Purina Dog Chow Reviews: A Comprehensive Look at Quality and Value

When you think about brands of pet food, Purina’s Dog Chow dog food is probably one of the first names that comes to mind. Dog Chow and Puppy Chow has been stocked on pet store shelves for decades, and it is one of the most popular dog food products out there.

Unfortunately, many people who feed their dogs Dog Chow or Puppy Chow fail to take the time to read the pet food label to see what they are really feeding their dogs – all they see is the low price tag.

Dog Chow may be affordable and it is certainly easy to find, but it is not one of the better pet food brands on the market. Most of the products are made with a variety of low-quality fillers like corn and wheat, and many of their products also contain artificial additives.

While Dog Chow and Puppy Chow do offer a few excellent products (particularly the wet foods and dog treats), the brand as a whole is not at the top of the list when it comes to quality pet food brands for your dog.

Below is our unbiased, comprehensive Purina Dog Chow Reviews, read on.

 

Who Makes Dog Chow?

The Dog Chow brand of dog food is a member of the Purina family. Though the Purina company has been around for many years, the Dog Chow brand was started in 1957.

It only took two years after its release for Dog Chow to become one of the leading dog food brands sold in the United States. Purina pet food brands are currently produced and manufactured by the Nestle Purina PetCare Company.

Originally known as the Ralston Purina Company, Purina was acquired by Nestle in 2001 and was then merged with the Friskies PetCare Company soon after. Today, the Nestle Purina PetCare Company is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. It is the second-largest pet food manufacturer in the world and the largest in the United States.

Purina Dog Chow Reviews

What many people love about the Dog Chow brand is that it is affordable and you can buy it just about anywhere. If you take just a few minutes to review the information on Dog Chow product labels, however, you may rethink your opinion of this brand.

Many Dog Chow products list low-quality fillers like whole grain corn as the first ingredient and there are few mentions of high-quality proteins.

Dog Chow products may meet your dog’s minimum nutritional requirements, but not through the use of quality ingredients – this brand uses a lot of synthetic supplements to balance out the nutrition lost during the high-heat extrusion process.

Purina Dog Chow is the brand’s answer to the needs of adult dogs. The lines under this range are made up of Complete Adult, Tender and Crunchy, and Little Bites.

1. Complete Adult with Real Chicken

This dry dog food is described as a “highly digestible recipe made with high-quality protein”. It is said to provide complete and balanced nutrition for adult dogs, helping them to live long and healthy lives. A quick review of the ingredients list reveals, however, that this is not a high-quality recipe for dogs of any age or life stage.

Though this recipe does meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for maintenance of adult dogs, we object to the use use of synthetic supplements, which are far from quality in our opinion.

The first ingredient in this recipe is whole grain corn. While some whole grains are good for dogs, corn is not one of them. It’s a product that is not easily digested by canines unless it has been refined or ground up.

Also, while it offers some nutritional value, it is always troubling when a plant-based ingredient is listed first in front of any kind of animal meat.

Not only does this recipe list whole grain corn as the first ingredient, but the main source of protein comes from an unnamed source – meat and bone meal.

Meat meals can be beneficial ingredients because they are a highly concentrated source of protein. When the meat meal comes from an unnamed source (like meat instead of saying chicken), however, it is difficult to judge the quality.

The only other protein sources listed are chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, and chicken. Even though corn gluten meal is a grain-based ingredient, it contains a high percentage of protein. Keep in mind, however, that plant proteins are less biologically valuable for dogs than animal proteins and they don’t contain all of the essential amino acids your dog needs.

The chicken in the ingredient list comes after chicken by-product meal and is listed at the 7th slot only, which means there is very little of it used in the recipe. The remaining ingredients in this product consist primarily of fats, flavors, colors, preservatives, and supplements.

There are multiple artificial colors and flavors listed such as egg and chicken flavor, yellow 6, yellow 5, red 40, and blue 2. While we can understand the addition of artificial flavoring (understand only, mind, not approve of), dyes are completely unnecessary because dogs won’t care one way or another what a food’s shade is.

It’s not all bad, however. One good thing about the recipe is its inclusion of 23 vitamins and minerals, which all serve to make the food a “complete” meal for adult canines.

Overall, this kibble receives a low rating, because it doesn’t contain many high-quality ingredients. Not only does this recipe start with a low-quality filler, but almost none of the proteins come from named animal sources. Also most of the protein comes from plant-based ingredients.

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2. Little Bites with Real Chicken & Beef

Small dogs frequently have higher metabolism than big ones, and for this reason a specially-formulated food is just the thing for these small canines. Purina crafted the Little Bites Range for the little pups and enhanced it with 23 vitamins and minerals to give complete and balanced nutrition.

Now let’s take a look at the ingredients list. The first ingredient is always the one that occupies the biggest part of the meal. And for this formulation, it’s not meat. It’s actually whole grain corn. Corn provides not only carbohydrates for dogs but also linoleic acid, which is for maintaining a healthy skin, coat, and immune system.

On to the bad part about corn. Whole grain corn is not easily digested. To be digested by canines, it has to be refined and processed first before being cooked into a dry morsel or kibble. And the more processes it goes through, the higher its glycemic index goes up.

Next to whole corn is corn gluten meal. Despite the name, it really does not have any gluten in it. Corn gluten meal is used to bind kibbles and as a protein source. This is what we have a problem with.

