# Purina Pro Plan



## suzydee

*Puppy pro plan*

I totally understand the confusion over dog food. I gained a new puppy in our home at Thanksgiving ...would'nt recommend getting a puppy thru the holidays, but live and learn. lol I looked at this forum for insight about choosing a good puppy food, talked to my vet, not one but 2 of them. Talked with friends, too. My vet strongly recommended Purina pro plan puppy. The other vet said Science Diet. I would not have picked either of them, looking at ingredients. But the verdict is still out concerning grain free diets. I read several people from this forum that noted they've had goldens for years and fed them the pro plan and they lived a long, long life and look gorgeous. So my 4 month old, Samson, is currently on Pro plan puppy, large breed. His coat has so improved from even a month ago. He seems very healthy, stools are good, no vomiting ever. Will I keep him on Pro plan? Probably not forever, but as long as his weight is stable, very careful not to over feed, I'll maintain it for another few months. My other golden, who is 6 has been on chicken and rice Diamond naturals since he was 1. He also is very healthy with no issues. I believe that some of this dog food is very over rated and everyone has a different spin on it. Sometimes the more we read about it , the more confused we are.


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## Karento5

Can you tell me why you like this brand? Is it sold in stores? 
Thanks
Karen


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## hotel4dogs

I like it because Purina is an old, established company that puts more money into nutrition research than anyone else, and it's their top of the line food. It has actually been tested on dogs, and is produced in their​ own manufacturing facilities, not by someone else. It has never been recalled.
Finally, lots of dogs do really well on it, but most importantly, mine do.
It's not available in grocery stores, but can be found at pet stores and stores like Farm and Fleet Big R, etc. Also available online at Amazon and Chewy.


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## Prism Goldens

Be sure to not buy the shred version. It says shred on the front... 
Some Goldens were bothered by the shreds GI wise when it was first introduced.
Most pros use the non-shred version, so not only is it accessible and reliable, it is what anyone likely to be caring for your dog to be using too.


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## rabernet

I was first introduced to Purina ProPlan almost 20 years ago, when I started to volunteer with Canine Assistants (interestingly enough, years ago AND for many years, Milk Bone Puppy featured two golden retriever puppies on the front of the box - and those were actual Canine Assistant puppies that grew to become service dogs). 

Here's a fun link: Max celebrates 1 year at FOX 5 - Story | WAGA

Anyway, all the puppies and dogs there are raised on Purina ProPlan, and in my 11 years as a volunteer there, I figured - if Canine Assistants trusts this brand for all their dogs, then I trust them too. And that's observing literally thousands of dogs over those years and how healthy they were on it. 

Noah was raised on the Large Breed Puppy Formula, briefly switched to Sensitive Skin and Stomach before we landed on the Performance 30/20 blend. 

I buy ours from PetSmart, PetCo, Pet Supermarket locally.


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## Brinkleythegolden

Brinkley came from the breeder on it, and we have never had an issue with it.


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## CAROLINA MOM

hotel4dogs said:


> I like it because Purina is an old, established company that puts more money into nutrition research than anyone else, and it's their top of the line food. It has actually been tested on dogs, and is produced in their​ own manufacturing facilities, not by someone else. It has never been recalled.
> Finally, lots of dogs do really well on it, but most importantly, mine do.
> It's not available in grocery stores, but can be found at pet stores and stores like Farm and Fleet Big R, etc. Also available online at Amazon and Chewy.


For the reasons hotel4dogs stated above-

I've been feeding Purina Pro Plan for Sensitive Skin and Stomach to my guys the last 7 years. I tried several different brands and formulas and nothing was working. PPP SSS was recommended by several members, I saw immediate improvement in my boy's stomach issues within a couple of days.

I buy it through Amazon on a subscription plan, I can adjust the delivery date as needed, cancel a shipment, or cancel the subscription at any time. 

Price is much better than area stores, free shipping, I receive it within a couple days of shipment.


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## Brinkleythegolden

CAROLINA MOM said:


> For the reasons hotel4dogs stated above-
> 
> I've been feeding Purina Pro Plan for Sensitive Skin and Stomach to my guys the last 7 years. I tried several different brands and formulas and nothing was working. PPP SSS was recommended by several members, I saw immediate improvement in my boy's stomach issues within a couple of days.
> 
> I buy it through Amazon on a subscription plan, I can adjust the delivery date as needed, cancel a shipment, or cancel the subscription at any time.
> 
> Price is much better than area stores, free shipping, I receive it within a couple days of shipment.


Wow-I didn't even realize that Amazon sold it-I'm going to have to check that out!


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## CAROLINA MOM

Brinkleythegolden said:


> Wow-I didn't even realize that Amazon sold it-I'm going to have to check that out!


The more items you subscribe to, the greater the discount or savings is too.


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## cwag

Rukie (almost 9 months) is such a couch potato I wonder if the ProPlan 30/20 is right for him. He gets a short morning walk and a 20 minute session (will be longer when weather is better) of run around, play frisbee or flirt pole in the late afternoon. Is there a better Pro Plan option for him? I was getting ready to switch from the large breed puppy. He's had ProPlan and Eukanuba, no allergies never had loose stools or been sick or itchy.


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## rabernet

cwag said:


> Rukie (almost 9 months) is such a couch potato I wonder if the ProPlan 30/20 is right for him. He gets a short morning walk and a 20 minute session (will be longer when weather is better) of run around, play frisbee or flirt pole in the late afternoon. Is there a better Pro Plan option for him? I was getting ready to switch from the large breed puppy. He's had ProPlan and Eukanuba, no allergies never had loose stools or been sick or itchy.


They can help you choose the right formula for your dog here: https://www.proplan.com/myplan


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## Ginams

I just completed a switch to Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach for my girls based on information gathered from this forum and others. They had been on grain free, but I wanted to switch them off that and have always heard such positive things about the formula that I decided to give it a shot. They eat it well (they're Goldens after all :laugh and tolerated the switch well.


