Pure Balance Dog Food Review

Pure Balance was conceived by Walmart in 2007 as an answer for the ever-increasing demand by the retail giant’s loyal patrons who are also pet parents for premium quality dog food but at a price that is well in tune with Walmart’s price advantage. Walmart commissioned Doane Pet Foods to produce the various products sold under the Pure Balance brand.

Unfortunately, the price advantage of the brand is also where issues have surfaced. Many pet parents point out that one cannot really obtain premium-quality ingredients without substantial spending. Almost everyone knows that the only way for pet food manufacturers to bring down their prices is if they can find a way to fill their products with relatively inexpensive ingredients. And since putting premium quality meat typically entails great cost, there are pet parents who believe that Walmart’s Pure Balance dog food formulas are nothing more than filler-packed dog food.

Later, we shall take a much closer look at the Pure Balance dog food ingredients to have a better idea if such a claim holds water or not.

Initially, Pure Balance was only available at Walmart stores. However, because of the increasing demand for the brand’s availability through other means, Pure Balance can now be easily obtained through other retailers like Amazon. Unfortunately, the actual distribution of the ordered products is still facilitated by Walmart as was noted in the number of Pure Balance dog food reviews by consumers.

Nevertheless, the increased demand for the product simply underscores what Walmart has been saying all along – that Pure Balance is one of the best dog foods you can give to your pet without hurting your pocket.

One of the most obvious strengths of Pure Balance dog food is its affordable pricing while providing your pet with relatively simple recipes that put emphasis on animal proteins. It is this ‘good quality at an affordable price’ that makes the brand quite appealing to many pet parents.

The brand also doesn’t use corn, soy, or wheat in its recipes so that’s one box to tick if you’re on the lookout for a grain free dog food formula. Do take note that if you’re averse to these ingredients because of your dog’s allergies you also might want to go for a pet food that doesn’t contain other allergenic proteins like chicken and beef; otherwise, you will simply defeat the purpose.

On that note, Pure Balance also provides some variants that come with highly novel proteins such as venison, salmon, lamb, and bison. These ingredients provide your dog with the right amounts of proteins without causing any allergies.

Related Post: High Protein Dog Food

Owing to the fact that Pure Balance dog food is a relatively new entry in the market, having been around for roughly 6 years, its slate when it comes to Pure Balance dog food recalls is still relatively clean. This is good news for pet parents who are wary about products that have histories of product recalls.

Some reviews about Pure Balance rate it highly, often giving it 4 stars. The name “Walmart” obviously carries weight. However, to be objective in our assessment we had to carefully analyze the list of Pure Balance dog food ingredients to determine whether such a brand deserves to be poured into your dog’s food bowl.

• Below average to average proteins

All dogs need protein if they want their muscles to grow stronger and develop fuller. On that note, one of the most important ingredients to be considered in any dog food is its protein content. While Pure Balance dog food boasts of high quality animal proteins as its first ingredient we find its total content to be subpar compared to other dog food brands.

The 6 dry and 2 wet food products we’ve listed in this Pure Balance dog food review posted an average of 28.5% for the dry food versions and 44.44% for the wet varieties (Beef Dinner and Chicken Dinner).

This is computed on a dry matter basis. While you might think that these figures are good enough you’d have to look at other dog food brands. For example, some dry dog food brands have a dry matter protein content of at least 35% while wet food varieties come in at 45% at the very least. Obviously, there is no problem with the wet variety of Pure Balance. Our concern now is in its dry dog food variants.

What complicates our analysis of Pure Balance dog food ingredients relative to its protein content is the addition of pea protein. We have noticed this in some of the variants, leading us to believe that the actual composition of proteins supplied by animal ingredients is much lower than the printed guaranteed analysis on the label.

It is true that proteins, whether from plants or animals, are essentially proteins. Regrettably, there is a clear difference between the two mostly stemming from the absence of certain essential amino acids in plant proteins. We cannot help but speculate as to the reason why Pure Balance needs to provide its formulations with chelated minerals which are minerals that have been combined with amino acids.

This leads us to believe that there really are not much animal proteins in the formulation since Walmart deems it necessary to add certain amino acids into the mix. If there is sufficient animal protein, then there clearly is no need for chelating minerals or adding amino acids into minerals to form complexes. But, that’s just our opinion.

On a more positive note, you’d have to commend Walmart for its use of novel proteins like lamb, bison, and venison. These should be very useful for dogs that have very sensitive tummies.

• Below average fats

One of the best things about Pure Balance dog food is that it has slightly lower fat content overall compared to other dog food brands. This is true for both dry and wet food varieties with the dry coming in with 15.73% and the wet having 15.27% on a dry matter basis.

We’d like to draw your attention to the wet dog food variety. Having about 15% in dry matter fat content is something really remarkable. Most wet dog food brands contain fat in the near-20s to low-20s. This is good news especially since the brand also includes healthier versions of fats like omega fatty acids from fish oil and flaxseed.

Our only concern is that natural fat is often found in animal ingredients. If a dog food product claims to have high protein content yet its fat is this low, something is amiss. For instance, raw meat-only chicken breast without the skin will still contain at least 10% fat.

Given that Pure Balance also puts “chicken meals” and “chicken fat” into its formulation, it’s amazing to find that it is able to tame its fat content to just 15%. Also, despite variations in the ingredient list the brand is able to attain a uniform fat content of 15%. This is with the exception of the Wild & Free variety which had 10% fats.

The good news is that the fat levels are well within the recommendations of the NRC and AAFCO.

• Average to high carbohydrates

Taking into consideration the protein and fat contents of Pure Balance dog food, we were able to compute 55.77% carbohydrates for the dry varieties and 40.29% for the wet products. Again, we don’t want to pass judgment, but it would seem some of the Pure Balance dog food reviews are quite spot-on in saying that the brand is literally packed with carbohydrate fillers. Having more than half of the ingredients taken up by carbohydrates is simply not what your dog needs.

Moreover, we also noticed the addition of potatoes in some of the recipes. This is largely considered a high glycemic ingredient that can increase the risk of diabetes in dogs.

• Micronutrients

We surely miss the probiotics, glucosamine, and chondroitin in the recipes, although there was one variety that came with glucosamine. In the guaranteed analysis portion of the labels, we have not seen any mention of calcium and phosphorus although there were instances of zinc and selenium being given a percentage. This is quite unusual since calcium and phosphorus are two of the most essential minerals that dogs need. At the very least, Pure Balance should be able to provide information as to just how much calcium and phosphorus their products contain.

Related Post: Calcium Supplements for Dogs

Pros

• Low to moderate amounts of fat
• Animal proteins as first ingredient
• Clearly named animal proteins
• No animal byproducts
• No corn, wheat, or soy
• Well-balanced and complete nutrition
• Added amino acids in formulation
• No history of product recalls
• Very friendly price

Cons

• Uses pea protein in some variants
• Uses high glycemic potatoes in some products
• More carbohydrates in dry dog varieties
• Higher carbohydrate content in wet dog food products compared to other brands