Review Summary

Purina is an extremely popular dog food company. They are the most popular dog food company in the United States. They have been around for a very long time and make a variety of different dog foods, including the Purina One Lamb and Rice formula.

As the name of this dog food suggests, it is made with lamb and rice as the primary ingredients. Therefore, it is often considered a good option for dogs with allergies, as lamb is a novel protein. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that this is the best option out there for all dogs.

This food is decently inexpensive, though not necessarily as inexpensive as Purina’s other options. Is it worth the extra cost? Or should you just go all-in with a premium formula? To figure out if this is the right dog food for your canine, keep reading.

Purina One Lamb and Rice Dog Food Reviewed

Who Makes Purina One Lamb and Rice Dog Food and Where is it Produced?

Purina One is currently owned by Nestle, which is a very large food company. This company owns many different companies—and not just in the dog food industry, either. They are a worldwide mega-corporation. However, this does mean that they have tons of resources and own their factories. Therefore, they make their food as opposed to outsourcing the manufacturing to a third party, which is what many dog food companies do.

Most Purina One dog food is made in the United States. The company claims that upwards of 99% of its dog food products are made within the United States with strict safety guidelines in heavily regulated factories.

Furthermore, unlike most companies, they also source many of their products from within the USA. It isn’t odd for other companies to claim that their foods are made in the United States, but for their ingredients to be sourced from elsewhere. Luckily, Purina does not fall into this category.

What Type of Dog is Purina One Lamb and Rice Best Suited For?

Technically, any dog will likely do well on Purina One Lamb and Rice. It contains quality ingredients and all the nutrients a dog needs to thrive. The protein content is about average at 26%, which means that it works well for the average canine. The calorie content is also about average.

Therefore, this food is best for dogs that move around a moderate amount. Working dogs likely need something a bit heftier, while very lazy dogs may do better on reduced-calorie food. After all, this food is designed for very average canines.

Furthermore, this food includes lamb as the primary source of protein. Lamb is a novel protein, which means that it is less likely to create an allergic reaction. It isn’t that lamb is innately less likely to be an allergen. Instead, lamb is simply less common in dog food, which means that dogs aren’t exposed to it as much. For this reason, canines are less likely to develop an allergen to this food.

With that said, it does include chicken by-product meal further down on the ingredient list. Therefore, this formula is not suitable for dogs with severe chicken allergies, though it will work for those that are allergic to beef, fish, or other meat sources.

What Type of Dog Might Do Better with a Different Food?

If your dog is extremely active, you should consider getting them formula with more calories and protein. Most working dogs will fall into this category. However, dogs with very intense hobbies (such as running agility courses) will likely need higher calorie food, as well. This formula is not made for extremely active dogs.

At the same time, if your dog is overweight or a couch potato, you may want to consider weight control dog food instead. This formula is made for very average dogs, which means that your canine needs to be getting at least some exercise.

While the primary ingredient in this food is lamb, it does contain chicken. Therefore, this food isn’t particularly great for dogs with allergies, despite some suggestions. If your dog is allergic to beef or a different formula, this food may work, though. We simply don’t recommend it for dogs with chicken allergies.

Discussion of the Primary Ingredients (Good and Bad)

The very first ingredient in this food is lamb. This protein source is high-quality and works well for most dogs out there (assuming they aren’t allergic). It is a novel protein that is often suggested when dogs develop allergies to more common food choices, like chicken and beef.

However, keep in mind that lamb contains a lot of water that is removed during the dog food-making process. Therefore, just because it is the first ingredient doesn’t mean that there is actually that much lamb in the food. Much of the raw meat’s weight comes from its water content, and the ingredient list is listed by weight.

The second ingredient is rice flour, which provides lots of carbohydrates. Dogs need carbs as easily accessible sources of energy. Therefore, we generally consider this to be a decent dog food ingredient, though we would rather see a whole grain like brown rice.

Whole-grain corn is also included. Surprisingly, corn is easily digested by dogs, despite some misconceptions. In fact, it is more digestible than some meat sources. Therefore, it is a high-quality dog food that is backed by science—not fads.

