Pure Vita

[jenn D]

My mom wants to feed her puppy pure vita. She says her breeder friend said it's the same as Acana but costs less. I feed Acana wild Prarie. I've searched for pro vita on DK and not finding a whole lot. Any help so I can sway her if I should? Thx!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

We've discussed Pure Vita here before. It is definitely not the same as Acana, by a long shot. There's a big difference between Champion, which makes Acana and Orijen, and KLN Family Brands, which makes Pure Vita as well as many other products, some of which are really lousy. 

Pure Vita in itself may be okay nutritionally, but the same company that makes that also makes Tuffy's Dog Food, which is definitely not okay. It's one of the few dog foods on the market that still contains a dangerous synthetic form of vitamin K called menadione bisulfite that has been linked to some horrendous health issues and is prohibited in most other countries. It also contains by-products and the chemical preservative BHA (also banned in many other countries). The fact that Pure Vita is made by a company that thinks it's okay to put these things in any dog food that it manufactures is why we don't recommend any of their products. It's also a far cry from the ethics, quality, and integrity of Champion Foods. I would not trust the sourcing of the ingredients in Pure Vita.

[Lisa and Maizy]

I fed Maizy Pure Vita Chicken and Brown Rice. It appears to be a high quality food. I took her off because she had stomach issues unrelated to the food , but many people in the know recommended it.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I guess that depends on your definition of "people in the know". I sure wouldn't recommend it.  

[jenn D]

Thanks! This helps! I love this food group!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

You would also be hard pressed to find an Acana formula with only 24% protein, which is all that the Pure Vita formulas contain, even the grain free formulas.

[Lisa and Maizy]

Karen, people in the know include breeders, owners of champion show dogs, and friends who have researched foods to find high quality food. Hope that meets your qualification of "people in the know". Why wouldn't you recommend it?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

My reasons for not recommending it are in my answers above. Suspect manufacturing practices and ethics, suspect sourcing of ingredients, lack of company integrity, and inadequate protein content, to sum up. 

Unfortunately, breeders, even owners of champion show dogs, are not experts in nutrition or in dog food. Many doodle owners here had puppies who were eating Purina and even lower quality foods at their breeders. The main criteria for many breeders seems to be the cost. As for friends who have researched foods, it depends where and how they are doing their research. I've seen rave reviews for Beneful. So no, that doesn't fit my qualification of people in the know, at least not about the quality of dog foods.