If you have recently brought a new dog into your home, or you are looking to change up the food that your dog is currently eating, you will be in the market for a new type of dog food. One of the dog food types that you may have come across in your search is Purina Healthy Morsels.
With so many different brands and types available on the market, it can be difficult to choose the right dog food for your dog, but we are here to help you to make this decision. You can look at our in-depth review of Purina Healthy Morsels dog food to find out if this is a good option for your dog.
In this article, we are going to be looking at the nutrition content and ingredients that are present in this dog food to help you understand both the good and the bad sides of this product. This will help you to make a well-informed decision when it comes to your dog’s diet.
Contents
Purina Healthy Morsels Review
For a bit of background on this specific type of dog food, you should know that the Purina Healthy Morsels’ product line only includes one type of dry dog food, which is what we are going to look at in this article.
The recipe claims to meet AAFCO nutrient profiles and is labelled as suitable for dogs in all life stages.
Purina Healthy Morsels Dry Dog Food Ingredients List
Ingredients: Whole grain corn, whole grain wheat, meat and bone meal, corn gluten meal, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of vitamin E), soybean meal, lamb meal, brewers rice, propylene glycol, sugar, animal digest, phosphoric acid, water, salt, potassium chloride, sorbic acid (a preservative), dried carrots, dried peas, calcium propionate (a preservative), l-lysine monohydrochloride, choline chloride, zinc sulfate, vitamin E supplement, red 40, yellow 5, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, dl-methionine, niacin, blue 2, vitamin A supplement, calcium carbonate, copper sulfate, vitamin B12 supplement, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, garlic oil, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), calcium iodate, folic acid, biotin, sodium selenite
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Firstly, the estimated dry matter content when it comes to fiber is 4.7%.
| Method | Protein | Fat | Carbs |
| Guaranteed Analysis | 21% | 11% | N/A |
| Dry Matter Basis | 24% | 13% | 55% |
| Calorie Weighted Basis | 22% | 28% | 50% |
Purina Healthy Morsels Ingredients
Now that you can see the figures for yourself, we are going to look at each of the ingredients that are used to make up this dog food in more detail to help you better understand what you could be feeding to your dog.
Corn and Wheat
The first ingredient that is present in this dog food is corn, which is an inexpensive and relatively controversial cereal grain that does not have much nutritional value for dogs.
It is not typically considered to be a preferred ingredient in dog food. The next ingredient is wheat, which is another cereal grain that presents similar issues to corn.
Meat and Bone Dry Meal
The next ingredient that can be found in this dog food is meat and bone meal, which is a dry rendered product that comes from mammal tissues, like bone, blood, hair, hoof, horn hide trimmings, manure, and stomach and rumen contents.
Meat and bone meal can be more difficult for your dog to digest than other meat meals, and scientists believe that this decreased absorption could be due to the higher ash content and lower essential amino content.
It does not mention a source for this meal, which means that it can pretty much come from anywhere. Even though there is generally lots of protein in this ingredient, it is not considered to be of high quality.
Corn Meal
The fourth ingredient is corn gluten meal. If you didn’t already know, gluten is the rubbery residue that is left behind once corn has had most of its starchy carbohydrate removed.
In comparison to meat, grain-based proteins are much lower in the essential amino acids that dogs need to survive. This is a cheap ingredient that is most likely present to boost the total protein content of the food.
Animal Fat
Another ingredient that is worth being aware of is animal fat, which is a generic by-product of rendering, the same high-temperature process used to make meat meals.
Again, there is no mention of a specific animal, so there is no way to know what the source of this fat is, which leads buyers to question its quality.
Soybean Meal
The next ingredient is soybean meal, which can be a useful by-product. Essentially, soybean meal is what is left behind after all of the oil has been removed.
It contains a high amount of protein, at 48%, but it is expected to have a lower biological value than meat. It is an inexpensive plant-based product that is also likely used to boost the overall protein content of the food.
So, when you are looking at the actual meat that is involved in this food when it comes to protein, this food might not be what you are looking for.
Lamb Meal
You will also find lamb meal in this food, which is considered to be a meat concentrate that contains almost 300% more protein than real fresh lamb.
Brewer’s Rice
Brewer’s rice is a cereal grain by-product, which there seems to be a lot of in this food. It is made up of the small parts that are left behind after whole rice has been milled. It does contain caloric energy, but it is only of modest nutritional value to dogs.
Propylene Glycol
The final ingredient that we are going to mention in this section is propylene glycol, which is a controversial food moisturizer.
It has already been banned by the FDA for use in making cat food, which pretty much speaks for itself. However, it can still be found in some low-quality dog foods.
Other Ingredients
There are some other ingredients in the list, but those that are this far down are not likely going to positively impact the overall quality of this dog food. However, there are some that are worth mentioning for negative reasons.
This dog food contains artificial coloring, which is something that we don’t expect to find in dog food today. Artificial coloring is just unnecessary in dog food, and they probably aren’t going to care about the color of their food.
As well as this, it contains garlic oil, which is somewhat controversial. We are not certain of the oil’s chemical relationship to raw garlic itself, and garlic has been linked to Heinz body anemia in dogs.
This is rare, but still a possibility that you should be aware of. However, you should know that there are no official warnings surrounding the use of garlic in dog foods when it is used in small amounts.
This food contains animal digest, which is a chemically hydrolyzed mixture of animal by-products that is typically sprayed onto the surface of a dry kibble to improve its taste.
It also contains sugar, which is another unwelcome addition to dog food. This is because it can negatively impact the blood glucose level of any animal soon after it is eaten.
Purina Healthy Morsels Dog Food Review
Unfortunately, when this dog food is judged on its ingredients and the overall content of the food, it is a below-average quality dog food, and we do not recommend that you choose this option for your dog.
There are plenty of other types of dry dog food out there that are going to be much more beneficial for your dog.
When you consider the protein-boosting effect of the corn gluten and soybean meals, this looks like the profile of a kibble containing a limited amount of meat.
