Pure Vita Dog Food Reviews (Ratings, Recalls, Ingredients!)
About the Company
PureVita dog food is produced by Tuffy’s Dog Food Company, a family-owned-and-operated business that starts in Minnesota in 1947 under the name Pine Lakes Feed.
PureVita dog food was developed and released by Tuffy’s in 2007 to provide a more nutritious source of food to dog owners.
Overall Rating
In the Business of Dog Food, and more!
Tuffy’s Pet Foods is part of a family of ownership known as KLN Family brands, which also includes candy brands. Tuffy’s not only produces the PureVita line, but also has created NutriSource Super Premium Pet Food and Natural Planet Organics, both of which are known as good foods. They are dedicated to constantly creating the best product for their customers.
They want the best for every member of your family
Dry Food
Canned Food
Pure Vita Dog Food Reviews
In both traditional Pure Vita canned food and in Pure Vita Grain Free dog food reviews, most customers were exceedingly happy with their choice to invest in Pure Vita. Sensitive dog owners were especially pleased with the grain-free and chicken-free options available. Many dogs who were dealing with itchiness and digestive problems had much fewer issues after they started eating this food.
However, PureVita does use peas and pea flour in many of their products. This would be okay, but some of the products in the line have peas in the first three ingredients. Peas, in this case, equate to corn and soy filler of the past. It’s my belief that peas will be filtered out of dog foods as we learn more about dog nutrition, just as corn and soy were.
For this reason, and because of the trustworthiness of the company, I’m giving this product 3.5 stars. The dog food could have a better balance of some of the nutrients, or I would give it more stars.
Pros
Some of the foods created for the PureVita line contain Tuffy’s registered system of Good4Life nutrition, which was a huge selling point of their previous dog food lines. This composition of nutrients is meant to give dogs the healthiest life cycle by providing the appropriate nutrients, probiotics, and more so that they live great lives with strong immune systems.
As a brand, PureVita not only cares about your pet’s health but about the planet’s health as well. When they created their new factory in 2014, they ensured that it would be greener than their previous one. They also look to source sustainable ingredients so that we, our pets, and our planet can keep thriving, and I love that about them.
They have never had a recall and care about the quality of their food. All of their food is created in one factory to ensure consistency, and they do a lot of quality testing. They also do taste tasting with a local, professional kennel to make sure dogs enjoy the taste, texture, and smell of the foods they produce.
The first protein source in their products is usually fresh protein, supplemented by plant-based proteins and protein meals.
Cons
Some of their more popular products, such as their Bison formula, are often out of stock which is frustrating to owners who want to keep their dog on a steady diet. Keep this in mind and stock up if you plan to use one of their popular formulas.
Some products produced in the PureVita line contain peas or pea flour, which is a controversial ingredient. I personally believe it is an OK ingredient as long as your pet is not allergic or does not have a problem with diarrhea already. Pea flour has a lot of fiber in it and can cause digestion problems. Many companies use peas to replace corn and soy, but they’re not much better if they’re a main ingredient (first three or four ingredients).
PureVita also includes other controversial ingredients, such as tomato pomace, sunflower seed oil, brewer’s yeast, alfalfa meal, and more. I personally believe they use all of these ingredients well and in limited amounts that are healthy and nutritious for your pets. However, some people believe they should not be used at all and will avoid PureVita because of these ingredients.
Pure Vita Review of Ingredients
At least three of PureVita’s products meet necessary AAFCO nutrient profiles for dogs, which is great. Since this product stuck out in other Pure Vita grain free dog food reviews, let’s look at the ingredients in the popular PureVita Grain-Free Turkey Formula With Sweet Potatoes & Peas Dry Dog Food.
Guaranteed Analysis
- Crude Protein (min) 24%
- Crude Fat (min) 16%
- Crude Fiber (max) 6%
- Moisture (max) 10%
The main source of protein in this product comes from fresh turkey followed up by turkey meal. Some protein also comes from plant sources such as the peas and pea-flour in this product.
At least two controversial ingredients made their way into this product. The first is pea flour, which has a lot of fiber and is known to some owners to cause excessive bowel activity. The other is alfalfa meal. This is high in protein and fiber but is more common in horse feed than in dog feed as it is a hay-based plant.
It does have some good additions such as chelated minerals and prebiotics, but it also has more controversial ingredients like tomato pomace, sunflower seed oil, and garlic. All of these ingredients have people who both like and dislike them, so this is a food that you have to really decide if you are willing to feed your pets the ingredients.
Still, this is an above average food because it does contain the right nutrient profile, though some of the protein does come from plant sources rather than meat sources. As long as you are not against any of the controversial ingredients, this food will be great for your pet.
Pure Vita Dog Food Recall History
There have been no Pure Vita dog food recalls recorded. They are a reliable company in terms of the safety of the products they manufacture, and I believe they will continue down this same path. They are even very open about their sourcing practices and want their customers to know this.
Final Thoughts
Overall, this is an above average, plant-based dog food line. Much of the protein in the food comes from plant products rather than meat products, which is OK. The main ingredients are still meat proteins.
The use of controversial ingredients such as peas does not immediately discount PureVita, but make sure you go for their grain-free formulas that do not have peas in the first three ingredients for the best product.
Overall, PureVita is a reliable, honest brand that will give your dog good food for a good, healthy life.