# Is Purina really that bad??



## TD111 (May 4, 2009)

I have been feeding Purina All Natural Selects, turkey and barley, since I got my puppy and she has done great on it. 

http://www.proplan.com/products/selects.html

I tried to slowly switch her to Wellness a couple of times (Only because of what I read here), and she did not react well to it. 

Bottom line, she does well on this food, and she is really healthy. Should I really switch to something different?


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## Binkalette (Dec 16, 2008)

Only if you want to.. It's your choice. If she does well on it and your happy then it should be fine.


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## wolfsnaps (Apr 27, 2007)

Wellness is not the only other food you can feed. I would try other premium foods. I think Purina IS that bad just from looking at the ingredients. 

But I also think if its working for your dog and its what you can afford, then do it. I just think there are better foods out there, even around that price range. 

Best of luck.


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## lshean (Jan 6, 2009)

Many dogs have grown up on Purina products and have done just fine. I had a Collie that lived to be 21 human years old and he ate nothing but Purina.


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## sizzledog (Nov 23, 2008)

No, I don't think it's the best food out there. However, sometimes it's the right food for a specific dog.

We've fed a lot of different foods over the years. EVO, TOTW, Wellness, Blue, Nature's Variety raw... but in the end, they do the best on Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach.

Can't explain it, can't make sense of it... they just do well on it. So that's what they eat.

Do I wish they did well on a better food? Sure I do. But I'm not going to feed a higher quality food that they do poorly on, just because it's popular.


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## tirluc (Aug 29, 2006)

mine eat Purina One and have done great on it...when i have tried other foods (grain free) they have done lousy....if it works for your pup, stay w/ it.....


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## DogPaw (Jan 11, 2009)

We had a EBD that ate Purina One and lived to be 12 without any issues. Thats pretty good for a Bulldog. 

My GSD had hot spots on his belly, eye goop and ear infections. Someone suggested Pro Plan for sensitive skin and stomach and it cleared everything up. I had also tried other brands like Eagle Pack, Natures Recipe and some others. He did not do well on any of them. 

I have had people tell me that it's not a very good food. If it's not a very good food then why did it take care of his issues? If it's working for your dog then stick with it.


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## STPFAN (Sep 27, 2009)

Understanding nutrition, especially canine nutrition will help make your dog food choice easier! Do more research on what foods benefits your pet...remember....we can all look good eating Mcdonalds everyday...but is it healthy for us?

YIS


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## tirluc (Aug 29, 2006)

STPFAN said:


> Understanding nutrition, especially canine nutrition will help make your dog food choice easier! Do more research on what foods benefits your pet...remember....we can all look good eating Mcdonalds everyday...but is it healthy for us?
> 
> YIS


sorry, to me this argument is getting old....i can't really see how Purina can be equated to McDonald's when it a given that so many dogs will actually do great on it, and it's also a given that people won't do great on straight MD.....if Purina is such a bad food, then why does it work best for many dogs.....


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## sizzledog (Nov 23, 2008)

I agree, it does get old. 

What I do is just feed it. I don't worry about "looking good" to other people, I feed what my dogs do best on, end of story. I rest easy knowing that I'm making my feeding decisions based on my *dogs*, not on what people on the internet may think of me. I rest easy, knowing I feed what many of the top Dobermans in the country eat, and I feed a food that my dogs truly do well on.

Don't feed a food your dogs do poorly on, just to make a bunch of people on the internet happy. 

Besides - to the naysayers I say, "Hey, I'm not coming to your house and making YOUR dogs eat it... so stop worrying!"


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## tirluc (Aug 29, 2006)

ya know, sizzle, i had a person once comment on how GREAT my dogs look...how their coats are soooo full/shiny, and their eyes sooo bright, and just really look sooo good....then they asked what i feed and i told them P.O....their response back? "oh, i'd get them off that food, that's terrible for dogs....they'd look do so much better if you fed (can't remember the food they said they feed)." 

how can they look soooo great, but do better on something else?....


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## sizzledog (Nov 23, 2008)

tirluc said:


> ya know, sizzle, i had a person once comment on how GREAT my dogs look...how their coats are soooo full/shiny, and their eyes sooo bright, and just really look sooo good....then they asked what i feed and i told them P.O....their response back? "oh, i'd get them off that food, that's terrible for dogs....they'd look do so much better if you fed (can't remember the food they said they feed)."
> 
> how can they look soooo great, but do better on something else?....


Yep, I've had that happen too. I usually say, "Actually, they don't look better on <inset food recommended here. - they did terribly on it."

If you have a silver ring and people think it's platinum, they'll ooh and aah over it. But once they find out it's just silver, they'll lose interest.


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## DogPaw (Jan 11, 2009)

It is ridiculous, people get bashed all the time for not feeding the food that others think your dog should be eating. So do I feed my dog the food that gives him the worst diarrhea he's ever had, even tho the ingredients say it's the best there is???? Or do I feed my dog the food that makes his hot spots go away his ear infections are no more and his eyes clear up. I mean come on. You don't have to be a friggin einstein to figure that one out. 

