Purina One 28 day Challenge

                                               
I absolutely love my puppies!  I couldn’t imagine our lives with out them!  Our house wasn’t crazy enough when we adopted Daisy (our American Lab)  9 years ago just after I brought our daughter (and 4th child) home from the hospital.  Our second lab, Dixie (English Lab)  adopted us.  Sadly, we think someone dumped her.  People if you are not willing to take the responsibility and expense of having a pet, you shouldn’t start.  Since Dixie had a collar (with out tags) we placed signs up all around looking for her owner.  They obviously didn’t want to be found since they never called to get her back.  She has been ours for seven and half years now! 
     Just like my children I want to make sure that my furry family members are taken care of.  As part of their health routine we use the vet recommended flea and tick treatment as well as food.  When Daisy started showing some signs of upset stomach the vet recommended a sensitive stomach or weight control food.  She doesn’t have a weight issue at only 68 lbs, but she does eat her food really fast so we thought that would help.  The recommended brands were Pedigree or Dog Chow, so those have been our pet foods of choice. 
     I was invited to do this 28 day challenge from Purina One and Smiley360.  What did I receive?  I received a small bag of dog food in the mail with a coupon for another bag  up to 16 lbs free to kick off this challenge.  Since I have two dogs I went ahead and used the dog food on both and new that I would need to purchase of the “test” food because of that.  I was willing to try it.   
Why would I try it?  Here are the claims from Purina’s website as to why this formula is better:
    “Our Purina ONE Large Breed Adult Formula Dog Food is inspired by the science in nature, discovering the power of smart ingredients that work together for your large breed dog's whole body health. Featuring real chicken as the first ingredient, along with other key ingredients and nutrients including rice and glucosamine. Purina ONE knows that feeding a large breed dog is a balancing act. An ideal body condition helps minimize stress on bones and joints. And the right balance of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients helps them live large, healthy and strong. This smart food also boasts a dual defense antioxidant blend. One that works inside and out. It's probably not something your dog thinks about, but this SMARTBLEND is working around the clock. It starts with a dual defense antioxidant blend of Vitamins E & A along with minerals zinc and selenium in a 100% complete diet for your adult dog. Together, they make a healthy difference on the inside by supporting your dog's strong immune system and on the outside by supporting healthy skin and a radiant coat.”
  
  What did we find after the 28 days?
     I have to say the look of it was different that what we were used to.  The pieces of kibble are not all the same shape and size.  That to me makes it more appealing.  I am not sure if the dogs liked it better or not as they have always scarfed down their 2 cups of food in about 29 seconds!
   As far as the other claims:
Energy: The only difference we saw Dixie had more energy.  This is a great thing!  She is more laid back, calm and collected.  She has always been slower to get outside and didn’t really care about playing, running or jumping around with the kiddos outside.  Two weeks into our challenge I noticed that she was running down the deck and almost teasing Daisy (the older lab) to play with her!  The only difference with her was the food!
Shiny coats:  People have always commented on our dogs coats.  They have always been shiny.  During the challenge time I didn’t notice that their coats were any shinier or shed less/more.
Joints:  Once of the claims of this food is to have glucosamine.  We have had to give our puppy glucosamine for the past 2 years or so because Daisy’s hips have been bothering her.  When using this food we didn’t notice any changes in the way she moved (got up or laid down) like we did when we first started using the glucosamine.  We know that that works because of the changes we saw in her in the beginning, we just didn’t notice anything different from this food.

Price:  This food is easy to find stocked in your local box store or pet supply store.  Since we have the 2 dogs we go thru 50-60 lbs of food a month.  Price is something that will affect our choice of dog food.  I found in my area the 31.1 lbs bag was about 30.00, with out any coupons or sales.  Compared to my regular food this is a bit pricier.  I pay about 30.00 a month for the 50 ish or so lbs that I use.  To feed my puppies the Purina One Smart blend dog food it would cost about 60.00.

So do I think that it is worth the price?
     I didn’t see all the benefits that Purina One said I would see from using this food.  I did however see more energy in my calmer dog.  I have to say that I am not sure that this is a product that I will purchase every month.  I will however purchase it as a change for them here and there.

Thank you to Purina ONE and to Smiley360 for the opportunity to participate in this challenge.

http://h5.sml360.com/-/vvkn

Disclaimer:
     I received the above mentioned product to help facilitate the writing of a frank, honest review.  A positive review isn’t guaranteed.  All opinions are my own.  Your opinion and results may vary.