# Anyone Using Pro Plan/Purina ONE?



## TrackInDirt (Nov 27, 2007)

New here & seeking opinions on these two foods. I run a small rescue operation and am feeding, on average 8-12 medium/large dogs daily, all ages, breeds, activity levels. I'm by no means a "nutrition novice", lol. Have been researching good diets for several years, and I find what works best is usually the mid grade feeds. I've used Purina ONE L&R in the past, but for almost 3yrs have been using a feed called Pro Pac. It was a great food but as of 2 months ago, no one here sells it any longer  I tried IAMS on them in that time, and am in a RUSH to get them off, yesterday. It's not the same food it was when I first used it 10+ years ago.

Since I haven't used Purina in a few years, I'm wondering if anyone here is currently feeding it? I hope they haven't gone and screwed that food up, like they did with IAMS  I'd be feeding either Purina ONE L&R again or Pro Plan L&R; I also notice they've come up with a new formula in the PP line, Pro Plan Selects? Anyone have experience with this? It looks pricy, but very high calorie, just what I need for the winter. 

Thanks for any input!


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## Dachshund (Nov 27, 2007)

If you are going to switch foods, you need to get the dogs you are feeding the foods to, to get used to the food. You can do this by gradually adding a little more of the food you want to feed them to the food you feed them now. Add a little more each week. I used to feed my dachshund Pro plan and it works great. It makes their coat more shiny.


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## GreatDaneMom (Sep 21, 2007)

i really hate purina.. i have a hard time telling anyone that they are going to be well off feeding it.... heres the first few ingredients in Purina ONE L&R- Lamb (natural source of glucosamine), brewers rice, oat meal, corn gluten meal, poultry by-product meal (natural source of glucosamine), whole grain corn..... Well, im happy with Lamb.... after that. EWW. brewers rice, the lowest form of rice, corn....by-product (eew) more corn.... how many fillers do you need in a food. why not try something like solid gold, chicken soup, canidae, wellness, etc.


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## Wimble Woof (Jan 16, 2007)

While clearly cost would be a factor in feeding such a quantity of dogs SOlid Gold or Orijen or any other higher quality food is definately a realistic reason as to why you are not doing it...

I am just curious to know if you have a Costco near you, they have their own brand Kirkland Signature thats pretty decent especially once you factor in the cost.
there is no corn, but there are by-products I do believe, second ingredients are rice (whole)
Be definately worth looking into, I mean the cost is cheaper than what you are feeding now, and the food is definately superior.


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## cityDog (Nov 20, 2007)

If you're looking for an affordable mid-range food, try Diamond Naturals. The ingredient list is impressive for the price.

http://www.diamondpet.com/products/diamond_naturals/


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## TrackInDirt (Nov 27, 2007)

> Well, im happy with Lamb.... after that. EWW. brewers rice, the lowest form of rice, corn....by-product (eew) more corn.... how many fillers do you need in a food. why not try something like solid gold, chicken soup, canidae, wellness, etc



 Is there anyone here who is currently feeding any of the Purina products I mentioned? Would love to know if it's still giving the results it did last time I used it. FYI, I only switched to Pro Pac because of price - it was several dollars cheaper per bag & just as good. I was always beyond happy with the higher end Purina foods and had otherwise ill dogs do well with it. Curious to know if the food was tweaked in any way, because that seems to be happening a lot lately, lol. 

Anyway, I have tried holistic foods, and for the most part, don't care for them. Among the ones you mentioned, I've used Chicken Soup and Canidae. Was not happy with either. Canidae seemed to improve coats on dogs that had poor ones beforehand, but ruined coats on the dogs that had brilliant ones previously. I also found that it gave many of the dogs yeasty ears, and we had a problem when a lactating bitch with 3 week old pups came down with a bad vaginal yeast infection. I'd love to tell you how much $ it cost me to treat a kennel full of dogs for various yeast infections  Chicken Soup was an ok food, not good, not bad, but was hard to come by and some of the dogs wouldn't touch it for beans. Solid Gold I've never fed but my sister in law feeds her Chihuahua their small breed food. His coat is brittle as straw and starting to fall out. She's spending $$$$$$$$$$$ at the Vet and refuses to listen to my recommendations for a better food; she won't feed anything with "icky" corn, but my rescues look like showdogs on foods that have corn as the main grain, her dog looks like she picked it up off the street. Wellness, I don't have experience with, but cost is prohibitive for me. I go through a large bag usually once a week. 

