# Anyone using Purina ProPlan?



## kimrisa (Jan 9, 2010)

Good evening! I'm wondering if anyone switched from an expensive, "natural" dog food to Purina Pro Plan? I've heard more than a couple of people say their dog had soft stool and the only thing that worked was going to Purina Pro. I've hesitated because I know it's not considered by many to be a good dog food but my cocker was on it her whole life and did fine...no soft stool issues and never had any health issues. I wonder if maybe I should just give it a shot with my English Bully who is on C. Natural lamb and rice puppy formula and never has had a technically firm stool since I brought her home over a month ago. I am thinking of transitioning my bully from California Natural puppy formula to adult food (or large breed puppy formula) in the next month or so and am debating over whether to go grain free with a high end brand like Natural Balance or try one of the other commercial brands like Purina... I also see that Purina has a Pro Plan selects line. Is that supposed to be better than the regular formula...?


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## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

I would personally try something else other than the California Natural. My dogs did poorly on CN but do well on some other higher end kibbles. We've had the best luck with Taste of the Wild, Holistic Selects, Fromm, and Blue Buffalo. For some reason low fiber (under 3% like in CN) doesn't sit well with my crew.

I'd pick Pro Plan Selects over regular. Selects isn't that bad a food, honestly. I've fed pro plan before but it's been a while.


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## CorgiKarma (Feb 10, 2009)

I would try another high-end kibble if I were you. Soft stool is typical for California Natural. If you want to go grain-free (a good choice) there are many options such as Wellness CORE, EVO, Fromm Surf and Turf, Nature's Variety Instinct and Taste of the Wild.


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## HersheyPup (May 22, 2008)

I think the OP's bulldog is still a puppy, so some of the grain-free diets wouldn't be a good choice for him *yet*.
Natural Balance makes some very good foods..they can be found all over including Petco.

To answer your question about the Pro Plan...I used it for several months. I liked the energy levels of the dogs while they were on it and they had very good poop, but I was not happy with the skin and coats. Dandruff, greasy, dull and itchy. It took several months for the coats to go bad like they did, but once I switched, they got back to normal much quicker..only about a month.

I switched to Timberwolf Organics, then to Natural Balance and now I am adding a small portion of Evo to up the protein percentage of the NB.

Really happy with the poops on NB....just about as perfect as possible!


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## Labsnothers (Oct 10, 2009)

We have been raising puppies for a dog guide school that switched to Pro Plan in the mid 90's. My first reaction after the switch to Pro Plan was ''You had better clean up after your dog or somebody may hurt their foot if they step on a stool''. I have seen thousands of dogs on it, and they all are doing great. 

I am far more involved in the program than just raising puppies. I don't know of any dogs in the program that had issues requiring switching to a premium food.


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## GypsyJazmine (Nov 27, 2009)

Labsnothers said:


> We have been raising puppies for a dog guide school that switched to Pro Plan in the mid 90's. My first reaction after the switch to Pro Plan was ''You had better clean up after your dog or somebody may hurt their foot if they step on a stool''. I have seen thousands of dogs on it, and they all are doing great.
> 
> I am far more involved in the program than just raising puppies. I don't know of any dogs in the program that had issues requiring switching to a premium food.


Have any studies or links...You know something besides what you think to prove Pro Plan is a quality food?


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## kimrisa (Jan 9, 2010)

Hi Laurelin,

Thanks for the post. Yes, I'm afraid C. Natural just isn't right for my pup...even though it's supposedly designed for sensitive tummies. Did you go grain free with the Taste of the Wild, Holistic Selects, Fromm, and Blue Buffalo or just use the regular formulas?My pet store did recommend Fromm and I've heard great things about Taste of the Wild and Blue Buffalo. Don't know much about Holistic selects but will research. Thanks!


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## kimrisa (Jan 9, 2010)

CorgiKarma,

Thanks so much for the recommendations. Yes, I think I will try one of those highe rend grain frees first to see if it helps... I just wish there weren't so many choices out there! Kind of overwhelming..


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## kimrisa (Jan 9, 2010)

Thanks for the insight about the coat, HersheyPup. I didn't consider that! Yes, my pup is only 4 months old and I'd forgotten that I'd read somewhere it's better to hold off on switching to grain free until they are a year, right? Do you use the Evo canned to up the protein levels with Natural Balance or dry kibble?


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## kimrisa (Jan 9, 2010)

Thanks for the feedback on Proplan, Labsnothers. Great to know!


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## lucidity (Nov 10, 2009)

Cadence was pretty much the same. He had really soft stool on California Natural and Innova, but the problem went away once I started feeding him raw. I figured he was allergic to one of the grains or something, so I started him on grain-free, and voila! Nice, firm stool. He was on EVO Red Meat, and is now on Orijen Puppy and doing very well.

Somtimes it takes some playing around to find out what suits your pup best.