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## Karento5

Thank you to everyone who responded! It sounds like a food that's been well tested. Good to hear! I am going to give it a try.


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## Karento5

Thank you for your response. It is confusing! I think I will give it a try.
Karen


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## CAROLINA MOM

*Karento5*-I merged your two Purina Pro Plan threads into one thread so you would have all the info in the same thread.


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## DevWind

I started feeding my goldens Purina Pro Plan after I saw how my mother’s Supposedly Sheltie (70 lbs), probably really a Collie looks on it. My puppy is very healthy on it. My girl is doing very well too. They get Sport all life’s stages 30/20 performance. I buy from Chewy because I’ve had too many problems with delivery on Amazon. My other dogs get Diamond. They are doing well too but they don’t need “performance “ food.


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## Sweet Girl

hotel4dogs said:


> I like it because Purina is an old, established company that puts more money into nutrition research than anyone else, and it's their top of the line food. It has actually been tested on dogs, and is produced in their​ own manufacturing facilities, not by someone else. It has never been recalled.
> Finally, lots of dogs do really well on it, but most importantly, mine do.
> It's not available in grocery stores, but can be found at pet stores and stores like Farm and Fleet Big R, etc. Also available online at Amazon and Chewy.


That's why I feed Pro Plan, too. Also, because my dog thrives on it. 



cwag said:


> Rukie (almost 9 months) is such a couch potato I wonder if the ProPlan 30/20 is right for him. He gets a short morning walk and a 20 minute session (will be longer when weather is better) of run around, play frisbee or flirt pole in the late afternoon. Is there a better Pro Plan option for him? I was getting ready to switch from the large breed puppy. He's had ProPlan and Eukanuba, no allergies never had loose stools or been sick or itchy.


To be honest, your dog doesn't need 30/20. My dog gets two hours of exercise a day, does hunt training, dock diving, goes hiking - and even SHE doesn't need 30/20. My girl is 4 years old, and she eats Sensitive Skin and Stomach Salmon formula - mostly because I want the extra Omegas. She was on the chicken and rice formula before, and also thrived on that. Your dog would be fine on adult chicken and rice (not the shredded).


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## MaureenM

We went with Purina Pro Plan because that's what Finley's breeder recommended. 11 months later we brought home Banshee, and her breeder recommended the same . We were so glad there wasn't going to be any food transition to deal with and felt confident that both breeders recommended the same. Both dogs have done great with it, no complaints. I will be checking out the amazon prescription service though...


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## Karento5

I notice Purina Pro Plan feeding guidelines are a lot less than the Fromm almost half. Wow! Why is that?


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## FosterGolden

I have conformation Labs currently and most of the local breeders feed it and send their puppies home on it. My boys were chunky and I could not get the weight off (of course, there are lots of Lab breeders that like their dogs like that, but I digress). There is a lot of corn. Corn makes cows fat. Corn products make humans fat. I can only assume that corn makes dogs fat, too. Perhaps some dogs (and cows and humans) are less sensitive to the corn and don't get fat. Once my youngest was a year old, I switched them both and they are much thinner, leaner and more muscular and with less weight have better stamina and handle heat better. I've been able to keep it off for three years now -- over 50 lbs between the two of them with just changing their food (I feed the same amount and exercise is the same). I don't think it's a bad food because a lot of dogs have done well on it. I don't think it's great for dogs that are "easy keepers" and prone to weight gain. YMMV.


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## Sweet Girl

No corn in Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach Salmon:
*Ingredients*


Salmon, barley, ground rice, canola meal, oatmeal, fish meal (source of glucosamine), animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols, brewers dried yeast, salmon meal (source of glucosamine), natural flavor, sunflower oil, chicory root inulin, salt, fish oil, Vitamin E supplement, niacin (Vitamin B-3), Vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate (Vitamin B-5), pyridoxine hydrochloride (Vitamin B-6), folic acid (Vitamin B-9), Vitamin B-12 supplement, thiamine mononitrate (Vitamin B-1), Vitamin D-3 supplement, riboflavin supplement (Vitamin B-2), menadione sodium bisulfite complex (Vitamin K), biotin (Vitamin B-7), potassium chloride, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (Vitamin C), and choline chloride


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## Seamus18

My Murphy is now 4 months old and has been eating Purina ProPlan Large breed puppy since we brought him home at 7 weeks. He has done wonderful on it. Never a problem. The breeder had the puppies on Fromm puppy food, but that is very difficult to find in my area, so after reading this board and others, we went with PPP. Very happy we did, and so is Murphy.


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## CAROLINA MOM

If it had not been for the recommendations of so many members here on the Forum to try the PPP SSS 7 years ago when I made the switch, I would have never even considered a Purina product mainly because I was not informed about their products, company history as far as research into their products and no recalls of them. 

I had tried many brands and formulas and nothing was working, I was to the point where I had nothing to lose. My boy was having stomach issues and was underweight 15-20 lbs. when I adopted him from my County HS. I saw an immediate improvement. 

Until he starts having problems with it, I will continue to feed it to him.


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## Vika the Golden !

Has anyone used Royal Canin ?

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk


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## myluckypenny

Sweet Girl said:


> No corn in Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach Salmon:


I just ordered a bag of this yesterday! I like to rotate my dogs food, and I felt that they could use a rotation of some good omegas!


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## Maggie'sVoice

Prism Goldens said:


> Be sure to not buy the shred version. It says shred on the front...
> Some Goldens were bothered by the shreds GI wise when it was first introduced.
> Most pros use the non-shred version, so not only is it accessible and reliable, it is what anyone likely to be caring for your dog to be using too.


That's interesting since the shreds are the exact same as the kibble in the bag. They just don't dry the shredded pieces as much to keep them soft with a higher moisture content and since dogs only really taste salt and fat (they go by smell mostly) they do this to increase palatability and marketing for people. Wouldn't expect those shredded pieces to cause any issue


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## Maggie'sVoice

The thing that could become the issue is the soy they added to the shredded blend version that is not in the regular bag of kibble. Soy really shouldn't be free to dogs unless it's soy protein isolate.


