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
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
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
07/15/2010 Review updated
- White, S., Update on food allergy in the dog and cat, World Small Animal Veterinary Association, Vancouver, 2001 ↩
- 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) ↩
{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
What would you recommend for our border collie. It’s so confusing trying to find a good dog food. He didn’t really care for the puppy chow the breeder was giving him. We’ve since changed him to an adult dog food, the Purina Pro Plan. We heard that Professional was good but than read a review saying it wasn’t. HELP!
Hi Linda… I understand your frustration. I’m only familiar with the dog foods I’ve personally reviewed on this website. Will be covering hundreds more during 2010. If they fit your budget, try one of the four or five star products. Bailey used to be quite fussy about his dry food, too. After all, any kibble is far from what a dog would naturally choose to eat “in the wild” anyway. Right? So, why not “top-off” his kibble with a nice canned product (and mix them well together). Bailey gobbles it up. Just be sure to use up any open can in two days or so. Hope this helps.
Hi Mike,
I’m glad I read your article.
I’ve been feeding my beagle/Australian shepherd Pro Plan Chicken and Rice Reduced Calorie Formula because she’s a bit overweight.
Daisy has always been a scratcher for no apparent reason.
She is parasite-free and I use an oatmeal shampoo that soothes and moisturizes her skin.
After reading your article, I’m beginning to wonder if her scratching could be a wheat-related allergic reaction.
Can you please recommend quality, reduced-calorie dry foods I can switch to?
Thank you for the informative article!
Hi Sal… In the near future, I’m planning to add a page to this website that will list the best dog foods for weight control. In the meantime, you may find this article helpful in your search for a reason for Daisy’s chronic scratching… “Dangerous Canine Diseases Linked to Grains in Dog Food“. Hope this helps.
Hi Mike,
my dog has IBD and has had 4 major episodes and ended in the ER due to vomiting blood. i always fed her high quality food; however since the last episode the vet put her on pro plan lamb and rice and she has been fine since then. the vet told me she might have an allergy to poultry and not to feed her anything with potato or anything that can cause inflammation. i am really scared to take a chance and change her food; however i would like to hear your opinion and if you would recommend any other food that can keep her IBD in check. if she stays eating pro plan lamb and rice, would there be a chance for any disease in the long run. thanks
Hi Ellie… I know how you feel as our previous dog (Penny) had her own challenging intestinal issues. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend a specific dog food to you for the treatment of IBD because of the limitations of my training. However, there are numerous lamb and rice dog foods on our website that may be similar to the ProPlan product… yet without all the quality issues. Look for the products with our higher ratings… and then ask your vet for his/her opinion. Hope this helps.
in our I have tried to focus my mission here on this site to rating the foods based upon quality rather than whether they are appropriate for a specific condition..
Purina has been making food for about 75 years, and dogs that I know personally are living to be 15 and 16 years old, being fed Purina pro plan. These are dogs that are between 60 and 80 lbs.
Hi Jean… No matter how long Purina has been making dog food doesn’t change the facts… brewers rice, poultry by-product and corn gluten meals are still considered cheap, low quality ingredients. Plus anonymous animal fat is one of the lowest quality ingredients we track in the commercial pet food products we review. What’s more, this dog food contains menadione… a controversial form of vitamin K linked to liver toxicity, allergies and the abnormal break-down of red blood cells.
If a dog lives to 15 to 16 years of age… who’s to say she wouldn’t have made it to 20 years or more?
In any case, when you compare these dog foods to other commercial products… they just don’t stack up.
My dog has been on the purina pro plan lamb and rice for the past month due to having a super low thyroid, he has some sort of allergies that for the past 4 years he’s been on antibiotics, creams, shampoos, shots, bloodwork, tests, etc..
We’ve had to switch his food a few times a year due to not solving the problem as well.
His medical conditions have cost a pretty penny, not too mention that he gets reoccuring epulis growths in his mouth all along the teethline. (which is expensive to remove).
So I switched to the pro plan because my doberman’s medical bills made it so that I couldn’t afford $50-$60 bags of dog food.
For the first 2-3 weeks, my dog loved the pro plan.
Now, after a month, he won’t eat, he’s lost weight, he has been throwing up for the past week! He has no energy and He won’t even eat lunch meat or soft dog food (that’s how sick he is)
I’m taking him to the vet, but from I’ve read from many, many reviews online. Many dog owners faced the same issues that i am now dealing with. So in the meantime I will be switching his food, stopping his meds.
I wish I could blame it on his age and his conditions, but I have the intuition that his condition now is from the purina pro plan lamb.
Hi Erika… sorry to hear about your dog’s illness. You are definitely doing the right thing to check with your vet. Just as a suggestion, be sure to read my article “Dangerous Canine Diseases Linked to Grains in Dog Food“.
