# Costco's Kirkland dry food or Purina ProPlan Sport?



## ctn830 (Jan 25, 2014)

Anyone endorse Purina's Proplan Sport or have a recommendation on a good budget conscious dry dog food for my hunting dog? 

I have had my English pointer on Costco's Kirkland (on & off) for a few years now. But I want to change because of all the horror stories I have been hearing about Kirkland being recalled and dogs having illnesses and/or dying. I really want to go to ProPlan Sport (or something similar) because of it's good price but also because all I see on the hunting mags and from trainers is Proplan. Now I know they're paying for endorsements but still. I know Proplan gets a low rating (2.5-3 stars) on some dog review sites versus Kirkland's 4 stars. But I guess a living dog on a low rated dog food is better than a dead or ill dog on medium to fairly high rated dog food.

thoughts anyone?


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## JTurner (May 19, 2013)

I put my high energy lab/gsd mix on purina sport 30/20 and so far so good! I do plan on rotating his food to Fromm, maybe Evo, and Acana plus the occasional raw food (venison). I had him on Iams before this for a little while and he didn't go for it at all, but he seems to really like Purina. Purina has been highly recommended by many dog breeders & the reviews aren't too bad on other sites. I say whatever works for your dog best then stick with it. Purina does have some ingredients that are not very good. I started a thread not long ago about Purina...Maybe this will help:
http://www.dogforums.com/dog-food-forum/243489-thoughts-purina-proplan-sport.html


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## Damon'sMom (Aug 2, 2011)

I personally do not like Costco's Kirkland dry food or Purina. Though the Pro plan is better than the other purina products. 

My Aussie is a working dog, 6 hours a day of extreme training, work and exercise. Before he developed allergies I had him on Native and Victor dog foods. I used Native level 4 with 35% Protein and 25% fat. And Victor GF Ultra Pro at 42% protein and 22% fat. If they don't sell either near you the companies are more than happy to contact some feed stores and get it there for you. Or if you talk to the feed stores most are willing to buy some for you and have it waiting. Victor foods have never had a recall yet either.

Other Ideas are:

Pro Pac High Performance (572 cals a cup) 30% protein and 20% fat (Around $35 for 33 pounds from amazon with free shipping)
Dr. Tims Momentum 25% Protein and 25% fat
Dr. Tims Pursuit 30% protein and 20% fat
Diamond Naturals Extreme Athlete 32% protein and 25% fat (Cheaper than some others listed usually around $30 for 40 pounds)
NutriSource super sport 32% protein and 21% fat
4Health Performance Formula 30% protein and 20% fat (Only sold at Tractor Supply stores but great quality. 35 pounds for 34.99 around here.)


Good luck choosing a new food. I have a feeling I am going to end up having to put my Redbone pup on a performance food before too long.  Can't keep weight on her.


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## Mint (Sep 4, 2013)

What about Pure Balance? It's sold by Walmart for pretty cheap and gets a 3.5 rating on DFA. The canned has 5 stars on DFA and only costs like $1. Don't think they make it in a higher protein kind for active dogs like Purina does though.


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## SDRRanger (May 2, 2013)

I have Ranger on the Kirkland food. Originally he was on their grain-free, but I found he did not do as well on it as the regular.


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## Greater Swiss (Jun 7, 2011)

I've got Caeda on the grain free "Nature's Domain" food. She is doing well on it, so is Dexter (actually he came to us on Ol'Roy....the change in him between those two foods WOW it did him well). When I looked up stuff on the recalls of the Kirkland I couldn't find anything specifically on the Nature's Domain, it seemed to be only the regular Kirkland. I'm not sure if they are made in different factories or not, or if the problem was with one particular formulation (I seem to recall it was the "adult" food or something). Either way I found nothing on recalls of Nature's Domain specifically, and Caeda is doing well on it. I would love to have her on something else honestly....but fact is there is that pesky budget and I'm finding it a decent compromise between budget and quality.
Edit: I just did another google and I did find a cautionary recall on the salmon and sweet potato..I don't get that one, so that may be why I was thinking I hadn't found a recall on it. Sorry to misstate!


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## Dog Person (Sep 14, 2012)

My dog is just a pet but here's my $0.02.

It seems that the best bang for your buck is Kirkland, as 40 lbs. for $35 is a great price. 4Health grain inclusive and Diamond may be a close second but all 3 are made by Diamond so I would imagine a recall on one may affect all of them.

If quality is a concern and paying a little more is in your budget then Victor, Annamaet and Dr. Tim's can be options. I purchased 15 lbs. Victor Grain Free for $29 at a feed store; I have purchased 20lbs. of Annamaet extra from Chewy for $30 and both have never been recalled. I have never used Dr. Tim's but some who have rave about it and I don't believe it has been recalled either. The Victor I fed was 33% protein and about 16% which I wanted for my pet, I have read that working dogs may need more fat; unfortunately Victor is a little high in ash which I stopped feeding because my dog gets crystals. The Annamaet I use is 26% protein and about 16% fat but has more carbs then Victor, it's ash is at 6.5%.

