• Purina Pro Plan Overview

Brand History

Purina, initially named Purina Mills, was founded in 1894 by a man named William H. Danforth. He established an animal feed company that eventually specialized in domestic pet food. Over the years, after being renamed and passing hands, Purina was bought by Nestlé in 2001 for a whopping $10.3 billion.Purina has multiple sites for research and food production, with its HQ based in Missouri. They also have a dedicated animal health research center. What they discover in scientific research goes straight into their recipes. Purina’s ethos is to supply specialized.The brand is today one of the most well-known globally and is widely available in most countries.

Purina  has various ranges, and Purina Pro Plan is one of their most popular and higher-end lines which made its first appearance in 1986.These products feature the most advanced nutritional considerations of any Purina line.Purina Pro Plan takes credit for being the first dog food brand to ever incorporate real meat as the first ingredient in their products. Another reason that attributes to this brand’s popularity entails their invention of grain-free,sports performance formulas. 

Where Is Purina Pro Plan Made?

According to Purina, 99% of all Pro Plan recipes are made in the U.S.A. The company sources the majority of its ingredients from American suppliers. In addition, Purina also owns and operates 100% of its production facilities, too.They have multiple sites for research and production, including a dedicated animal health research center. What they learn there is implemented into their recipes. 

Purina Pro Plan Dog Food

Purina Pro Plan sells many kinds of dog food with advanced nutrition for all stages of life. Buyers can choose from a range of formulas, some that suit most dogs and others tailored to need specific needs.You can find a wide variety of specialized formulas, such as healthy digestion, hypoallergenic recipes, and high-performance food.Whether they have a sensitive disposition, or they need more cognitive support as they age, chances are there’s a Pro Plan recipe that’s ideal for them.Purina Pro Plan also has some prescription veterinary diets, including hydrolyzed and gastroenteric dog food. It also has a couple of supplements to further enhance your dog’s food.For the most part, it contains quality ingredients, though it does contain some fillers and by-products in some of its lines. Statistics show that 96 in every 100 winning dogs are fed the Purina Pro Plan diet. 

• Blue Buffalo Overview

Brand History

Blue Buffalo is a very big brand in the pet food market, and they were established back in 2003 in Connecticut by the Bishop family. The company got started thanks to a dog named Blue. The Bishop family adopted a young pup by the name of Blue, who was their loyal companion for many years until one fateful day that changed the course of their lives.Blue was diagnosed with cancer.After heroically battling the illness, Blue died, but the family never forgot their loyal pet and decided to create better dog food. They worked with veterinarians and nutrition experts to come up with natural formulas with complete and balanced nutrition.Blue Buffalo was the result. The food Bishop created was so high quality, it quickly became in demand by owners in similar situations. Word of mouth quickly spread, and in less than twenty years, the brand went from inception to becoming the top natural pet food brand in America.

In 2017, they recorded market sales of over $1 billion. In 2018, this led to an  $8 billion acquisition by General Mills, makers of Cheerios.The company has won several accolades over the years, including the Dog Food Advisor’s Award for Best Dry Dog Food Brand, Best Dog Food with Grain, and Best Senior Dog Food as recently as 2022, which demonstrates the industry’s confidence in them.

Where Is Blue Buffalo Made?

General Mills owns Blue Buffalo. This company creates all of its dog foods at two different facilities in the United States. These facilities are located in Joplin, Missouri, and Richmond, Indiana. However, they also outsource many of their products to other facilities across the United States.While they have direct control over the creation of many of their dog foods, they also outsource the production of others. Of course, this increases the chance of recalls—and it shows.

Blue Buffalo Dog Food

Blue Buffalo dog food is touted as a healthy and holistic brand. It contains high-quality ingredients without unnecessary additives. Complete and balanced, it contains all the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that your dog needs to stay healthy.

Blue Buffalo has several different lines of dog food and produces recipes for all life stages and special diets. You can find both dry and wet dog food with formulas that help with common health concerns, such as food allergies and weight management. Blue Buffalo also has a veterinary diet line that offers prescription food for dogs with more acute conditions and chronic illnesses.However, they’re not always as good as other foods in their premium price range.One significant issue is the discovery of animal by-products in some of its recipes.

While you won’t find as much variety as Purina Pro Plan, Blue Buffalo excels in selling recipes that are easily digestible for dogs with sensitive stomachs. It’s also known to be a popular choice for picky eaters.Blue Buffalo also has a good number of recipes that are grain-free and high-protein. While these diets may seem more palatable to dogs, research shows that there may be links between grain-free diets and heart disease. So, it’s important to do your research before selecting new dog food.