*Sizzledog* Is Ada a Pembroke or a Cardigan?


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## sizzledog (Nov 23, 2008)

DogPaw said:


> It is ridiculous, people get bashed all the time for not feeding the food that others think your dog should be eating. So do I feed my dog the food that gives him the worst diarrhea he's ever had, even tho the ingredients say it's the best there is???? Or do I feed my dog the food that makes his hot spots go away his ear infections are no more and his eyes clear up. I mean come on. You don't have to be a friggin einstein to figure that one out.
> 
> *Sizzledog* Is Ada a Pembroke or a Cardigan?


Ada is a Pembroke.


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## Entwine (Jan 14, 2009)

Whatever works for your dog--if the dog is doing well, why switch?

My mom's dog was on Science Diet, had been on Purina, and had a rotten odor and itchy skin. I switched her to Innova and her skin and coat are beautiful and her stench is gone.

My puppy ate Innova as a puppy and now eats Evo and she does great on it.

Just putting in a different experience--the grocery store foods didn't work well for my mom's dog at all. The premium food took care of her ALL of her problems.

Long story short, individual food decisions work for individual dogs.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

Agree totally. Sassy was always stinky and now she gets home cooked food she doesn't stink, her ears and teeth are cleaner and her anal sacs don't get full. Max never had any of those problems but I saw improvements from premium kibble to home cooked and home cooked to raw. I never would have put him on raw to improve his health but it has.


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

Yup definitely feed what your dog does good on. Mine doesn't do well on food with corn and does the best on grain free but I know a couple of dogs that do well on Pro Plan/Science Diet, etc. They don't have energy on other foods and poop a lot.


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## DobManiac (Aug 12, 2007)

sizzledog said:


> We've fed a lot of different foods over the years. EVO, TOTW, Wellness, Blue, Nature's Variety raw... but in the end, they do the best on Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach.
> 
> Can't explain it, can't make sense of it... they just do well on it. So that's what they eat.
> 
> Do I wish they did well on a better food? Sure I do. But I'm not going to feed a higher quality food that they do poorly on, just because it's popular.


When I first started researching foods, I did become very snobby. I didn't want my dogs anywhere never a bag of Pro Plan and I was willing to tell anyone who asked. My handler ended up feeding Dusk Pro Plan Sensitive stomach when he started refusing the food I sent him with. He put on some weight and actually looked really nice on the food. I was nicely surprised, and it's given me back my open mind. 

But I still couldn't bring myself to feed it. Nutrition affects so many things and I just couldn't get over my research. I switched all of the dogs to TOTW and they did great on it. Dusk gained more weight and was looking like his old self within a couple of months. 

I then switched to Raw over the summer and will never change their food again. Their coats are perfect, shiny yet coarse. And I am no longer required to road work. That in itself is worth its weight in gold. Their muscle is natural, and they don't get pudgy. My breeder/handler now says my dogs are the best conditioned dogs she shows. And this only took me 2 years to narrow down. Finding a food that both you and your dogs can live with is not always a short process. 

To the OP, Purina is not the best if you go by reading the label. And I'm not a fan of heavy preservatives eaten on a daily basis. If it was my dog I would give some other foods a shot, and see how the dog does. But I can completely understand not wanting to ruin a good thing. My method for feeding RAW is different than how a lot of other people do it. But it works for my dogs, and that’s all that matters.


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## dieterherzog (Sep 28, 2009)

How about a food that has similar crude analysis and almost the same ingredients but omits corn gluten meal, animal fat, Vitamin K and dried beet pulp? 

Some noteworthy mentions are Castor and Pollux Organix, Acana (the one with grains) or California Natural or Natural Balance. 

I think that if you tried looking around a little bit at something that has less preservatives, has about the same crude analysis and almost similar ingredients, you're bound to find one that would suit your dog. 

Some dogs are so used to being fed the same thing for so long that it's hard for their bodies to adapt to change anymore, which is really not a good thing. Grain-free or not, it doesn't matter, what matters is carcinogens and toxins - and that's what causes the bulk of diseases in dogs anyway.


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## sizzledog (Nov 23, 2008)

Not necessarily. I've fed C&P, NB and Cal Nat - none have worked as well as the Pro Plan. The SS&S formula is better than the others though, FYI.


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## DobManiac (Aug 12, 2007)

sizzledog said:


> Not necessarily. I've fed C&P, NB and Cal Nat - none have worked as well as the Pro Plan. The SS&S formula is better than the others though, FYI.


Did you also mention earlier that raw didn't work? If so how were you feeding it? Quite a few dogs do better on mainstream dog foods, but in my experience it's very rare for dogs to not do well on RAW. And that is of course including dobermans. The dogs tend to keep a lot easier on a raw diet, without you needed to do as much prep for the show ring.