Annamaet, Dr. Tim's and Victor have "performance" foods for working dogs which may work for your dog. Better quality foods and never been recalled but will cost more then the Kirkland food.


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## Damon'sMom (Aug 2, 2011)

Pro Pac is the best bet for your money if you want to stay cheap and don't want a food by Diamond. And don't want to stay on Kirkland that is. The better the quality food you feed the less you have to feed.

Victor Ultra Pro is $60 for 30 pounds so that would be $2 a pound
Native level 3 (30 protein and 20 fat) is $68 for 40 pounds so that would be $1.70 a pound.
Native level 4 (35 protein and 25 fat) is $65 for 40 pounds so that would be $1.63 a pound. (GREAT DEAl!)

Pro Pac is $35 for 33 pounds so that would be $1.06 a pound.


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## SDRRanger (May 2, 2013)

Greater Swiss said:


> I've got Caeda on the grain free "Nature's Domain" food.


Just a heads up about the grain-free: on DFA, they have decreased the rating for it based on their belief that too much of the protein comes from plant and legume sources instead of animal.


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## BernerMax (Mar 15, 2013)

SDRRanger said:


> Just a heads up about the grain-free: on DFA, they have decreased the rating for it based on their belief that too much of the protein comes from plant and legume sources instead of animal.


Actually I think this is a problem for many, many grainfree blends of food- thats why we keep ours on meat/brown rice kibbles....

My vote is for the 4H for economical but ok quality feed- we feed the puppy blend, its alittle more concentrated- (maybe will look at the sport version, but I like either lamb or bison over chicken meals).... we tried the Diamond naturals, but they did not do well on it....


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## ctn830 (Jan 25, 2014)

That's the one I have. The Nature's Domain Salmon & Sweet Potato. Not good. I will seriously consider others now.


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## ctn830 (Jan 25, 2014)

anywhere else I can get the 4H? there's no Tractor Supply on Long Island. Online? I don't mind spending a few more dollars for a good food


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## Blueduck1105 (Sep 17, 2013)

I'd you are willing to spend more $$ on better foods that will open an entirely larger range of foods to consider. But you should be able to order online. Some places have discounts on auto ship too. If you buy for like 6 months you get x% off.

Something to look into


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## Hermes1 (Jan 3, 2014)

I have not served either of these foods to my dog but this may help your decision.
http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/natures-domain-dog-food/

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/purina-pro-plan-dog-food-selects-dry/


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## Blueduck1105 (Sep 17, 2013)

We used to give Kirkland but that was when we just got holt and he had Coccidia and some other worms so his stool was never right. We then went on a "prescribed" science ID now his stools are normal and went to blue buffalo so we may never know if Kirkland was good. We just associated it (perhaps wrongfully so) to bad stools. Let me know because I'm a costco junky


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

I've been feeding my dogs Kirkland ever since CostCo opened in Sioux Falls in October . They seem to be doing well on it. It does only have 26% protein so I don't know if it would work for a performance dog. Damon'sMom's suggestions would probably be better for a hard-working dog.


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## petpeeve (Jun 10, 2010)

I've had my guys on Kirkland for about 5 years now. Their coats, muscle tone, and energy levels are all decent, and stools are compact and solid. I don't have any problem with it as far as a budget-conscious food. Although, my dogs also receive a significant amount of 'real' training treats such as chicken, liver, sausage, cheese etc on a regular basis. Sort of like a dietary supplement I guess you could say.

Purina is notorious for engaging in a deceptive marketing practice called 'ingredient splitting'. ie: they list chicken as the #1 ingredient, when actually #1 is corn but it's split into various components such as corn bran, corn gluten, and others that in effect would total up to more by weight than the claimed chicken (natural water content of the chicken can also boost it by weight without adding any nutritional value). It seems more nutritious and appealing to the consumer this way. Not very honest on their part, Purina is a big powerful company and rightly should be above that kind of thing imo. A diet made up primarily of corn is probably not good for the dog in the long run. No matter how they slice it.


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## Damon'sMom (Aug 2, 2011)

ctn830 said:


> anywhere else I can get the 4H? there's no Tractor Supply on Long Island. Online? I don't mind spending a few more dollars for a good food


I do believe you can buy it on their website and can ship it to you.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

I wouldn't bother with trying to buy 4Health online. It's a decent food but not super great. Not worth paying shipping for anyway, and I don't know any free-shipping websites that sell it. If your local selections are limited, check out www.chewy.com and see which ones you think will work for your dog. It is a risk to buy a big bag online if you don't know how your dog will do on it, but once you have an idea what your dog can handle you can usually make a pretty good guess.


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## Losech (Apr 5, 2011)

I like Diamond Naturals Extreme Athlete (32/25). Sure it's a Diamond product, but so is Taste of the Wild, which is another favorite of mine. I can get a 40lb bag for $36. Dogs do pretty great on it. I like to switch things up and don't feed the same food every bag, but I always stay at or above 30% protein and add in things like raw eggs and fresh meats.


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