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35-lbs Purina Pro Plan Complete Essentials Shredded Blend Chicken & Rice Dog Food on sale for
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- Go to the 35-lbs Purina Pro Plan Complete Essentials Shredded Blend Chicken & Rice Dog Food page
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Order Summary
Item(s) Subtotal: $96.48
Shipping & Handling: $0.00
Your Coupon Savings: -$19.30
Subscribe & Save: -$9.65
Your Coupon Savings: -$18.89
Total before tax: $48.64
If you want to run an analysis yourself, here is a prompt:
> How does the nutritional content of "Pro Plan Adult Complete Essentials Shredded Blend Chicken & Rice with Probiotics Dry Dog Food" compare with that of "Kirkland Signature Adult Formula Chicken, Rice and Vegetable Dog Food " from Costco?
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Yes. I compared the current manufacturer/retailer information for both formulas, rather than relying on older third-party listings. The interesting result is that the two foods are nutritionally much closer than their branding might suggest—but they have some meaningful differences in ingredient composition and supplemental nutrients.
Purina Pro Plan vs. Kirkland Signature Adult Dog Food
Nutritional Comparison
Products compared:
- Purina Pro Plan Adult Complete Essentials Shredded Blend Chicken & Rice with Probiotics Dry Dog Food
- Kirkland Signature Adult Formula Chicken, Rice and Vegetable Dog Food
Executive SummaryThe two foods are nutritionally much closer than their price and branding might suggest.
Both provide:
- 26% minimum crude protein
- 16% minimum crude fat
- Complete and balanced adult nutrition
- Chicken as a primary animal-protein source
- Rice-based carbohydrate sources
- Probiotics
- Joint-support ingredients
However, they take somewhat different approaches.Pro Plan has stronger declared levels of several supplemental nutrients, particularly vitamin E, calcium, phosphorus, and glucosamine. It also provides a very high guaranteed count of a specific probiotic organism.
Kirkland has a somewhat more meat-forward ingredient list, explicitly guarantees omega-3 fatty acids, uses multiple probiotic strains, and includes both glucosamine and chondroitin.
Bottom line
If judged strictly from the guaranteed analysis and ingredient lists, neither product is an obvious nutritional loser.The ingredient list arguably favors Kirkland, while Pro Plan has some advantages in nutritional supplementation and has a stronger reputation for extensive nutritional research and feeding trials.
1. Guaranteed Nutritional Analysis
Nutrient / CharacteristicPurina Pro PlanKirkland SignatureRelative AdvantageProtein26% min26% minTieFat16% min16% minTieFiber3% max4% maxPro PlanMoisture12% max10% maxKirklandCalories369 kcal/cup393 kcal/cupDepends on needsCalcium1.1% min1.0% minPro PlanPhosphorus0.9% min0.8% minPro PlanOmega-61.5% min2.5% minKirklandOmega-3Not declared0.4% minKirklandVitamin E460 IU/kg min150 IU/kg minPro PlanGlucosamine400 ppm min300 mg/kg minPro PlanChondroitinNot declared100 mg/kg minKirklandProbiotics600 million CFU/lb≥1 million CFU/lbDifferent formulations
2. Protein and Fat
At first glance, the foods appear virtually identical:
- Protein: 26% minimum
- Fat: 16% minimum
However, the moisture levels differ:- Pro Plan: 12% maximum
- Kirkland: 10% maximum
Converting the guaranteed analysis approximately to a dry-matter basis gives:NutrientPro PlanKirklandProtein~29.5%~28.9%Fat~18.2%~17.8%Fiber~3.4%~4.4%
Thus, Pro Plan is marginally more protein- and fat-dense on a dry-matter basis.
The difference is relatively small and would not, by itself, make one food clearly superior.
3. Ingredient Composition
This is arguably the most interesting difference between the foods.