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## bully (Sep 16, 2009)

I'd say yes it's crap.

When you switch to a good food - it takes almost a month for a dog to adjust - did you give it a month?


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## tirluc (Aug 29, 2006)

bully said:


> I'd say yes it's crap.
> 
> When you switch to a good food - it takes almost a month for a dog to adjust - did you give it a month?


i gave mine 4-6 mo when i've tried them on something else....the 1st 3 wks were good (other than the excess pooping) but it went (quickly) downhill from there....i'll stay w/ P.O.


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## RonE (Feb 3, 2007)

bully said:


> I'd say yes it's crap.
> 
> When you switch to a good food - it takes almost a month for a dog to adjust - did you give it a month?


You're new here so here's some free advice. Not everything you disagree with is crap. See if you can find a way a way to express yourself using grownup words.

BTW, I feed Purina One -after a few years of Canidae and then Solid Gold.


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## wolfsnaps (Apr 27, 2007)

haha, I use the word crap all the time when I talk about dog foods at work. Professional? Nope.Just my immature style. Not all food is crap but I mean, Kibbles 'n' bits? That is crap, how can you disagree with that?

*Corn, Soybean Meal, Ground Wheat Flour*, *Beef & Bone Meal*, *Animal Fat (BHA preserved), Corn Syrup, Wheat Middlings*, Water Sufficient For Processing, *Animal Digest,* Propylene Glycol, Salt, Hydrochloric Acid, Potassium Chloride, Caramel Color, Sorbic Acid, Sodium Carbonate, Choline Chloride, Minerals

Is there anything even GOOD in this food? SO I think its safe to say that SOME foods ARE crap? Not to start an arguement, but can you really tell me this food is NOT crap just to spare someone's feelings?


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## Cracker (May 25, 2009)

If your dog has no health issues, no behavioural issues and does well on a food of any kind then I say stick to it. When I worked at the vet we had this convo a lot and I always said stick to what works.
Cracker started out on Purina, didn't do well on it and does well on Wellness. Her anxiety and "tummy issues" improved when I got her on better food, but if she'd done well on the Purina I most likely would have stuck with it.


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

Well what I do is...whatever food my dog comes with, I try something better. For example, Nia came on Royal Canin, I first tried Innova -> good results. Then try something even "more premium" like Orijen/EVO. Which in my case both worked well so i stick with the higher one that worked. If the higher one doesn't work, downgrade back to the 1st food I tried. If that doesn't work, downgrade more until I find one with a quality that works.

I know not all dogs can eat premium foods but I give the best that my dog does well on. If she only did well on Pro Plan, then that's what I'll feed but if she does well on Orijen, I'm not going to change back to Pro Plan if you get what I mean.


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## GroovyGroomer777 (Aug 21, 2008)

RonE said:


> You're new here so here's some free advice. Not everything you disagree with is crap. See if you can find a way a way to express yourself using grownup words.
> 
> QUOTE]
> 
> Then I guess I shouldn't call it "poop on a stick" like I intended to.


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## AEPets (Oct 17, 2013)

Here is the thing, the poor quality foods have a high risk of causing health problems. No, you will not see these issues develop overnight. Just because your dog is alive and moving, doesn't mean it is healthy and thriving. Oh, but your vet said the dog looks good and is healthy? How did they come to this conclusion? They weighed the dog and took it's temperature? Ask yourself this, does the vet make much money on a healthy dog? Do they really have much motivation to avoid heath issues? Yes, some vets do and they will take the time to educate you on proper foods. Purina will never be on that list. No, not any one brand fits all dogs. You may have to try a few.

1 in 3 dogs in the US die from cancer. That number is too large to be overlooked. The only thing dogs share in commend is the best selling dog foods. #1 selling bag is Ol' Roy and Purina is #2. If you read the ingredients and know what you are looking at, you'll see where the cancer is coming from. Forget the huge amount of plant matter that dogs have no business eating. Anytime the words Animal or Meat is used, that is a bad sign. That will most likely be a mix of meats from road kill, sick live stock and euthanized animals (mostly horses). The road kill are the safer meats because they are mostly deer & elk. The FDA did report the findings of pentobarbital (chemical used to euthanize animals) in dog foods. This chemical alone will cause cancer. Add in the propylene glycol which is also used to make anti-freeze for your cars. Then add in the artificial colors and you got a cancer causing food.

Dogs are very tough animals and most can overcome the horrible foods we give them. Although, why should they be forced to? The hard truth is, you are responsible for the health and well being of your pets. You say you can't afford better foods for the dogs while you spend how much on your cigarettes, beer, junk foods, etc.? Well, if you really and truly can not afford it, then you can NOT afford to own a pet. There are good foods out there that don't cost a ton to feed. Some are even cheaper that Purina. Don't let ignorance or stubbornness (yours or others) affect your dogs health.


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