That being said, when I was in Ohio, I had a very nice Vet who showed Flat Coated Retrievers. She had one dog in her office all the time and every hair on that dog practically glowed. She fed plain Dog Chow.


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## RonE (Feb 3, 2007)

I fed my previous dog Purina One and he did well with it. I'll never know if he might have done better with something else.

I'm getting Canidae for about the same price per serving but, as you've already discovered, it's not for everyone or every dog.


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## nlkeple (Sep 24, 2007)

I used to use pro plan with my cats and they seemed to do well on it, but I had to switch them to chicken soup because they were all trying to steal Lady's food. I did notice that Bitty Kitty gets less dandruff on Chicken Soup, but his coat has always been difficult regardless of food/supplements/medications/soaps/grooming etc.

My Last dog Jester was feed Iams but this was before the recall. I also believe that Iam's has changed it's formula over the years in negative ways.

The only thing I can tell you is my experiences are that Iams used to be a good food, but they have gone somewhat downhill. When I got Lady she was eating Beneful and McDonald's cheeseburgers and I do not recommend Beneful or Cheeseburgers. I put her on Chicken soup and since it worked well for her I have not tired anything else (why fix that which is not broken). The cats all did well on Pro Plan (I don't know much about the dog version though), I was happy with the pro plan but the cats definitely prefer the chicken soup.

Good luck in your search.


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## lovemygreys (Jan 20, 2007)

There is one racing kennel I pick up adoption dogs from that donates one bag of kibble per dog to help me feed them while they are here. It's Purina in a big blue back - Hi Pro IIRC...not my first choice, ingredient-wise, but it's fine (esp when it's free! LOL ). It's actually nice to be able to keep dogs on the food they are used to.

Low cost, good foods that I'd recommend are Diamond Naturals or the Kirkland brand from Costco. I know one adoption kennel that feeds Pedigree and their dogs look pretty good. Dogs will do differently on different foods so it can be hard to find one food that will work perfectly for lots of different dogs. Corn has gotten a really bad rap...but filler is filler. The biggest hurdle, IMO, is choosing a kibble that uses a filler most dogs won't be allergic to...which leads me to recommend Diamond Naturals and Kirkland. No corn, wheat or soy. I'd also stay away from beef. Most dogs usually do well with chicken.


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## ozzy (Sep 29, 2007)

I feed my dog pro plan puppy chicken and rice because it is what the breeder (show breeder) fed the pups and recommended. He does great on it. I have read all the dog food debates on here with interest and I have checked the ingredients and researched it and I think his food is fine. I am not sure human grade food is really neccesary for a dog, I mean they are not humans! I am open to change though so I keep reading up on this subject. In the meantime my pup does very well on this food and looks beautiful. 
He is currently in the hospital with an unknown illness so I better thow that out there but I am can say very confidently I DO NOT think it is related to his food. The vet thinks it may have been a tick bite and he is responding well to antibiotics. I just wanted to put that out there in case anyone reading my other posts thinks I do not have the right to respond based on my dog being sick. I have seen some of these food threads get nasty!

Anyhow one thing I don't understand is why people think brewers rice is a bad ingredient? It is rice whether it is in whole form or broken up which is what brewers rice is. People don't want to eat broken pieces of rice so they use it in dog food where you can't even see it.


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## Shaina (Oct 28, 2007)

Brewers rice and second heads are both milled rice fragments...brewers rice is generally 1/4-1/2 the size of the whole rice kernel, whereas seconds rice is 1/2-3/4. Because they have already been processed, both are missing many nutrients that would otherwise be present in whole, unused rice. It's not that brewers rice is particularly harmful or anything, and actually I think it's considered to be less of an allergen threat than corn or wheat. However, it's not exactly nutritional either...it's basically a filler (though I would prefer it over corn or wheat).


