Purina ALPO Dog Food. Is that a good product?

Question

I know it's not Premium. But that is SO expensive.....

Answer 1

No Alpo, Purina Dog Chow, Pedigree, Science Diet, IAMS/Eukanuba and other "supermarket" brands are NOT good foods. They contain way too much cheap fillers & by products.People buy them becaiuse they are cheap and because they hear all the commercials about them and how wonderful they are for your dog, however They aren't. Corn, wheat, soy & beet pulp aren't proper nutrition for a dog. Corn & wheat offer very little nutritional value plus also are very common allergens.Soy causes excess gas and beet pulp offers no nutrition and only unnecassary sugars to the diet. Also current studies very strongly suggest that corn & soy may be responsible for unexplained seizures in dogs. Dogs are designed to get theri nutrition from meat not from grains/veggies. Also it takes up to 3 times more of a grain based food for a dog to get proper nutrition then it does a good meat based food.
Buying & feeding cheap low quality foods is bad economy.
You should be looking for good quality meat based foods to feed your dog such as: Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul, Innova, Canidae, Solid Gold, Percise, premium Edge, Blue Buffalo just ot name a few.

Answer 2

My elderly dog, a Dacuhund, can't eat alpo as it cause him to have an upset stomach and the usual problems associated with his reaction. I have wondered this same thing if there are other dogs who can't eat this dry dog food or if there is something in the recipe which a good dog owner needs to be looking for. Longfellow had a reaction last night but he is doing much better after a night's rest and my switching his food. For those of you will be reading this post. please read the bag and be advised not all dogs can handle Alpo. Purina dog chow is much better is you are concerned about price but stay away from Food Lion house brand dog food has it does have something in it which causes cancer. I lost two dogs to cancer and it had to have come from the Food Lion dog food they were eating.

Answer 3

Absolutely not. Nothing you can buy at the grocery store is fit to feed your pet.

Iams, Eukanuba, Purina, Science Diet... all crap. They're the big names, but that's because they invest in advertising rather than quality ingredients.

You want to feed your dog a wholistic diet, like Artemis, Wellness, or Innova. If you visit the Artemis website ( http://www.artemiscompany.com ) they'll help you find a distributor near you.

You can do so much better for your pet than Alpo. I pay $22 for a 20lb bag of food.

Answer 4

If you can't afford the super premium,it's fine.As long as your dog looks and feels good,and likes the food,then it's fine.I feed my dogs a mix of a premium and a grocery store brand(I buy Alpo sometimes-they love it),because I can't afford to feed six dogs a purely "premium" diet,and buy their heartworm peventative,shots,and license.When I was a kid,our dogs ate really cheap dog food and table scraps,and they were all big,strong dogs who lived long lives( I had a collie mix live to be 17,a Chihuahua to 19,and several others to 13 to 16 years old.)At present ,I have a 14 year old dachshund mix,three 13 year old sisters(very large mixed breeds-70 to 95 lbs.),a 10-year old boxer mix,and a 6 year old German shepherd.My neighbor's toy poodle is 14 ,and all he eats is Kibbles and Bits,and it's supposedly one of the worst.Nowadays,most dog foods are formulated pretty well.My dogs also get some table scraps(meat,eggs,milk,veggies and pasta,etc.),canned Pedigree and frozen Bil-Jac.My vet says it's fine.So,don't let people make you feel guilty if you can't afford one of the super premium dog foods.Feed your dog as best you can,get it regular vet care and exercise,and it should do fine.

Answer 5

Read the first three ingredients. If the first three ingredients have two meats (or 1 meat and a meat meal) then it is a good food.

I am sure that Alpo is not a good food. I just wanted to give you a guideline to work with.

Answer 6

I know it is exspensive but it is worth it . I feed my dog royal canin or eukanuba . The royal canin being the better of the two . And I feed my dogs no table scraps!!! If you feed table scraps you are asking for someone to poison your dog . We live in an area where that has been going on for quite a while . Last year they lost like 15 cats and dogs here because of poisoning . So my dog does not even know what table scraps are . It also makes them fat. good luck and I hope I helped.

Answer 7

You can do better, even without going "super premium." I would even recommend Iams before Alpo. However, just something to think about, it actually costs the same or less in the long run to feed premium foods because of the superior nutrient content...You feed the dog less, so you don't have to buy it as frequently. Also, it is much better for your dog's health. Hope that helps. : )

Answer 8

Purina in general is a very crappy brand. A rule of thumb dog owner friends of mine use is that if you can find it in your general Wal Mart or grocery store, it's not very good. Ingredients near the top of the list should NOT be meat meals, meat byproducts, or meat fats. Ideally, they would be the meat name themselves. Grains and salts should not be near the top, either.

I recommend Innova EVO. It's understandably expensive because it's very high quality, and the people who have switched to it (that I know) have seen significant changes in their dogs in alertness, coat, teeth, energy, and overall health. But wouldn't you say it's worth it for a companion of a potential 20 years?

Answer 9

When I was uneducated I thought so but when I began feeding it to my dogs they began to poo a lot more. That means less nutrition going to the body and more waste in the food. I would suggest that you check out The Whole Dog Journal. They do a dog food ratings every year. They even help you to learn to read the labels. Make sure to still research food, any food, though. Please stay away from Iams and Eukanuba. My dog died of a rare cancer at only 8 and seems that Eukanuba has ethoxyquin (sorry spelling may be off) in it. Guess what... Yep, it causes cancer. If it is not fit for human it is not fit for dog.

Answer 10

ITS A NO NO! here are some articles to read on how to find good food. If you are a costco member the kirkland dog food is cheap but high quality. I feed chicken soup for the dog lover's soul. Its $30 for 35 lbs.
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=main