Purina ProPlan Selects

Right now Caleb is getting the Lamb & Oatmeal.  I normally rotate between the varities.  I'm a little biased- I've always been happy with the results I've gotten from regular Pro Plan and now the Selects.  Just a heads up- a lot of people here don't like any Purina product, so this thread might get a little heated.  Just ignore any nasty replies that might come. 

Several breeders/show dog owners  on the golden retriever forums i belong to use Pro Plan for all their dogs and you couldn't ask for more beautiful coats the puppies born to pro plan fed moms are healthy and they are all very happy with it. 

 

i hve never used proPlan, but was totally happy with the purina Dog Chow for years and years--like almost 50.  And then i did go to purina One senior for my older golden and decided to go the One all the way and got the One weight control for my younger golden.  Was totally happy with it.  Hone is still on the One weight control, but I just switched KayCee to the Taste of The Wild no grain in hopes of fending off the arthritiis I know she will end up in her operated kneew--done at 16 and 30 months, she is now 8 1/2 years old.  But at any rate, I have alwasy been perfectly happy with every purina for,uyla i used.

Falon is currently eating the ProPlan Selects Salmon & Brown Rice dry mixed with another food (50-50) and is doing very well.  I love the moderate amount of protein...hard to find in a fish-based food!

Thanks. I will give a report in a while on how he does on the selects senior.

 

 

Now I'm actually thinking of just going back with the PetGuard which I always end up back on anyway. Will have to get a joint supp.   I'm way too crazy, eh? LOL

     My hunting dogs & my epileptic Beagle are currently eating Pro Plan Selects L&R. Retired dogs, pups, and my mutt are eating Purina ONE. Have nothing but good things to report about both foods. The Pro Plan is a bit pricy, but we needed something with such a high calorie content - otherwise I end up feeding a 25lb dog 2 cups of food, which is ridiculous. The epileptic Beag on the Pro Plan also has spinal problems, so I also like that the food has added glucosamine, and the amouts are pretty respectable! They've been eating this for about 3-4 weeks and weight is perfect, muscle tone, and yes, I also noticed how well this food firmed up stools. More improtantly, the dogs have greeat energy levels on this.

     Curious, does anyone feed regular Pro Plan?

I was feeding the Pro Plan to my cats........I switched to a no corn, no wheat, no soy formula.......things are still ok, but the interest has dropped off.....so, maybe back to Pro Plan......

Ohh, I like that protein and glucosamine level. I'll remember that, to recommend to folks with older dogs.  I hate that so many senior diets have low, low protein.

I am just being stupid?  I thought the therapeutic level for glucosamine was between 500 and 1500 mg a day.  This provides 700 mg per kg.  Whose dogs are eating food by the kilogram?  I have two, who eat about 3/4 a kg a day, but they weigh 150 pounds each and would need glucosamine provided at about 2000 mg a day.  In fact, I use a horse supplement for my older girl who is just starting to stiffen up in bad weather.

This is not a slam against Purina.  I just don't see why we get excited over paying extra for a therapeutic nutrient that's provided at such low levels you'll still have to supplement.  This is the cranberry and carrots point all over again - it's included to look pretty and justify a higher price, and I dislike that.

 

brookcove

I am just being stupid?  I thought the therapeutic level for glucosamine was between 500 and 1500 mg a day.  This provides 700 mg per kg.  Whose dogs are eating food by the kilogram?  I have two, who eat about 3/4 a kg a day, but they weigh 150 pounds each and would need glucosamine provided at about 2000 mg a day.  In fact, I use a horse supplement for my older girl who is just starting to stiffen up in bad weather.

This is not a slam against Purina.  I just don't see why we get excited over paying extra for a therapeutic nutrient that's provided at such low levels you'll still have to supplement.  This is the cranberry and carrots point all over again - it's included to look pretty and justify a higher price, and I dislike that.

 

Let me see if I can type this the way I want to say it.  :)  None of the foods with gluc/chon that I've seen have the proper amount.  Yep, marketing ploy all the way.  :)  

Just curious, which horse supplement do you use?  Mick was getting ArthriSoothe's horse formula for the last 3 or so years of his life. 