• Hill's Science Diet

Brand History

If Blue Buffalo is a Johnny-come-lately in the dog food world, Hill’s Science Diet is as established as it gets.The history of Hill’s Science began in 1939. A blind man named Morris Frank asked his veterinarian to help his guide dog named Buddy,with kidney failure. The said vet had already researched the impact of poor diet on dogs and tailored a specific diet for Buddy.Hebelieved Buddy's illness was the result of poor nutrition, so he developed a new pet food with his wife, Louise Morris, in their kitchen. In 1948, Dr. Morris contracted with Burton Hill of the Hill Packing Company in Topeka, Kansas, to can the food with a new name, Canine k/d, and licensed Hill to produce his pet food formulas.In 1976, the Colgate-Palmolive Company purchased Hill's Pet Nutrition. The company sales reached $1 billion in 1999, and continues to grow each year. 

Today,Hill's Science Diet has grew into a globally recognized corporation that manufactures over 50 varieties of pet food recipes that focus on animals different health issues and life stages.Veterinarians worldwide recommend and feed their own pets Hill's products more than any other brand of pet food.Science Diet’s slogan is “Lifelong health starts with science.” They are also available on every online pet food platform and in most pet stores too. 

Where Is Hill's Science Diet Made?

All Hill's Science Diet recipes are manufactured in Hill's USA facilities. Hill's sources their raw materials from countries where there are reliable safety procedures in place, primarily in the United States, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and several European countries.This company is well-known for its meticulous safety procedures. For this reason, they typically have extremely safe facilities and very few dog food recalls. With that said, the company has been recalled a few different times. Therefore, while they may be one of the safer dog food brands on the market, they aren’t the safest.

Hill's Science Diet Dog Food

Similar to Purina Pro Plan, Hill’s Science Diet has special diets for dogs of all life stages and health concerns. Hill’s Science Diet offers over 40 unique recipes for dogs. Though it’s not as impressive as Purina Pro Plan’s expansive line of over 80 different formulas, you can still easily find a Hill’s recipe that fits your dog’s breed, life stage, and lifestyle.Their standard foods come in a variety of types, including foods for health conditions that don’t require prescription care, like sensitive stomach foods. 

Hill’s Science Diet crafts all of its food according to AAFCO guidelines.Whatever dog food you choose, Hill’s Science Diet recipes always have animal protein listed as the first ingredient.This company typically includes whole meat as one of its first ingredients. Chicken is most common, likely because it is one of the cheapest meats on the market. However, they do offer formulas with other meats, as well.Most Hill’s Science Diet dog foods contain healthy grains, such as barley and brown rice. In addition to helping with digestion, these grains contain a healthy amount of fiber. 

• Royal Canin

Brand History

Royal Canin was founded by Jean Cathary in France in 1968,as he saw that many skin problems in dogs were caused by poor diet. He first created his first recipe, appetizingly called yellow soup.The recipe successfully alleviated pet complaints, so he registered it under the name Royal Canin. The company’s reputation continued to spread, and it soon became the most recognized pet food manufacturer in France. 

From the 1970s, the brand began to spread throughout Europe. Cathary sold the company to the Guyomarc’h Group in 1972, which was a much larger animal feed company. In 1980, Royal Canin released their first recipe for large canine pups, which served as a reference food for developing nutrition for dogs in cats within a decade.Royal Canin reached American shores in 1985, and shortly after, Guyomarc’h Group sold Royal Canin to the Paribas Group who then expanded Royal Canin into a globally recognized brand.

Royal Canin’s mission is to make a better world for pets by improving their health through nutrition. Royal Canin has won many awards for its top nutrition and specialized animal clinics. A huge reason why veterinary practices sell this food.

Where Is Royal Canin Made?

Royal Canin also has manufacturing plants located in South Dakota, though their products are available worldwide. They also have numerous veterinarians, nutritionists, and scientists working at their Saint Charles, Missouri, headquarters to provide guidance on the meal formulas.

Royal Canin Dog Food

Royal Canin has three main food types: size-based foods, breed-based foods, and veterinary foods. Their size-based foods are general-purpose pet foods optimized for specific sizes and age groups—for instance, a large-breed puppy food. Their breed-based foods are made for specific breeds, like a Golden Retriever food, and designed for purebred dogs. Finally, they offer a variety of prescription foods that require a vet’s approval to use.So, whether you have a dog that’s of a large breed, small breed, has health issues, or is a picky eater, you’ll likely find a meal perfect for your pup with this brand. 

