Blend Chicken and Rice Adult 7+
  • Purina Pro Plan Shredded Blend Chicken and Rice Large Breed
  • Purina Pro Plan Shredded Blend Chicken and Rice Weight Mgmt

Purina Pro Plan Shredded Blend Chicken and Rice Dog Food was selected to represent the others in the line for this review.

Purina Pro Plan Shredded Blend Chicken and Rice

Dry Dog Food

Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content

Protein = 30% | Fat = 18% | Carbs = 44%

Ingredients: Chicken, brewers rice, whole grain wheat, poultry by-product meal (natural source of glucosamine), corn gluten meal, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of vitamin E), whole grain corn, soy flour, corn bran, soybean meal, fish meal (natural source of glucosamine), animal digest, glycerin, salt, dried egg product, calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate, potassium chloride, vitamin E supplement, choline chloride, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, sulfur, l-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), zinc proteinate, manganese sulfate, niacin, manganese proteinate, vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, copper sulfate, riboflavin supplement, vitamin B-12 supplement, copper proteinate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, garlic oil, folic acid, vitamin D-3 supplement, calcium iodate, biotin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), sodium selenite

Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 3.4%

Red items when present indicate controversial ingredients

The first ingredient in this dog food lists chicken. Although it is a quality item, raw chicken contains about 80% water. After cooking, most of that moisture is lost… reducing the meat content to just 20% of its original weight.

To reflect its lighter mass, this item should more accurately occupy a lower position on the list.

Which brings us to brewers rice… the second and (more likely) the dominant ingredient in this dog food.

Brewers rice represents the small grain fragments left over after milling whole rice.

This is an inexpensive cereal grain by-product and not considered a quality ingredient.

The third ingredient is wheat. Now, contrary to what you may have heard, wheat isn’t necessarily a bad ingredient.

On the other hand, although there’s no way to know for sure here, the wheat used in making many pet foods can be similar to the kind used to make feed for livestock.

And that can sometimes be problematic.

What’s more, wheat is commonly linked to canine food allergies1.

For these reasons, we rarely consider wheat a preferred component in any dog food.

The fourth ingredient is poultry by-product meal… a dry rendered product of slaughterhouse waste. It’s made from what’s left of slaughtered poultry after all the prime cuts have been removed.

In a nutshell, poultry by-products are those unsavory and inedible leftovers deemed “unfit for human consumption”.

This stuff can contain almost anything… feet, beaks, undeveloped eggs… you name it.

What’s more, this item doesn’t even specify the source animal (is it chicken, duck or pigeon?).

On the brighter side, by-product meals are meat concentrates and contain nearly 300% more protein than fresh poultry.

The fifth item is corn gluten meal. Gluten is the rubbery residue remaining once corn has had most of its starchy carbohydrate (the good stuff) washed out of it.

Compared to meat, glutens are inferior grain-based proteins low in many of the essential amino acids dogs need to sustain life.

This inexpensive plant-based ingredient can significantly boost the total protein content reported in this dog food.

The sixth item is animal fat. Animal fat is a generic by-product of “rendering”… the same high-temperature process used to make meat meals.

Since there’s no mention of a specific animal, this stuff could come from almost anywhere… restaurant grease, slaughterhouse waste, diseased cattle… even euthanized pets.

Needless to say, generic animal fat is not a quality ingredient.

The next ingredient is corn. Corn is subject to the same problems and shortcomings as wheat (previously discussed). That’s why we don’t consider corn a quality addition either.

The eighth ingredient is soy flour… a high-protein by-product of soybean processing.

Soy protein has a low biological value compared to meat.

The ninth ingredient is corn bran. Corn bran is made from the tough outer layer of a corn kernel and is especially rich in dietary fiber.

The tenth ingredient is soybean meal. Soybean meal is actually a by-product. It’s what remains of soybeans after all the oil has been removed.

Soybean meal contains 48% protein… inferior plant-based protein. So, it has the ability to raise the reported protein content of any dog food product.

Fish meal is another high protein meat concentrate.

