Purina Puppy Chow Reviews (Ratings, Recalls, Ingredients!)
About the Company
The Purina Dog Chow brand is a sub-brand of Purina. Interestingly, it is also its first sub-brand of dog food, created in the early 1900s. Purina Dog Chow was fed to the dogs on Admiral Richard E. Byrd's Antarctic expedition in 1933. After seeing how well they thrived at this time, Purina put its focus into understanding a dog's diet through intensive research.
In 1963, Purina announced its latest sub-brand: Purina Puppy Chow. The Purina brand was actually the first to devote a variety of food to puppies after understanding their nutritional needs differed from adults. Since then, Purina has been the leader in developing the process for real meat to be included in dog food.
Purina Puppy Chow now comes in four varieties for puppies of different types and health needs: Natural, Picky Eaters, Large Breed, and Complete Nutrition.
Overall Rating:
Dry Food
Wet Food
The Purina Puppy Chow brand currently does not offer wet or canned food varieties. It focuses only on the four dry varieties listed above. It is recommended to feed puppies dry food because canned food has high moisture and fat content.
Is Purina Puppy Chow good for puppies? Is Purina Puppy Chow a good dog food in general? These are questions you likely want to know before you feed this food to your puppy. Like many customer reviews, I'm a bit conflicted over this puppy food.
Purina is absolutely a brand I can stand behind. It has been a leader in research for dog health in relation to diet. Additionally, it's created so many varieties to cater to every dog and life stage, Puppy Chow being one of them. However, I'm not sure that Puppy Chow is the best possible choice for a puppy food, hence my 3/5 Treats rating.
Pros
Purina Puppy Chow has good ingredients and nutrients for puppies. There is no denying this fact. According to AAFCO standards, the nutrients are right on the mark, with plenty of fat, fiber, and protein content. In addition, it has the Calcium and DHA needed for a healthy, growing puppy to thrive.
Cost-wise, Purina Puppy Chow is also one of the more budget-friendly brands. This is good for people wanting to save some money while also choosing a good diet for their pups.
Cons
However, I have to bring attention to several customer reviews that mention much of the same complaints. A common theme in many Purina foods seems to be the issue of bugs in dog food bags. Several customers have complained of maggots in their Purina Puppy Chow bags. This would indicate a possible quality control issue during manufacturing. Unfortunately, that's a serious problem if it's true.
Additionally, let's talk about the popular issue of grains. Although grains can be important in a dog's diet, especially for puppies, there are a few things to consider. First, grains should not be the number one protein. Especially for growing pups, meat protein is vital for muscle building, strength, and energy. There should also be a healthy mix of grains to meats. This, unfortunately, is not the case with Puppy Chow. Instead, most of its first several ingredients are grains with some chicken by-product and animal fats mixed in.
Purina Puppy Chow Food Reviews of Ingredients
According to Purina Puppy Chow reviews, Purina Puppy Chow Complete Brand Puppy Food is a popular choice. Purina Puppy Chow focuses on 100% nutrition needed for most puppies and strong teeth support with this variety. Here is its Guaranteed Analysis:
- Crude Protein (min) 27%
- Crude Fat (min) 12%
- Crude Fiber (max) 5.0%
- Moisture (max) 12%
- Linoleic Acid (min) 1.6%
- Calcium (min) 1.1%
- Phosphorus (min): 0.9%
- Vitamin A (min) 10,000 IU/kg
- Iron (min): 150 mg/kg
- Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) (min): 0.05%
As for nutrients, everything looks perfect according to AAFCO guidelines. Growing pups need plenty of protein, fat, and fiber, which this food has. Similarly, the DHA and Calcium content are particularly important. These aid in brain development and bone and teeth strength, respectively. Fortunately, this dog food meets guidelines well on all of these factors.
However, the ingredients are a bit different, depending on how you feel about grains in your puppy's food. Of course, the grain-free controversy is holding strong for dog food and puppy food. But what is best for your puppy? Is Purina Puppy Chow good for puppies?
If you look at the ingredients of the Purina Puppy Chow Complete Brand Puppy Food, you may not think so. Within its first several ingredients are whole grain corn, corn gluten meal, soybean meal, and brewer's rice. Clearly, it's very heavy on the grains. Some dog owners stay away from all grains and prefer a grain-free diet for their dogs. For puppies, however, there is evidence to support the benefits of grains. But, it is also recommended to stay away from foods that use grains as the main ingredient rather than meat protein.
Unfortunately, this puppy food has whole grain corn as its first ingredient, rather than a meat. Growing puppies typically need that meat-based protein to thrive.
Purina Dog Food Recall History
There is no history of a dog food recall for Purina in the last two years according to the FDA and Purina Puppy Chow reviews.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, I would not recommend Purina Puppy Chow as the best dog food for your pup. Although it does contain good ingredients, the ingredients are not balanced as they should be. Purina Puppy Chow should, instead, have meat protein as the main protein and balance that with grains. Puppies are constantly growing and, therefore, need the energy from excellent protein sources to thrive.
Customer reviews also played an important role in this review. With many customers alluding to possible health problems caused by Puppy Chow, not to mention bugs in bags, I am inclined to not recommend this food for puppy owners. Instead, choose a puppy food like Hill's Science Diet Puppy Food or Blue Buffalo.
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