I spied the new Purina Pro Plan Shredded Blend Adult Dog Food at the local PetSmart last week. The prospect of real meat pieces in the dry kibble seemed attractive, so I purchased a sample bag for the puppies to try. They were initially curious by the addition of a new texture to their normal dry kibble, but it didn’t take long for them to devour to it. (I did sample those tender pieces myself, and it adds a little flavor to the dry component.) So for now, the pups are off their standard diet of Nutro Natural Choice Lamb & Rice and are feasting on Pro Plan Natural Lamb & Rice Formula.

While the guaranteed analysis looked solid, I do have concerns that the ingredients aren’t up to par. According to DogAware.com, when carbs show up in the first 3 ingredients (in this case, brewers rice and corn gluten meal place directly after lamb), it’s usually a sign of a poor quality dog food. Nutro’s ingredient list doesn’t excite either, ranking ground rice and rice flour behind lamb meal, but they don’t commit a crime as Purina does by putting corn gluten meal in the top ranks.

This all makes me wish I could afford Natura’s EVO dry dog food on a regular basis.