ProPlan food?

[Cincy'sMom]

I know we have had the dog food questions and debate over and over again, but I was wondering if anyone feeds their dogs ProPlan?

Sadie has a urinary infection, and the vet feels it is becuase her food (California Natural) is too rich for her. We went through this with Cincy last year, and they recommended switching her to Science Diet. She has done well on that, and Sadie and Spot continued on California Natural. It seems now, it is time to change them too.

This time the vet recommended ProPlan, or Iams. I am against Iams, so I picked up a small pag of the ProPlan, but really don't know anything about it. Unfortunatley, but the time I stopped to pick up Sadie's meds, the vet was gone for the day, so I have to wait until Monday to talk to him (I was at a meeting this morning when they called a made the recommendation to Ralph) In the meantime any thoughts or opinions?

[Giselle]

Honestly, it sounds like your vet doesn't know a whole lot on nutrition and dog food. The first red flag was when she recommended Science Diet. Has the vet ever even LOOKED at the ingredients? What kind of medical practitioner would recommend mineral/vitamin pumped corn meal and carcinogenic preservatives for a primarily carnivorous canine? IMO, not one who is well versed in nutrition.

Since I have rather limited experience with UTIs, I can't suggest which food is better than which in your case, but I would recommend trying to stick to the upper level brands. Now, if my memory serves me correct, I believe protein can be a factor in UTIs...Or perhaps it was more phosphorous...Whatever it is, I would hope that Sadie is on antibiotics. :p

Also, you should check the nutritional guidelines for ProPlan and CA Natural. If they're similar, I would just suggest sticking to a upper level food that contains similar percentages, but perhaps with a different protein source. ProPlan isn't the worst, but it ain't the best, either! In my honest opinion, CA Natural is one of the best foods :)

Edited: I remember reading about a dog who had stones, but was then switched to Life's Abundance. The dog did rather well on it, but I don't know the ingredients list off the top of my head. Perhaps you can look into that.

[shais_mom]

I fed Keegan ProPlan lamb and rice when she was about a year old. Her fur became dry and brittle and very thin. I switched her to Premium Edge by Diamond Pet Foods and she did great on that. Of course she is on Science Diet R/D now for her weight but I am wondering about switching her to this
http://www.gonatural.ca/ the vet I have been taking her to for acupuncture sells it.
Have you thought of Royal Canin? Their holistic blend is fabulous. What about Canidae have you tried that? What about some of the Diamond Pet Foods? Or Solid Gold? I know Pet Supplies Plus in Findlay now has Canidae and some other holistic blends.
I suppose I am against ProPlan b/c Keegan didn't do well on it.

[Cinder & Smoke]

Originally posted by shais_mom

I switched her to Premium Edge by Diamond Pet Foods and
she did great on that.

HEY!
Premium Edge Lamb & Rice - Adult Blend ~

That's what WE all *munch* on twice a day!

GOOD Stuff! ... *Yummie*

We only get a lil bit LESS :( than what they suggest -
and that keeps us pretty slim & trim.

And they make a "Senior Dog Blend" that cuts the
calories a bit to avoid weight gain while still fillin up the tummies.

/s/ the Three Mutts ;)

[Cincy'sMom]

Giselle~ I have looked at the ingredients of Science Diet and I was upset about switching Cincy to it. However, she has a weight problem, and her body could not tolerate the California Natural. I tried it for Cincy, and it works for her. Her skin has actually gotten better (she has fought acne her whole life), she has lost weight, and she hasn't had an infection since switching. I would not have picked the food myself, but it works for her and that is what matters to me. Honestly, the points you were making about fillers and chemicals are the exact same things I said to the poor receptionist yesterday, who got an earful from me about dog food. Poor girl! Oh yeah, Sadie is on anitbiotics.


Staci~ Well the receptionist told me ProPlan, I asked if it was a good food...she says oh yeah...it is what all of us here have our animals on...it is a like Iams. I Looked at her and said Iams is not a good food...it is all fillers and chemicals and crap. At that point I knew I was wasting my breath, so I left. The dogs were on Sensible Choice by Royal Canin for about 2 years and did fine on that. In fact, when I called Ralph I said we should think about going back there. I'm just paranoid about any premium food now, becuase of our urinary issues. I guess the bigger question is finding out what in food causes them and looking for a premium food that is low in that area.

Phred~ Diamond foods are ones I have looked at before and considered. I'll keep it in mind and look again.

I do think the vets in this area don't know much about dog food. My BIL goes to a different vet then we do, and they asked what food the fed Sammy. When they said Canidea, the vet said brand, not how much :rolleyes: I may have to call around to see if anyvets in the area know much about nutrition...

[Cincy'sMom]

Just found this on Drs Foster and Smith website:

Diet: Diet also plays a role in struvite formation. The urea that we mentioned above is formed when protein within the bladder is broken down by bacteria. The body's breakdown of large dietary proteins into smaller molecules also produces urea. Diets with excessively high levels of proteins simply provide the system with more urea to work with in the formation of ammonium and carbon dioxide. In truth, this may be the only factor in animals fed all-meat diets. Commercially prepared dog foods, even the highest protein varieties, would not be a factor in most animals.

Hmmmm...is California Natural that high in protein, or do I just have two dogs that are not most animals? Or maybe the food is not the reason.

