Views on Pro Plan

[Seth08]

I have a 6 week old german shepard puppy im slowly winging off of canned soft food and on to regular food. I have a cupon for 36 pound bag of punia pro plan large breed puppy food for 17$. Well right now im mixing punia puppy chow witht he can for her breeder had on her on. Is punia pro plan a good food to feed my puppy? If it is id want to work on changing her over to that and just buy that from now own. It seems pretty affordable. about 1.15$ a pound. I read a lot of stuff saying its pretty good food for a dog.

[I_LOVE_MY_MIKKO]

Here are the ingredients for the Purina Pro Plan puppy chicken and rice:

Chicken, brewers rice, poultry by-product meal, corn gluten meal, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), soy flakes, whole grain wheat, whole grain corn, corn germ meal, dried egg product, soybean meal, brewers dried yeast, fish meal, glycerin, fish oil, natural flavor, salt, potassium chloride, calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate, zinc proteinate, choline chloride, dried colostrum, manganese proteinate, Vitamin E supplement, ferrous sulfate, sulfur, copper proteinate, niacin, Vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, garlic oil, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, calcium iodate, biotin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), sodium selenite.
B-4489

For that price, you could definitely do better. Hardly any meat content, too much corn, also I don't like to the by-products and soy.

What stores do you have near you?

BTW, it's shepherd, not shepard, they are herding dogs

[Seth08]

Yeah I know its shepherd but my phone some times auto corrects it to the other one for some reason :\ . I have walmart 5 mins from me and petsmart is 15 minute drive, but if I buy in a big bag then a 15 minute drive is nothing.

[Mary Beth]

There are a lot better foods. And to be blunt, you get what you pay for, and I for one, would rather pay for a good food than pay the vet bills that can be caused by a poor food. I had my Sting on that because I didn't know any better and his breeder had him on that. And he did okay at first, but he developed skin issues at 6 months so I did research and found a better food. I switched him to Solid Gold. For large breed puppies there is Solid Gold Wolkcub. The results of a feeding a good kibble are worth the money. Not only in the coat and skin, but also for the bones, the digestion (smaller, firmer stools so that the clean up is way easier).

[Seth08]

Yeah thats why i was just asking about the brand before I bought it. Trying to find the best food for her that is reasonably affordable. Because I know there are alot of foods out there that are over priced and theres other brands with the same ingredients for cheaper is why I am just asking before I go out on a shopping spree and buy over priced stuff.

[I_LOVE_MY_MIKKO]

I would avoid any food that Walmart sells. Petsmart carries a few good brands, like Wellness and Blue, but those are a bit more money. I'm not that familiar with what they carry. Also, Keep in mind that some brands may be a bit more expensive, but you feed less because they are higher in calories.

If you have a Costco, a lot of people buy their Kirkland brand food. Or Tractor Supply has some decent food for the price, 4-Health comes to mind.

[SS-GSD]

For the price you get with the coupon, I'd buy a bag of it. *shrugs* You can always switch later if you want to, and it's better than Purina Puppy Chow. A lot of sport/hunting dog owners use Pro Plan and the dogs do well on it, it's certainly not the worst you can do (Maybe not the best either - But again, better than the Puppy Chow) and like I said, for the price of the bag with the coupon it won't kill the dog to eat up 36lb and then switch over later if you wanted. I'm going to take a wild guess that you have a $15 off coupon from a Petsmart Puppy Packet? If this is so, and you want to feed something that you won't have to switch brands later, then try Simply Nourish or Authority at Petsmart. The brands can be bought with the same coupon and is reasonable in price and good in quality to keep the dog on.

You can also look into a brand called Victor. Victor Super Premium Dog Food You won't find it at Walmart or Petsmart, it's typically carried in feed & seed type stores but the website as a store locator on it to see if anyone carries it nearby.

[Seth08]

Yeah I was looking at all those other brands. You are right on the cupon, But blue buffalo I read it seems to make a lot of dogs have soft stool and mess with their coat. All the other ones seemed really really expensive some were 80 bucks fro 30 pound bag. Im sure it is good stuff but ya know. Ill look at those 2 brands you mentioned. Also a feed and supply store I have 3 in my town. Also of farmer and landscaping supply stores as well. Didnt think to check there for dog food.

[Andaka]

I have fed Pro Plan since 1986 when it was first introduced. I have since raised 4 generations of champion show dogs on it. You could do a lot worse.

[WVGSD]

If you have a coupon for Purina Pro Plan, you can almost always use it for the Purina Pro Plan Selects line and they do have a puppy food in that line. The Purina Pro Plan Selects puppy is turkey and barley based if my memory is correct and there are no by-products, corn, wheat or soybean products either.

My mother has raised and bred German Shepherd for over twenty years on Purina Pro Plan and I used their foods for more than 15 years for my champion spaniels too. My current German Shepherd does not do well on chicken and I have switched her to a venison and potato kibble, which she does well on currently.