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## ozzy (Sep 29, 2007)

Ah ok that makes sense. I did not realize that brewers rice was missing the nutrients.


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## Shaina (Oct 28, 2007)

ozzy said:


> Ah ok that makes sense. I did not realize that brewers rice was missing the nutrients.


Yep. White rice in general (the whole version of brewers rice) has really poor nutritional value anyway...so bad that its actually law that white rice packaged for people be heavily fortified to give it decent nutritional value. That's why you aren't supposed to wash white rice before eating it...the fortified nutrients are usually in powder form and wash off easy. Brown rice on the other hand is very very good in terms of nutritional value. It's usually priced to match that though, lol.


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## TrackInDirt (Nov 27, 2007)

Shaina said:


> Brewers rice and second heads are both milled rice fragments...brewers rice is generally 1/4-1/2 the size of the whole rice kernel, whereas seconds rice is 1/2-3/4. Because they have already been processed, both are missing many nutrients that would otherwise be present in whole, unused rice. It's not that brewers rice is particularly harmful or anything, and actually I think it's considered to be less of an allergen threat than corn or wheat. However, it's not exactly nutritional either...it's basically a filler (though I would prefer it over corn or wheat).



BREWERS RICE IS NOT A FILLER. Its no longer the size of long grain rice, its broken/imperfect and cannot be packaged by the manufacturer. So, it's sold to pet food companies at a great discount. Its still rice. It isn't processed any more than normal rice, and it hasn't lost any of it's nutritional value.

I'm curious as to why everyone wants to see "Uncle Ben's Long Grain Rice" on an ingredient list in lieu of broken bits of brewer's rice? Who cares! This is dog food. The company is formulating the diet to work for dogs, their food ingredient label doesn't need to read like a grocery store list. You should have seen the coats my dogs had on Pro Pac, and ingredient #2 was brewer's rice. It was the main grain in that food. I'm sorry I can't find it anymore because it was probably the best I've ever fed! It's not that I don't know about holistic foods, like I said, I've tried several of them, and was dissapointed. My rescue dogs are kenneled, and some of these foods wouldn't keep weight on them or keep them in good coats, or caused loose stools that would track through the kennel run & soil the dog  I've paid a lot of money for food thinking the higher the price and the more warm & fuzzy the ingredient list made me feel, the better the food must be. I don't really even consider most holistic crap foods anymore. I like a very basic ingredient list as the dogs seem to do best with that.



ozzy said:


> I feed my dog pro plan puppy chicken and rice because it is what the breeder (show breeder) fed the pups and recommended. He does great on it.


 Thank you! I'm glad to hear someone is feeding it currently & having good results with it. I'm very leery now switching foods because I realize so much has changed since I last fed Purina. Heck, I never expected IAMS to get so bad. I think I'll pick up a few bags of Pro Plan over the weekend and give it a trial period ...


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## Shaina (Oct 28, 2007)

TrackInDirt said:


> BREWERS RICE IS NOT A FILLER. Its no longer the size of long grain rice, its broken/imperfect and cannot be packaged by the manufacturer. So, it's sold to pet food companies at a great discount. Its still rice. It isn't processed any more than normal rice, and it hasn't lost any of it's nutritional value.
> 
> I'm curious as to why everyone wants to see "Uncle Ben's Long Grain Rice" on an ingredient list in lieu of broken bits of brewer's rice? Who cares! This is dog food. The company is formulating the diet to work for dogs, their food ingredient label doesn't need to read like a grocery store list. You should have seen the coats my dogs had on Pro Pac, and ingredient #2 was brewer's rice. It was the main grain in that food. I'm sorry I can't find it anymore because it was probably the best I've ever fed! It's not that I don't know about holistic foods, like I said, I've tried several of them, and was dissapointed. My rescue dogs are kenneled, and some of these foods wouldn't keep weight on them or keep them in good coats, or caused loose stools that would track through the kennel run & soil the dog  I've paid a lot of money for food thinking the higher the price and the more warm & fuzzy the ingredient list made me feel, the better the food must be. I don't really even consider most holistic crap foods anymore. I like a very basic ingredient list as the dogs seem to do best with that.


