Pro Plan Senior Dog Dry DOG FOOD Review

With a score of 1.5/10, Purina Pro Plan Dry Senior Dog is considered a very high risk dog food based on our criteria. Contributing to that is the ingredient safety score of 0/10 for all 5 recipes. There are 5 recipes that average 29% protein and 38% carbohydrate as calculated. 

This formula is high in carbohydrates at 38% and lacks whole food fruits and vegetables that would provide a healthy range of natural antioxidants that contribute to healthy aging. These recipes are high in inflammatory grains that affect gut health and digestion including rice, barley, canola, oats and peas. 

Also listed are soybean oil, a GMO crop, and sunflower oil, both inflammatory seed oils that are highly processed and may contain trans fats that affect gut health and digestion. Studies show that ultra processed foods are linked to a higher rate of all-cause mortality in humans. 

These are high carbohydrate recipes that list single proteins like beef, chicken, lamb or salmon as the first ingredient but they are followed by a list of grains and starches. Dogs have no nutritional requirement for carbohydrates but starch is also required for extrusion in dry foods. Excessive carbohydrate is an indicator of lower food quality as it can be used to reduce manufacturing cost. Foods that are high in carbohydrates can increase insulin levels, increase the risk of obesity and cause unwanted changes to the gut microbiome. 

Also high on the ingredient list are plant proteins like corn gluten meal, soybean meal and oat meal which also contribute to the high carbohydrate level. Plant proteins are a less expensive substitute for quality animal protein. You want to see animal sources because they’re more digestible and contain a wider array of amino acids than plant based protein sources.

Several of these recipes are labeled as “bright mind” formulas for alertness and mental sharpness and include arginine (a synthetic amino acid), DHA, EPA, antioxidants and enhanced botanical oils. Fish oil and fish meal are used so it’s assumed they’re the source of DHA and EPA, however, the fish is unnamed so the species and quality are questionable. 

Poultry by-product meal is also listed in each recipe and doesn’t specify the type of poultry. Meal is often the less desirable parts of a chicken that remain after the meat is removed. When unnamed animal proteins are used they’re a sign of low quality and can be made from any type or types of poultry. Unnamed animal ingredients are often a less expensive, low quality ingredient that can be made from rendered waste of many proteins.

Other than garlic oil (listed at the end of a list of 42 ingredients), the identity of the botanical oils is uncertain. This position on the list means the amount used probably provides a negligible amount of nutrients. Vegetable oil is also listed as a source of MCT oil but the vegetable source isn’t named so it’s difficult to determine whether it includes lauric acid which can be pro-inflammatory.

Also high on the ingredient list are plant proteins like corn, oat and canola meal which also contribute to the high carbohydrate level. Plant proteins are a less expensive substitute for quality animal protein. You want to see animal sources because they’re more digestible and contain a wider array of amino acids than plant based protein sources.

An excessive amount of vitamins and minerals have been added to meet nutrient requirements in these recipes. This usually reflects poor quality or overly processed ingredients. Vitamin and mineral excesses, especially vitamin D and copper, can also result from added vitamin premixes, so it’s preferable that most or all vitamins and minerals come from real foods. A few amino acids have been added to 2 recipes. Foods with lower amounts of animal protein often need to add amino acids to compensate, so 2 or more added amino acids can be a marker of cheap, lower quality ingredients.

It’s also worth noting that the line contains sodium selenite as a source of selenium. Dogs need selenium, and it’s usually added in very small amounts. However some research suggests that sodium selenite may be associated with potential toxicity, so selenium yeast is the preferred form of this mineral. 

Another ingredient quality concern is the use of glycerin, which is a sugar often found in pet food to increase the palatability or as a preservative or humectant. It is a low quality ingredient that can cause unwanted gut changes, obesity and insulin spikes. 

It’s worth noting that these recipes include probiotics and the amount of CFUs (colony forming units) is guaranteed. 

On the ingredient safety side, these recipes have the lowest score possible at 0/10. Concerns begin with kibble being an ultra processed dog food, which costs a loss in points across the line. The individual ingredients in dry dog foods are heated several times during processing, which can cause a significant loss of enzymes, vitamins, amino acids and phytonutrients. Processed foods are also linked to higher mortality rates in many species.

These recipes also use ingredients known to contain higher pesticide/herbicide residues, like wheat, barley and corn, in the top 5 ingredients. Crops that are spray-dried with Roundup contain more glyphosate/herbicide residue than other crops, even genetically modified ones. Glyphosate is an antibiotic that can kill beneficial gut bacteria and has been linked to cancer and other diseases.  

Corn, soybean and canola are GMO crops included in the top 5 ingredients of each recipe. There are limited safety studies on genetically modified and Roundup Ready crops, although they are lacking in nutrients compared to non-GMO foods. GMO crops also strip nutrients from soils, require increased pesticide risk and may be involved in bee die-off. 

Recipes in this line contain natural flavor, which is added to make processed food more palatable. But natural flavor is often either MSG or animal digest, both low quality ingredients with limited safety studies. The use of rice in several recipes costs ingredient safety points because of potential arsenic contamination. This is a significant concern with rice since it naturally absorbs arsenic that can contaminate the water it’s grown in. Arsenic is linked to chronic health issues.  

Lastly, these recipes contain menadione, a synthetic form of vitamin K that is not required in dog food. It may be linked to immune system dysfunction, oxidative damage to cells, liver toxicity, and allergic reactions. 

The concerns below don’t cost points but are worth noting. 

There is ingredient splitting in these recipes. That’s the practice of splitting ingredients into subcategories to make them appear lower on the list. This can also move more desirable protein ingredients higher.  

These recipes don’t specify whether fish products are from farmed or wild caught fish. Farmed fish is less nutritious than wild caught fish and does not contain the same healthy fatty acid balance. 

Lastly, Purina doesn’t provide the omega-6:omega-3 ratio, which is a concern since AAFCO allows a very inflammatory ratio of 30:1.