Purina Veterinary Diets Dog Food Reviews

Purina’s Pro Plan Veterinary Diet has 6 lines of dog food. There are 3 lines of dry dog foods with 23 recipes, and 3 lines of canned dog foods with 9 recipes. All 3 lines of dry dog food are considered very high risk dog foods. 

It’s worth noting that the FDA practices “enforcement discretion.” and has not reviewed or verified the health claims on veterinary diets. Conversely, non-prescription pet store dog food with a health claim (such as weight management) is subject to FDA regulations and enforcement. 

These Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets do state that they’re complete and balanced, but not all veterinary diets meet AAFCO standards for complete and balanced daily feeding. The FDA allows this exception when diets are sold through veterinarians because vets can provide appropriate guidance to the pet owner. Most veterinary diet packaging will contain instructions to follow your veterinarian’s feeding instructions. However, this could mean that some veterinary diets may not meet a dog’s nutritional needs over the long term, even if they help with the disease the food is intended to manage.

With that in mind, this review looks at the quality and safety of ingredients, not the accuracy of the claims of the manufacturer. More than half of the Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diet dry recipes score 0/10 for ingredient safety, with the balance only scoring marginally better. This is disturbing given these brands are marketed to address health issues in sick and older dogs.  

A partial list of concerns includes ultra processing, use of high pesticide/herbicide and GMO foods in the top 5 ingredients, natural flavors and rice.

The biggest concern with the dry foods is the high carbohydrate levels of 34% to 42% as calculated. This is from the high amount of grains and starches used, which can be inflammatory and contribute to further digestive issues in dogs that are already health compromised. In fact, these recipes have a higher variety of grains and starches than proteins. When totaled by weight, they undoubtedly surpass the animal protein content. Most of the top 5 or 6 ingredients include rice, barley, peas, potato, oat meal, and corn and soybeans, which are also GMO crops. All of these are known to be high pesticide/herbicide crops that can damage gut health. 

The 2 lines of canned foods are considered high risk while Essential Care wet is considered moderate risk and is also the highest-scoring food of all 6 lines. The canned foods score a bit better than the dry foods as they are less processed, but still have high carbohydrate levels of 23% to 41% as calculated, which is excessive for canned dog foods.  

Except for the inclusion of carrots and pumpkin in very few recipes, fruits and vegetables are noticeably absent from all of the dry and canned foods in these veterinary lines. Fruits and vegetables provide a range of micronutrients and antioxidants that could be beneficial to dogs with health issues or weight problems. 

Instead, all dry and canned recipes are supplemented with an extensive list of synthetic vitamins and minerals. It’s preferred vitamins come from whole food sources that include the full spectrum of cofactors, which makes them safe and bioavailable. While a couple of added vitamins are acceptable, five or more implies the food is of poor nutritional value. 

Another quality concern is the use of plant proteins in most of the dry recipes. These are the least expensive substitutes for quality animal protein and also raise carbohydrate levels. And even when it comes to animal proteins, many of the dry and canned recipes include unnamed animal products like meat by-products. Using an unspecified protein is also a less expensive and lower quality source of protein. You want to see beef, salmon or chicken, not animal, fish or poultry.  

Some dry recipes contain “animal digest” which is also an unnamed protein. Purina’s website and manufacturing websites describe animal digest as “extremely palatable and […] an excellent source of high-quality protein.” However, consumer and animal advocate websites describe it as animal protein not fit for human consumption and of very low quality. 

As already noted, the dry recipes have many safety concerns beginning with ultra processing. Dry foods undergo several stages of heating that cause a loss of nutrients. Wet foods are less processed but still involve several stages of heating.

When it comes to ingredient safety, all lines include ingredients known to have high pesticide or herbicide residues, and some known to be genetically modified (GMO). These are important safety concerns, especially when they appear in the top 5 on the ingredient list, meaning they’re included in higher amounts. Pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers pose a significant health risk to plants, animals and soils. GMO foods have limited safety studies and they lack nutrients compared to non-GMO foods. 

Another safety concern is the use of rice, a substantial ingredient in many of the recipes. Rice can be contaminated with arsenic, which is linked to chronic health issues. Many of the dry 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. TBHQ is a synthetic preservative used in several foods, and has been found by the Environmental Working Group to be harmful to the immune system. 

Purina doesn’t state the omega-6:omega-3 ratio in their recipes. While this is true of most companies, it’s a concern because AAFCO allows a very inflammatory ratio of 30:1.

The average score of Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diet sub-brands are listed below. Click on any line to view the individual foods and scores.