Pro Plan

Pro Plan Large Robust Puppy OptiStart review

Name: Pro Plan Large Robust Puppy OptiStart
Brand: Pro Plan

44.3/100Average

DryPuppy

The steadier of Pro Plan's large-breed growth kibbles, with fat held to 15.0% as fed and a fully dosed supplement panel. It settles in our Average band. Cereal and soya carry more of the recipe than the bird does, and the calcium figure a big pup's owner checks first is missing.

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Our view

Likely to suit

Large-breed pups who put on condition easily, with fat at 16.3% of dry matter
Rice as the main cereal, declared at 15% and ahead of the wheat
Micronutrients spelled out, from vitamin A at 26000 IU/kg to selenium at 0.12 mg/kg
Dried colostrum at 0.1%, the OptiStart idea for early immune development

Worth watching

No calcium figure on a large-breed puppy food
Wheat, corn, wheat middlings and wheat gluten, so not for a cereal-sensitive pup
Soya meal high on the list, and unnamed animal fats and digest

Written by our editorial team. Independent guidance, not veterinary advice.

How this scores

How we score

44.3/100Average

Protein and processingAverage

Nutritional balanceGood

TransparencyGood

ValueAverage

The details

Dog fit

Listed for large-breed puppies. Ask Purina for the calcium figure before planning the rearing, and re-read the chart against the expected adult size every few weeks.

Food type

Dry

Life stage

Puppy

Breed size

Large

Main protein

Chicken

The score, in context

Pro Plan Large Robust Puppy OptiStart 44.3

All one Average. Typical dry food: Good.

The care in the supplement panel is real; it is the wheat, corn and soya in the body of the recipe that hold the reading down.

What's in it

Chicken (back and chest)18%Named down to the cuts. Most of its water is lost in the kiln.
Dried poultry proteinThe steadier protein. Poultry is looser than chicken, and the species can move between batches.
Rice15%The most digestible cereal in the mix.
Wheat, corn, wheat middlings, wheat gluten, corn protein mealGrain does much of the structural work.
Soya mealLifts the protein line. Dogs get less from it than from meat, and it is linked to food reactions.
Animal fatsNo animal named.
DigestSprayed on after cooking for flavour; unnamed source.
Dried beet pulp, minerals
Dried egg, fish oilBoth worth having.
Dried colostrum0.1%The OptiStart idea about early immune development.

Vitamins A, D3, E and C with iron, iodine, copper, manganese, zinc and selenium, every one dosed per kilo, and tocopherol extracts keeping the fats fresh.

No calcium figure printed, on a recipe sold for large-breed growth. Ask the maker for it.

Named ingredients

High quality chicken (including back and chest) (18%), Dried poultry protein, Rice (15%), Wheat, Soya meal, Corn, Animal fats, Wheat middlings, Digest, Dried beet pulp, Corn protein meal, Wheat gluten, Minerals, Dried egg, Fish oil, Dried colostrum (0.1%)

Against the range

One large-breed growth kibble. Chicken at 18% opens the list with dried poultry protein and rice at 15% behind it, then wheat, soya meal and corn. Animal fats and digest are unnamed. Every added vitamin and trace element is dosed, and moisture is declared at 8.0%; calcium is the figure left off.

Nutritional analysis

Declared analysis

Energy

382 kcal/100g

Protein

29%

Fat

15%

Fibre

2.5%

Ash

7.5%

Moisture

Dry weight

Protein

31.5%

Fat

16.3%

Fibre

2.7%

Ash

8.2%

Carbs

41.3%

As-fed composition

Estimated breakdown of the finished product by ingredient category, from the declared ingredient list and ingoing weights. These are estimates, not measurements.

Meat

46.6%

Carbs

45.1%

Oils

2.4%

Other

5.8%

Pricing & size