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## aisling (Feb 1, 2010)

I used ProPlan with one of my dogs for a while and she did GREAT on it. Shiny coat, great stools, nice energy level. I was happy with it and would feed it again. In fact I might..I am NOT happy with their new and current food. Sigh..if only raw were easier.

Anyway, I have also used California Natural in the past and can attest to the loose stools. VERY loose stools...


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

I think I've heard a few people say Pro Plan is what they always feed and swear by it. I've also heard Selects Salmon something is better.

Personally I wouldn't switch to Pro Plan just yet, I would try a few more different foods. I think NB is a good suggestion. A lot of middle ranged foods work better for some compared with the highest protein, high fat, low grain stuff. You could try Blue Buffalo or Solid gold as well.


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## Jordan S (Nov 21, 2009)

Their Pro Plan Selects line is decent. It's the only purina product I would consider offering. I wouldn't do the regular though.


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## kimrisa (Jan 9, 2010)

Thanks, Lucidity! Great to hear from you. How old was Cadence when you went Grain free...?


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## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

kimrisa said:


> Hi Laurelin,
> 
> Thanks for the post. Yes, I'm afraid C. Natural just isn't right for my pup...even though it's supposedly designed for sensitive tummies. Did you go grain free with the Taste of the Wild, Holistic Selects, Fromm, and Blue Buffalo or just use the regular formulas?My pet store did recommend Fromm and I've heard great things about Taste of the Wild and Blue Buffalo. Don't know much about Holistic selects but will research. Thanks!


Right now I am feeding everyone Taste of the Wild, which is grain free. It's not terribly high in protein, especially the Pacific and Wetlands formulas which are about 28%. I switched to this about 5 months ago after wanting to do grain free. I've exhausted a lot of the other premium, grain free kibble and it was miserable. On the other hand, I have friends that feed EVO and it works well but TOTW doesn't work well for their dogs. For me EVO works poorly and TOTW works well. So it really depends.  There is no one 'good' brand.

Holistic selects has grain in it (more than my liking honestly) but it did very well on our sensitive stomach dog. We fed it over a year with zero problems. I was very happy with it and have heard other people with dogs with stool issues have also liked it. We fed the duck formula. The only reason I switched was to see if something with less grains would work for the dogs. I still use Holistic Selects in my rotation though. 

With Fromm we fed the duck and oatmeal. Also not grain free obviously.

It took me a while to find a food that worked well for Beau. We fed Cali Natural for over a year then decided it was time for a change. His poops were worse on that than just about any brand, including cheap foods. I don't know why as it's marketed as good for allergy sufferers and dogs with sensitive stomachs. Didn't work at all for us though. Some dogs just don't seem to do as well with the high protein or low fiber in some foods. A couple of mine have iron stomachs but not him. It may just take a while to find that formula that works well for your individual dog.


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## kimrisa (Jan 9, 2010)

Thanks for voicing in, Aisling! By the way, a lot of people share that sentiment about California Natural!! What food are you on now?


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## kimrisa (Jan 9, 2010)

Thanks, Michiyo-fir...I am leaning toward Natural Balance.The only downside is that I have read in reviews that the protein level is lower than other foods... There's alway so so much to consider. Thanks for the advice!!


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## kimrisa (Jan 9, 2010)

Thanks for the info, Laurelin. A lower protein food might not be so bad for my bully. It's recommended for EB"s to be in the low-mid 20s range for protein to avoid rapid growth and joint issues so Taste of the Wild or Natural Balance may work for us!


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## lucidity (Nov 10, 2009)

kimrisa said:


> Thanks, Lucidity! Great to hear from you. How old was Cadence when you went Grain free...?


BTW Kimrisa, you can click on the middle button at the bottom (beside quote), for all the msgs you want to reply to, and then just click on anyone's "quote" msg and you can reply all the msgs at once 

Cadence was about 3.5 months when I started him on raw, and 4.5 months when he started EVO. You know, if you can afford it, I would really recommend raw. You can start with the premade kind, it's more expensive, but works really well. Lots of dogs who've had stomach/stool issues for all their lives got 100% cured when they were switched to raw.


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## HersheyPup (May 22, 2008)

kimrisa said:


> Thanks for the insight about the coat, HersheyPup. I didn't consider that! Yes, my pup is only 4 months old and I'd forgotten that I'd read somewhere it's better to hold off on switching to grain free until they are a year, right? Do you use the Evo canned to up the protein levels with Natural Balance or dry kibble?



YW...I use Evo canned, Natural Balance canned, raw meat and now a small portion of dry Evo to up the protein %. Keep in mind that I don't always add things to the food, sometimes it's just plain old kibble! 

