Purina pro plan sensitive skin and stomach salmon reviews

**NOTE- this review is about the canned variety**

Table of Contents Show

Is salmon dog food good for sensitive stomach?
Is salmon or chicken better for dogs with sensitive stomachs?
Is fish dog food good for sensitive stomachs?
What is the best sensitive dog food?

As a general rule, I find that Purina brand tends to be on the lower end of medium quality pet food. Most purina products I have purchased for my fur babies haven't been the ideal formulations of ingredients that I would like to feed them (e.g., no corn, wheat, or soy, with a real meat - not by-product - preferably poultry or fish, as the first ingredient). That being said, for the most part, Purina foods aren't HORRIBLE like some other brands out there that fail ALL of the aforementioned pet food guidelines. That, and the fact that Purina tends to be MUCH more affordable than the high quality pet foods, comparatively. Thus, I tend to purchase Purina brands quite often, especially when funds are tight.

What lead me to this particular variety of Purina, the ProPlan Focus for sensitive skin & stomach, was actually the end result of extensive research. One of my pets, Romeo, has congestive heart failure, amung other heart related issues, and thus is on a restricted sodium diet. Prescription pet food diets are extremely expensive, and countless hours of searching lead me to this variety, at only .05% sodium content (which is MUCH lower than most brands coming in at well over .2% sodium content). Low sodium + low price = too good to be true, or so I thought. Before purchasing, I evaluated the ingredients, and they seemed to be pretty good. While water was the first ingredient, being a wet food, I was okay with that. With salmon, rice, and fish coming in as the next three ingredients, it kind of passed my next few tests. Loved that salmon was the main protein source. Rice, while I wasn't thrilled with a grain being the main protein source, still much better than say, corn, so again, I was okay with that. Fish coming in as the next ingredient I am iffy on. "Fish" seems more ambiguous than I would like, but its still a portion source and not a by-product, so again, okay with it. The only thing I didn't like, was the lack of vitamins and supplements, but I decided to purchase those separately as supplements, and give those to Romeo separately. In summation of this research, I purchased this 12 can pack.

The case arrived, and when I opened the first can, my first impression was "wow this is some stinky food!" But I am a human, and what the heck to I know about what dogs find appetizing. Well, Romeo must have agreed, because he did not like it, at all. This is coming from a dog who LOVES food, especially wet food. He typically licks his bowl for several minutes after he finishes eat ANY brand I have given him in the past (he is 15 years old by the way!) He has been protesting this food for several days, eating a few bites and then begging for food next to the full bowl of this Purina Pro Plan, and stealing food from the other pets in the house whenever he can get away with it. In addition to not liking this food at all, I find it ironic that this is labeled for sensitive skin and stomach, because he's been butt scooting and has even thrown-up a few times since I began feeding this to him. Granted, this could be to the stolen other foods he's been sneaking, but I usually catch him and stop him promptly. He's also been shaking a lot lately, and it is late may in Nevada, so its definitely not because of the weather. Again, I can't say for sure that the shaking is due to this food, but it did start right around the time of the switch.

Its been several days, and I am read to give in and buy him another brand. Take away here, it doesn't matter what ingredients are in the food, or how affordable it is, if the pet just won't eat it.

Pros:
Very affordable
Decent ingredients
Low sodium content

Cons:
Poor Palatability
Foul Smell

We love dog food brands that are committed to transparent business practices. If you make quality dog food you should be willing to openly talk about how it’s sourced and produced. That’s why we reached out to pet food companies, asking questions about all their brands and products. Each company had three weeks to reply to our messages.

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How Easy Was it to Reach the Company?

Purina Pro is owned by the multinational company Nestlé Purina. It required two emails over two weeks to get the answers below. Like most large companies, many of the customer service answers will read like well-crafted marketing messages.

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Does Purina Pro (Nestlé Purina) have a veterinary nutritionist on staff? If so, who are they?‍‍‍

At Nestlé Purina, we have over 500 nutritionists, veterinarians and scientists who work daily to formulate and make quality changes to our products. We also staff quality control specialists at all of our manufacturing plants that run over 100 quality and safety checks during the manufacturing of our formulas.

This lengthy answer did not answer the specific question that was asked. In addition, the names of the professionals could not be provided.

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Who formulates your recipes, and what are their credentials?‍‍‍

(see the previous answers)

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Do you test your products using AAFCO feeding trials? Why, or why not?‍‍‍

All of our products are manufactured following stringent guidelines approved by the USDA and AAFCO, and our Purina® Pro Plan® brand Pet Food products have undergone the AAFCO feeding studies for quality, safety, digestibility and palatability.

Since this representative is responding on behalf of a family of brands, they have referenced a few of the other brands that do the feeding trials, but they were clear that the Pro Plan line does do the feeding trials.

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What country are your products manufactured?‍‍‍

The vast majority of our products are manufactured in the US, at Nestlé Purina owned facilities, with ingredients sourced from the US as well.

Vast majority does not mean “all” which is less clear than it could have been.

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Can your manufacturing facilities be visited?‍‍‍

Unfortunately, we do not offer public access to our manufacturing plants at this time, and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

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What quality measures do you use to assure consistency and quality?‍‍‍

We also staff quality control specialists at all of our manufacturing plants that run over 100 quality and safety checks during the manufacturing of our formulas.

This is good, but not as not as clear as it could be.

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Does Purina Pro (Nestlé Purina) own its manufacturing facility? If it is another company, what company is it?‍‍‍

Yes.

Do any parts of your product come from China?‍‍‍

A very small number of ingredients are sourced from China, however, these are mainly vitamins and minerals, such as taurine and Vitamin B12, that are not readily available in the US in the quantities we need.

Sourcing quality ingredients at scale is a significant challenge that many large companies will cite. This means that companies like Nestlé who are supplying massive distribution channels will often use a variety of sourcing options, including China.

Is salmon dog food good for sensitive stomach?

Yes, salmon is a good option for dogs with sensitive stomachs. It is a lean protein that is easy to digest and has anti-inflammatory properties. Salmon also contains omega fatty acids which can help to soothe the digestive tract. There are a few things to keep in mind when feeding your dog salmon.

Is salmon or chicken better for dogs with sensitive stomachs?

In general, salmon is a good protein for sensitive stomachs.

Is fish dog food good for sensitive stomachs?

Fish can help counter sensitivity as it has lower fat levels and less dense muscle fiber, which makes it easy to digest and allows dogs to extract more nutrients, he said. A sensitive stomach is not a disease but a symptom of underlying cause – often triggered by poor diet or external factors.