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## CAROLINA MOM

Maggie'sVoice said:


> The thing that could become the issue is the soy they added to the shredded blend version that is not in the regular bag of kibble. Soy really shouldn't be free to dogs unless it's soy protein isolate.


That's why I like the PPP SSS, it does not contain wheat, corn or soy.


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## drew510

We have been gradually been transitioning Piper (17 weeks) to PPP from Fromm and were up to about a 50/50 mixture with zero change in stool. Last night my daughter decided to give her a full serving of PPP (without asking us). Piper woke up in the middle of the night and had diarrhea when my wife took her out. When I took her out a couple hours later she had diarrhea again as well as vomited. Her energy level was way down as well. She's currently staying under observation of the vet for the day and her stool came back negative for anything, her energy level is better than it was, she has no fever, and is not dehydrated. We're going to do a bland diet and see how she does and go back to the 50/50 mix once she settles.


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## Maggie'sVoice

CAROLINA MOM said:


> Maggie'sVoice said:
> 
> 
> 
> The thing that could become the issue is the soy they added to the shredded blend version that is not in the regular bag of kibble. Soy really shouldn't be free to dogs unless it's soy protein isolate.
> 
> 
> 
> That's why I like the PPP SSS, it does not contain wheat, corn or soy.
Click to expand...

The 2 thing I'm not crazy about is the animal fat and fresh Salmon instead of a Salmon meal. That means they can just change the type of fat they use like if Beef Tallow might cheaper sometimes. Fat changes is the biggest impact on if a dog gets lose stools. 

The fresh Salmon means that you have more barley, ground rice, canola meal and oatmeal then fish meal before actual Salmon as fresh meat/fish looses enough weight during cooking and processing that it moves 6-8 ingredients down the list in a finished product. That means fresh Salmon can be as low as the 8th ingredient. Low meat content to the grain content.

Not saying it's bad to feed, not at all, I'm just saying I look for something a little different for my dogs food. The SSS is certainly better then the regular Pro Plan.


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## Maggie'sVoice

drew510 said:


> We have been gradually been transitioning Piper (17 weeks) to PPP from Fromm and were up to about a 50/50 mixture with zero change in stool. Last night my daughter decided to give her a full serving of PPP (without asking us). Piper woke up in the middle of the night and had diarrhea when my wife took her out. When I took her out a couple hours later she had diarrhea again as well as vomited. Her energy level was way down as well. She's currently staying under observation of the vet for the day and her stool came back negative for anything, her energy level is better than it was, she has no fever, and is not dehydrated. We're going to do a bland diet and see how she does and go back to the 50/50 mix once she settles.


I hate when they just put the dog on a bland diet because you're just going to have to transition back again so that means the puppy will not be settled for about 3 weeks to a month. The easiest thing to do is Skip a meal or so and go back to the 50/50 with a probiotic and the pup would be fine in a day maybe a day and half. You can also just add a little Pedialyte to the water or straight if they'll just lap a little up and that would handle any possible dehydration.


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## CAROLINA MOM

When I adopted my boy at the age of 2 from my County Shelter, he was turned in a stray. He was 15-20 lbs. underweight and was having stomach issues. 

I tried various brands and formulas, the PPP SSS was recommended by members here on the forum. It was the only food I tried that worked.......his stomach issues cleared up, he started gaining the much needed weight within 4-6 months. My boy has done great on it and has been eating it for 7.5 years now. 

Unless he should start having problems, I won't make a change in his food.


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## daisy1234

I see this was an old post that came up with comments. Since joining this post I never understood why so many used Purina. Purina does not have a good reputation for dog food. I don't get how you can have beautiful Goldens and not feed them a good quality food, and why some don't like the dog food advisor as well. I truly don't get it, in a very sincere way. I'm not judging any of you, I know people have to choose and do what is best for their dogs. I suppose if it is working for some then great. Really don't understand why some don't like the dog food advisor as well. It's information and that is helpful to me in my searches. 

https://dogfood.guide/best-and-worst/

Dog Food Advisor
The Bottom Line
Judging by its ingredients alone, Purina Pro Plan Select Dog Food looks like an below-average dry product.
I know, some don't like the dog food advisor as well. I don't get that either.


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## bsruther

I feed my golden Orijen Six Fish - she loves it - the only thing is my vet has told me that she has developed a urinary tract infection from it and wants me to switch to Royal Canin for urinary tract infections and to dissolve crystals. The vet only sells this food and it is very expensive. Any thoughts?


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## CAROLINA MOM

bsruther said:


> I feed my golden Orijen Six Fish - she loves it - the only thing is my vet has told me that she has developed a urinary tract infection from it and wants me to switch to Royal Canin for urinary tract infections and to dissolve crystals. The vet only sells this food and it is very expensive. Any thoughts?


Your vet wants your girl to eat the RC prescription formula made specifically for Urinary Tract Infections. 

Vets often put dogs with a specific health problem on a prescription formula to treat the medical problem. Depending on the health issue, dogs can normally go back on their previous food unless the Vet is saying that the Orijen you were feeding caused the crystals and infection. He may either want her to stay on it long term or he may recommend another Brand of food if she doesn't have to stay on the RC.

Did the Vet say there is a specific ingredient or ingredients that caused the infection? I have never heard of food causing a UTI though.


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## Charliethree

Food can be a contributing factor in the occurrence of uti's (and ear infections). When my girl Kaya was young she had recurring uti's which were repeated treated with antibiotics (and coincidentally Milo had recurring ear infections - again with the antibiotics) after switching them onto a grain-free food with multiple protein sources and no chicken they never had another infection.


