Purina Dog Chow
 |  |  |
FOOD COMPARISON: PURINA DOG CHOW AND WELLNESS SUPER5MIX CHICKEN FORMULA
So many of our clients feed Iams, Purina, Purina One, Purina Beneful, Science Diet, and other foods that
are recommended to them, and which have slick advertising campaigns telling everyone how incredible
these foods are. This image gets in your mind, and makes it look like a great food choice… until you read
the label! We encourage you to read the front page of our food handout, which tells you how to
understand your pet’s food label. Once you learn what sounds good in an ingredient list, and what
actually is good, you’re better able to choose the right food for your pet.
Below, we compare Purina Dog Chow (a chicken-based food) and Wellness Super5Mix Chicken Formula,
a higher-quality chicken-based food. Questionable ingredients are in bold type, with explanation below.
NOTE that most high quality foods do not make (or NEED) a puppy or kitten specific formula!
PURINA DOG CHOW INGREDIENTS (Top 18 ingredients):
Ground Yellow Corn, Poultry By-Product Meal, Animal Fat, Corn Gluten Meal, Brewer’s Rice,
Soybean Meal, Animal Digest, Calcium Carbonate, Calcium Phosphate, Salt, Potassium Chloride, L-
Lysine Monohydrochloride, Choline Chloride, Zinc Sulfate, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Proteinate, Ferrous
Sulfate, Added Color (Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 2, Yellow 6)
Interpretation: “Ground Yellow Corn” is the entire ear of corn, including the cob but without the husk,
ground up. Corn is a leading source of allergies in dogs, but the #1 Ingredient in this food! The official
definition of “Chicken By-Product Meal” is as follows: “Consists of the ground, rendered, clean parts of
the carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs and intestines, exclusive of
feathers, except in such amounts as might occur unavoidable in good processing practice.” Note that
this is an inconsistent ingredient, because of the multiple organs used and their constantly changing
proportions. They are cheaper and less digestible than chicken or chicken meal. Anything called a “by-
product” means it is not deemed fit for human consumption, and may even contain diseased or
chemically tainted tissue. “Animal Fat” is a generic term for fat “obtained from the tissues of mammals
and/or poultry in the commercial process of rendering or extracting.” It is much better to have a specific
source, such as “chicken fat,” or “beef fat.” Animal Fat could contain anything from road-kill, diseased
farm animals, euthanized pets, and other animals not seen as fit for anything other than a rendering
plant. “Corn Gluten Meal” is the dried residue from corn after the removal of the larger part of the
starch and germ, and the separation of the bran. Not only is this another corn fragment, it is added to
pet food to slow down the transition of rancid animal fats (think toxic waste!), which then holds waste
in, stressing the kidneys and liver. “Brewer’s Rice” is officially defined as “the dried extracted residue of
rice resulting from the manufacture of wort (liquid portion of malted grain) or beer.” Brewer’s Rice is a
low-quality rice fragment that is missing many of the nutrients found in the whole rice kernels.
“Soybean Meal” is obtained by grinding the flakes that remain after removal of most of the oil from
soybeans. Not only is it a fragment, it is a poor quality protein filler used because it is so cheap. It is
also believed that soybeans are a leading cause of allergies in dogs. “Animal Digest” comes from the
chemical or enzymatic treatment of “clean and undecomposed” animal tissue (in a rendering plant). It
cannot contain hair, horns, teeth, hooves or feathers, except in trace amounts. Just as in “Animal Fat”
(above), it can come from any type of animal, and from the same questionable or even contaminated
sources. “Calcium Carbonate” is a source of calcium, but that is what raw bones are for! Calcium
Carbonate is also an ingredient in many antacids. “Salt” is not something we should be adding to our
pets’ food. Potassium Chloride is used as a salt substitute and to replenish electrolytes, but it is also
used in fertilizer and in massive doses for lethal injections! "Potassium Chloride" is used as a salt
substitute and to replenish electrolytes, but it is also used in fertilizer and in massive doses for lethal
injections! “Added Color.” What needs to be said? These are chemical additives, which some fear are
carcinogenic, simply to make the food pretty colors. Do dogs care what color their food is???
Eventhough the un-bolded minerals listed sound like a good thing to add, if they are using quality
ingredients, why do they need to add a bunch of minerals, and how many of these are still viable after
going through the cooking process? Why are they needed? They sure don’t sound as tasty as whitefish
or blueberries!
WELLNESS SUPER5MIX CHICKEN FORMULA (Top 18 ingredients):
Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Oatmeal, Ground Barley, Ground Brown Rice, Rice Ban (from brown rice),
Rye Flour, Canola Oil, Whitefish, Tomatoes, Natural Chicken Flavor, Flaxseed, Ground Millet, Carrots,
Apples, Spinach, Blueberries, Sweet Potatoes
Interpretation: There are essentially no objectionable ingredients in the top 18 in this food. The only
somewhat questionable ingredient is Natural Chicken Flavor, because it is not specific enough. Oatmeal
is a good carbohydrate source, rich in B vitamins, a high quality protein, and easy on the stomach.
Brown Rice is a superior carbohydrate source, much better than processed white rice (which loses key
nutrients during processing). Brown Rice is rich in B vitamins. By using Brown Rice, Barley, and Oatmeal,
this food avoids the wheat, corn, white rice (often just fragments) and soy commonly used, which are
difficult to digest and are leading allergens in pet food. Flaxseed is the whole ground seed, not a “meal”
or fragment of the seed. Flax Seed is rich in essential fatty acids and B vitamins. Whitefish is a specific
high-quality fish protein, high in essential fatty acids. As for the remaining ingredients on the list, they
are whole, natural foods, minimally processed. These help round out the variety of nutrition in the food.