Unfortunately, this particular item is anonymous. The term “fish” does little to properly describe this ingredient. What species? What parts?

Fish meal is commonly made from the by-products of commercial fish operations.

What’s more, the controversial chemical ethoxyquin is frequently used as a preservative in fish meals.

But because it’s usually added to the raw fish before processing, the chemical does not have to be reported to consumers.

We find no public assurances from the company this product is ethoxyquin-free.

Without knowing more, and based upon this fish meal’s location on the list of ingredients, we would expect to find only a trace of ethoxyquin in this product.

Animal digest is a (generic) chemically decomposed concoction of unspecified body parts… from unspecified animals. Believe it or not, animal digest is usually sprayed onto the surface of a dry kibble to improve its taste.

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 two notable exceptions…

Garlic oil may be a controversial item. We say “may be” here because we are not certain of the oil’s chemical relationship to raw garlic itself.

In rare cases, garlic has been linked to Heinz body anemia in dogs.2

Most of the professional literature we surveyed did not provide any conclusive warnings regarding the use of garlic… especially in small amounts (as it is here).

Although we see no reason to be overly concerned, we do feel it is a mistake to include such controversial ingredients in any dog food product.

Unfortunately, this Pro Plan product also contains menadione… a controversial form of vitamin K linked to liver toxicity, allergies and the abnormal break-down of red blood cells.

On a more positive note…

This dog food appears to contain chelated minerals… minerals that have been chemically attached to protein. This makes them easier to absorb. Chelated minerals are usually found in better dog foods.

Purina Pro Plan Dry Dog Food
The Bottom Line

Judging by its ingredients alone, Purina Pro Plan appears to be a below-average kibble.

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 30%, a fat level of 18% and an estimated carbohydrate content of 44%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 31% and an average fat level of 17%. Together, these figures suggest an overall carbohydrate content of 44% for the full product line.

Average protein. Average fat. And near-average carbohydrates… when compared to a typical dry dog food.

Yet when you consider the plant-based protein-boosting effect of the corn gluten meal, this is the profile of a kibble containing only a modest amount of meat.

What’s worse, it’s difficult to ignore the unusual abundance of Red Flag items.

Bottom line?

Purina Pro Plan is primarily a grain-based dry dog food using only a fair amount of chicken, beef or lamb as its main sources of animal protein… thus earning the brand two stars.

Not recommended.

Those looking for a better kibble from the same company may wish to check out our review of Purina Pro Plan Selects Dry Dog Food.

A Final Word

This review is designed to help you make a more informed decision when buying dog food. However, our rating system is not intended to suggest feeding a particular product will result in specific health benefits for your pet.

For a better understanding of how we analyzed this product, please be sure to read our article, “The Problem with Dog Food Reviews”

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.

Other spellings: Proplan

Notes and Updates

12/04/2009 Original review
07/15/2010 Review updated

  1. White, S., Update on food allergy in the dog and cat, World Small Animal Veterinary Association, Vancouver, 2001 ↩
  2. Yamato et al, Heinz Body hemolytic anemia with eccentrocytosis from ingestion of Chinese chive (Allium tuberosum) and garlic (Allium sativum) in a dog, Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association 41:68-73 (2005) ↩
Dog Food Advisor IconThe Dog Food Advisor publishes independent reviews to help pet owners make better choices when shopping for dog food.


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  • http://DogFoodAdvisor.com/ Mike Sagman

    SmartReader87,

    Much of what you’ve said in your comments here can be reduced to your remark, “comparing human studies and animal nutrition is dumb”.

    How could anyone possibly believe such a thing? This is scientifically and historically untrue.

    Admittedly, of course, not all nutritional factors can be applied universally to all species. For example, dogs don’t need vitamin C in their diets – but humans do.

    Humans and cats can develop Type 2 diabetes – yet dogs cannot.

    Much of what we know today about animal and human nutrition has been learned from scientific studies using select species as comparative animal models for one another.