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## Sweet Girl

daisy1234 said:


> I see this was an old post that came up with comments. Since joining this post I never understood why so many used Purina. Purina does not have a good reputation for dog food. I don't get how you can have beautiful Goldens and not feed them a good quality food, and why some don't like the dog food advisor as well. I truly don't get it, in a very sincere way. I'm not judging any of you, I know people have to choose and do what is best for their dogs. I suppose if it is working for some then great. Really don't understand why some don't like the dog food advisor as well. It's information and that is helpful to me in my searches.
> 
> https://dogfood.guide/best-and-worst/
> 
> Dog Food Advisor
> The Bottom Line
> Judging by its ingredients alone, Purina Pro Plan Select Dog Food looks like an below-average dry product.
> I know, some don't like the dog food advisor as well. I don't get that either.



I don't value the "dog food advisor" because he is a human dentist with absolutely no education in animal nutrition. Why in the world would I trust the word of some dude on the internet who describes himself as the expert versus someone who is actually educated in animal nutrition and has conducted years of research? 

The dog food advisor's analyses are based on HIS views on what dog food should be - and that is as close to human food as possible. But dogs are not humans. They don't need the same things in their diets as we need, and vice versa.

And you can't simply generalize and say Purina is bad food. Purina has a wide, wide range of products. Purina Dog Chow is not the same as Purina Pro Plan. People who train and compete their dogs in many dog sports, from agility to obedience to hunt and field, feed Pro Plan. If it were a poor quality food, it would show in the dog's performance. There's a reason people feed it. And I can tell you for free - it's not because it's cheap! It's one of the most expensive foods, up there with all the other so-called "premium" foods.


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## CAROLINA MOM

If there are any members that are still feeding Grain Free food, you may want to take a look at this thread.

https://www.goldenretrieverforum.co...low-taurine-grain-free-foods-dcm-goldens.html

There have been a lot of reports recently on News Websites, TV news reports, and also Vet School Websites. There are several threads here on the forum about feeding grain free foods and the problems it causes. 

Use the Forum "Search" feature for Grain Free or Low Taurine, talk to your Vet if you've been feeding Grain free and about having your dog's Taurine levels tested.

You may want to read these two articles from UC Davis's Vet School and NC State's Vet school-

https://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/news...nk-between-dog-diets-and-deadly-heart-disease

https://news.ncsu.edu/in-the-news/p...n-free-dog-food-and-heart-disease-f-d-a-says/


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## David Pearson

Charliethree said:


> Food can be a contributing factor in the occurrence of uti's (and ear infections). When my girl Kaya was young she had recurring uti's which were repeated treated with antibiotics (and coincidentally Milo had recurring ear infections - again with the antibiotics) after switching them onto a grain-free food with multiple protein sources and no chicken they never had another infection.


My Blondie would get ear infections all the time when she was younger. 

I switch over to Purina ProPlan grain free after doing some reading, ear infections went away. Also made sure I clean her ears often, and would give her extra cleaning after swimming in the river.


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## Brave

bsruther said:


> I feed my golden Orijen Six Fish - she loves it - the only thing is my vet has told me that she has developed a urinary tract infection from it and wants me to switch to Royal Canin for urinary tract infections and to dissolve crystals. The vet only sells this food and it is very expensive. Any thoughts?


You can find it from reputable online sellers as well... see here: https://www.chewy.com/s?rh=brand_facet:Royal+Canin+Veterinary+Diet,c:288 

I don't use RC for my dogs, but I do for my cats who are 15 and 17 years old and the eldest has Chronic Kidney Disease so they are both on the kidney prescription food. They've been on it for over a year now and his kidney function test has stabilized instead of continue to decline towards kidney failure. So for me, feeding the prescription food is a way to manage his chronic condition and improve or maintain quality of life as he ages. I'm sure many people could look at it and call it junk but he's doing better on this than he was on Blue Buffalo kibble. 

A lot of people think "oh if the vet sells the food, they are getting a kick back from the food company to push this specific food, so they have an ulterior motive and I cannot trust that they think this is the right course of action." So that needs to be a conversation you have with your vet. If an office sells the food, it is most often for convenience for owners who may need to start that food immediately. RC at my vets office was ALWAYS more expensive than on Chewy but so is Pro Plan as compared to the pet store. I think a lot of people get offended if vet offices don't sell things at wholesale cost. And confuse a retail markup with a kickback.


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## daisy1234

Sweet girl, I am glad you are happy with the food you feed. We can just agree to disagree on this topic. What works best for your dog is what is best for you. I'm not here to argue, just trying to understand.


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## Maggie'sVoice

Well there's a couple things to know about the vet prescription foods. First thing is there is no reason they cost that much. They pay the same price for the hills prescription I/D or K/D then the hills science diet you find in your pretty store. The difference is the retail stores Mark up food about 1.3 and vets just double the price (2.0 Mark up) since you can't get it but at a vet or without a script.

The other thing is most of the time there is no need to be on a prescription for long term unless a condition recurs and the concern is it might be chronic. Generally you should go on it and come of it when the dog of cat has recovered. Unless of course it's something like kidney disease, diabetes. But like urinary crystals the first time doesn't mean the pet should be on C/D or S/D long term automatically. Those instances seem like a vet just wants you coming back to them forever.


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## Megora

Maggie'sVoice said:


> Well there's a couple things to know about the vet prescription foods. First thing is there is no reason they cost that much. They pay the same price for the hills prescription I/D or K/D then the hills science diet you find in your pretty store. The difference is the retail stores Mark up food about 1.3 and vets just double the price (2.0 Mark up) since you can't get it but at a vet or without a script.
> 
> The other thing is most of the time there is no need to be on a prescription for long term unless a condition recurs and the concern is it might be chronic. Generally you should go on it and come of it when the dog of cat has recovered. Unless of course it's something like kidney disease, diabetes. But like urinary crystals the first time doesn't mean the pet should be on C/D or S/D long term automatically. Those instances seem like a vet just wants you coming back to them forever.


Eric - I'm not crazy about Hills, however we had 2 dogs who had to eat royal canin. 