Wellness also makes a Fish & Sweet Potato variety that is a good choice if you suspect your pet may
have allergies to ingredients in other foods.
So many of our clients feed Iams, Purina, Purina One, Purina Beneful, Science Diet, and other foods that
are recommended to them, and which have slick advertising campaigns telling everyone how incredible
these foods are. This image gets in your mind, and makes it look like a great food choice… until you read
the label! We encourage you to read the front page of our food handout, which tells you how to
understand your pet’s food label. Once you learn what sounds good in an ingredient list, and what
actually is good, you’re better able to choose the right food for your pet.
Below, we compare Purina Dog Chow (a chicken-based food) and Wellness Super5Mix Chicken Formula,
a higher-quality chicken-based food. Questionable ingredients are in bold type, with explanation below.
NOTE that most high quality foods do not make (or NEED) a puppy or kitten specific formula!
PURINA DOG CHOW INGREDIENTS (Top 18 ingredients):
Ground Yellow Corn, Poultry By-Product Meal, Animal Fat, Corn Gluten Meal, Brewer’s Rice,
Soybean Meal, Animal Digest, Calcium Carbonate, Calcium Phosphate, Salt, Potassium Chloride, L-
Lysine Monohydrochloride, Choline Chloride, Zinc Sulfate, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Proteinate, Ferrous
Sulfate, Added Color (Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 2, Yellow 6)
Interpretation: “Ground Yellow Corn” is the entire ear of corn, including the cob but without the husk,
ground up. Corn is a leading source of allergies in dogs, but the #1 Ingredient in this food! The official
definition of “Chicken By-Product Meal” is as follows: “Consists of the ground, rendered, clean parts of
the carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs and intestines, exclusive of
feathers, except in such amounts as might occur unavoidable in good processing practice.” Note that
this is an inconsistent ingredient, because of the multiple organs used and their constantly changing
proportions. They are cheaper and less digestible than chicken or chicken meal. Anything called a “by-
product” means it is not deemed fit for human consumption, and may even contain diseased or
chemically tainted tissue. “Animal Fat” is a generic term for fat “obtained from the tissues of mammals
and/or poultry in the commercial process of rendering or extracting.” It is much better to have a specific
source, such as “chicken fat,” or “beef fat.” Animal Fat could contain anything from road-kill, diseased
farm animals, euthanized pets, and other animals not seen as fit for anything other than a rendering
plant. “Corn Gluten Meal” is the dried residue from corn after the removal of the larger part of the
starch and germ, and the separation of the bran. Not only is this another corn fragment, it is added to
pet food to slow down the transition of rancid animal fats (think toxic waste!), which then holds waste
in, stressing the kidneys and liver. “Brewer’s Rice” is officially defined as “the dried extracted residue of
rice resulting from the manufacture of wort (liquid portion of malted grain) or beer.” Brewer’s Rice is a
low-quality rice fragment that is missing many of the nutrients found in the whole rice kernels.
“Soybean Meal” is obtained by grinding the flakes that remain after removal of most of the oil from
soybeans. Not only is it a fragment, it is a poor quality protein filler used because it is so cheap. It is
also believed that soybeans are a leading cause of allergies in dogs. “Animal Digest” comes from the
chemical or enzymatic treatment of “clean and undecomposed” animal tissue (in a rendering plant). It
cannot contain hair, horns, teeth, hooves or feathers, except in trace amounts. Just as in “Animal Fat”
(above), it can come from any type of animal, and from the same questionable or even contaminated
sources. “Calcium Carbonate” is a source of calcium, but that is what raw bones are for! Calcium
Carbonate is also an ingredient in many antacids. “Salt” is not something we should be adding to our
pets’ food. Potassium Chloride is used as a salt substitute and to replenish electrolytes, but it is also
used in fertilizer and in massive doses for lethal injections! "Potassium Chloride" is used as a salt
substitute and to replenish electrolytes, but it is also used in fertilizer and in massive doses for lethal
injections! “Added Color.” What needs to be said? These are chemical additives, which some fear are
carcinogenic, simply to make the food pretty colors. Do dogs care what color their food is???
Eventhough the un-bolded minerals listed sound like a good thing to add, if they are using quality
ingredients, why do they need to add a bunch of minerals, and how many of these are still viable after
going through the cooking process? Why are they needed? They sure don’t sound as tasty as whitefish
or blueberries!
WELLNESS SUPER5MIX CHICKEN FORMULA (Top 18 ingredients):
Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Oatmeal, Ground Barley, Ground Brown Rice, Rice Ban (from brown rice),
Rye Flour, Canola Oil, Whitefish, Tomatoes, Natural Chicken Flavor, Flaxseed, Ground Millet, Carrots,
Apples, Spinach, Blueberries, Sweet Potatoes
Interpretation: There are essentially no objectionable ingredients in the top 18 in this food. The only
somewhat questionable ingredient is Natural Chicken Flavor, because it is not specific enough. Oatmeal
is a good carbohydrate source, rich in B vitamins, a high quality protein, and easy on the stomach.
Brown Rice is a superior carbohydrate source, much better than processed white rice (which loses key
nutrients during processing). Brown Rice is rich in B vitamins. By using Brown Rice, Barley, and Oatmeal,
this food avoids the wheat, corn, white rice (often just fragments) and soy commonly used, which are
difficult to digest and are leading allergens in pet food. Flaxseed is the whole ground seed, not a “meal”
or fragment of the seed. Flax Seed is rich in essential fatty acids and B vitamins. Whitefish is a specific
high-quality fish protein, high in essential fatty acids. As for the remaining ingredients on the list, they
are whole, natural foods, minimally processed. These help round out the variety of nutrition in the food.
Wellness also makes a Fish & Sweet Potato variety that is a good choice if you suspect your pet may
have allergies to ingredients in other foods.