I corrected myself a bit in the second post: white rice in general is lacking in nutrition. Brand is irrelevant. I'm glad the food you had in all its ricey glory worked well for you; any food with a high grain content, be it rice, corn, or wheat, causes my dog to itch like she has a flea infestation. There's no catch-all food that works for everyone: some foods however are more or less likely to cause problems. While rice is the easiest to digest of the 3 grains mentioned, the lack of nutritional value would make me a bit leery of having it as a top 2 ingredient. Brown rice is another story. However, I am not a nutritionist: this is just based on a combination of my own research and my recent tours of grain milling plants.

I have never to date felt warm and fuzzy while reading an ingredients list, unless Kim was leaning on me at the time. Perhaps I have not found the ingredients lists you have.


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## poohlp (Jul 10, 2007)

I would imagine that for rescue dogs, the higher grade, premium brands might just be too much and too rich. I'm guessing these are former strays, neglected/abused/abandoned so their systems just aren't geared up for the higher quality stuff, which is why you have trouble with - just as someone who isn't used to eating pate and caviar might get ill if suddenly their diet consisted of that instead of fried chicken and ocra. They'd probably get used to it over a long term of gradually stepping up to it, but for what you are doing, it might not work. That's just my guess though, based on my own perception of common sense. 

Clearly though IAMs is too little, which is not at all surprising given its track record. I haven't used either of the Purina's, but if you try that and its not up to standard, why don't you try Nutro Natural Choice? It costs about the same, is good quality, has decent - albeit not "premium" ingredients - and I personally haven't met a dog that didn't do well on it, although I know some people here aren't happy with it. I used to feed it to my dog and only switched bc after 2 or 3 years he was sick of eating it. I recommend it to anyone who wants to do better than the grocery store brands but doesn't want to break the bank or has trouble feeding the ultra rich "premium" foods. Everyone I have convinced to switch to it, whether from Purina, Beneful or Iams has been very happy with it.


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## ACampbell (Oct 7, 2007)

I have 2 rescued dogs...initially I was feeding Purina Dog Chow...(the bassets were fed Ol Roy by their last owner, and I have no idea what the APBT was fed, my guess, a dog that was 50 lbs under weight - they fed nothing) Anyway, I switched to Canidae first...drove more than half an hour to get a bag...and it gave them massive diarrhea, even at a 1:4 ratio (1 part new to 4 parts old) and it had to be stopped...then I went back to my Purina Dog Chow that I still had and bought a bag of Purina One...they love the L&R formula, no more dog poop puddles...and improved coats, so I'm sticking with it.


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## lynn'stwo (Aug 12, 2007)

How did the dogs like the taste of Pro Pac and which formula did you use. I was thinking of trying it for a change when we are done with our 40 lb bag of current dry food. Any stomach problems on it, refusal to eat. We can get Pro Pac in a feed store about 10 minutes from here. Another good food I have heard of on this level is PMI Exclusive and it is available in feed stores also but there isn't one near enough for me to try


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## GreatDaneMom (Sep 21, 2007)

TrackInDirt said:


> BREWERS RICE IS NOT A FILLER. Its no longer the size of long grain rice, its broken/imperfect and cannot be packaged by the manufacturer. So, it's sold to pet food companies at a great discount. Its still rice. It isn't processed any more than normal rice, and it hasn't lost any of it's nutritional value.


Just a tidbit- "Brewers Rice 
Also appears in ingredient lists as ground Brewers Rice. 

AAFCO: The small milled fragments of rice kernels that have been separated from the larger kernels of milled rice. 

A processed rice product that is missing many of the nutrients contained in whole ground rice and brown rice. Contrary to what many pet food companies want to make you believe, this is not a high quality ingredient, just much cheaper than whole grain rice."


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## TrackInDirt (Nov 27, 2007)

> I would imagine that for rescue dogs, the higher grade, premium brands might just be too much and too rich. I'm guessing these are former strays, neglected/abused/abandoned so their systems just aren't geared up for the higher quality stuff, which is why you have trouble with - just as someone who isn't used to eating pate and caviar might get ill if suddenly their diet consisted of that instead of fried chicken and ocra. They'd probably get used to it over a long term of gradually stepping up to it, but for what you are doing, it might not work. That's just my guess though, based on my own perception of common sense.