My first boy got prescription food for kidney disease. In his case, it was a mixture of kibble and canned food. Meant that he lived about 6 months on 1 kidney (which starting to fail at beginning). The diet stretched things out and gave us more time with him. 

Other dog was our rough collie Arthur who lived to be 12 (almost 13) eating gastro intestinal high energy all his life. This was dating from the time we adopted him (when he was 2) and discovered that he had chronic gastro intestinal problems that were not disclosed to us prior to the adoption. We believe they were pre-existing and went more than a little haywire during the stress of being rehomed with us. This was a dog who would get sick not just from food, but also stress or anxiety would cause him to get sick. 

Both cases - VERY expensive food. With Arthur we mixed in some regular dog food to stretch the bags out longer, but he could not be "off" the prescription diet food completely without getting really bad (think pancreatitis similar type bad). 

So overall - I firmly believe that the food is worth the price. And you cannot just feed any food to sick dogs or dogs with chronic issues.

So feeding prescription diets because of a UTI - is frankly, odd... to me. Have had dogs with UTI's and you just tweak their diets (add cranberry juice + antibiotics from vet if really bad). But perhaps the UTI the dog has is really bad? Or it's a chronic issue....?


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## CAROLINA MOM

*This-
*


> A lot of people think "oh if the vet sells the food, they are getting a kick back from the food company to push this specific food, so they have an ulterior motive and I cannot trust that they think this is the right course of action." So that needs to be a conversation you have with your vet. If an office sells the food, it is most often for convenience for owners who may need to start that food immediately. RC at my vets office was ALWAYS more expensive than on Chewy but so is Pro Plan as compared to the pet store. I think a lot of people get offended if vet offices don't sell things at wholesale cost. And confuse a retail markup with a kickback.
Click to expand...


I think a lot of people forget that a Vet Clinic is a business that provides good and services to clients. They are in Business to make a profit just like any other business such as Amazon or Chewy. In the case of an individual Vet, it's their livelihood, how they support themselves, pay their kids College tuition, etc. If they don't make a profit, they won't be in business very long....... 

Where you choose to buy the food or any product, is your choice. Price shop, just keep in mind there is a wholesale price and a retail price. Smaller stores or businesses aren't able to purchase items in volume like larger businesses are so they don't get as good of a price as the larger retailers do and depending on what their markup percentage is, depends on what you pay. 

I am not a fan of the Dog Advisor because the guy is a Dentist, not sure how that qualifies him to rate dog food, but it's up to each person to make their decision about how they feel about the site and which food they want to feed.

Just keep in mind, everything you read on the Internet is not always factual or the truth. I had this discussion with a Vet one time, she told me if you go to a Vet School's website, the info is more factual. In other words, consider the source where you're getting your information from.


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## Brave

CAROLINA MOM said:


> I think a lot of people forget that a Vet Clinic is a business that provides good and services to clients. They are in Business to make a profit just like any other business such as Amazon or Chewy. In the case of an individual Vet, it's their livelihood, how they support themselves, pay their kids College tuition, etc. If they don't make a profit, they won't be in business very long.......


Absolutely, and most vets will price match. We used to take the animals to a large 24 hour clinic that had about 10 vets on staff and they would price match flea/tick meds, prescription meds, food, etc. And if they couldn't compete they would gladly verify a prescription so I could get the food/medication elsewhere. We've followed our vet to a smaller practice and haven't gotten to ask for a price match cause they're prices are generally much lower than surrounding clinics. But I still get my kidney food on autoship from Chewy cause it's easiest. And I have a standing prescription at the compound pharmacy that will never need to be re-authorized for the rest of my cats life.


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## Maggie'sVoice

Megora said:


> Eric - I'm not crazy about Hills, however we had 2 dogs who had to eat royal canin.
> 
> My first boy got prescription food for kidney disease. In his case, it was a mixture of kibble and canned food. Meant that he lived about 6 months on 1 kidney (which starting to fail at beginning). The diet stretched things out and gave us more time with him.
> 
> Other dog was our rough collie Arthur who lived to be 12 (almost 13) eating gastro intestinal high energy all his life. This was dating from the time we adopted him (when he was 2) and discovered that he had chronic gastro intestinal problems that were not disclosed to us prior to the adoption. We believe they were pre-existing and went more than a little haywire during the stress of being rehomed with us. This was a dog who would get sick not just from food, but also stress or anxiety would cause him to get sick.
> 
> Both cases - VERY expensive food. With Arthur we mixed in some regular dog food to stretch the bags out longer, but he could not be "off" the prescription diet food completely without getting really bad (think pancreatitis similar type bad).
> 
> So overall - I firmly believe that the food is worth the price. And you cannot just feed any food to sick dogs or dogs with chronic issues.
> 
> So feeding prescription diets because of a UTI - is frankly, odd... to me. Have had dogs with UTI's and you just tweak their diets (add cranberry juice + antibiotics from vet if really bad). But perhaps the UTI the dog has is really bad? Or it's a chronic issue....?



Kate, I'm not a big fan of Hills either but prescription diets do the job very well. As far as UTI's im talking about a food for the struvite crystals dogs and cats get and the food is exactly the reason they get those crystals. It's from the ash that is in the food and to high a level of magnesium and phosphorus. So a food made with lower levels of all of those certainly help those issues.


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## DevWind

I had a poodle that required a special cardiac diet. We found a heart problem after a newly adopted pup came home with kennel cough. He was 13 and the vet called it a blessing in disguise because it was still treatable. Unfortunately, a few months later he suffered a massive stroke so we will never know how well the prescription food and heart medication worked.


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## Sweet Girl

daisy1234 said:


> Sweet girl, I am glad you are happy with the food you feed. We can just agree to disagree on this topic. What works best for your dog is what is best for you. I'm not here to argue, just trying to understand.



I'm not arguing either. You asked why people don't like the Dog Food Advisor. I thought you were genuinely looking for answers. I told you why his opinion means nothing to me. I trust science, not some dude on the internet with no animal nutrition education. 