    In a recent article entitled “Animal Models in Nutrition Research” by Dr. Dave H. Baker, Professor of Animal Sciences and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Illinoi and published in the Journal of Nutrition wrote:

    “Current knowledge in nutrition is based largely on the use of appropriate animal models together with defined diets. Numerous examples are cited where animal models have been used to solve nutrient x nutrient interactions, to evaluate bioavailability of nutrients and nutrient precursors, and to test for nutrient tolerances and toxicities.”

    This article candidly discusses both the advantages and disadvantages of using animal models. After you read it, you may wish to also browse the dozens of footnoted references attached to the bottom of that publication.

    In writing my reports, I only present components like vitamin K as the controversial ingredients they truly are.

    I always present menadione as “a controversial form of vitamin K”. Clicking on that link takes the reader (you) immediately to an article that clearly presents both sides of that controversy.

    As you can see, your dismissal of the facts here using your sweeping claim that comparing research findings between species is “dumb” is certainly not supported by science.

  • monkey

    SmartReader – thats why K3 is controversial, theres a group of people that say in small amounts it is harmless and doesn’t make a difference, a group of people that think it is hard on the dogs organs, and then theres a group that just doesn’t want to take a chance with it. Dog food manufacturers are starting to remove it because of the questions raised around it.

    Nobody is saying you have to feed ridiculously expensive food, but at least try to feed a food that has a good amount of meat in it with clean ingredients and not by-products. Theres a lot of 4 star foods on here that are just fine and aren’t “ridiculously expensive”.

  • SmartReader87

    actually that is completely inaccurate

  • SmartReader87

    my point was that a site that says a certain type of ingredient will be bad for your pet because it MAY be harmful to humans is obviously not really researching ingredients and their effects on dogs.  you can’t substitute results like that! I’m pretty sure people would get sick even if they ate the best dog food on this site, and dogs can die from stuff that is good for people! comparing human studies and animal nutrition is dumb.  I have a feeling that the cat poop and grass and whatever random things all dogs eat outside is worse than anything in most dog foods, and I certainly won’t be buying rediculously expensive food because this site says to now.

  • Barbcarlyon

    should puppies have other food as well as these dry biscuits…it does not look much.

  • aimee

    I understand what you are saying. The guidelines in the Purina Report for the intermediate caagory are actually quite wide and at their exteme nearly match the endurance guidelines. 

  • Toxed2loss

    Apparently you are unaware that much of the research on humane nutrition is performed on dogs, and other animals.

  • Addie

    I just can’t see how 20+ miles a day could not be considered an endurance athlete. To me, these articles include hunting dogs in the endurance category. 
    http://www.hilarywatson.com/athletes.pdf
    http://siriusdog.com/feed-canine-dog-athletes.htm 

    I’m not saying a hunting dog’s requirements are comparable to a sled dog doing 80 miles a day, but I still don’t think it can be fair to group them in the same class as the weekend warrior. Most of the hunt seems to be at a low intensity for hog dogs and coon hounds, up until they finally track the prey down. Maybe the issue just is in the type of hunting because retrievers, pointers, and coon hounds all have entirely different jobs? The pack hound hunt energy requirements overlap the sled dogs at 3X as does herding, so to me that would include them in the endurance athlete category. I think a fat and protein based diet would apply to them as well, just in a different caloric intake from the sled dogs. 

  • aimee

    Hi Addie,

     I used the intermediate catagory because of the intensity of the work, not the duration. The endurance dog works at low intensity and the sprinter at high intesity with the mixed work being intermediate.   

    Birddogman reported his dogs did well on the protein /carb /fat ratio in the performance diet so it must be the right ratio for that type of work.

  • Bob K

    smartReader87 – How would you rate dog food?  This site breaks down Protein, Fat, Carbs, then ingredients. Basic ingredients, Rendered meats, Grain Free, Undefined meats, good proteins, fillers, etc……  If you have a better way to evaluate dog foods other than saying my dog looks great and I have fed this food for 20 years, please speak up.   Do you have other details on vitamin K3 that is contrary to what you read here?   

