Purina Pro Plan Dog Food: Review

Purina’s roots go as far back as 1894 when three entrepreneurs joined heads to found the Robinson-Danforth Commission Company, which eventually changed to Ralston Purina in 1902. 

By 1926, they established the first pet nutrition and care center at Purina Farms near Gray Summit, Missouri, in order to assess the palatability and nutrition of their pet foods. The company continued to grow, developing new, innovative dog and cat food products. Nestlè would later go on to acquire Ralston Purina in 2001.

Purina Pro Plan is one of the many pet food lines under the Nestlè-Purina name. Pro Plan offers over 140 targeted formulas that are made to help your dog thrive at any life stage. With a team of over 400 pet nutritionists and veterinarians, they are stringent in ensuring that all food meets the nutritional requirements of your pets. 

Overall, they create well-balanced formulas that emphasize high-quality animal proteins and probiotics. The specific probiotic strain chosen by Pro Plan can exert a positive impact on digestive health by balancing the levels of bacteria in your dog’s intestines. It can also help support immune health. They also specialize in offering products that offer nutrition for dogs that have sensitive stomachs and skin. 

All of the work they do centers around sourcing quality ingredients and minimizing their environmental impact. They source the majority of their ingredients in the US from trusted suppliers, then go on to trace every single ingredient before it goes into your pet’s food. So before working with a supplier, their technical team conducts rigorous sampling to ensure the ingredient meets their standards. And then multiple checks are carried throughout the manufacturing process up until it’s packaged and distributed.

To help you better decide on whether Purina Pro Plan is the right fit for your pooch, we’ve reviewed their highest-rated dry and wet dog food below.

Purina’s top dry food is made using a blend of chicken and rice, it is composed of 26% protein, coming from real chicken. This along with the 16% fat offers a solid protein to fat ratio, not too much, not too little, just right! 

A unique twist that your dog will love is the combination of hard kibble and tender shredded pieces. This texture and flavor mix will make your pup salivate at the thought of his/her meals (sorry for the drooling in advance). With live probiotics and prebiotic fibers, this food is great for digestion as well. The bottom line is that this is a great dry dog food, and will adequately cover your dog’s nutritional needs while tasting great, and not costing an arm and a leg.

Customer reviews:

“Our guys ranging from elderly coonhound and bishapoo to middle aged whippet all go nuts for this. We’ve tried many different brands and varieties and this one has hit a home run. The nuggets are small enough for our little guys and still fits the bill for the hound. They all seem to have more energy and seem to feel better and move better.”

“I did not expect that my dogs would like this product so much, they were in picky mode, the formula is good, it has crunchy parts and other soft ones, I am assuming that they like that because they quickly finish what I serve them, so far I have not seen anything negative in them, so I will continue giving them this food.”

Guaranteed analysis:

• Protein (min): 26.0%
• Fat (min): 16.0%
• Fiber (max): 3.0%
• Moisture (max): 12.0%

Nutritional Info
Ingredients: Chicken, Rice Flour, Whole Grain Wheat, Poultry By-Product Meal (Source Of Glucosamine), Soybean Meal, Beef Tallow Preserved With Mixed-Tocopherols, Corn Gluten Meal, Whole Grain Corn, Fish Meal (Source Of Glucosamine), Natural Liver Flavor, Glycerin, Wheat Bran, Mono And Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Salt, Dried Egg Product, Soybean Oil, Potassium Chloride, Fish Oil, Minerals [Zinc Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite], Vitamins [Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin (Vitamin B-3), Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B-5), Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B-1), Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement (Vitamin B-2), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B-6), Folic Acid (Vitamin B-9), Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Vitamin K), Biotin (Vitamin B-7)], Choline Chloride, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (Vitamin C), Dried Bacillus Coagulans Fermentation Product, L-Lysine Monohydrochloride, Garlic Oil. Y445517

Caloric Content
4,038 kcal/kg, 387 kcal/cup

Chicken and rice never really disappoints, it is a classic mix for a reason, and your dog will love this recipe by Purina. It has received rave reviews for how dogs take to it. For a wet dog food, it has a high amount of protein (9%), higher than the industry average, and many top competitors. This wet food can either be used on its own or as a topper, you decide! 

It is made using a mix of lean chicken, and energy-boosting carbs to keep your pup playing. There is an abundance of healthy omega-6 fatty acids in this recipe, so if you want to see an improvement in your dog’s skin, and coat (think shiny and beautiful) then this recipe is a good bet. Purina makes it’s foods in the USA, and has sourced this recipe using quality ingredients.

Customer reviews:

“This is the only brand I buy for my dogs. I add a tablespoon to their food when they get a little fussy and they eat their food right up. It mixes very well with the dry food (Purina Performance Sport) and water.”

“Our black lab and golden doodle love this! We have them on the chicken and rice dry kibble, and then use this as a help to get them to take their pills! My lab takes 8 pills at night, and she used to leave the pills in the bowl and give me such a hard time. With a big spoonful of this added to the dry kibble, she eats it no problem! And this case of 12 lasts us like 3 weeks!”

Guaranteed analysis: 

• Protein (min): 9.0%
• Fat (min): 6.0%
• Fiber (max): 1.5%
• Moisture (max): 78.0%

Nutritional Info
Ingredients: Chicken, Water Sufficient For Processing, Liver, Meat By-Product, Rice, Guar Gum, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Carrageenan, Added Color, Calcium Carbonate, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Choline Chloride, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Copper Sulfate, Calcium Pantothenate, Manganese Sulfate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Folic Acid, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Biotin, Potassium Iodide, Sodium Selenite. D-4433.

Caloric Content
1,184 kcal/kg, 437 kcal/can

There has only been one recall specific to the Purina Pro Plan line. In 2016, Purina Pro Plan savory dog meals were recalled due to inadequate vitamins and minerals.