We also liked that whole-grain wheat was included. While some dogs are allergic to wheat, this isn’t actually super common. Instead, allergies to chicken and beef are far more likely. This ingredient includes carbohydrates, fiber, and other nutrients. While many dog food companies claim that grain-inclusive diets are bad for dogs, studies have shown the opposite. Typically, dogs do best when they are provided with quality whole grains like this one.

On a more negative note, chicken by-products appear pretty high on the ingredient list, too. We typically don’t recommend this ingredient, as it is difficult to know what it is. In a way, it is a lot like mystery meat. By-products can mean high-quality ingredients like organ meats, or very low-quality ingredients like feathers. There is simply no way to know.

Nutritional Content

The AAFCO recommends at least 18% protein in dog food. Generally, dogs need around 18% to 25%, depending on their breed, activity level, and age. There is no one-size-fits-all answer for all dogs (though, dogs typically need less protein than common knowledge leads many people to believe). Furthermore, what really matters is the digestibility of the dog food—not the crude amount of protein.

The Purina One Lamb and Rice formula contain 26% protein. Much of this protein comes from meat or corn, so it is likely very digestible. There are no ingredients like soy meal to artificially inflate the protein content with poorly absorbable protein. This protein amount is plenty for most dogs out there unless they are extremely active.

Furthermore, this food also includes quite a large amount of fat. At 16%, it includes more fat than most of the competition. Fat is also vital for dogs, as it helps them absorb nutrients and works as a source of energy.

Calories

In each cup of food, this formula contains around 340 calories. Generally, this is what the average dog needs to thrive. However, it is on the lower end of this range. Because dogs are getting heavier and many are overweight, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, though. Due to the lower calorie content, your dog may have an easier time maintaining a healthy weight.

With that said, this isn’t enough calories for very active dogs. If your dog is a working animal, they may need as many as 400 calories per cup.

Furthermore, this food is designed for maintenance—not weight loss. If your pet is overweight, you may want to take a look at a different formula.

A Quick Look at Purina One Lamb and Rice Dog Food

Recall History

Purina One has undergone some recalls, though this particular formula has never been recalled. Purina is a huge company that makes more dog food than most other companies. Therefore, some recalls are to be expected. You simply can’t make that much dog food and not make a single mistake. However, statistically, Purina has a lower recall number than you may expect. They make mistakes very rarely when you consider the amount of food they produce.

Most recently, in March 2o23, Purina had a “voluntary recall” due to potentially elevated levels of vitamin D in one of the Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets foods.

In July 2021, a Purina cat food was recalled because it could potentially contain plastic pieces. No animals were hurt and no owners reported finding plastic, but the food was pulled from the shelf very quickly.

The last recall before that was way back in 2016. Several types of food were recalled for potentially not containing enough vitamins and minerals. Once again, the problem was caught by the company and the product was recalled before any animals got hurt.

In 2013, there was a recall involving potential salmonella contamination. No animals were harmed, as the company withdrew the food from the market quickly. The year before in 2012, there was another potential nutrient mishap that resulted in too little thiamine in a specific cat food.

2011 saw two recalls—one in June and one in July. They both involved a potential salmonella risk and only affected very specific cat food formulations.

What Other Users Are Saying

Many users reported that their dogs loved this food and so did they. It is inexpensive but seems to provide the same benefits as more expensive brands. Some even reported that dogs refused to go back to their old brand after switching to this recipe. Picky dogs seem to love it, in particular, so we absolutely recommend it for dogs that won’t seem to eat anything else.

Negative reviews are few and far between. The few we did see mentioned the poor ingredient quality. A few did mention that their canine got sick. However, we cannot directly link those incidents to the food.

Of course, there were also a few reviews that reported their dog wouldn’t eat this food. Because all dogs are individuals, this is to be expected to some extent.

Conclusion

Overall, this food isn’t necessarily the best out there, largely because of the lower-quality ingredients. By-products simply aren’t the best option for most dogs. However, the company has proved time and time again that they care about their customers and works hard to prevent recalls. They rarely have recalls and produce a lot of food, so that is a huge win on their part.

Furthermore, this food is much less expensive than other brands out there. However, it provides very similar nutrition, and many dog owners found similar benefits. Therefore, there are very few reasons not to purchase this dog food.

See also:

• How Many Calories Does My Dog Need? (Calorie Calculator)
• 10 Best Low-Calorie Dog Foods – Reviews & Top Picks

Featured Image Credit: Chewy