Purina One
5
While I've already reviewed this food, I have never used Purina One puppy formula until recently ... so wanted to share my opinions on it.
A few weeks ago we had a litter eating Merrick Puppy Plate, as I can only find Purina One puppy in the 4lb bag around here. I'm not one to be impressed by ingredients alone. However, the vitamin premix & chelated minerals in Merrick looked excellent & I was sure this was a good food. I started the bitch on this two weeks before her delivery and everything seemed to be fine. Pups were whelped without a problem, yet they were all, every single one of them, severely hypoglycemic at birth! Thank God I had a jar of molasses on hand to perk the babies up or I have to wonder if I'd be able to revive them. I have had some listless pups before, but this is the first time I've ever had to treat them for hypoglycemia. This was an omen of what was yet to come ...
Within 24hrs, the pups were struck with a horrible case of diarrhea, as was our bitch. Her stools were sticky & copious. The babies were rapidly dehydrating, despite supplementation. It took round the clock supplementation and a bland diet for the bitch coupled with kaopectate & amoxicillin for momma/babies to turn the tides and finally get weight on these babies.
About a week later, everything seemed to have calmed down. The dam's diarrhea had stopped, but her stools were still sticky. Then I noticed SCABS, yes scabs, on the pups!!! Two had only a few, but the two smaller ones were covered in them. They were thick and almost like brownish dandruff. It was reminiscent of cradle cap in a human baby. I have NEVER seen the like, or heard of such a thing in a pup. Now, the pup who was affected the worst also had a hot spot, and I know that if an adult dog has a hot spot, it's usually diet related ...
That prompted me to check the bag of Merrick for it's Omega 3:6 ratio ... well guess what? This wonderful holistic food had NO omega 3 fatty acids! I also suspected that the canola oil may not be bioavailable enough to the pups so switched them to Purina One puppy food. There was an IMMEDIATE improvement. I would not have believed it without seeing it, but after *one meal* of the Purina, the bitch had DOUBLE the milk! After 24hrs, the pup's coats were 50% shinier and the scabs did not return! This was approx 10 days ago, and the worst affected pup is now totally healed - YAY!!! Their coats are thick, shiny and their skin is now healthy. The bitch's stools are firm.
I mean this when I say it. I WILL NEVER SWITCH MY HOUNDS FROM PURINA EVER AGAIN.