[cyber-sibes]

Amy, Star's been on Science Diet her whole life, seems to be pretty healthy. Sherman eats it now too, but his breeders used and recommended Diamond pet foods. I tried it but it didn't seem to agree with Star so I switched back. Since she's getting older, I may switch to a lower protein food, too. I'll keep following this thread and see what foods are recommended based on people's experiences. (BTW, my 16-year old cat has kidney problems and the vet recommended switching him to Science Diet Senior, less protein, and it seems to be working well for him.)

[Kfamr]

I think most vets suggest Science Diet because a lot of them are sponsered by them/that's what they sell in their offices.


My 3 were on PurinaONE which is very similar to ProPlan. They did excellent on it and their coat/skin has always been nice.

I switched them over to Nutro's Natural Choice Lamb & Rice, and they still are doing wonderful on it.


I think as long as you find a food that works for all 3 and they are as healthy as they should be, it's a good food.

[Cincy'sMom]

I agree that most vet's recommend Science Diet becuase they sell it, however our vet did tell us not to bother buying the weight loss from them, but just to buy the Lite from the Pet Store. He said he saw no benefit of one over the over to justify the cost of what they sell.

Basically, my feeling has been that I want to feed my dogs the best I can. But what is best ios going to be different for every dog. Just because a food looks good on paper and has the right ingredients, doesn't mean every dog will thrive on it. And just becuase a dog food has more filler, doesn't mean it is terrible for very dog. I have always felt the right food, is that one that the dog is healthy on...poop and breath that isn't too stinky, healthy coat, and no infections. I guess allI can do is wait and try to talk to the vet tomorrow. Ask them to explain to me what in California Natural they feel causes the infections, why they feel ProPlan is better, and then choose the best food I think fits. Right now, I'm reallying leaning toward going back to Sensible Choice. My mom's dogs do well on it, my sister's dogs have done well on it (they recently switched over from Nutro, which gave them runny poop), and ours did when I fed it to them.

Thanks for all your input.

[shais_mom]

You are doing what you think is best Amy and that is what counts.
Personally I would probably leave Cincy on what she's on b/c I know you have had so much trouble finding something to agree with her.
You are lucky that you Live in a large City that you have tons and tons of options. Keegan and I aren't that lucky! :(
Good to know about the Science Diet Lite - if I don't switch her to Go - I might just do that until she loses her weight.
I subscribe to whole dog journal. http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/ I don't think you can check back issues without ordering them but they do extensive research on dog foods. I will pull my copies of all the dog food related stuff and copy them for you and send them to you.
May take until the end of the week tho - there is a lot of stuff!
My Vet sells Science Diet also of course - which is why I was intrigued when going to this new vet and she sells Go.
My best friend's husband is a Vet also and as much as I love them they feed their dogs Purina One also I just kind of wrinkled my nose in distaste after my experience.
I remember now that your pups were on Sensible Choice by Royal Canin. (duh - Stace) I fell in love with the holistic blend when I had Shaianne b/c anything I fed her she got gastritis from I tried this and she did fabulous on it until she passed away.
Good luck.

[Giselle]

Cincy's Mom, use whatever works for your pups! I know some people who buy three different brands for their three dogs because the fact is that there is no "perfect" food for every single dog. My neighbor's cat (although freakishly overweight) has thriving at 16 years of age and she's been on a unique mixture of Meow Mix, Fancy Feast, and, now, Iams Weight Control. I'm always amazed at how lively she is on such a crappy diet :p

Also, re: protein and dog health. Dogs need protein, but there's been a recent rumor that a high quantity of protein will damage the dog's kidneys and health. This is one of the leading arguments against raw and EVO ;) The truth is that a large percentage of protein will not damage a healthy dog's body, but it could worsen the symptoms of a dog already affected by kidney problems. So if CA Natural has a lot of protein, that could be the reason why Cincy is reacting to it.

Do you have dog nutritionists over there? In my area, there is a holisitic animal nutritionist which I frequently consult :D Perhaps you could do a little search for one :>)

[lv4dogs]

I can say from experience that I am personally not happy with Purina Pro Plan or Purina One (almost the same exact food, one just costs more, the shapes are a little different & 2 ingredients are slightly different, got that right from Purina a couple years ago). So as long as they haven't changed their formulas in the last couple years and you are/want to feed Pro Plan you might as well save your money & feed Purina One.

Anyways:
Raustyk was on it for years (years ago when it first came out when it was a pretty decent food at the time). She had UTI infections litterally one right after another. Along with ear infections, anal gland problems and a weird skin rash thing. Once better foods starting becoming more available (Nutro, Innova etc..) I switched her and EVERYTHING went away.
She had numerous tests done, allergy, blood etc.... none showed anything food related but I beg to differ.
Since then I have found about 20 more people that had pet that had very similar symptoms on Pro Plan.

Then to top it off, the breeder I got Kaige from fed Pro Plan. He started to have very similar symptoms, red ears, frequent urination (no UTI though), anal gland problems and a weird skin rash thing. He is just about switched over to Innova Evo & ALL the symptoms are dissapearing.

So from my experience I have to say that I dislike Pro Plan & Purina One.

Edited to add, that Nanook was on it for years with Raustyk & he did do well on it.


It may or may not be food related. Is this a re-occuring UTI? If so I'd switch her food to something else, give it a few months (or however long it usually is until she is "due" for another UTI... as w/ Raustyk I could time it, it would be about 2 weeks after she finished her antibiotics from her previous UTI).
If this is her first UTI, I'd just keep her on the food (as long as it works for her otherwise), take her out when needed & wait & see. If it returns I'd then try to switch her to see if it helps.

[lute]

i fed Gracie ProPlan for the first few months. lots of show kennels use it. it's a really nice food. not cheap.