Puppy Sensitive Skin & Stomach Salmon & Rice Dry Dog Food, 24-lb bag
Graded by The Sniff System
Purina Pro Plan Puppy Sensitive Skin & Stomach Salmon & Rice Dry Dog Food is a dry food for puppies, featuring salmon and fish as its main protein sources.
This formula offers good protein quality, with salmon providing solid amino acid coverage. It also includes quality fat sources, like named beef fat and fish oil, which is a good source of EPA and DHA. The carbohydrate sources are also considered quality, providing fermentable fiber.
Nothing concerning in the deck.
Good fit for puppies, especially those with sensitive skin or stomachs. Nothing serious working against it.
Summary written by The Sniff System from the data above. Same rubric, same drivers, expressed in English.
Good fit for puppy German Shorthaired Pointers and similar sporting breeds navigating hip and joint concerns. No glucosamine or chondroitin on the label, with fish oil at position 12 for anti-inflammatory EPA/DHA, though caloric density (479 kcal/cup) runs rich for a mobility-limited dog. Based on 28,157 evaluations through 2023, the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals reports a 5.6% hip dysplasia prevalence in German Shorthaired Pointers, with 91.5% of hips rated as excellent, good, or fair (OFA) .
Looking at this for puppy German Shorthaired Pointers or German Shorthaired Pointers with hip and joint concerns ? We are building dedicated pages for these combinations.
Auto-matched from this product's measurements (ingredients, life stage, calorie density) to a breed archetype. Not a substitute for vet input on your specific dog.
Research informing this analysis
MethodologyThe Sniff System grades this product against 5 cited studies relevant to its profile. Each link opens the original source.
- OFAorthopedics · breed predisposition· cited in 4 claims
- APOP, 2023weight management
- FEDIAF, 2024puppy nutrition
- NRC, 2006puppy nutrition
- OFAorthopedics
Every claim on Sniff traces to a source. If you find a citation that's wrong, outdated, or misapplied, tell us.
Sniff scored this formula 67/100, landing in B-tier territory. The biggest contributor was carbohydrate quality (+15 points): Quality carbohydrate sources with fermentable fiber. Also adding to the lift: protein quality (+14.5). Reasonable protein quality. salmon delivers solid amino acid coverage. The 8-point gap to A-tier sits mostly in protein quality (14.5 of 27 possible). Full protein quality requires named-species named-cut proteins in the top of the deck (e.g., "deboned chicken" rather than "chicken meal" or "poultry meal").
Quality carbohydrate sources with fermentable fiber.
Reasonable protein quality. salmon delivers solid amino acid coverage.
Quality fat sources: named fat with marine oil (EPA and DHA source).
No negative drivers crossed our reporting threshold.
- Bottom 2% for crude fiber in Purina Pro Plan's lineup (3.4% DMB)
- Top 10% for DMB fat in grain-inclusive dry kibbles (20.5%)
- Top 10% for caloric density in grain-inclusive dry kibbles (479 kcal/cup)
Computed against the rest of our catalog. Percentiles refresh on each catalog update.
Similar dog foods worth considering
Three lenses on products with formulation profiles similar to this one.
Hill's Science Diet Puppy Sensitive Stomach & Sensitive Skin Salmon & Brown Rice Recipe Dry Dog Food, 13-lb bag
Scores 11 points higher with a similar formulation profile.
Purina Pro Plan High Protein Chicken & Rice Formula Large Breed Dry Puppy Food, 34-lb bag
$2.21/lb vs your seed's $3.12/lb (29% less) at a comparable score.
Surfaced from a vector similarity search across 3,491 scored dog foods. How this works.
Read why each ingredient is good or bad for dogs.
- 1protein animalsalmon
Real fish meat. Natural source of omega-3s, which kibble usually has to add back from oil.
Position 1: primary protein source. After cooking removes water, this may drop in proportional weight, but it anchors the recipe.
- 2grainrice
Generic rice. Could be white or brown, the label doesn't say. Brown rice would be specified if it were.
Position 2: major carbohydrate source.
- 3grainbarley
Whole grain with a low glycemic profile and some soluble fiber. Easy on blood sugar.
Position 3: major carbohydrate source.
- 4protein animalfish meal
Concentrated fish protein, usually whitefish, herring, or mackerel. Strong amino acid profile. See why →
Position 4: significant protein contributor. Adds amino-acid diversity to the top of the deck.
- 5canola meal
- 6beef fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols
Real animal fat from a named species, with natural vitamin E doing the preservation. The clean version.
Position 6: supporting protein. Modest contribution to total protein weight.
- 7dried yeast
Natural source of B vitamins and trace minerals. Adds a savory flavor that dogs respond well to.
- 8oat meal
Alternate spelling of oatmeal. Gentle whole grain, steady carb energy, soluble fiber.
- 9protein plantpea protein
Concentrated plant protein. Inflates the protein number on the label without matching the amino acid quality of meat.
Position 9. Moderate inclusion. Contributes carbohydrate and some plant protein.
- 10protein animalsalmon meal
Salmon cooked into a dry concentrate. Carries both protein and natural omega-3s in one ingredient. See why →
Position 10: supporting protein. Modest contribution to total protein weight.
- 11othernatural flavor
Legal term for animal-derived flavoring, usually hydrolyzed liver or broth. Adds taste, says nothing about quality.
- 12fatfish oil
Concentrated omega-3s. The reason 'EPA' and 'DHA' get to show up on the bag.
Position 12. Moderate marine-oil inclusion. Supplements EPA/DHA without being the primary fat.
- 13fatsunflower oil
Common plant oil. Useful in moderation for omega-6, though too much skews the omega ratio against the dog's favor.
Position 13: trace fat. Below the level that materially shifts the fat profile.
- 14fiberdried chicory root
Natural prebiotic. Feeds beneficial gut bacteria. The same compound (inulin) used in human gut-health products.
Position 14: trace fiber inclusion.
- 15mineralsalt
Sodium chloride. Required at small doses for normal physiology. Not a quality concern in standard amounts.
- 16l-lysine monohydrochloride
Stable form of L-lysine, an essential amino acid. Common in plant-heavy formulas to balance the amino acid profile.
- 17mineralcalcium carbonate
Source of calcium. Functional. Required in complete dog foods, especially those without bone-in meat meals.
- 18mineralpotassium chloride
Required mineral. Sometimes used as a salt substitute. Standard inclusion in complete diets.
- 19supplementdl-methionine
Essential amino acid. Often added when plant proteins dominate, since methionine is naturally lower in pulses than meat.
- 20supplementtaurine
Amino acid critical for heart health. Especially important in grain-free or pulse-heavy formulas where natural taurine precursors run thin.
- 21mineralzinc sulfate
Inorganic zinc. Effective at AAFCO doses but less well-absorbed than chelated forms like zinc proteinate.
- 22mineralferrous sulfate
Inorganic iron. Standard mineral source. Iron proteinate is the gentler, better-absorbed premium form.
- 23mineralmanganese sulfate
Inorganic manganese. Functional but less well-absorbed than the chelated proteinate form.
- 24mineralcopper sulfate
Inorganic copper. Standard, effective at small doses. Premium formulas tend to use copper proteinate instead.
- 25mineralcalcium iodate
Source of iodine for thyroid function. Functional, required in complete formulas.
Showing first 25 of 29. Position 1-5 has the largest weight in the recipe.
24 of 25 ingredients have a curated note. Coverage grows over time.