[aurore]

I am currently feeding my puppy Purina ProPlan chicken and rice, and I was reading how Pro Plan isn't really so good. Is it really that bad? Was just wondering if I should start slowly switching her now to a better quality food or just wait until the bag is almost empty? (It's a pretty full bag) Opinions would be very much welcomed. Also what kind of dog food would you recommend for a puppy?

 

[Goldens&Labs4Me]

I can pretty much bet that my answer will not be in the majority.

But, if Proplan is working for her--I would leave it alone. IMO, it's a nice, middle of the road food that a LOT of dogs do well on. If her coat is good, poops are good and no gas, etc, then it must be doing okay for her.

I started my dogs off on Eukanuba when they were babies...for a few years. And then I started reading forums and thought "Oh, I need to feed better". So I started on a dog food roller coaster and have tried MANY brands over the last 10 years.

After trying many top brands with less than great results, I have just recently gone back to Eukanuba. And I am not only "ok" with my decision, I'm relieved. My dogs are not gassy, their poop is good, the eye gunk is gone and they have good energy. I was literally driving myself nuts and stepped way out of my own box and now, I'm glad I did.

Sure there are a lot of "better" brands out there than Eukanuba (or Pro Plan) and I've tried most of them. But, if it's not broken, I won't fix it, again.

 

[aurore]

She is doing really well on it and seems to really like it too! I think I will definitely take your advice. If she does have problems later on, I will think of trying something else... but you did make a really good point! and now that I see it from that view I totally agree with you. The only issues we do have with her though is her allergies. I don't think it's the food at all, but whenever she is in grass or outside she sneezes and itches... and also snores at night. I am pretty sure it's pollen/outside allergies. Thanks for your input by the way, really appreciate it !

 

[Goldens&Labs4Me]

You are most welcome. I'm sure you'll get more opinions on the other side--and most here don't like Pro Plan, Eukanuba or any of the middle of the road foods. But after trail and error, I'm more for feeding what works for the dog.

And another thing to keep in mind is--just because it may look better on paper, doesn't mean it's going to necessarily work better for your dog. Personally, I will be leaving things alone until they no longer work. Best of luck with your baby!

 

[bgmacaw]

We're using ProPlan Select with our Chihuahua puppy. She likes it and it agrees with her digestive system.

 

[DaViking]

I am currently feeding my puppy Purina ProPlan chicken and rice, and I was reading how Pro Plan isn't really so good. Is it really that bad? Was just wondering if I should start slowly switching her now to a better quality food or just wait until the bag is almost empty? (It's a pretty full bag) Opinions would be very much welcomed. Also what kind of dog food would you recommend for a puppy?

First of all you can't argue what works. If it works it works. That being said, it might have been top of the line 20 years ago and arguably no brand have more various champions than Pro Plan but... Today you can get foods that have similar profile and fits in the same category as Pro Plan that should give you similar or better results with the information, knowledge and technology of 2012. I am talking about grain inclusive formulas from for example Dr. Tim's, Annamaet, Enhance, Fromm Gold, Horizon, Genesis, First Mate, Nutrisource and Precise to name a few. They all have foods with similar profile and targets as Pro Plan but without all the nasty animal digest, by-products, gmo corn splitting, sulfates and oxides and menadione. And they are all small hard working companies who lives and breathes dog 24/7. Personally I feel better giving them my money and not making Nestle, P&G, Mars, Del Monte or what have you any richer. That's my $0.02

 

[JonTempleton]

I know a dog breeder that is very serious about what she does, and she uses the same thing.

 

[hamandeggs]

It's not the best, but it's not the worst. My parents have fed their 9-year old bird dog Pro Plan High Performance (or whatever it's called) for most of his life and he's healthy as a horse, so to speak. I would feed through most of the bag and then decide if you want to slowly switch to something else.

 

[WestieLove]

If its working then stick with it, there is no reason to start switching her food. Pro Plan is a nice middle of the road food (Nestles has its lower end like Beneful and its higher end veterinary diets). I personally would only feed Pro Plan or a veterinary diet by Purina but that's just me. Don't fix what isn't broken. There is nothing wrong with feeding Pro Plan.

You may find a lot of members here will dislike brands such as Purina, Royal Canin, Hills / Science Diet, Eukanuba etc. but I am more for feeding what works for the dog. I am not against feeding a grain-free holistic brand if that is what the dog needs and does well on but in my personal experience I have had better luck feeding these middle of the road brands then I have anything "high quality" grain-free brands. I stick with what works for my dogs and I don't change it unless for some reason I can no longer get the formula that works in my area (has happened...)

 

[kafkabeetle]

I probably wouldn't feed it myself (at least not long term) because it has several ingredients I would object to-- wheat, corn, soybeans, by-product meal, etc. I think you could definitely find something better for the same price or close. Some people are calling this a "middle of the road" food...I'd be inclined to say it's lower-middle. Foods like 4Health, Whole Earth Farms and Kirkland are middle of the road to me, personally, since they are still grain inclusive, but do not contain wheat/soy/corn or byproduct meals. Maybe you guys would consider these upper-middle.

