I just started feedingPurina Pro Planlast week, I've been feeding Black Gold 26/18 (black bag) over the last 11 months and have tried manydogfoods but not Pro Plan (26/16). I'll be posting back in a few weeks as how the dogs are doing on it and give a write-up of an honest mans opinion if anyone's interested. As a side note, BG is the best I've ever fed, we'll see whatI thinkafter feeding Pro Plan for a month.
The only 2 downsides I see after feeding it for a week is that it's EXPENSIVE and oh yeah, it's expensive! I pay $16 for a 50 lb. bag of BG and $24 for a 37.5 lb. bag of Pro Plan (before the points).
coolbrze0; If I could find either one of those feeds for those prices out here, I would be looking for anything else. BG 26-18 is $22-$23 a bag plus a 60 mile trip one way to get it. Not sure of the Purina, but the dog chow is $18-$19 a bag. Ole Roy Hi Pro is $18 a bag.
I've been feeding my 8 year old Weimaraner California Natural (dry, chicken & rice) and Merrick (canned) food for about 2 years now. Prior to that I'd tried everything (ScienceDiet, Eukanuba, BillJac, Purina, etc.). Yukon looks, feels, and acts younger now that he did when he was 3-4 years old. California Natural is a little expensive by volume ($22-$25 per 20lb bag). However, I used to feed Yukon 8 cups of dry food a day. The foods he used to eat were full of filler that just ends up in your yard. Now he only needs 2 cups of dry food a day, about4 tablespoons of canned food a day for extra flavor, and a mix of green beans and carrots at dinner with his dry/canned food. We've also started adding fish oil capsules to his meals which has made a big difference in his skin and coat.
We got hooked up with a young vet who is really into animal nutrition and she turned us onto these dietary changes. Ultimately, Yukon is happier, healthier, and will likely be tromping through the field with me for a few extra years because of a better diet.
Sorry for being long-winded, just tossing in my 2 cents...
As a former distributor for PKC dog food, I have taken the same view to dog food claims as I have with other things. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. When a premiun quality food is being feed, a 75% reduction in food intake raises my eyebrows more than just a little. Then to find out that the super food isn't complete, and must be supplemented with veggies and oil, is another red flag for me. I would be interested in seeing the ingredients, protein and fat contents, digestable calories, and omegas and supliments added ect.
The life spand of dogs vary greatly, but generally dogs live 10-14 years, some live to 15-18 years. Purina did a single 14 year study and concluded that a dog fed Purina dog chow would live an average of 2 years longer. Two years longer than what group of dogs? Michael Vicks fighting dogs? Aunt Millies lap dogs? Give me a break! What would a second show? Two studies with the same types of dogs could reverse the results. There simply hasn't been much study done on the needs of dogs. If the food has to be supplimented, something is lacking in the product in the bag.
I actually prefer Sir Johns 27/18 active dog food but now, but before that i liked the black gold 26/18. Both dog foods kept my running hounds in great shape and healthy. I just prefer the Sir Johns now because it's first ingredient isn't corn.Never tried the Purina pro plan, but i doalways raise puppies on Purina puppy food.
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Walker hounds- the real song of the south
I feed that over Diamond (what I used to feed) because a few years ago (before the big Diamond issue killing dogs) my dogs all started losing weight with it. Heck, I doubled their feed and they still looked anorexic. I switched over to BG and the only thing I have fed besides that is Sportmix 26/18 when I couldn't get BG. I really didn't notice any difference between BG and Sportmix. I now live back in MO again and only 30 minutes from the mfg of BG, so I go and buy it by the pallet.
The dogs gobble it up. I have never had any problems with them turning their noses to it. Don't have any issues with runny stools either.
I am not a big fan of Purina, but I have never fed the Pro Plan.
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Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Eph 4:32
Quick update, the dogs are doing well on Pro Plan, but not really noticeably better than when on the Black Gold. I'll continue to feed for a few more weeks just to feed it for a month and give it a fair shot, but I dont think I'll keep feeding it after that. They're stamina is still very good, in fact we hunted ALL day a few days ago and they were all still going strong by the end of the day, no lolly gaggers that day. The one thing I dont care for is they have more stool than when on Black Gold. It's comparably firm to the BG, but there's more stool. They put on a little weight (not much) when I went to Pro Plan so I slightly reduced the feed amount. I also thought of mixing Black Gold w/ Pro Plan... Who knows, I'll repost in a few weeks.
Purina Pro Plan vs. Black Gold