Royal Canin makes dozens of different formulas geared towards certain dog breeds, with the intention of offering them the specific nutrition they need.Despite their science-based reputation (and premium prices), the company often uses inferior ingredients like corn, wheat, and animal by-products.This lowers the quality of some of their foods dramatically, while also making them unsuitable for dogs with sensitive dispositions.

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Purina Pro Plan vs. Blue Buffalo vs. Hill's Science Diet vs. Royal Canin: Comparison Side by Side

1. Type of Dog Foods

2. Food Ingredients

>Purina Pro Plan

Purina Pro nearly always lists real meat as the first ingredient, but this isn’t the case in all of their recipes. But because they are based their recipes on scientific research, some formulas use other ingredients first. Many of their formulas also use corn, wheat, and soy. Generally, their protein contents are high, and they use healthy omega fats, probiotics for gut health, and a variety of vitamin and mineral supplements for strong immunity.

One feature of their diets that some pet owners do not approve of includes their use of meat byproduct meals. However, Purina Pro claims that these byproducts are made using only organ tissue, all of which are packed with beneficial nutrients. If this is truly the case, this should not impact their reputation of only offering high quality diets.Overall, the ingredients they use are quality and dictated by science. So, if you want to feed Fido a diet that is scientifically proven to be nutritional, Purina Pro is a good option.

>Blue Buffalo

At Blue Buffalo, their promise is quite simple. They promised their little boy Blue (the family Airedale terrier) that they would create the healthiest food they possibly could. The major part of that promise is that they will always use real meat as the first ingredient. That means they will not use any chicken or poultry by-product meals,such asChicken, Turkey, Salmon, Beef and Lamb.The brand does not add artificial preservatives, fillers, or flavors to their foods. Their recipes are formulated by veterinarians and animal nutritionists to produce foods that the owners would be happy to feed to their own families.

They also have Chicken free recipes which many brands do not offer.Most formulas also add various vegetables, fruits,  probiotics, and dried tomato cakes. Each of their formulas is enriched with added vitamins. They also include recognizable fats, such as chicken fat. It is an excellent source of fatty acids.Unlike other companies, Blue Buffalo does not use ambiguous language when describing the ingredients in its products.

>Hill's Science Diet

Science Diet claims that all of its recipes are based on science. As a result, they believe that natural dog food does not always mean the best for Fido. So, their ingredients aren’t always natural, which some consumers do not like.Science Diet uses real meats, usually the first ingredient, but this is not always the case, unlike Blue Buffalo. They also use meat by-products, which is a very controversial ingredient that is essentially all the remaining animal carcass that is of very poor quality. This could include bones, organs, blood, and beaks. They commonly use artificial additives and preservatives, which can be irritating to dogs with sensitive stomachs. They also list artificial flavors, such as chicken liver flavor, instead of natural flavors. And like Purina Pro Plan, many of their formulas list corn, wheat, and soy.

Science Diet does not appear to use the ingredient-splitting technique. They simply list what they use, which is a lot more transparent for their consumers. 

>Royal Canin

Royal Canin uses real meat on occasion, but they mainly use meat by-products and by-product meals. It’s not entirely clear what goes into their by-products. Still, they claim that it is safe and nutritionally beneficial for dogs. For example, animal organs are often used, and although it might sound revolting to you and me, Fido should love it. And it is rich in nutrients too.

They also use corn, wheat, and soy in many of their recipes. Although this can irritate some dogs’ digestive systems, most dogs are completely fine with them. 

3. Nutritional Value

According to the AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) , each pet food package must have labels with a guaranteed analysis of the nutrient content. In each recipe, the minimum content of raw protein and raw fat should be noted, as well as the maximum content of raw fiber and moisture.

Here, I compare the most important nutrients that our pets need.

• Crude Protein: Protein is an extremely important part of your dog's diet. Without sufficient protein, dogs can develop a wide-range of serious health problems.The minimum protein intake for an adult dog is approximately 18%.

• Crude Fat: Fat is another essential compound for dogs as it delivers energy and fat-soluble vitamins as well promoting good blood pressure and a healthy and strong body. The average adult dog needs a minimum of 5% fat in their diet to stay healthy.

• Crude Fiber: Higher fiber content can assist to satiate a dog’s appetite keeping them feeling fuller for longer as it is an easier way to bulk out food without adding calories. Fiber is also an aid to digestion and keeps your dog’s bowel movements regular and healthy. Fiber in the gut assists with the breakdown of food and allows the body to absorb more of the nutrients and vitamins.

Purina Pro Plan (average)

Blue Buffalo (average)

Hill's Science Diet (average)

Royal Canin (average)

4. Taste

Purina Pro Plan has a more extensive variety of flavors, so if your dog doesn’t like one recipe, you can easily switch it out for another one. However, most recipes contain a large blend of ingredients, which can be difficult for some dogs to digest.