Kirkland
The primary ingredients are approximately:
- Chicken
- Chicken meal
- Whole-grain brown rice
- Cracked pearled barley
- Chicken fat
- Egg product
- Flaxseed
- Fish meal
The significant point is that chicken and chicken meal occur before the primary grain ingredient.Chicken meal is a concentrated source of animal protein because the water has been removed before incorporation into the food.
Kirkland also contains egg product and fish meal, providing additional animal-derived protein.
Pro Plan
The primary ingredients are approximately:
- Chicken
- Rice
- Whole-grain wheat
- Poultry by-product
- Soybean meal
- Beef fat
- Corn gluten meal
- Whole-grain corn
- Egg product
Pro Plan also provides substantial animal-derived ingredients, but the formulation makes greater use of wheat, soybean meal, and corn-derived ingredients.Ingredient-list assessment
If the question is simply:Kirkland wins.
This does not mean that Pro Plan is nutritionally inadequate. Ingredient lists alone cannot determine nutritional adequacy or digestibility.
Nevertheless, the placement of chicken meal as the second ingredient is a meaningful difference.
4. Vitamin E
One of the largest numerical differences is vitamin E.
Vitamin EPro Plan460 IU/kg minimumKirkland150 IU/kg minimum
Pro Plan's declared minimum is therefore more than three times higher.
Vitamin E functions as an antioxidant and is an essential nutrient for dogs.
This is a meaningful advantage for Pro Plan based on the declared guaranteed analysis.
5. Calcium and Phosphorus
NutrientPro PlanKirklandCalcium1.1% min1.0% minPhosphorus0.9% min0.8% min
Pro Plan has slightly higher declared minimum levels of both minerals.
Both formulas are intended to provide complete and balanced nutrition for adult dogs, so the difference should not automatically be interpreted as meaning Kirkland is deficient.
For an otherwise healthy adult dog, this difference is unlikely to be decisive.
6. Omega Fatty Acids
This is an area where Kirkland has an interesting advantage.
Pro Plan
- Omega-6: 1.5% minimum
- Omega-3: Not declared
Kirkland- Omega-6: 2.5% minimum
- Omega-3: 0.4% minimum
Kirkland therefore provides an explicit minimum guarantee for omega-3 fatty acids.Its formulation also includes ingredients such as flaxseed and fish meal.
The absence of an omega-3 guarantee on Pro Plan does not mean that Pro Plan contains no omega-3 fatty acids. It means that the manufacturer does not provide a minimum omega-3 guarantee in the published analysis.
7. Joint-Support Ingredients
Both formulas contain joint-support ingredients, but their formulations differ.
IngredientPro PlanKirklandGlucosamine400 ppm min300 mg/kg minChondroitinNot declared100 mg/kg min
The units for glucosamine are effectively comparable in this context.
Pro Plan therefore provides approximately 33% more declared glucosamine.
Kirkland, however, additionally provides a declared amount of chondroitin.
Consequently, this category is reasonably characterized as:8. Probiotics
The probiotic formulations are quite different.
Pro Plan
Pro Plan guarantees:
600 million CFU/lb
of Bacillus coagulans.
This is a very high guaranteed count of a single probiotic organism.
Kirkland
Kirkland uses a multi-strain formulation containing organisms including:
- Lactobacillus plantarum
- Bacillus subtilis
- Lactobacillus acidophilus
- Enterococcus faecium
- Bifidobacterium animalis
It guarantees at least:1 million CFU/lb
The numerical CFU values should not be interpreted as meaning Pro Plan is automatically 600 times better.
Different organisms, strains, viability characteristics, and formulations make simple CFU comparisons misleading.
The two manufacturers are essentially taking different approaches:
- Pro Plan: very high guaranteed quantity of one organism
- Kirkland: lower total stated quantity but a broader multi-strain formulation
9. Caloric DensityThis is an easily overlooked difference.
CaloriesPro Plan369 kcal/cupKirkland393 kcal/cup
Kirkland is approximately 6.5% more calorie-dense per cup.