  • birddogman

    Yes Addie you are right and thanks for your knowledgeable opinion.They need to be in shape prior to the season because they will get stressed and they work hard. On most days spent hunting the dogs will run over 20 miles/day. The hunter does not walk that much but a hard charging hunting/field trial dog is covering much more ground than his human companion. The weekend warrior is probably not working thier dog as hard in preperation but they should. The dogs need to be in shape to take the beating of a weekend trip and it’s even more critical in warm weather.

  • birddogman

    Yes Addie you are right and thanks for your knowledgeable opinion and facts.  During the off season we work the dogs as much as possible (field trial season starts in the spring) and during hunting season when we are on trips it is every day. They get  stressed and they work hard. On most days spent hunting the dogs will run over 20 miles/day. The hunter does not walk that much but a hard charging hunting/field trial dog is covering much more ground than his human companion. The weekend warrior is probably not working thier dog this hard but they should. The dogs need to be in shape to take the beating of a weekend trip and it’s even more critical in warm weather.

  • birddogman

    Yes Addie you are right and thanks for your knowledgeable opinion and facts.  During the off season we work the dogs as much as possible (field trial season starts in the spring) and during hunting season when we are on trips it is every day. They get  stressed and they work hard. On most days spent hunting the dogs will run over 20 miles/day. The hunter does not walk that much but a hard charging hunting/field trial dog is covering much more ground than his human companion. The weekeknd warrior is probably not working thier dog this hard but they should. The dogs need to be in shape to take the beating of a weekend trip and it’s even more critical in warm weather.

  • smartReader87

    are you kidding me? I just spent an hour reading over these reviews and worrying about vitamin K3, and then I actually followed the link to their “reference” only to find it was a human study!! every vet will tell you that it’s rediculous to compare human and animal physiology and nutrional information. this site has just lost all reliability to me.  I hope others don’t waste their time as well.

  • aimeemrtn

    I think the point in part of the Purina article is that for performance the nutrient levels should vary with the type of activity.
     
    For sprinting the best performance was acheived at higher carb levels than you would want for an endurance dog.
     
    The summary recommendations are cited back to sources other than Purina.
     
    The lower carb level as reported in the article you cited is in line with the rec for an endurance dog. I noted the author is working stock dogs which are listed in the low to medium catagory of performance so feeding more of an endurance level seems appropriate.
     
    She states she feeds a performance kibble with 32% protein and 21% fat which is similar to the pro plan performance than  she adds fat to bring the percentage up 50 + and the carb level down to 13 to 18%. But as the percent calories from carb and protein are similar in the base diet, it seems to me that she can’t be dropping the carb percent by that degree without dropping her protein too low.

  • Addie

    The way he was talking about hunting made it sound much more strenuous than just the weekend hunter they discussed in their intermediate athlete percentages, which is why I chose to use the endurance canine athletes info. The hunting dogs I know usually do at least 4 days a week for 5-8 hours at a time. Much more active than the “weekend warrior” described in the article. 

  • Shawna

    True Aimee but the below numbers are significantly different then what Purina recommends/uses — 10 to 15% total energy.

    “For a working dog, carbohydrates should be limited to 10-15% of the total energy in the diet. To improve the working dog’s use of carbohydrates, one should focus on replenishing glycogen stores and slowing glycogen depletion.”  http://www.k9energyedge.com/inform.html

  • aimee

    Just a quick comment… When looking at the values rec for working dogs the article specifies % of calories coming from each component of the diet. This is very different than the DM percentages of a diet.

    In regards to pro plan performance the caloric distribution is 27 % from protein and carbohydrate and 45% from fat based on modified atwater numbers and an avg nutrient analysis.

    For intermediate work, which is what a hunting dog was classified as the rec percentages were >= 25 from protein 35-65 from fat and 10-40 from carbs.

    The Performance formulation meets all those parameters

  • Addie

    44% is the average carb content of the entire line of Purina Pro Plan. If Performance differed greatly from the others, Dr Mike would have reviewed it separately, as he does with all outliers. The article you linked to clearly would not consider 20% fat to be optimal for an endurance athlete. 

