Rating: 
Purina Puppy Chow earns the Advisor’s lowest rating of one star.
Currently, the Purina Puppy Chow product line includes three dry dog foods. We found no AAFCO nutritional adequacy statements for these dog foods on the Purina website.
- Purina Puppy Chow Complete and Balanced
- Purina Puppy Chow Large Breed Formula
- Purina Puppy Chow Healthy Morsels
Purina Puppy Chow Complete and Balanced dog food was selected to represent the others in the line for this review.
Purina Puppy Chow Complete and Balanced
Dry Dog Food
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Ingredients: Whole grain corn, corn gluten meal, chicken by-product meal, brewers rice, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of vitamin E), soybean meal, egg and chicken flavor, barley, animal digest, calcium phosphate, fish oil, calcium carbonate, dried yeast, salt, potassium chloride, l-lysine monohydrochloride, choline chloride, zinc sulfate, zinc proteinate, vitamin E supplement, ferrous sulfate, dl-methionine, added color (yellow 6, yellow 5, red 40, blue 2), manganese sulfate, manganese proteinate, niacin, vitamin A supplement, copper sulfate, copper proteinate, calcium pantothenate, garlic oil, pyridoxine hydrochloride, vitamin B12 supplement, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin D3 supplement, riboflavin supplement, calcium iodate, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), folic acid, biotin, sodium selenite
Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 5.7%
Red items when present indicate controversial ingredients
The first ingredient in this dog food is corn. Now, contrary to what you may have heard, corn isn’t necessarily a bad ingredient.
On the other hand, although there’s no way to know for sure here, the corn 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, corn is commonly linked to canine food allergies1.
For these reasons, we rarely consider corn a preferred component in any dog food.
The second ingredient is corn gluten meal. Gluten is the rubbery residue left 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 third ingredient is chicken by-product meal… a dry rendered product of slaughterhouse waste. It’s made from what’s left of a slaughtered chicken after all the prime cuts have been removed.
In a nutshell, chicken by-products are the unsavory and inedible leftovers deemed “unfit for human consumption”.
This stuff can contain almost anything… feet, beaks, undeveloped eggs… you name it.
On the brighter side, by-product meals are meat concentrates and contain nearly 300% more protein than fresh chicken.
The fourth ingredient is brewers rice. 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 fifth ingredient 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.
We do not consider generic animal fat a quality ingredient.
The sixth 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, like corn gluten (previously discussed), it has the ability to raise the reported protein content of any dog food product.
Following the egg and chicken flavor, we find barley. Barley is a starchy carbohydrate supplying fiber and other healthy nutrients.
Unlike grains with a higher glycemic index (like rice), barley can help support stable blood sugar levels in dogs.
The ninth ingredient lists animal digest… a chemically hydrolyzed concoction of unspecified body parts… from unspecified animals. 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 five notable exceptions…
We’re always disappointed to see the use of artificial coloring in any dog food.
Coloring is used to make the product more appealing to you… not your dog. After all, do you really think your dog cares what color his food is?
Next, 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 Purina product also contains menadione… a controversial form of vitamin K linked to liver toxicity, allergies and the abnormal break-down of red blood cells.
We find no evidence of probiotics… friendly bacteria applied to the surface of the kibble after processing.
However, we note this food contains 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 Puppy Chow… the Bottom Line
Judging by its ingredients alone, Purina Puppy Chow appears to be a below-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 31%, a fat level of 14% and an estimated carbohydrate content of 48%.
As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 31% and an average fat level of 13%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate fraction of 48% for the full product line.
Average protein. Low fat. And average carbohydrates as 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.
Bottom line?
Purina Puppy Chow is primarily a grain-based dry dog food using only a limited amount of chicken by-product meal as its main source of animal protein… thus earning the brand one star.
Not recommended.
Those looking for a similar wet food from the same company may wish to visit our review of Purina Healthy Morsels canned 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… or maybe the review itself? Please know… we welcome your comments.
Notes and Updates
12/19/2009 Original review
07/22/2010 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) ↩
The Dog Food Advisor publishes independent reviews to help pet owners make better choices when shopping for dog food.
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