Someone asked if anyone fed regular Pro Plan- I did until Caleb went on a hunger strike this past spring.  I went back to feeding it in November, but he started scratching like crazy again, and got a pretty serious ear infection.  So, it's back to the Selects (L&R for now, then I'll work with rotating other varities).  I'm thinking it was the beef in the regular Pro Plan, since the Selects don't have beef, and his ears and scratching cleared up over the summer. 

 

 

brookcove

I am just being stupid?  I thought the therapeutic level for glucosamine was between 500 and 1500 mg a day.  This provides 700 mg per kg.  Whose dogs are eating food by the kilogram?  I have two, who eat about 3/4 a kg a day, but they weigh 150 pounds each and would need glucosamine provided at about 2000 mg a day.  In fact, I use a horse supplement for my older girl who is just starting to stiffen up in bad weather.

This is not a slam against Purina.  I just don't see why we get excited over paying extra for a therapeutic nutrient that's provided at such low levels you'll still have to supplement.  This is the cranberry and carrots point all over again - it's included to look pretty and justify a higher price, and I dislike that.

 

When I mentioned how well Annamaet food has worked for my dog you brought up the fact that it contained Menadione ... And Pro Plan has it too..   So is it just certain foods with Vit K3 ?

If I have my facts correct, Purina has at least 40 per cent of the market share. I guess it works for a lot of dogs. ..  .. And trace amounts of things are sometimes better than huge amounts.

What Whole Dog Journal has done has convinced some people that reading the ingredient panel is the only way to judge a feed. And I have been a subscriber for many years.. Certain stuff in WDJ and the Dog Food Project is just plain hokey. Pro Plan works for way many more dogs than any other top food. And the Selects ingredient panel reads better than their reg. Pro Plan  ....

brookcove

I just don't see why we get excited over paying extra for a therapeutic nutrient that's provided at such low levels you'll still have to supplement.  This is the cranberry and carrots point all over again - it's included to look pretty and justify a higher price, and I dislike that.

     I think it's more about the balance of nutrients than the actual glucosamine/chondroitin added that keeps (at leasy my own) dogs feeling good and remaining active on it. Purina seems to get the vitamin premix right, and that plus digestability mean more to me than actual ingredients. A food that's digested well and contains proper amounts of nutrients is something that is inherently better for bones & joints. I do have a dog with severe joint issues on the PPSelects, and it does seem to help him enough that I can lessen the amount of his joint supplements or not give it to him altogether. Right away, I notice he does have an easier time with stairs and doesn't have "episodes" of intermittent pain/stiffness in his joints. He has intervertebral disc disease so I do like to use a food that contains some glucosamine, even if it's not within theraputic levels, I figure it's there at maintenance levels, and is doing something, at least. I would also have to wonder if having it included in the diet even at lower levels, could help prevent or decrease the severity of some joint issues as the dog ages? 
    
     In all honesty, though, I don't buy any food solely based on the inclusion of glucosamine. I actually agree with you on the "carrots & cranberry" issue ... I think it's ridiculous to throw in a stick of the latest herbal supplement in a batch of food and use that as an advertising point - those are usually the foods, IMHO, that don't work and are WAY overpriced. This particular formula from Pro Plan is a little different in that the food actually gives results, lol.

When I mentioned how well Annamaet food has worked for my dog you brought up the fact that it contained Menadione ... And Pro Plan has it too..   So is it just certain foods with Vit K3 ?

One of my pet peeves in discussions is taking something out of context.  When discussing Annamaet, I was giving a general evaluation of the food that explained why I wouldn't be interested in feeding it these days when foods that match my tolerances better exist, and for the same cost.

In this context, we are discussing the levels of certain additives that the food makes claims about.  If we had the same discussion about ProPlan I'd bring up the menadione.

You might have noted, on careful reading of my post, that I also picked on the "kitchen sink" holistics a bit also, many of which I feed myself.  Context.

 

Yep, 2 cranberries in a 100 gallon vat of dog food and they can list cranberries on the ingredient list.  I have never paid much attention to ingreneint list, expecially i have had never had a dog with food allegies.  Would have been a different story if i had had a dog with food allergies or iBS or any number of other problems.  The grainless Taste of the Wild i now have KayCee on has the berries, etc listed way donw the list and I considter them as just wiring on the bag, not actually part of a diet.  Main thing, trying to delay her arthritis in her knees as longa s possible.  Honey is doing great on the purina one weight control.