[Shalva]

yuck..... not something that I would ever feed my dogs.... there are so many options out there of better quality foods with better quality ingredients..... I am a big proponent of feed what works for your dog ....
but if I found out one of my puppies was eating purina I think I would pitch a fit..... I very clearly give my puppy people a list of acceptable dog foods and they must choose off the list that I give them..... (speaking of which I better get my new list together) but there isn't a purina product on that list.....

S

[luvntzus]

Originally Posted by Weebles

I think that poster may be talking about Pro Plan Selects which IS a high quality food. It's (I think) a newer food that has similar ingredients to the ones like Canidae but is made by Purina - it's not the same as the regular Pro Plan. It is pretty expensive though.

It's VERY overpriced compared to foods with similar (and better) ingredients. Canidae is about $25 for 33 pounds. Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul is $29.99 for 35 pounds. Pro Plan Select is $46.99 for 33 pounds.

Turkey, brewers rice, pearled barley, chicken meal (natural source of glucosamine), corn gluten meal, oat meal, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), dried egg product, fish meal (natural source of glucosamine), pea fiber, dried beet pulp, fish oil, natural flavor, calcium phosphate, potassium chloride, salt, L-Lysine monohydrochloride, calcium carbonate, dried tomatoes, blueberry pomace, dried sweet potatoes, Vitamin E supplement, zinc proteinate, manganese proteinate, choline chloride, ferrous sulfate, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), niacin, copper proteinate, Vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, garlic oil, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, calcium iodate, biotin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), sodium selenite.

I wouldn't feed it because of the bolded ingredients. Purina is getting closer, but still missing the mark at making a holistic food.

[Captbob]

Originally Posted by luvntzus

It's VERY overpriced compared to foods with similar (and better) ingredients. Canidae is about $25 for 33 pounds. Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul is $29.99 for 35 pounds. Pro Plan Select is $46.99 for 33 pounds.

Turkey, brewers rice, pearled barley, chicken meal (natural source of glucosamine), corn gluten meal, oat meal, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), dried egg product, fish meal (natural source of glucosamine), pea fiber, dried beet pulp, fish oil, natural flavor, calcium phosphate, potassium chloride, salt, L-Lysine monohydrochloride, calcium carbonate, dried tomatoes, blueberry pomace, dried sweet potatoes, Vitamin E supplement, zinc proteinate, manganese proteinate, choline chloride, ferrous sulfate, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), niacin, copper proteinate, Vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, garlic oil, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, calcium iodate, biotin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), sodium selenite.

I wouldn't feed it because of the bolded ingredients. Purina is getting closer, but still missing the mark at making a holistic food.

That money goes to the very expensive TV and magazine advertisements.....

[RoxyD]

My bloodhound Roxy is on Purina dog chow, seems like she likes it. But now i am nervous because all the things people have said about it. I do notice that she sheads alot, like you can pull the furr off her and she doesnt mind, could this be from the dog food?

[Captbob]

Maybe we should start a thread on how good it would be to feed yourself McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts every day....

[Amitiel]

ok, question - I have a large breed dog that has problems with . . . . loose stools (to be polite) - I have tried several different brands and for now IAMS, dry is working the best, just no lamb. I am (thanks so much guys) looking at other better foods (hated IAMS anyway - smells bad & other things). How likely will he be to take to one of the bison products with his sensitivity to lamb?

[Ginny01OT]

You could try venison, chicken/turkey or even rabbit based food as well. Whatever you decide to do just do it slowly. Timberwolf Organics has some good kibble products/BARF mixers you could check out their website and see if any would work for you....I had to take my dog off Iams, mega ear infections.

[Bumper]

Purina...I won't feed it to anything, not dogs, cats or horses. Their feeds (all animal varieties) are very outdated when it comes to nutrition. They made a big deal out of Strategy horse feed but it's nothing but the leftovers on the floor of the feed mill, someone had the bright idea to mix it up into a pellet and put it in a bag.

Bumper

[GreyhoundGirl]

I would never feed Purina. I tried for a while and it dried my dog's coat out, gave her terrible dandruff, she lost a lot of wieght, her stools were awful, she had no energy... I would not reccomend Purina.

[Love's_Sophie]

My dogs eat Eukanuba medium breed lamb and rice; I usually like something 'higher' end (although this retails at 50$ a 40lb bag), but I get it at a discount at the clinic I work at, and with only one income currently (mine) my hubby and I need to 'save' as much as we can!!! We can also put it on our 'tab' if necessary there...

