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Purina Pro Plan Dog Food Review (Canned)

Purina Pro Plan Focus Adult Classic Sensitive Skin and Stomach Wet Dog Food

Rating:

Which Purina Pro Plan Wet Recipes Get
Our Best Ratings?

Purina Pro Plan wet dog food receives the Advisor’s second-highest tier rating of 4 stars.

The Purina Pro Plan product line includes the 37 wet dog foods listed below.

Each recipe includes its AAFCO nutrient profile when available… Growth (puppy), Maintenance (adult), All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.

Product Rating AAFCO
Purina Pro Plan Classic Adult Complete Essentials Turkey and Chicken Entree Grain Free 2.5 M
Purina Pro Plan Classic Adult Complete Essentials Chicken and Lamb Entree Grain Free 2.5 M
Purina Pro Plan Classic Adult Complete Essentials Beef and Venison Grain Free 2.5 M
Purina Pro Plan Classic Adult Complete Essentials Beef and Chicken Entree Grain Free 2.5 M
Purina Pro Plan Classic Adult Complete Essentials Beef and Salmon Entree Grain Free 2.5 M
Purina Pro Plan Classic Adult Complete Essentials Turkey and Sweet Potato Entree Grain Free 2.5 M
Purina Pro Plan Classic Adult Complete Essentials Turkey, Duck and Quail Entree Grain Free 2.5 M
Purina Pro Plan Classic Complete Essentials Chicken and Carrots Entree Grain Free 2.5 M
Purina Pro Plan Classic Adult Complete Essentials Beef and Peas Entree Grain Free 2.5 M
Purina Pro Plan Classic Complete Essentials Chicken and Duck Entree Grain Free 2.5 M
Purina Pro Plan Classic Adult 7+ Complete Essentials Turkey and Rice Entree 2.5 M
Purina Pro Plan Classic Puppy Chicken Entree Grain Free 2.5 G
Purina Pro Plan Classic Puppy Turkey Entree Grain Free 2.5 G
Purina Pro Plan Classic Puppy Chicken and Rice Entree 2.5 G
Purina Pro Plan Classic Puppy Chicken and Brown Rice Entree 2.5 G
Purina Pro Plan Classic Adult Sensitive Skin and Stomach Salmon and Rice Entree 3.5 M
Purina Pro Plan Adult Small Breed Beef Entree Grain Free Tray** 4.5 M
Purina Pro Plan Adult Small Breed Chicken Entree Grain Free Tray** 4.5 M
Purina Pro Plan Adult Small Breed Turkey Entree Grain Free Tray** 4.5 M
Purina Pro Plan Classic Adult 7+ Complete Essentials Chicken and Rice Entree 2.5 M
Purina Pro Plan Morsels in Gravy Adult 7+ Complete Essentials Beef and Rice Entree 2.5 M
Purina Pro Plan Chunks in Gravy Adult Large Breed Beef and Rice Entree 2.5 M
Purina Pro Plan Chunks in Gravy Adult Large Breed Chicken and Rice Entree 2.5 M
Purina Pro Plan Adult Weight Management Turkey and Rice Entree 2.5 M
Purina Pro Plan Slices in Gravy Adult Complete Essentials Chicken and Vegetables Entree 2.5 M
Purina Pro Plan Adult Complete Essentials Shredded Turkey, Peas and Brown Rice Entree in Gravy 2.5 M
Purina Pro Plan Classic Adult Complete Essentials Chicken and Rice Entree 2.5 M
Purina Pro Plan Slices in Gravy Adult Complete Essentials Turkey and Vegetables Entree 2.5 M
Purina Pro Plan Adult Complete Essentials Shredded Beef and Lamb Entree in Gravy 2.5 M
Purina Pro Plan Slices in Gravy Adult Complete Essentials Beef and Vegetables Entree 2.5 M
Purina Pro Plan Adult Complete Essentials Seared Chicken, Julienne Carrots and Barley Entree in Gravy 2.5 M
Purina Pro Plan Classic Adult Complete Essentials Beef and Rice Entree 2.5 M
Purina Pro Plan Adult Complete Essentials Seared Beef, Green Beans and Brown Rice Entree in Gravy 2.5 M
Purina Pro Plan Classic Adult Complete Essentials Beef and Brown Rice Entree 2.5 M
Purina Pro Plan Slices in Gravy Adult Complete Essentials Lamb and Vegetables Entree 2.5 M
Purina Pro Plan Adult Complete Essentials Braised Chicken and Spinach Entree Tub 2.5 M
Purina Pro Plan Adult Complete Essentials Braised Beef and Wild Rice Entree Tub 2.5 M

Recipe and Label Analysis

Purina Pro Plan Classic Adult Sensitive Skin and Stomach Salmon and Rice Entree was selected to represent the other products in the line for detailed recipe and nutrient analysis.

