[M X]

I finally found a food that my dog will eat every day. It has only taken about 6 years and failed trials of many of the highest rated dog foods available.
Unfortunately, it is a low quality dog food with questionable ingredients.

He has gained about 10lbs, his belly is always puffed out, his activity went down, duration of activities has decreased, he poops once every 2 days, his coat has lost its shine. Otherwise, he is completely unremarkable. Maybe this is just aging happening at 6 years but I am not sure.

I want to try a new food but he will go without eating for 4-5 days on highly rated foods and with this poor quality Pro Plan, he eats daily.

I have some concerns of the ingredients of the Pruina Pro Plan Sport 30/20 that I am hoping someone will be able to shed some more light on:

My first concern is the Pentobarbital that was found (and killed numerous dogs) in Purina’s Beef Fat. Pro Plan is made by Purina and Pro Plan admits that their “Animal Fat” is indeed Beef Fat.

My second concern is the use of the ingredient menadione sodium bisulfite which causes liver failure.

My third concern is that the meat source (Chicken) is mainly water and once it’s dehydrated in the kibble, it becomes a very minimal amount and then the main food source turns to Poultry by-product meal.

My fourth concern is the Poultry By-Product Meal which is the main meat source of this food.

My fifth concern is the Corn Gluten Meal. It’s only a minor concern but I really don’t like a low quality grain Gluten.

Am I over reacting to these ingredients and the changes that have occurred since I began feeding this food about 3 months ago?

[Sheila H]

There is an article on this website about menadione in dog food:
The Controversy Over Menadione in Dog Food

[M X]

Thank you for the article, I was able to locate it and read over it.
/choosing-dog-food/menadione-in-dog-food/

So according to the article:
1. There is no need for Vitamin K supplementation in a dogs diet as they have no need for it.
2. Menadione is banned from human consumption by the FDA because it causes damage to your bodies cells.
3. Menadione IV causes liver toxicity, jaundice, and hemolytic anemia.
4. Cumulative Exposure, such as when the dogs consumes it every day, is where the dangers lie.
5. The conclusion says it is highly toxic but “probably safe”.

This is some nasty stuff. I hate that my dog likes this food.

[pitlove]

Hi M X-

I have some personal experience with Purina Pro Plan Sport, I fed the 26/16 formula for over 2 years. I only recently switched because I needed a cheaper food.

My dogs had the complete opposite response to the food than what your dog is having. They were a great weight, shiny beautiful coats, small perfect stool, energy for days and they loved eating. One dog is 4 the other is 11.

I have no concerns about any ingredients in Pro Plan, but it doesn’t sound like your dog is doing well on this particular formula. As far as weight gain goes, this is a high calorie food, meant typically for working dogs or dogs with high metabolisms. If your dog doesn’t get a lot of exercise (which you can change) this may not be the right formula for him. Or you may have been overfeeding him. Dogs need to eat less of a calorically dense food to meet their daily nurient requirements.

Pentobarbitol was not found in Purina foods just as an aside. That was Evangers, which is not made by Purina. Purina hasn’t had a recall since 2016, which was not involving Pento.

[anonymous]

Below is an excerpt from the comment section http://skeptvet.com/Blog/2011/07/vitamin-k3-menadione-in-pet-food-is-it-safe/
click on link for full article and comments

“Toxicity of menadione or its derivatives is reached at levels exceeding the requirements by a factor of at least 1 000.The use of MSB and MNB in animal nutrition does not pose a risk to the environment. MSB and MNB are regarded as effective sources of vitamin K in animal nutrition”.

[anonymous]

PS: Have you tried Zignature?
I have had good results using the kibble as a base for my dogs. It does not have menadione listed as an ingredient, if I remember correctly.
You may want to check to be sure.
Just assuming that you would prefer to avoid menadione, at least for the time being.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 5 months ago by anonymous.

[Spy Car]

The problem with Pro Plan is Purina plays the labeling game which allows “chicken” to be placed as item #1 due to water weight.

But the insidious item is the corn gluten (listed as #2). Using this by-product allows Purina to use this incomplete plant-based product to inflate the “protein” levels in this cereal-based ration instead of supplying complete animal-based proteins.

It is a fraud on the consumer that’s unfortunately legal under current US labeling laws.

Bill

[Susan]

Hi MX
if your dog health has gone done hill then change his diet, we are what we eat…
Does he like eating cooked or wet can foods & stop feeding him kibble all together…
Is it just kibble he doesn’t want to eat or is it all types of foods?

Have you taken him to vet to see why he doesnt want to eat?? normally stomach problems & food is causing pain, acid reflux, gas etc then they go off their food & can become very fussy eaters….
If he likes the ingredients in the Pro Plan Sport then look at Hills Science Diet or Royal Canine premium formula’s, they have similiar ingredients to Purina Pro Plan, the Corn & Corn gluten meal, their ingredients may be of better quality then Purina…But if he isnt pooing daily, he must be bloating up, not a good thing…
also the Hills & Royal Canine diet might be balanced better & higher in omega 3….
If the Omega 6 & is too high & the Omega 3 is toooo low this is when a dogs coat & skin will suffer….
One thing about vet diets they are balanced properly & very high in Omega 3 to help stomach, bowel, skin, coat, heart & brain health….
Have you tried the Hills I/d Digestive Care dry vet diet & wet can food?… or the Hills Science Diet Sensitive Stomach & Skin dry kibble?? buy from a pet shop & then you can return if he wont eat it, I know the Hills Sensitive Skin & Stomach is very palatable, also these foods are guaranted money back on palability…& it has ingredients he likes….

another food to look at is “Vetalogica” made in Australia & also sold USA when it first came out 2017….
Looked on their site & look at the Kangaroo formula, my boy who has IBD has become fussy with his food lately as he’s aging, so I bought a bag of Vetalogica Kangaroo I saw great reviews & he loves the “Vetalogia Kangaroo” formula, the kibbles aren’t dry like a normal kible, the Vetalogica kibbles are small & moist chewy type ball, I’ve never seen a kibble like this before, when Patch eats dry kibble all I can hear him do is crunching up the kibble but with these Vetalogica kibbles there’s no noise, he just chews them then swollows…
Send email to Vetalogica link below & ask do they have any samples especially of the Kangaroo formula & explain how you have a fussy dog & read on DFA that Vetalogica have a very palatable kibbles but you’d like to try sample first before you buy just incase….
https://www.vetalogica.com/

Also contact “Ziwi Peak” ask for samples…
he will definitely eat air dried Ziwi peak”” Venison formula. its healthier then any processed dry kibbles…
Air-dried recipes for dogs

[joanne l]

I feed pro plan focus for about almost 1 year and it seems to be okay, and he does love the pro plan. I too want to switch for a little while just because for him to get different nutrition but right now it’s pro plan. Maybe try to use the focus line that is what I am using. The sport line didn’t agree with my dog. As far as corn goes, who knows is it better or worse than peas?? The vitamin K is just a very tiny bit in there I am not sure either about it, but at least it is not in large amounts.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 3 months ago by joanne l.

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