Purina Pro Plan VD Therapeutics Canned DOG FOOD Review

With a score of 3/10, Purina Pro Plan VD Therapeutics Canned is considered a high risk dog foo according to our criteria. There are 6 recipes that average 32% protein and 36% carbohydrate as calculated on a dry matter basis. The average carbohydrates of 36% are very high for a canned dog food.

Like most Purina recipes, these are high carbohydrate, high starch recipes. While dogs are omnivores and can digest some starch, their digestive systems are better suited to a carnivorous diet. A high starch diet can lead to digestive upset, obesity and allergies and sensitivities. And there is nothing noteworthy within the ingredient lists that differs from other recipes in the Purina veterinary and non-veterinary lines. 

The high carb content is a result of starches like barley, rice, soy, potato, sweet potatoes, oat meal, corn, and peas. Dogs have no nutritional requirement for carbohydrates but starch is 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. 

Several recipes don’t have a specific source of animal protein but list poultry by-product meal, hydrolyzed soy protein isolate and assorted meals and plant proteins. This contributes to the low protein and the high level of average carbohydrates in these recipes. 

This line is geared toward special needs that include digestive or kidney health, and weight management. As noted with the Purina Essentialcare line, the guaranteed analysis doesn’t differ much among the majority of these 6 recipes. However, the main exception is the kidney diet with 15% protein and 48% carbohydrates. Vets often recommend that dogs with kidney disease eat low protein, but what is more important is high quality protein, as dry food diets stress the kidneys even further.

There are plant proteins included in these recipes. 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.

All these specialty recipes appear to share the same vitamin and mineral premix and base ingredients of grains and starches. This excessive list of vitamins and minerals and amino acids are 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. 

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. 

Fish oil and meat by-products are unnamed animal proteins, which is a sign of low quality and can be from any type of animal, fish or poultry. Unnamed animal ingredients are often less expensive, low quality ingredients that can be made from rendered waste of many proteins. One food lists an unspecified vegetable oil as a source of MCT oil, making it difficult to determine the quality.

Soybean oil is an inflammatory seed oil that is highly processed and may contain trans fats. Studies show that ultra processed foods are linked to a higher rate of all-cause mortality in humans. Some recipes include cellulose and sugar which appears as glycerin. Cellulose is an insoluble fiber made from wood pulp and is the least expensive and least functional form of fiber since it’s very poorly fermented. Sugar is 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.

On the ingredient safety side, these canned foods are highly processed, using heat that can cause a 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 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.  

Potatoes and soy are GMO crops used in these recipes. 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. 

This recipe contains 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 costs an ingredient safety point because of potential arsenic contamination. This is a significant concern since rice naturally absorbs arsenic that can contaminate the water it’s grown in. Arsenic is linked to chronic health issues.  

Recipes also contain carrageenan. It’s a highly processed derivative of seaweed used as a thickener or texturizer that may be linked to intestinal inflammation and other negative health effects. And 1 recipe has TBHQ, a synthetic preservative.  Natural antioxidants like mixed tocopherols are preferred as artificial antioxidants have limited toxicity studies and may be linked to cancer. Food coloring has also been added. Colors, iron oxide, caramel and titanium dioxide are dyes added to foods to make them look more appealing to people. They are often used to hide the grey color of rendered ingredients and are linked to health issues.

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

Coconut oil is used and has been shown to cause undesirable changes in the gut lining.

This recipe doesn’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.