That theory doesn't float, because my 3 housedogs are all fed the exact same foods as the kenneled rescues, and the results are the same. My personal dogs were actually not rescues, one is a purebred Shepherd from a breeder, the other two are mix breed littermates from a friend's "oops" litter. They were fat & happy little things when I got them almost 9 years ago.



lynn'stwo said:


> How did the dogs like the taste of Pro Pac and which formula did you use. I was thinking of trying it for a change when we are done with our 40 lb bag of current dry food. Any stomach problems on it, refusal to eat. We can get Pro Pac in a feed store about 10 minutes from here. Another good food I have heard of on this level is PMI Exclusive and it is available in feed stores also but there isn't one near enough for me to try



All the dogs loved it! My picky Shepherd was ok with it, meaning he actually ate and didn't play in his food bowl  I was using the Adult Chunk in the red bag, which was 26% protein, 15% fat. I never had any stomach problems associated with that food, and stools were very firm. 

I now have to drive about 3hrs each way to find the nearest dealer that sells it - the old feed store I bought it from is getting ready to go out of business.


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## ozzy (Sep 29, 2007)

GreatDaneMom said:


> Just a tidbit- "Brewers Rice
> Also appears in ingredient lists as ground Brewers Rice.
> 
> AAFCO: The small milled fragments of rice kernels that have been separated from the larger kernels of milled rice.
> ...



I am still a little confused here, is that whole bottom half from the AAFCO or your statement? What is the difference nutritionally between small milled fragments of rice and larger kernels of rice. This whole argument makes no sense to me to be honest. I guess I need to do more reading. Either brewers rice is just smaller bits than whole rice or it is whole rice that has it nutrients stripped from it??

I know it's not brown whole grain rice.


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## Shaina (Oct 28, 2007)

Alright, to hopefully end this debate (yeah right), here's a schematic of the rice processing...process, courtesy of www.usarice.com. The only difference between whole white rice and brewers (small, broken up) white rice is kernel size and the lack of the enrichment process.










The problem is that the milling process is that it strips the rice of its nutritional value. Both brewers rice and "whole" white rice are subjected to this process, which removes the hull, bran, and germ, and polishes the remaining kernel. This process is intended in increase the storage life and aesthetic appeal of the rice, but in turn reduces its nutritional content because the majority of the nutrients are in those removed outer layers: the remainder is mostly starch. The whole rice is later enriched in an attempt to make up for this process when its intended for human consumption, but brewers rice is not enriched.

Go to http://www.rebeccablood.net/domestic/rice.html to see a great, but huge, chart of nutritional information comparisons between rice grades. The third column, "White Long grain Unriched" would be the brewers rich equivalent. 

The thiamin, niacin, iron, and folate (folic acid) levels in the enriched white rice nutrition information are substantially higher than in brewers rice, since those are the primary additives in the enrichment process. Folate, in particular, is added in excess. 

The point isn't that brewers rice is unhealthy or completely lacking in nutrition. However, it does provide far less nutritional value (roughly equal calories) for a given serving size. This is why brewers is rice is less expensive and not considered a high quality ingredient.


Even so, I'd be more worried about things like food dyes, artificial preservatives that are known carcinogens and/or liver toxins, and random "meat by-products" that exist in lower end foods. The biggest concern with brewers rice as a main ingredient is whether the company has added enough nutrients to make up for those lacking in the main ingredients, and how readily the dogs will be able to absorb artificially supplemented vitamins and minerals.


This post is a lot longer than I intended, so if you made it this far congrats lol. This is now the result of procrastinating on my term project for school


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## GreatDaneMom (Sep 21, 2007)

but thats extactly it, it IS a filler!


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## Shaina (Oct 28, 2007)

GreatDaneMom said:


> but thats extactly it, it IS a filler!


...bingo!