[sillylilykitty]

I would never feed Purina. I am having a hard time getting my friend convinced to want to change her cats food from Purina to something better (I chose Chicken Soup because it's the cheapest good food). But Purina cat chow, they get it for less than $12 for a 18lb bag

[Durbkat]

I used to feed it but Snoopy never had alot of energy and his coat didn't look that good. But now that I am in the process of switching to canidae he has load s of more energy and he sheds less!

[GreatDaneMom]

Chloes on Chicken Soup... i love it! its been great for her. shes got a ton of energy (well, that part i could do without, shes a freak of nature now) and shes gained a lot of weight on it that she needed. she was sooooo skinny from her HOD, and she was about 40lbs when we put her on it... shes not even done with her first bag yet (we bought the really big bag, she eats about 3cups a day) and shes already up over 50lbs. YAY. i would never feed purina anything...not even their "top" line. its not that "top" IMHO

[UrbanBeagles]

Originally Posted by Ilovemydoglala

My dog Lala loves this food and its very healthy!Does anyone else have any dogs that eat purina?

I fed Purina ONE for a few months ...
Almost a year ago, I lost a magnificent GSD who was literally poetry in motion, intelligent, fiercely loyal, a true companion. She was a very rare mix of German working/show plus Am. show lines. This bitch was a remarkable specimen of the breed conformation wise, and had the temperament needed for real work. She once carried out a formal "bark & hold" with no training at all at the age of 8 months, in a real life situation. I know, this is getting OT. But I was intending to breed her to a German import police S&R dog who did time at Ground Zero. She had so much to live for until we bought a bag of Purina ONE in Dec. 05. My dogs had always been healthy, but I had a few come down with colitis, we had some problems with excessive nervousness/anxiety, and Kyra, my GSD started sprouting lumps. One on her neck, the other on her rear leg. Her beautiful coat was now very greasy Also, all the dog's teeth were accumulating tartar at an astonishing rate. Nothing I did made a dent on the tartar - it was though it was coming from the INSIDE of the tooth. When I made the connection between the food and the health problems, my Beagles got well again, but my Shepherd just continued to go downhill with the diarrhea, vomiting, weightloss that the Vet could not explain. She had an elevated BUN in Aug & Oct of '06, but we just didn't know WHY. It wasn't at levels indicating renal failure, but something was going on. I had her on antacids on a daily basis, just to keep her from having projectile diarrhea ... she also became incontinant towards the end. We were supposed to have her bloodwork done again last November, but she never made it. She was down to about 45lbs and was getting so blindly aggressive and her persopnality was completely inside out. She mauled one of my Beagles, one she had always been ultra submissive to, and had to be put down.
Since then, I've heard similar stories regarding Purina products, namely, Pro Plan. I have a Beagle breeder friend using Pro Plan and her dogs look like $***. They're overweight, no pigment, constant eye stains, rotted teeth, doggy odor.
Every time I see a bag of Purina ONE I think of what it did to Kyra and I have the compulsion to haul it of the shelf and tear the bag to shreds, all the while screaming that it killed my dog There is nothing you can say (directed at the OP) that redeems this product in my eyes. Even if you say they do make higher end products, just the fact that the vast majority of their foods are such pure garbage with sorbitol, artificial colors, soy, wheat, corn gluten - I wouldn't even bother supporting a company that makes a product like Beneful or the worst dog food ever produced (far worse than Ol' Roy), Mainstay.

I miss ya, Kyra ...

[LighthouseNewfoundlands]

I know I'm new to this forum, however, I am not new to Purina. In fact, I would consider myself an expert.

Consumer Affairs interviewed me for a story they did on Purina. I have invested at least 250 hours in dog food researching after all the recalls.

If any of you want to read the story, go to
www.consumeraffairs.com and look up the "Newfoundland's Breeder Despair," article. It was written several months ago, so you might have to do a search.

I will NEVER feed Purina . . . I had a deformed litter, just to mention one problem, and looking back, I feel blessed my Newfoundlands didn't die from that food.

Nestle' owns Purina. Purina also make Ol Roy. Would you feed your dogs Ol Roy?

Just my OWN tragic experience. Never again.

If anyone would like to e-mail me privately, feel free.

[UrbanBeagles]

This is one of my posts from another thread, but I think it certainly continues to apply here:

"Anything can happen no matter what you feed. All anyone can ever do is feed the food their dog does best on- no matter what it is. If only more people would understand that dogs can still get cancer and die at a young age eating Innova, Solid Gold, Wellness, etc...but then, I suppose, of course, it would not be blamed on the food. Nope, only foods like Dog Chow get the honor of being blamed for such tragedies. Just doesn't make sense to me! Did it ever occur to anyone that a tragedy happened simply because a dog just happened to be born with a bad set of genetics?