Blue Buffalo uses high-quality meats and a blend of ingredients that are typically tasty for dogs.And some of their higher-end foods are packed with flavorful foods like beef, venison, lamb, and a whole host of fruits and veggies.Blue Buffalo’s powerful antioxidant blend LifeSource Bits offer dogs great benefits; however, most dogs find these kibble pieces unpalatable and avoid them if possible.

Hill’s Science Diet has fewer options, but it’s really great for dogs with sensitive stomachs and food allergies. The ingredient lists are simpler and usually contain just one source of animal protein.

Of course, each flavor is a bit different, so you may have to try multiple recipes to find one that your canine likes. 

Royal Canin has a reputation for good flavor, with a variety of wet and dry foods that are very flavorful and delicious textures that dogs love. it does seem that Canin Royal has more meals catered to specific types.

5. Price

Price is an important factor to consider when choosing a kibble for your pooch. Averages price data can identify whether or not there exists a significant price difference among the four brands.

Purina Pro Plan (average)

Blue Buffalo (average)

Hill's Science Diet (average)

Royal Canin (average)

6. Product Safety and Recall

Purina Pro Plan has been recalled once:

• March 9, 2016: Incorrect Vitamins and Minerals

Blue Buffalo has been recalled 7 times:

• April 2007: Rice protein was contaminated with melamine

• October 2010: elevated levels of Vitamin D

• November 2015: Potential Salmonella contamination with chew bones

• May 2016: excessive moisture and mold

• February 2017: aluminum contamination

• March 2017:  issue with the foil packaging

• March 2017: elevated levels of the naturally occurring hormone

In 2014 Purina filed a claim against Blue Buffalo for false advertising. They discovered poultry by-product meal ingredients in their recipes, despite Blue Buffalo claiming to never to use by-products. After investigation Blue Buffalo admitted that this was true, blaming their supplier, and they corrected the issues.

Hill's Science Diet has been recalled 4 times:

• June 2014: Potential for salmonella

• November 2015: Labeling issues 

• Jan. 31, 2019: elevated levels of Vitamin D
  

• March 20, 2019: elevated levels of Vitamin D

Royal Canin has been recalled 3 times:

• May 11, 2007: Melamine

• April 19, 2007: Melamine

• Feb. 2, 2006: excess level of vitamin D3

7. Selection

All of the four brands offer dog food for dogs of all life stages. You can find plenty of recipes from these brands for dogs that don’t have any special dietary needs.

Purina Pro Plan has a slightly wider selection of specialized diets than Blue Buffalo and Hill’s Science Diet. However, Blue Buffalo has many diets for dogs with food allergies and sensitive stomachs. So, if your dog has trouble digesting food, you’ll find more options with Blue Buffalo.And when it comes to general dog foods, Hill’s Science Diet has more flavor options, specialized foods, and other choices to help your dog eat the best possible foods.

Royal Canin has a whole line of dog food specifically for different breeds.Royal Canin definitely has more meal options that can cater to specific dog breeds. They also have a variety of options for different health conditionsUpon closer examination, though, many of those dog foods aren’t any better for that breed than any other high-quality dog food would be.

Conclusion

What’s the best dog food? That’s such an open-ended question, right? It depends on your animal, how old they are and what kind of diet they prefer. As you can see, it is a really close race, so it’s difficult to say which one is better for your pup. But all of these brands are well-known, safe, and nutritionally balanced to take care of your pup’s health. 

Purina Pro Plan offers so many more recipes that can meet your dog’s specific needs. If your dog isn’t a fan of a particular recipe, you can try switching to a different flavor that has the same special diet. This brand also makes the search for the right dog food a much easier process.

If you prefer an all-natural brand that offers much more variety, or you are seeking grain-free options, then Blue Buffalo is the winning team for you and your pooch. Blue Buffalo uses better ingredients, has superior nutrition, and is more likely to be tolerated by your dog.

If you are looking for a grain-inclusive diet and are comfortable with the use of by-products, then Science Diet offers a great selection catering to all life stages and breed sizes.And it often comes at a lower price. 

You may be tempted to feed your dog one of Royal Canin’s breed-specific dog foods, and that’s fine if you do your research. However, I’ve largely found that those dog foods aren’t nearly as good as an all-around high-quality food.

Also, when trying a new dog food, always switch your dog over gradually to avoid stomach upset. You should also see how he adjusts to the new food and make changes if needed, with a special focus on how his belly handles it, how much he likes eating it, and if there are any changes to his coat (such as dandruff, itchiness, or greasiness). 

【Read More】

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