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## GreatDaneMom (Sep 21, 2007)

im glad someones on the right page with me shaina. lol


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## sz0wxc (Nov 30, 2007)

I have been using Purina Pro Plan for Giant Breed formula with no issues for 4 month with my 6 month old Mastiff. Coat seems fine I switched from Iams as that is what the breeder was using. I had no problems or notices any differences... Coat is fine teeth are clean. Personally I like it.


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## GreatDaneMom (Sep 21, 2007)

sz0wxc said:


> I have been using Purina Pro Plan for Giant Breed formula with no issues for 4 month with my 6 month old Mastiff. Coat seems fine I switched from Iams as that is what the breeder was using. I had no problems or notices any differences... Coat is fine teeth are clean. Personally I like it.


sorry i cant feed my danes anything that uses "chicken by-product meal" as a "natural source of glucosamine" ack. or that has that much grains, and contains wheat. wheat is a huge allergen risk. and it has a ton of corn, which is not very digestable. its just another filler. also it has 26% protein!!!! do you know how bad that is for a growing mastiff. too high of proteins is what causes diseases like HOD. you really want a protein level between 16-23% leaning towards 16, not 23


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## 007Dogs (Aug 22, 2007)

Yes, I feed Pro Plan, but I use the Chicken & Rice, not Lamb. I live in Colorado where it is cold, so calories are important. Also these are not just pet dogs, many are AKC Champions who have been top ranked dogs, invited to shows like Eukanuba Invitational, Westminster, and Crufts. So the condition of my dogs is very important. I have found that the Selects does not produce the same results as the regular Pro Plan. I have also tried the Preformance formula, but found it to burn out there coats. Not a good thing for show dogs. Yes, there there are better foods on paper, but what matters to me is results. It would be a safe statement to make that the majority of dogs shown by professional handlers are fed Pro Plan more than any other brand of food. 

If you do decide to go with the Selects, I would be more than happy to send you a stack of $5.00 off coupons to help aid in your rescue efforts. Just send your mailing address to me via a private message and I will get those out to you. I know it's not much, but every little bith helps. Another thing is if you purchase the food at Petco, not Petsmart, they give a discount if you buy 200 pounds at a time, plus for every 10 bags you buy, you get a free bag, and then also get to use the coupons. They have been very good to me. Since Petsmart is usually cheaper by a few bucks, if you tell them the price at Petsmart, Petco will also match that price.


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## TrackInDirt (Nov 27, 2007)

> Yes, I feed Pro Plan, but I use the Chicken & Rice, not Lamb. I live in Colorado where it is cold, so calories are important. Also these are not just pet dogs, many are AKC Champions who have been top ranked dogs, invited to shows like Eukanuba Invitational, Westminster, and Crufts. So the condition of my dogs is very important. I have found that the Selects does not produce the same results as the regular Pro Plan. I have also tried the Preformance formula, but found it to burn out there coats. Not a good thing for show dogs. Yes, there there are better foods on paper, but what matters to me is results. It would be a safe statement to make that the majority of dogs shown by professional handlers are fed Pro Plan more than any other brand of food.


 Thank you! That's exactly the sort of "review" I was looking for  Very interesting about the Selects not giving the same coat type as the regular Pro Plan ... thanks for mentioning that. I did pick up a bag of the Selects tonight, just to try out. That should last me about a week, and if I like it maybe I'll buy another bag or go back to the regular Pro Plan Lamb & Rice that I used years ago. 
I know what you mean about the results of a food being completely unrelated to how the ingredient list looks - ok, I avoid colors and preservatives and such, but I've never seen a problem with by products so long as there was a source of muscle meat, and don't mind brewer's rice or corn in a food. Ground corn is VERY digestable, packed with B vitamins, lutein, & is not an allergen, contrary to popular belief. I think we have to keep in mind that this IS dog food, they are not wolves, they're a species created by humans and raised on our cooked leftover SCRAPS. My grandparents raised bird dogs that hardly ever saw meat in their life. Anyway ... 
I still belong to the Purina Pro Club, and get their Today's Breeder magazine in the mail. I'm always impressed to see the success the higher end Purina foods have given successful show breeders in the whelping box and beyond! There are several articles about breeders who've been feeding Purina for DECADES. One kennel was passed on from father to son & I believe they fed nothing Purina for 50+ years. Sorry, but a low quality food doesn't give a breeder ongoing results like that for five decades. Its NOT a coincidence. I know my dogs need a very calorie dense food that is strictly balanced to keep in shape over the winter. Gets COLD here. 