You may be surprised to find the real underlying cause of so many unexplained food-related problems. If your vet agrees, why not consider feeding your baby a 4 or 5-star grain-free dog food.
I’ve been feeding my dogs Purina Pro Plan and Purina Pro Plan Performance for a total of at least 15 years and I find your review of this product to be completely off base. My dogs have been living to the full lifespan for their breed without any health problems. They have beautiful coats and no skin problems. I think you may want to revisit some of your assumptions about this food.
I find your evaluations objective and to the point. It’s a shame people like Carlotta get offended of objective reviews of a product based on what we know about the ingredients and the animals that we feed them to. Keep up the good work Mike. WHile I have fed Pro Plan Performance for some time I was a bit concerned about CHicken as the number 1 ingredient (given the moisture content) and corn gluten meal as the number 2 ingredient. The pro plan Performance formula is a 30% Protein/ 20% fat. I called their service line to find out digestibility but they were unable to respond. One of the products I am considering is a 4 Health product similar in protein/fat profile. I called their customer service line and they were immediately able to tell me the digestibility is 86%.
Hi. We currently use Purina Pro Plan food but I have concerns after reading your reviews. I have looked at the ingredients list on the bag and it doesn’t seem to be as comprehensive as the list you give. Please could you tell me where you got the ingredients list from and how come it is more detailed than the list printed on the packaging?
Many thanks.
Hi Joanne… in most cases (when available) we copy the ingredients directly from each company’s website. The problem is that the manufacturers frequently change their recipes and fail to update their websites. Also, ingredients for the exact same foods can vary from country to country.
My wife and I try our very best to stay abreast of these changes for more than 2000 products… and we are sure most changes occur without our knowledge. We invite all our readers to leave comments on the specific reviews when they find errors… and we try to investigate and update changes as quickly as we can.
I thought I was doing good by feeding my dog purina….now I am more confused than ever about what to feed her. The Pro Plan is expensive enough as it is…..and with today’s economy don’t know that I could go (afford) much more. I do want what is best for her (she is my baby) but my husband is not a dog lover (we do not agree how much her food should cost) and I am blessed just to have her. So with that said how do I do her justice….she has never been sick or suffered any ill affects of the pro plan but after reading all your findings……what do I do???? Please help……
Hi Vicki… first of all, there’s nothing inherently wrong with feeding your baby Purina Pro Plan. If you’ve had good results with this food and the product fits your budget… and if (of course) your dog likes it, it’s probably OK to stick with it. Don’t feel obliged to change foods just because you’ve read somewhere that you should.
The main goal of the Dog Food Advisor is to help our readers see what’s actually used to make a particular dog food. That’s all.
Now, if you’re having problems… that’s a different issue. You may want to find a 3, 4 or 5-star dog food that fits your budget and try it.
Surprisingly, there are a number of very good (4-star) kibbles that actually cost less than some more expensive 2-star products… notably less than what you’ve been using.
Hello – Please review the following dog food: American Natural Premium dry dog food, made by the Fromm family here in the Ceadarburg, WI area. Seems like they use quality ingredients but just wanted to check, have been using it about a year. Dog as a puppy to 1 her do-do was fine, but has become a little runny lately so we’ve been mixing in some Nutrish with it – Has helped a lot but only 2 star rating. Please advise, very limited budget, ($46.00 for a bag of Blue – No way) Don’t want to do canned foods either. Thinking about Fromm Family Classics Dry – 3 star. Thanks!
Hi Patrick… thanks to your suggestion I’ve added American Natural Premium to my reviews-to-do list.
Hey, I have been searching for reviews of people who know about this, and after bbrowsing the directories, I came to your write up, and it really iswonderful write up. Too bad I took so much time getting to your blog. Saved you in my bookmarks already. Will come back again. Just keep writing people like me will follow you.
I’ve fed Pro Plan Lamb and Rice to my greyhounds for many years; I’m even a member of the Purina Pro Club, but I’m about finished with Pro Plan. Purina has been steadily shrinking the size of their dog food bags and raising the price. 40 lbs used to be the weight of a large bag, then it went to 37.5 lbs, and now it’s down to 35 lbs, but the price has steadily gone up. I also didn’t like it when Purina switched to the so-called “shredded blend”. I think they’re hoping that consumers will think the “tender, shredded pieces” are meat, when they’re really just cereal. If my dogs aren’t very hungry, they’ll pick around the shredded pieces and just eat the kibble, which tells me they don’t really care for the shredded stuff anyway. Lately I’ve been experimenting with Authority Adult with Chicken, because I noticed it contains brown rice instead of Pro Plan’s cheap brewer’s rice. After reading the review of Costco’s Kirkland chicken formula, though, I think I’ll give that a try, since it received a 4-star rating, where Authority got 3 stars and costs more. Pro Plan also contains the infamous “animal fat” that likely comes from one of those hideous rendering plants.