I'm sorry, I have to respectfully but wholeheartedly disagree with you on this! You're correct in the aspect that genetics plays the foremost role in determening the health of the dog, and no brand of food is going to switch off bad genes. You can feed anything, and that dog is still going to come down with cancer, bloat, epilepsy.
I have fed dozens of commercial foods, most of which were holistic. I would say my dogs did well on most fo these foods, however we had one holistic food (Back to Basics) and two non hoilistic (Eukanuba & Purina ONE) cause MAJOR problems that these dogs were NOT NOT NOT genetically predisposed to!!!!! When I problem crops up suddenly and ends abrubtly after a food is introduced/taken away, well then, its the food thats causing it. So yeah, I'm going to blame the food. We had hundreds of foods literally killing dogs several months back, and I firmly believe there are more dry foods that were not recalled but are causing serious illness in dogs. I mentioned Eukanuba was causing incontanince in my dogs - a friend of mine had the same problems as I did with that food, one of my puppy buyers reported the same thing, and now my cousin't dog on Iams has protein in his urine. She is so stubborn, she refuses to believe its the food. Well, it is. Also have a neighbor whose daughter feeds their Lab Eukanuba - he's lost weight, poor coat, bladder problems ... I am seriously considering negating my puppy health guarantee should the buyer feed Iams/Euk due to the pattern of urinary issues its causing.
I'm sorry, but I can't be convinced Purina is decent. If food was causing a problem, I'd blame it no matter what the brand. Its not that foods like Dog Chow are the only ones to be blamed for problems. I have 10 dogs who do well on almost anything (but thrive on raw, lol) and foods such as Purina have caused their health to go down the toilet. Once I took them off, with the exception of one dog, all their problems cleared up. I have talked to breeders whose dogs were getting histiocytomas (sp?) constantly on Purina products, due to the tallow (which is essentially beef based lard) causing the overly oily skin to form these oversized pimples. I am hearing breeders complain about mysterious deaths of pups and dogs of all ages on certain Purina formulas. Check the internet, I know of at least one Newfie breeder and one Bichon breeder who are currently blaming Purina for the sudden mysterious deaths of their dogs in the past several months. I personally know quite a few show breeders who were swearing by it but switched in the past year due to poor performance ...

[Occy]

I feed pro plan - have for years - also feed purina ONE when I cant afford the pro plan which isnt very often luckily

[GreatDaneMom]

theres a lot of foods out there i wont feed, anything marked with purina is out of the question. i think a lot of people need to learn whats in their dog food, and learn exatly WHAT it IS. learn the difference between, chicken-chicken byproduct- chicken meal...etc. its not all the same.

[Occy]

as ive said in other threads im looking into new foods all the time with my gsd because of his many immune mediated issues - hmm should i blame his food for those? - if only timberwolf was available in australia

[flipgirl]

If your dog has a genetic predisposition for cancer, epilepsy or whatever illness or condition, no food will prevent these. If your dog comes from a line which has no incidences of these diseases or conditions, then can we safely say if your dog gets cancer or whatever, that it is caused by the food you are feeding? That, I would think, would be difficult to answer as you have to consider environmental factors, even the water your dog drinks as it comes from different sources in different areas. However, I believe quality food gives a dog a chance at a high quality of life in terms of overall health and vitality. Dogs have been fed Purina for years but since the dog has become more of a part of our family as opposed to a piece of property, more effort has been put in creating holistic dog foods which purport to promote both physical and mental health of our four-legged family members. I do not feed my dog PUrina because I believe it's full of cheap fillers and colours. I don't think I would like to eat food full of fillers and colours; think about how you feel when you eat processed food full of artificial flavours or colours. Why do you think there are more obese people nowadays than in earlier days? Because there are more of these convenient processed foods with chemicals that our bodies don't know what to do with so they store them as fat. I would think that dogs, as carnivores, would feel the same way when fed cheap fillers and colours. Many foods like Purina's Beneful, colour their food to make it look healthful and some of the so-called meat is just stuff coloured to look like meat. My sister-in-law changed her labs from Eukanuba to Wellness and there is a huge difference in their coat and their body condition. Their coats are shinier, they look trim and not bloated and their eyes are brighter. The one lab has epilepsy and he has some behavioural problems but that's because he's from a pet store (i.e. puppy mill). I just think it's logical to feed your dog, as a member of your family, the best food you can afford and available.