> If you do decide to go with the Selects, I would be more than happy to send you a stack of $5.00 off coupons to help aid in your rescue efforts. Just send your mailing address to me via a private message and I will get those out to you. I know it's not much, but every little bith helps. Another thing is if you purchase the food at Petco, not Petsmart, they give a discount if you buy 200 pounds at a time, plus for every 10 bags you buy, you get a free bag, and then also get to use the coupons. They have been very good to me. Since Petsmart is usually cheaper by a few bucks, if you tell them the price at Petsmart, Petco will also match that price.


 
I very much appreciate your generous offer, but please don't bother about the coupons! We always are able to get by and I wouldn't feel right taking the coupons. I didn't know about the Petco discount though! Thanks for letting me know because I do purchase so much food in bulk! Thanks for everything 

-Dave


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## kratos88 (Nov 30, 2007)

pro plan is way over priced. for the amount of meat and the quality of the ingredients it just isnt worth it.


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## ozzy (Sep 29, 2007)

007Dogs said:


> Yes, I feed Pro Plan, but I use the Chicken & Rice, not Lamb. I live in Colorado where it is cold, so calories are important. Also these are not just pet dogs, many are AKC Champions who have been top ranked dogs, invited to shows like Eukanuba Invitational, Westminster, and Crufts. So the condition of my dogs is very important. I have found that the Selects does not produce the same results as the regular Pro Plan. I have also tried the Preformance formula, but found it to burn out there coats. Not a good thing for show dogs. Yes, there there are better foods on paper, but what matters to me is results. It would be a safe statement to make that the majority of dogs shown by professional handlers are fed Pro Plan more than any other brand of food.
> .


Thanks for this info! My breeder instructed me to feed it to my pup and I do. He has done great on it and has great teeth (the vet just commented on how nice they are) and coat, etc.
I was starting to wonder since I have heard some Purina bashing on this site and read all the opinions. I am keeping my eyes open and I am open to trying something new but when this works so well for me why change? I really trust the breeder too.


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## kratos88 (Nov 30, 2007)

I am keeping my eyes open and I am open to trying something new but when this works so well for me why change? I really trust the breeder too.[/QUOTE]

why change u say. your dog may look good but for the price u are paying for your food u can get much better food. try eagle pack. it has a lot higher quality ingreadients in it then purina one will ever have. you will get a lot more meat in your food and less filler. put your dogs on eagle for two months and c how great there coats look.


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## 007Dogs (Aug 22, 2007)

kratos88, can you please tell me where I can buy eagle in my area for $20 or less per bag of 37.5 pounds? And will you put in writing that my show dogs will be in top condition on this food, then I might consider changing. 

I am a true believer in the saying "The Proof is in the Pudding". If it works, then why change it. I have fed many high priced premium foods and did not like the conditon of my dogs. Everyone has to do what works for there own dog.


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## ozzy (Sep 29, 2007)

kratos88 said:


> why change u say. your dog may look good but for the price u are paying for your food u can get much better food. try eagle pack. it has a lot higher quality ingreadients in it then purina one will ever have. you will get a lot more meat in your food and less filler. put your dogs on eagle for two months and c how great there coats look.


Also I am not feeding Purina One I am feeding Purina Pro Plan. Well I may try other foods when I feel the need or want to switch things up but for now I really like the ProPlan.