And I'm certainly not telling you to feed Pro Plan, either. Again, was answering your question about why people think Purina is good food. You've clearly made up your mind about it, and that's fine. But when you ask a question, you can't just get upset because you don't the answer you want. It's a good food than millions of dogs have eaten for decades, including high performance dogs. Again, it's just evidence over opinion.


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## daisy1234

Sweet Girl said:


> I'm not arguing either. You asked why people don't like the Dog Food Advisor. I thought you were genuinely looking for answers. I told you why his opinion means nothing to me. I trust science, not some dude on the internet with no animal nutrition education.
> 
> And I'm certainly not telling you to feed Pro Plan, either. Again, was answering your question about why people think Purina is good food. You've clearly made up your mind about it, and that's fine. But when you ask a question, you can't just get upset because you don't the answer you want. It's a good food than millions of dogs have eaten for decades, including high performance dogs. Again, it's just evidence over opinion.


You so easily call him a dude on the internet, just because he is a dentist does not mean he can't also have done much research on dog nutrition as well. Do you feel the same way about the dog guru and others that hold the same opinion as him, or all they all just dudes on the internet to you? Have you read his story as to why he has done research on dog food to help others? Have you yourself done research into foods? I have also. You also have made up your mind and that is why I said we can agree to disagree instead of getting tit for tat. I can also say the same to you about getting upset when people don't feel the same as you.


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## drew510

I think it is a bit telling that, over the WIDE range of dog food products, according to Dog Advisor, Purina has only issued two recalls, both of which were because Purina discovered through their own testing that "they may not contain the recommended level of vitamins and minerals." No, not something that was harmful to the dog, just that it didn't contain the level of nutrients they desired. And that was wet dog food, not dry. That is pretty impressive if you ask me. 

The jury is still out for me regarding PPP as we are still transitioning to it, but Piper sure goes nuts for it and it comes highly recommended here. I admire DFA for what they are trying to do, but I'll go with personal anecdotal experience over analysis-by-ingredient-list any day of the week.


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## daisy1234

drew510 said:


> I think it is a bit telling that, over the WIDE range of dog food products, according to Dog Advisor, Purina has only issued two recalls, both of which were because Purina discovered through their own testing that "they may not contain the recommended level of vitamins and minerals." No, not something that was harmful to the dog, just that it didn't contain the level of nutrients they desired. And that was wet dog food, not dry. That is pretty impressive if you ask me.
> 
> The jury is still out for me regarding PPP as we are still transitioning to it, but Piper sure goes nuts for it and it comes highly recommended here. I admire DFA for what they are trying to do, but I'll go with personal anecdotal experience over analysis-by-ingredient-list any day of the week.


Your response gave me a chuckle, in a good way. I'm not trying to pick on Purnia and the dog food advisor is not my go to for all. I really think I was just very surprised to see how much people on this forum recommend it when there are so many other better foods out there. Oh and by the way there have been more than 2 recalls. Anyways though people need to decide what is best for their pet in the end, I'm just saying be informed and go from their. If it works for you though and your pet great. 

https://www.petful.com/brands/purina/


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## Charliethree

A lot of people feed their dogs what other people feed, doesn't make it a better dog food, or even a quality dog food, just a brand that has plenty of advertising behind it. 'Puppy chow for a full year' is a jingle I remember hearing as a kid, so when I began searching for a new food for my dogs, Purina was the first one I looked at - more of a subconscious decision than a conscious one. After looking at the ingredients, my search continued for some time, my criteria was a tough one to meet - multiple meat/protein sources, (no chicken - my dogs don't do well on chicken) no artificial flavors or dyes, no artificial colors, BHA or BHT, no unnamed animal products or animal by-products. I wasn't looking for grain free, but I was looking for one with no corn, which truly narrowed my choices to a scant few. I ended up deciding on a dog food that now (the formula has changed over the years) lists three meats, and three meat meals as the first ingredients, followed by other protein sources further down the list. I started with Orijen Regional Red, then after a formula change that didn't agree with my dogs, I switched to Acana Ranchlands and my dogs have done great on it for almost 10 years. With the DCM /grain free scare, I did research other foods, nothing that I could find came close to the ingredients list I want my dogs to have. 

Bottom line we all have to make choices about what to feed our dogs, as was mentioned, making an informed decision, based on what we know and feel is 'best' for our dogs is not always an easy one, but there is not one of us who doesn't have the best interests of our dogs at heart.


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## Brave

> I really think I was just very surprised to see how much people on this forum recommend it when there are so many other better foods out there. Oh and by the way there have been more than 2 recalls. Anyways though people need to decide what is best for their pet in the end, I'm just saying be informed and go from their. If it works for you though and your pet great.
> 
> https://www.petful.com/brands/purina/


I think the term "better" is subjective. There is a lot of debate over foods atm since the concern re: taurine and taurine deficient cardiomyopathy (DCM) became more publicized. There are many vets who volunteer their time to explain why this is coming up and how it relates to the marketing surrounding foods and debunking common misconceptions over how ingredient lists are coined. And the marketing that goes into bags and campaigns. And at the end of the day, I've chosen that the "better" food is the one that not only follows AAFCO standards but meets WSAVA guidelines as well (and is one that my dog does well on). You can find their guidelines here: https://www.wsava.org/WSAVA/media/Arpita-and-Emma-editorial/Selecting-the-Best-Food-for-your-Pet.pdf



> You so easily call him a dude on the internet, just because he is a dentist does not mean he can't also have done much research on dog nutrition as well. Do you feel the same way about the dog guru and others that hold the same opinion as him, or all they all just dudes on the internet to you? Have you read his story as to why he has done research on dog food to help others? Have you yourself done research into foods?