  • Toxed2loss

    Sugar beet pulp

  • Shawna

    Other then the amount of carbs recommended (the vet was a little lower) the info is quite similar for sure!!

    By the way, I’m glad to hear you add extra meat to the diet.  I actually don’t have a problem with the amount of protein (when considering you add meat) in the Pro Plan.  Its simply the quality of ingredients that I have the problem with.. 

    I’m a raw feeder by the way.  It floors me that my Chihuahuas and Pomeranians get more protein then working dogs..  A typical food analysis for them is 55% protein, 18% fat (so much less then a working dog), 5% carbs and 22% water. 

    Anyway, good discussion :)

    PS — now we have to figure out a source of glycogen that isn’t picked up by Toxed’s MSG radar :) ….

  • birddogman

    Out of many different products,this site chose to review  Shredded Chicken and Rice, and I assume that is where you find the 44% carbo figure. I think many times Purina would recomend Pro Plan Performance for athletic dogs, which is what I use. It is 30/20 protein to fat. this is the standard ratio for athletic dogs. I have used other foods with higher protien and fat and had good results as well. I also supplement with meat, which I understand not everyone does. Too bad this site can’t add some of the other products Purina makes but it is clear he would run out of room and time to do so. I do not know the carb % in Performance. I know that this product works for a lot of dog owners.

  • Addie

    The article to me is in favor of high protein, high fat diets for canine endurance athletes, which this food clearly is not? 

    “An appropriate feeding regimen for endurance sled dogsincludes approximately 35% of calories from protein, 45%calories from fat, and 20% of calories from carbohydrates”

    “Sled dogs exercising at low-to-moderate intensity with short bouts of high intensity work need a minimum of 24% of calories from protein in the diet to prevent soft tissue injury. Dogs fed 16% protein, as a percent of calories, had more soft-tissue injuries than dogs fed more protein.”

    “Since fat has about 2.25 times more energy than either protein or carbohydrate per gram, high fat diets help to meet the energy needs of these athletes. Small amounts of complex carbohydrates are useful in stabilizing gut motility in endurance canine athletes.”

    While I’m aware yours are hunting dogs, not sledding dogs, it’s still a pretty similar amount of endurance and intensisty required, other than the short bouts of high intensity a sled dog would experience uphill. Wouldn’t you be more interested in feeding a high fat diet to keep energy levels up? The article states that small amounts of carbs are useful… this food is 44% carbs, which certainly is not a small amount. 

  • birddogman

    Not a thing that links this study and purina pro plan. Just good info. Yes I read it and yes I understood most of it, not all. Yes it is from 2005. We moved on to the concept of carbohydrates and glycogen and shawna asked to read the report. Capice?

  • Toxed2loss

    Shawna,

    This is from her paper, “Maltodextrin is considered a mildly sweet polysaccharide, or a sweet starch. Maltodextrin can be derived from any starch, but in the US, it is usually made from rice, corn, or potato starch, and is produced by cooking down the starch. During the cooking process, which is often referred to as a hydrolysis of starch, its own natural enzymes and acids help to break down the high starch content. The end result is a simple carb white powder that contains roughly four calories per gram, and extremely small amounts of fiber, fat, and protein.”

    That’s how you make MSG… Sorry hon, ALL malto has free glutamic acid. :-(

  • Bob K

    birddogman – That paper is from 2005 and often references studies from 1959, that’s 50 years ago.  Did you read and understand the articles in the report?  What exactly is the link between these articles and Purina ProPlan?  

  • birddogman

    http://www.purinavets.eu/PDFs/ResearchReport_vol9-issue1.pdf

    Here is the study. Lots of great information.

  • Shawna

    Toxed ~~ Janet Starr Hull says not all malto has MSG.  Do you know how to tell which would and would not?  Here’s the link to Janet’s comment  http://www.askdrhull.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=485

  • Shawna

    Sure Birddogman ~~ I’d love to read the study!

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