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## TrackInDirt (Nov 27, 2007)

> why change u say. your dog may look good but for the price u are paying for your food u can get much better food. try eagle pack. it has a lot higher quality ingreadients in it then purina one will ever have. you will get a lot more meat in your food and less filler. put your dogs on eagle for two months and c how great there coats look



If this poster's dog is doing well with Purina, what makes you think a diet change to a holistic food will improve it's coat? I've owned multiple dogs all my life and come from a dog owning family. When I bought my first dogs I always fed top of the line feeds; back then you could only buy Eukanuba/IAMS from your Vet and thats what I fed for many years. Then I went through dozens (literally) of holistic foods starting around 1998 when I began with the rescue. Three years later, I was not happy with the shape my dogs were in as the foods I was spending a fortune on were giving me inconsistant results. The main issue was that one or two foods were not working for all the dogs. At one point, I was feeding 9 dogs five different brands at the same time. Another problem I was having was that the foods would work very well for about 4-6 months, then quit on me. So I started to feed one or two costlier brands with raw meat added, which worked out great for a while. I went all raw for just over two years, but I don't like to talk about that  Was the worst two years I've had since I started up the rescue and was thinking of getting out. The dogs looked like crap. 

That brings me to the time when I switched BACK to the holistic foods. I will try to list as many as I can remember: Beowulf Back to Basics, Canidae, Fromm Gold, Nutro NC/Ultra, Timberwolf Organics, Healthwise, Chicken Soup, Nature's Recipe, and a few years ago we fed a now out of business food called Best In Show which was similar in formulation to Innova.

Then I got my purebred German Shepherd from a breeder in '03. He changed EVERYTHING. Could not tolerate most foods. Became VERY ill on Canidae, btw. He was diagnosed with colitis and given amixi tabs, flagyl, but nothing worked long term except a very bland diet of boiled meats and overcooked rice. Unfortunately, he was a hard keeper on top of the problem with colitis, so lost signifigant weight on his cooked diet. He needed to gain about 10 - 15 lbs.  At the urging of a breeder friend I used a newly formulated Pedigree Lamb & Rice sensitive stomach formula. After that first meal I waited anxiously for projectile diarrhea, vomiting, pacing, incessant stomach "gurgling" all night long. There was nothing. We went through a small bag of food without incident! Hooray! He was gaining some weight and coat was filling out. One day I couldn't find the L&R Pedigree, so settled for the first bag of Purina One Sensitive Systems that I ever bought. I never looked back! He started growing well, gained weight, and his coat was SO luxurious and thick!!!!!!!!! No more diarrhea, no more pickiness! I switched all my dogs that for about a year and a half until I discovered Pro Pac shortly after we moved. Purina One was the best food I'd ever used. 

My point of this whole long post is that switching to a holistic food defintiely may not improve coat on a dog who already has a good coat & is doing well on a particular food. To the contrary, I've found that once a dog does well on a certain diet its best to leave them on that diet. Switching around can cause problems that will never be resolved.


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## sheltiemom (Mar 13, 2007)

I know it isn't a popular opinion on here, but my animals do great on Purina One Chicken and Rice. Like some others, I have tried several premium foods from Blue Buffalo to Natural Balance and Canidae, on the advice of several dog forums, and I wasn't happy with the results. The main problem was diarrhea, and various foods also caused itching. The stray I cared for for several months did have improvement in coat over eating....nothing....but my shelties had good coats already and I saw no change. I gave Canidae a nice long run, and two of the three did ok on it, but Ripley still had runny poo. I finally got fed up and picked up what I thought to be the best of what I could find at the grocery store. I have no complaints about the Purina One, and it's nice not to have to order over the internet anymore, though I wouldn't make a recommendation just on that. 

My cats...they did awful on premium/holistic food, particularly the senior. I saw such a huge decrease in her energy level, coat, frequent urination, it was alarming and we even saw the vet over it. IAMS was just as bad, if not worse. Back on Purina, which is what she's eaten most of her life anyway, and she is more active, jumping again, using the litterbox again, more social...maybe there's another reason, but I don't want to take any more chances.

Feed what works for your pets, but like the op, I have found that mid range foods are best for mine.


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## lynn'stwo (Aug 12, 2007)

A few years ago, I thought expensive equalled best health in dog foods so we did Innova, then Hunden flochen and we encountered runny poop and anal gland problems in one of the dogs that was so bad it turned her whole bottom end bright red. We then dropped down a few notches, and voila, no problems. Everyone's healthy and energetic. We now feed mid range foods; diamond nat. and over the year have rotated with pro plan and nutro.


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