Research in the age of the internet is amazing. My vet is oftentimes surprised with what research I bring to the table when I discuss my pets health and concerns with her. That being said, I don't generally take my research and publish it as facts, having no credentials in that area. And I also wouldn't disregard my vet's diagnosis and run off trying unproven protocols that some dude posted online. (Like that time someone told me feeding my dog coconut oil would cure his cancer). I have utilized controversial protocols before (like when I took my chronically ill dog off opiods and gave him CBD to treat his pain and inflammation) with the knowledge of my vet(s). 

The WSAVA specifically warns people to be aware when reading "review" sites. 

https://www.wsava.org/WSAVA/media/A...wner-s-Guide-to-Nutrition-on-the-Internet.pdf 

As for the dog guru, I'd never heard of him before today and it appears he does training videos online? I wouldn't take a dog trainers advice on what food I should feed. I've seen some dog trainers give pretty stupid recommendations to owners before and he would have zero credentials in regards to nutrition. 

The reason credentials exist is to prove someone has met minimum guidelines in education in a field. Perhaps Mr. DogFoodAdvisor would like to go to veterinary school and get his DVM AND then specialize in small animal nutrition and get board certified? Those credentials would definitely improve my opinion of him and his site.


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## Maggie'sVoice

drew510 said:


> I think it is a bit telling that, over the WIDE range of dog food products, according to Dog Advisor, Purina has only issued two recalls, both of which were because Purina discovered through their own testing that "they may not contain the recommended level of vitamins and minerals." No, not something that was harmful to the dog, just that it didn't contain the level of nutrients they desired. And that was wet dog food, not dry. That is pretty impressive if you ask me.
> 
> The jury is still out for me regarding PPP as we are still transitioning to it, but Piper sure goes nuts for it and it comes highly recommended here. I admire DFA for what they are trying to do, but I'll go with personal anecdotal experience over analysis-by-ingredient-list any day of the week.



Actually the very reason why Blue Buffalo Wilderness was recalled about 6 or 8 years ago was due to the fact of incorrect vitamin levels. It was an excess of Vitamin D3 which was causing severe liver function issues. So "may not contain the recommended level of vitamins and minerals" as you say "Not something harmful to the dog" is as an incorrect statement as you can make. That statement Purina issues can also mean an excess of any vitamin as not enough and either way, an excess or deficiency of any vitamin or nutrient is certainly harmful.


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## daisy1234

Yes! See here this is a discussion! That is all I was wanting. It just seems people on here are like we feed Purina Pro Plan and that is that, if you say anything else you are wrong. There are many many other foods out there and many reasons why people choose them. Brave, (sorry don't know your names, just go by user names) You are oh so correct about research, GREAT link about it! Here is an interesting one about the aafco from Pet MD.

https://www.petmd.com/blogs/nutritionnuggets/jcoates/2012/apr/what_is_aafco_what_they_do-14547

I am here because I love Goldens and yes I found this site on the internet.  I hope we can be open to other ideas and help each other out.


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## CAROLINA MOM

daisy1234 said:


> Yes! See here this is a discussion! That is all I was wanting. It just seems people on here are like we feed Purina Pro Plan and that is that, if you say anything else you are wrong. There are many many other foods out there and many reasons why people choose them. Brave, (sorry don't know your names, just go by user names) You are oh so correct about research, GREAT link about it! Here is an interesting one about the aafco from Pet MD.
> 
> https://www.petmd.com/blogs/nutritionnuggets/jcoates/2012/apr/what_is_aafco_what_they_do-14547
> 
> I am here because I love Goldens and yes I found this site on the internet.  I hope we can be open to other ideas and help each other out.


I don't think any of the members are saying you are wrong because you prefer to feed another Brand/formula of food instead of the Purina Pro Plan. Members are replying to the OP's original question regarding PPP which is shown below. This thread is a discussion about PPP and why members choose to feed it. 

If you prefer to feed another Brand/formula, that is up to you. It's your dog and you have every right to feed whatever food you want to feed. 



The OP-Karento5, started this thread asking about Purina Pro Plan-



> I understand there are quite a few people here who feed Purina Pro Plan. I am not sure if this is different or is it sold in stores? I am curious what attracted you to this brand because all I can find are not so great reviews. It is a tough decision finding the right food and I would appreciate hearing why you chose this food and how long you've used it. Why do we have so many brands we have to look at? As a kid I remember our poor poodle ate Gaines burgers, looked like plastic but I believe he lived a pretty good long life.
> 
> My Ellie Mae is currently on Fromm but is this all hype? I use to give my other dogs 4 health and it seemed fine.
> Thanks for your insight.
> Karen


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## Maggie'sVoice

Agreed Caroline Mom. There isn't one food that fits all. That's why there is a plethora of foods. Though I think a certain segment (grain free with high amounts of peas and legumes) that should probably be avoided, there are plenty of other foods to feed that dogs thrive on. I personally use Precise Holistic Select and my pup thrives on it! 



I don't believe anyone has really said its PPP or the highway. Everyone has a food they like for there dog. Most foods are fine to feed and technically are splitting hairs from one to another as they all have to meet the AAFCO nutrient levels.. What you have to realize is that ingredients are vehicles that deliver nutrients. As long as the food doesn't have excesses or deficiencies then it is fine to feed. There are foods that may have some features you like better but nutritionally are fine. Like my Precise, it offers DHA Gold (DHA from the source that fish get it from not the fish oil), a 100% USA sourced vitamin package (not from China) and BC30 Probiotic (basically all the Probiotics arrive alive in the GI track and not die in the stomach acid). Those are examples of the features I mean but the nutrition is top notch.


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## Mirinde

daisy1234 said:


> Yes! See here this is a discussion! That is all I was wanting. It just seems people on here are like we feed Purina Pro Plan and that is that, if you say anything else you are wrong. There are many many other foods out there and many reasons why people choose them. Brave, (sorry don't know your names, just go by user names) You are oh so correct about research, GREAT link about it! Here is an interesting one about the aafco from Pet MD.
> 
> https://www.petmd.com/blogs/nutritionnuggets/jcoates/2012/apr/what_is_aafco_what_they_do-14547
> 
> I am here because I love Goldens and yes I found this site on the internet.  I hope we can be open to other ideas and help each other out.