That said, I definitely wouldn't throw out the bag you currently have or anything. I'd feed virtually anything for just a month or two. I would just personally look for something a little better for the future.

Good luck!

 

[FaithFurMom09]

We feed ProPlan. I would like to switch to something better though.

 

[Kayota]

Corn is a nasty filler, even humans can't digest it... It has no nutritional value... You save in the long run feeding grain-free food... My dog gets 1/2 cup of two brands of grain free food a day and does great and eats less and poops less. I will never feed a food with corn in it again... I feed myself lesser foods because I am more concerned about my dog's nutrition than my own and because she doesn't get to make the choice--I have to make it for her. So I choose what's best for her. I feed 4.5 star and 5 star rated foods. Completely grain-free.

That said, before the stores around here quit carrying it, I was feeding Purina One Beyond and found the ingredients to be a higher quality than most Purina varieties. It gets a rating of 3 stars as opposed to Pro Plan's 2.5 stars. Something to think about, but I don't know why I can't find it any more... Still glad I switched to Solid Gold though.

 

[FaithFurMom09]

Corn is a nasty filler, even humans can't digest it... It has no nutritional value... You save in the long run feeding grain-free food... My dog gets 1/2 cup of two brands of grain free food a day and does great and eats less and poops less. I will never feed a food with corn in it again... I feed myself lesser foods because I am more concerned about my dog's nutrition than my own and because she doesn't get to make the choice--I have to make it for her. So I choose what's best for her. I feed 4.5 star and 5 star rated foods. Completely grain-free.

That said, before the stores around here quit carrying it, I was feeding Purina One Beyond and found the ingredients to be a higher quality than most Purina varieties. Something to think about, but I don't know why I can't find it any more... Still glad I switched to Solid Gold though.

I know its at Petsmart (mine is over by Purina One). I noticed when i went over the weekend, it was clearance. I wonder if they are changing the package or getting rid of it. I know Kroger sells it too, but I havent been in awhile.

 

[georgiapeach]

Dogs are carnivores and their diet should be mostly meat. They can survive on grains, but shouldn't have to, when there are so many options out there. It's like us: you can survive on fast food, but should you? You have to feed your dog more of a grain laden food than a grain-free food, for them to get the nutrition they need. I have a minipoo and a westi-bichon(?) and they only eat 1/2 cup a day of Acana or Innova Prime (2 foods I'm currently rotating). I'd have to feed them double that if I fed Pro Plan, so the price difference is negligible in the long run.

If you want a food with grain, find one that has no corn, wheat, soy, or by products. Like another poster mentioned, there are a lot of options out there that are more nutritious than Pro Plan that won't break the bank.

 

[Abbylynn]

I have been studying dog food again :/ .... and I was surprised to see that Purina Pro Plan "canned" has a 4 star rating on thedogfoodadvisor. I bought some for Eddee yesterday to see how he likes it. He prefers canned over dry or moistoned dry. I may just add it to the dry also.

I have also used 4Health for almost a year now ... and I am pleased with how my dogs do on this food. It averages out to about $1 per pound. It is also rated a 4 star food and is devoid of corn, wheat, and soy.

To be quite honest ... I just purchased Blue Buffalo Fish and Sweet Potato for my dogs ... just until the recalls are straightened out ... and they are not very pleased with it.

 

[PackMomma]

I do, also agree with the "dont fix what's not broken" - But, however with some of these poorer quality foods, they might be doing well on it now, but it could be affecting them long term, too. After eating lower grade food for several years it could start to catch up with them, then at that point the problems could be irreversable and you could possibly have to deal with hefty vet bills later on down the road. Some dogs do very well on lower grade foods their entire life and live healthy and happy, but many do not at the same time, and a lot of people tend to blame their health problems on genetics or old age, etc. and yes, some could possibly be because of this, but in my opinion, most of it is their diet.

I do not agree with anything vets recommend for diet, and that's just a personal thing. I'm a raw feeder and many vets don't agree with this, but I strongly believe its the best diet for MY dogs, and me, too. I have fed higher quality, grain-free kibbles, and I do still keep a few small bags around when I need to feed it for whatever reason if i'm running low on raw, or camping outdoors and I prefer not to attract other predators to camp with the raw food, and my dogs have done reasonably well on higher quality, grain free kibble (I also don't beleive in feeding grain inclusive or anything with corn, wheat, soy, animal by-products..etc), BUT even when the higher grade kibbles are eliminated from my dogs' diet, I notice huge differences and they do a hundred times better with no kibble what so ever in the diet. This has led me to be totally biased and now I have a hard time feeding any kind of kibble, but you do have to do whats right for the dog in the end. There is BETTER stuff for similar price as Purina, without all the nasty ingredients. I would encourage to look into and do some research of other brands, maybe with some similar ingredients that you know your dog does well on - and go from there, as a 'preventative' measure. I'm not sure and dont' quote me on this, but wasn't it Purina that was using some very questionable by product ingredients, some of which tested positive for the chemical used to euthanize pets? I dont know.. one of those big box brands..anyways, maybe its just me but I don't think I would feed anything from a company that put euthanized pets in their food. Maybe that was just a bad rumor... but it wouldn't surprise me, unfortunately.