I just wanted to add that Natural Balance makes higher protein formulas, as well. 
Original Ultra
Chicken, Brown Rice, Lamb Meal, Oatmeal, Barley, Salmon Meal, Potatoes, Carrots, Chicken Fat (preserved with natural mixed tocopherols), Tomato Pomace, Natural Flavor, Canola Oil, Brewers Yeast, Duck, Sodium Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Salmon Oil, Whole Ground Flaxseed, Choline Chloride, Taurine, Natural Mixed Tocopherols, Spinach, Parsley Flakes, Cranberries, L-Lysine, L-Carnitine, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Dried Kelp, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Potassium Iodide, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B-1), Manganese Proteinate, Manganous Oxide, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, Calcium Pantothenate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B-6), Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Riboflavin (Vitamin B-2), Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Folic Acid.
GUARANTEED ANALYSIS
Crude Protein 23.0% minimum
Crude Fat 13.0% minimum
Crude Fiber 3.0% maximum
Moisture 10.0% maximum
Omega-3 Fatty Acids 0.5% minimum
Omega-6 Fatty Acids 3.0% minimum

Then they have their AMP formula
Chicken (a natural source of Glucosamine and Chondroitin Sulfate), Chicken Meal (a natural source of Glucosamine and Chondroitin Sulfate), Brown Rice, Barley, Chicken Fat (preserved with natural mixed tocopherols), Lamb Meal, Dried Beet Pulp, Oatmeal, Potatoes, Carrots, Natural Flavor, Brewers Dried Yeast, Duck, Salmon Meal, Sodium Chloride, Salmon Oil, Potassium Chloride, Whole Ground Flaxseed, Choline Chloride, Taurine, Natural Mixed Tocopherols, Spinach, Parsley Flakes, Cranberries, L-Lysine, L-Carnitine, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Dried Kelp, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Potassium Iodide, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B-1), Manganese Proteinate, Manganous Oxide, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, Calcium Pantothenate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B-6), Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Riboflavin (Vitamin B-2), Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Folic Acid.
GUARANTEED ANALYSIS
Crude Protein 27.0% minimum
Crude Fat 16.0% minimum
Crude Fiber 3.0% maximum
Moisture 10.0% maximum
Omega-3 Fatty Acids* 0.5% minimum
Omega-6 Fatty Acids* 3.0% minimum
Glucosamine* 450 mg/kg minimum
Chondroitin Sulfate* 350 mg/kg minimum

The Limited Ingredient Diets are the ones that have only 20% and 21% protein. I personally would try their AMP formula, but I am going grain-free for now!


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## STPFAN (Sep 27, 2009)

Out of the all the ProPlan Selects....the Salmon one looks the best judging the by the ingredients. I feed Acana Grassland (Lamb) and raw!


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## Jordan S (Nov 21, 2009)

you could also try adding pumpkin to his food.


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## losinsusan (Nov 20, 2009)

I had exclusively fed pro plan and pro plan selects later to my last three dogs. It worked very well for us. This time my new pup came to us on Eukanuba, and he didn't seem to like the food very much. Picking slowly at it, so I am currrently transitioning to Wellness Large Breed puppy and so far with just a 75% Euk and a 25% Wellness his poop is great and he is eating again like a puppy should eat. Tomorrow he will do the half and half until I run out of Euk which is within a week. A pitbull is usually considered a medium sized dog isn't it? I am not sure. I know Wellness makes a regular puppy formula as well. I wouldn't use fish as your main protein source for a puppy and I would not go grain free yet either. The issues I had this time with pro plan are that even in the selects line, the puppy food has corn gluten in it. I want to avoid corn and wheat both. And glutens totally.


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## CorgiKarma (Feb 10, 2009)

I would put him on Innova puppy, then make a switch to grain-free when he's older.


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## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

What is the reasoning for no grain free as a puppy? That's a new one for me, I've never heard it before.


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## losinsusan (Nov 20, 2009)

That is what we were told. I think maybe because I have a large breed puppy and they have to have the right protein/fat ratio's for slow growth as well as low calcium levels. And I thought they do need some carbs/grains for energy levels. Not sure exactly but I have been adviced this from the breeder as well as many other sources. Too wait till he is done growing which in my breed can be up to 24 months.


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## CorgiKarma (Feb 10, 2009)

Grain-free is fine for small breed puppies


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## losinsusan (Nov 20, 2009)

Innova large breed puppy was my other choice if Wellness didnt' work out. I have many friends using it with good results.


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## lucidity (Nov 10, 2009)

Yeah, I've only heard that grain-free isn't good for large breed puppies, not because they aren't formulated for large breeds, but because people have a tendency to overfeed growing puppies--thus making the growth spurt worse.

Most grain free foods are ALS, so small/medium breed puppies should be fine on them.


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## kimrisa (Jan 9, 2010)

Thanks for the tip on how to reply to all the messages at once! I'll keep what you said about RAW in mind. Just to clarify..EVO isn't raw, right?


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## kimrisa (Jan 9, 2010)

Thank you everyone for all the great posts. Gives me a lot to consider. I may look at the higher protein Natural Balance, like AMP as suggested. I was considering Innova a while ago but I was told by the pet shop that it's a richer dogfood and may not be right for a dog with a sensitive tummy....


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## lucidity (Nov 10, 2009)

Nope, EVO is grainfree. If you want to try raw, there's Nature's Variety--they have a bunch of different kinds of premade, frozen raw.


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