High-quality pet food will almost always start with meat first, and if there are plant-based proteins included, they will only be added as support. But in this recipe, the bulk of the protein comes from a plant ingredient.

The third ingredient is just as problematic. It’s meat and bone meal. A meal is just meat that has gone through a rendering process to remove moisture and boost up the protein level.

While we view meals as usually excellent sources of protein, this ingredient is not because the animal source is unnamed. This won’t harm your pet, but do you really want meat sources you can’t identify in your pet’s food?

The next meat source is at 6th place, and it’s another unnamed meat — poultry by-product meal. As always a more specific food ingredient is preferred than one that is vague and generic.

If you’re wondering where the chicken and beef are, they are way down the line at 8th and 9th places. Many times, pet foods that have the “with” label such as in this recipe, “with Real Chicken and Beef” only contain about 3% of the food ingredient it refers to. So all of the significant protein in this formulation comes from either vague animal sources or plants.

You can also find soybean meal, beef fat, whole grain wheat, pork digest, and ground rice. These are all okay, but at the end of the list are other undesirable products. The formulation contains artificial dyes (Yellow 6, Yellow 5, Red 40, Blue 2), which are not necessary in canine food and which may pose a risk to the health of your pets.

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3. Puppy Chow Complete With Chicken & Rice

This Puppy recipe is marketed as a recipe designed specifically for puppies. The formula is described as a healthy blend of high-quality proteins and all of the ingredients puppies need to set the foundation for a healthy and active life.

All it takes is a quick review of the ingredients list, however, to reveal that this recipe is not a healthy foundation for any dog.

The first two ingredients on the list for this recipe are whole grain corn and corn gluten meal. This is problematic for multiple reasons. For one thing, corn is very difficult to digest. Furthermore, corn products offer limited nutritional value for dogs. Whole grain corn is a carbohydrate that is included to provide a source of energy but corn gluten meal is used as a type of protein.

The problem with corn gluten meal as a protein source is that it is plant-based – this means that it is difficult for your dog to digest, and it doesn’t contain all of the essential amino acids he needs. The only animal proteins used in this recipe is chicken by-product meal.

The remaining ingredients in this formula consist primarily of fats, artificial flavors, colors, and synthetic supplements. The main source of fat in this product is animal fat.

While animal-based fats are more biologically valuable for dogs than plant-based fats, named sources are always better than generic sources – even the fish oil comes from an unnamed source.
This recipe includes several artificial colors and flavors like egg and chicken flavors, yellow 6, red 40, and blue 2.

The synthetic supplements used in this recipe are necessary because much of the original nutritional content of the raw ingredients is lost during high-heat extrusion, but the addition of the artificial colorings are not.

Overall, this kibble has very few things going for it. Not only does it start with a low-quality filler ingredient, but the only animal source of protein comes from a by-product.

This recipe is loaded with artificial flavors and colors. All in all, this recipe contains too many low-quality and non-nutritive ingredients to be given anything higher than a 1 out of 5 star rating. Your dog deserves a product that is much better than what this recipe has to offer.

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4. Healthy Start Training Treats in Salmon

Puppies are lovable things with lots of energy and plenty of curiosity to distract them. Training treats are a fine way to capture their attention and get them to listen to your commands. They’re also a good way to reward little ones for good behavior. These treats will keep your pup attentive for your next instruction.

These may just be reward morsels, but the crude protein content is high. At 19%, it beats some complete meals for the ratio of protein to other nutrients/ingredients. This is largely due to the fact that these start with real salmon as the first ingredient.

Not only is salmon a tasty fish, it has loads of nutrients other than protein to bring to the table. One of the nutrients that salmon is known for is DHA, a type of omega-3 fatty acid that is known to give lustrous coats and a healthy and beautiful skin. The morsels also include supplemental vitamins and minerals, so while you are rewarding your puppy, he’s also getting healthy food.

The second ingredient is wheat flour. As long as your pup isn’t allergic to wheat (gluten allergy is rare in pooches), this is an excellent product to include in food. Wheat flour is high in fiber, folate, carbohydrates, vitamin E, and iron.

There are also whole grain corn and corn gluten meal here. We don’t really approve of whole grain corn, because unlike ground corn, whole corn is not highly digestible by dogs. But since treats don’t constitute full meals and are only given in limited quantities, it shouldn’t pose a problem for your little doggies.

Soy is a contested ingredient with some advocating against it. However, there are no conclusive studies that show adding a minimal amount to dog food can be harmful except in cases of hypothyroidism, allergy, or sensitivity.

Soybean meal is a good source of protein, but of course, moderation is key. So depending on your pet’s medical condition, if he has one, soy can be either good or bad.

As one of the last few key ingredients, poultry by-product meal is one we don’t like. By-products can be healthy because aside from meat, by-products may also contain organs which are rich in nutrients.

But ‘poultry by-product’ is not specific and does not address what type of poultry animal or animals were used. Aside from the inclusion of poultry by-product, there seems to be no other issue with these treats.

In case you’re wondering about the glycerin, it’s a very safe food ingredient that’s used as binder and preservative. The fish oil supports your pet’s heart health and immune system, and the animal fat promotes palatability and gives your pet an additional source of energy. The rest of the items on the list are made up of supplemental nutrients.

If we had to rate these treats, we’d give these a 4/5. Not only are these nutritious, each treat is only 3 kcal per piece. You need not worry that doling these out will cause your pooch to fatten up a lot.

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