Label and nutrient data below are calculated using dry matter basis.


Pro Plan Classic Adult Sensitive Skin and Stomach Salmon and Rice Entree

Canned Dog Food

Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content

Protein = 32% | Fat = 23% | Carbs = 38%

Ingredients: Water sufficient for processing, salmon, rice, fish, potato protein, corn oil, carrots, inulin, potassium chloride, carrageenan, locust bean gum, xanthan gum, guar gum, tricalcium phosphate, choline chloride, vitamin E supplement, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, niacin, copper sulfate, manganese sulfate, calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, vitamin B-12 supplement, riboflavin supplement, vitamin A supplement, potassium iodide, folic acid, vitamin D-3 supplement, biotin, sodium selenite

Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 6.8%

Red denotes controversial item

Estimated Nutrient Content
MethodProteinFatCarbs
Guaranteed Analysis7%5%NA
Dry Matter Basis32%23%38%
Calorie Weighted Basis26%44%30%
Protein = 26% | Fat = 44% | Carbs = 30%

Ingredient Analysis

The first ingredient in this dog food is water, which adds nothing but moisture to this food. Water is a routine finding in most wet dog foods.

The second ingredient is salmon. Salmon is an oily marine and freshwater fish not only high in protein but also omega 3 fatty acids, essential oils needed by every dog to sustain life.

The third ingredient includes rice. Is this whole grain rice, brown rice or white rice? Since the word “rice” doesn’t tell us much, it’s impossible to judge the quality of this item.

The fourth ingredient is fish. This item is typically sourced from clean, undecomposed whole fish and fish cuttings of commercial fish operations.1

Without more detailed information, it’s difficult to judge the quality of this particular ingredient

In any case, fish meat is naturally rich in the ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.

The fifth ingredient is potato protein, the dry residue remaining after removing the starchy part of a potato.

Even though it contains over 80% protein, this ingredient would be expected to have a lower biological value than meat.

And less costly plant-based products like this can notably boost the total protein reported on the label — a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this dog food.

The sixth ingredient is corn oil. Corn oil has one of the highest (and most unfavorable) omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratios of any vegetable oil. Compared to almost any named animal fat, corn oil cannot be considered a quality ingredient.

The seventh ingredient lists carrots, which are rich in beta-carotene, minerals and dietary fiber.

The eighth ingredient is inulin, a starch-like compound made up of repeating units of carbohydrates and typically sourced from chicory root.

Not only is inulin a natural source of soluble dietary fiber, it’s also a prebiotic used to promote the growth of healthy bacteria in a dog’s digestive tract.

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 affect the overall rating of this Pro Plan product.

With 3 notable exceptions

First, we find sodium selenite, a controversial form of the mineral selenium. Sodium selenite appears to be nutritionally inferior to the more natural source of selenium found in selenium yeast.

Next, carrageenan is a gelatin-like thickening agent extracted from seaweed. Although carrageenan has been used as a food additive for hundreds of years, there appears to be some recent controversy regarding its long term biological safety.

The article, The Carrageenan Controversy, published in Scientific American, does a good job of addressing this topic.

And lastly, the minerals listed here do not appear to be chelated. And that can make them more difficult to absorb. Chelated minerals are usually associated with higher quality dog foods.

Nutrient Analysis

Based on its ingredients alone, Purina Pro Plan dog food looks like an average wet product.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 32%, a fat level of 23% and estimated carbohydrates of about 38%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 44% and a mean fat level of 22%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 26% for the overall product line.

And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 52%.

Which means this Purina Pro Plan product line contains…

Above-average protein. Near-average fat. And below-average carbs when compared to a typical canned dog food.

When you consider the protein-boosting effect of the potato protein, this looks like the profile of a recipe containing a moderate amount of meat.

Our Rating of Purina Pro Plan Dog Food

Purina Pro Plan includes both grain-inclusive and grain-free wet dog foods using a notable amount of named meats and unnamed meat by-products as its dominant sources of animal protein, thus earning the brand 4 stars.

Highly recommended.

Please note certain recipes are sometimes given a higher or lower rating based upon our estimate of their total meat content and (when appropriate) their fat-to-protein ratios.

Purina Pro Plan Dog Food Recall History

The following automated list (if present) includes all dog food recalls related to Purina through March 2024.

You can view a complete list of all dog food recalls since 2009 here.

Get Free Recall Alerts

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More Purina Brand Reviews

The following Purina dog food reviews are also posted on this website:

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References

  1. Adapted by The Dog Food Advisor from the official definition of other fish ingredients as published by the Association of American Feed Control Officials
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