Ultimately, this isn't really a discussion because when you distill it down, the food "debate" is no different than any other science vs. opinion/feeling debate and the two camps have very little common ground. The discussion is circular and uncomfortable for everyone. 

You're either going to feed according to the recommendation of your veterinary medicine professional and data driven evidence (which tends to be one selection of obvious food options) or you're going to feed based on personal observation, gut feelings, and other intangibles (which tends to be another selection of obvious food options). 

It's exhausting to present data and evidence to individuals just for them to respond with distrust that they weren't going to budge from anyway. They knew their opinion meant more to them than evidence going into the discussion, but they initiated the discussion anyway. And then we have threads upon threads of people sharing opinion as though it's fact. "Grains are bad for your dog" rather than "I personally notice x more ear infections per six months on grain inclusive food and am comfortable with the risk of DCM to avoid these ear infections", for example. Then these opinion heavy posts are out in the public for susceptible new owners to stumble upon and become confused and influenced by. We've seen it here a million times and the threads would become volatile and frustrating, and everyone seems to have decided to just steer clear now. 

There are many reasons people choose to do all sorts of things -- that doesn't mean it's worth entertaining, especially when dealing with _the life of another living creature_. For the most part, GRF seems to have stopped entertaining the merry-go-round. Folks are gonna do what they're gonna do.


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## hotel4dogs

"My mind's made up, don't confuse me with the facts" Roy S. Durstine


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## Vika the Golden !

I started feeding my dog Royal Canin for Golden Retrievers, after that I tried feeding my dog Purina Pro plan for sensitive skin and nothing seemed to stop my dog from having allergies until I found this brand of dog food. It has worked miracles and my dog's allergies have almost desapeaed!!!!









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## svennyb

This thread is fantastic, thank you all for posting! We're in the process of transitioning away from Acana to Pro Plan (our breeder used and loved) after a conversation w/our vet re DCM and goldens specifically being prone to it.

In my digging for options (vet originally recommend RC for Goldens) I came across a slightly more recent post from Tufts university on the GF foods. It's looking like taurine may not be the issue (maybe): https://vetnutrition.tufts.edu/2018/11/dcm-update/


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## Maggie'sVoice

svennyb said:


> This thread is fantastic, thank you all for posting! We're in the process of transitioning away from Acana to Pro Plan (our breeder used and loved) after a conversation w/our vet re DCM and goldens specifically being prone to it.
> 
> In my digging for options (vet originally recommend RC for Goldens) I came across a slightly more recent post from Tufts university on the GF foods. It's looking like taurine may not be the issue (maybe): https://vetnutrition.tufts.edu/2018/11/dcm-update/


I can't see how that would lead anyone to believe that taurine may not be the issue. That is based on the dogs from that vets practice which is surely a small fraction of the UC Davis study number if dogs, which I thought was based on 8700 goldens if I remember correctly. I think a lot of these vets trying to interject into this study on their own without controlled studies are contributing to more of the confusion. They need to join the study and contribute their data to the study and not throw out their data trying to add to the study late and separately.

It's not to say their may not be something to this (that it could be more then just a lack of taurine) I think it only may proceed a reason to look into an additional study.


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## Dixie061014

We have a 5 year old Golden named Dixie. She is allergic to almost all protein and very allergic to potato. We've never found a food that doesn't have something she's allergic to, but we're trying to see if we could find a food where these ingredients are further down the ingredient list. We've been feeding her Natural Balance Sweet Potato & Venison for the last three years. Lately she's been having a lot of issues with reflux and gas. She just looks like she's in a lot of pain sometimes. The issue we've seen with Natural Balance is the Long Term Consistency of the dry food. One bag is light brown and crumbly, the next bag will be nice and dark, and then we get some that have little bumps all over them. We've taken her to the Vet so many times, and there's just not a whole lot they can do. The Vet said we might want to change her food. We got a list of foods from our Vet and I also went online and got a list of foods with limited ingredients. When we took all the info to PetSmart and starting looking at the different brands we found the Purina Pro Plan Savor that had two ingredients that our dog can tolerate. We chose the chicken and rice Savor for Adult Dogs. We just finished transitioning to 100% PPP on Sunday. She is doing really well on it so far. We are keeping our fingers crossed. One of the considerations was that PPP had smaller bags. We really didn't want to buy a humongous bag of food to start with. We looked at Royal Canin. They actually have a Golden Retreiver dog food, but the bags were huge.


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## GAJ3227

hotel4dogs said:


> I like it because Purina is an old, established company that puts more money into nutrition research than anyone else, and it's their top of the line food. It has actually been tested on dogs, and is produced in their own manufacturing facilities, not by someone else. It has never been recalled.
> Finally, lots of dogs do really well on it, but most importantly, mine do.
> It's not available in grocery stores, but can be found at pet stores and stores like Farm and Fleet Big R, etc. Also available online at Amazon and Chewy.


Having a hard time finding PPP for Golden's. Chewy's does not stock it, nor does PetSmart. I'm still looking.


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## Tahnee GR

GAJ3227 said:


> Having a hard time finding PPP for Golden's. Chewy's does not stock it, nor does PetSmart. I'm still looking.


There isn’t a specific ProPlan/Purina food for Goldens. The breeders I know feed either ProPlan Sport 30/20 or 26/16, or ProPlan Sensitive Skin Stomach Salmon Rice. My girls get the SSS, unless I am breeding them, and then I switch to the Sport 30/20 until pups are weaned.


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## Caecey

PPP doesn’t make a Golden-specific food; that’s Royal Canin. RC Golden Retriever is fed by many reputable vets.
PPP has several large breed formulas to choose from. My girl is on Sensitive Skin and Stomach salmon recipe. My boy is on Bright Minds, we switched to PPP because of the DCM issue.


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