This means that switching a dog from Pro Plan to Kirkland cup-for-cup would increase calorie intake.
For example, if a dog normally consumed 3 cups of Pro Plan:
3 × 369 = 1,107 kcal
The same 3 cups of Kirkland would provide:
3 × 393 = 1,179 kcal
That's approximately 72 additional calories per day.
Consequently, feeding amounts should be adjusted when switching between the foods rather than simply maintaining the same number of cups.
10. Advantages of Pro Plan
Pro Plan's primary advantages
- Slightly higher dry-matter protein
- Slightly higher dry-matter fat
- Lower maximum fiber
- Higher declared vitamin E
- Slightly higher calcium
- Slightly higher phosphorus
- Higher declared glucosamine
- Very high guaranteed probiotic count
- Extensive history of nutritional research and feeding trials
- Established large-scale pet-food manufacturing and quality-control infrastructure
11. Advantages of KirklandKirkland's primary advantages
- Chicken is the first ingredient
- Chicken meal is the second ingredient
- More meat-forward ingredient ordering
- Less reliance on wheat, soybean meal, and corn-derived protein ingredients
- Explicit omega-3 minimum guarantee
- Higher declared omega-6 level
- Multi-strain probiotic formulation
- Contains both glucosamine and chondroitin
- Higher caloric density
- Generally positioned at a substantially lower price than Pro Plan
12. Overall AssessmentNutritional profile
Approximately a tie.
Both provide comparable protein and fat levels and are formulated as complete and balanced adult diets.
Ingredient profile
Kirkland has the edge.
Its first several ingredients give the appearance of a more animal-protein-forward formulation, particularly because chicken meal appears second.
Supplemental nutrients
Pro Plan has the edge.
Its declared vitamin E, calcium, phosphorus, and glucosamine levels are stronger.
Omega fatty acids
Kirkland has the edge based on the published guarantees.
It explicitly guarantees omega-3 and provides a higher omega-6 minimum.
Probiotics
Neither clearly wins.
They use substantially different probiotic strategies, making direct comparison difficult.
Calories
Kirkland is more calorie-dense.
This can be beneficial or undesirable depending on the dog's energy requirements.
13. Bottom Line
If we ignore marketing and compare the published nutritional information:The two foods are not nutritionally identical, but neither appears dramatically superior based solely on the guaranteed analysis.
A simplified assessment would be:
CategoryWinnerProtein/fatPro Plan — slightIngredient compositionKirklandMeat-forward formulationKirklandVitamin EPro PlanCalcium/phosphorusPro Plan — slightOmega-3KirklandJoint supplementsClose / different approachesProbioticsToo different to callCalories per cupKirkland — higher densityOverall nutritional profileRoughly even
My overall conclusion
If choosing strictly from the label and ingredient list, I would not consider Pro Plan sufficiently superior to assume that its higher price automatically represents better nutrition.
In fact, I would lean toward Kirkland on the ingredient list, while leaning toward Pro Plan on nutritional supplementation and research pedigree.
The major caveat is that guaranteed analysis and ingredient lists don't tell the entire story. They don't adequately reveal:
- Amino-acid availability
- Protein digestibility
- Overall nutrient digestibility
- Actual nutrient concentrations versus minimum guarantees
- Long-term feeding performance
- Manufacturing quality-control differences
- Results from controlled feeding trials
Those factors could potentially justify a preference for one food despite relatively similar label numbers.Sources
- Purina — Pro Plan Adult Complete Essentials Shredded Blend Chicken & Rice with Probiotics
- Costco — Kirkland Signature Adult Formula Chicken, Rice and Vegetable Dog Food
Note: Nutritional values can change when manufacturers reformulate products. The package and manufacturer's current product information should be treated as authoritative for the specific bag being purchased.Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
Based on ingredients, you can distinguish higher quality products from the name branded, higher priced trash.
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