Sport Development Large Breed High-Protein 30/18 Chicken & Rice Formula Puppy Food, 35-lb bag
Graded by The Sniff System
Purina Pro Plan Sport Development Large Breed High-Protein 30/18 Chicken & Rice Formula Puppy Food is a dry food for puppies, with chicken as the primary protein.
Chicken as the first ingredient provides good protein quality and solid amino acid coverage. The formula also includes quality fat sources like beef fat and fish oil, which provides beneficial EPA and DHA. Plus, this formula has AAFCO feeding trial substantiation for growth, a strong indicator of nutritional adequacy.
Nothing concerning in the deck.
Good fit for large breed puppies who need a high-protein diet. Nothing serious working against it.
Summary written by The Sniff System from the data above. Same rubric, same drivers, expressed in English.
Strong fit for active large sporting breeds, including the Golden Retriever, navigating diet-associated DCM concerns. Chicken anchors position 1, with one pulse (pea fiber at position 9), plus fish meal at position 10. Goldens appeared disproportionately in the FDA's DCM reports. Pulse-heavy grain-free formulas warrant extra caution; named animal protein with organ meat or marine sources is the safer fit.
Looking at this for puppy Golden Retrievers or Golden Retrievers with diet-associated DCM 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 2 cited studies relevant to its profile. Each link opens the original source.
- FDA, 2022epidemiology · breed predisposition· cited in 4 claims
- FDA, 2019diet composition· cited in 2 claims
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 If you find a citation that's wrong, outdated, or misapplied, tell us.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 61/100, landing in B-tier territory. The biggest contributor was protein quality (+17.5 points): Reasonable protein quality. chicken delivers solid amino acid coverage. Also adding to the lift: fat quality (+12). Quality fat sources: named fat with marine oil (EPA and DHA source). The 14-point gap to A-tier sits mostly in protein quality (17.5 of 27 possible) and ingredient-source specificity (3 of 12 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"); full ingredient-source specificity requires a named species (not a generic descriptor like "fish meal" or "animal fat") for every animal-source ingredient in the top 15.
Reasonable protein quality. chicken delivers solid amino acid coverage.
Quality fat sources: named fat with marine oil (EPA and DHA source).
AAFCO feeding trial substantiation for growth.
No negative drivers crossed our reporting threshold.
- Bottom 1% for carb quality in Purina Pro Plan's lineup (8/16)
- Top 10% for DMB protein in grain-inclusive dry kibbles (34.1%)
- Top 10% for DMB fat in grain-inclusive dry kibbles (20.5%)
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 Large Breed Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe Dry Dog Food, 27.5-lb bag
Scores 12 points higher with a similar formulation profile.
Purina Pro Plan Sport All Life Stages High-Protein Active 26/16 Formula Dry Dog Food, 37.5-lb bag
$1.60/lb vs your seed's $2.76/lb (42% 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 animalchicken
Real meat. Primary protein source, with the amino acid profile dogs actually evolved to eat.
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.
- 3protein animalpoultry by-product meal
Unnamed poultry. The mix can include any combination of chicken, turkey, or other birds, with no traceability. Named by-product meals are fine. This one isn't.
Position 3: significant protein contributor. Adds amino-acid diversity to the top of the deck.
- 4corn protein meal
Concentrated corn protein. Similar in role to corn gluten meal, pads the protein number on the label without matching meat amino acids.
Position 4: supporting grain. Smaller contribution to the carb deck.
- 5beef fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols
Real animal fat from a named species, with natural vitamin E doing the preservation. The clean version.
Position 5: significant protein contributor. Adds amino-acid diversity to the top of the deck.
- 6grainwhole grain corn
Whole corn with the kernel intact. Decent fiber and B vitamins, though it can crowd out meat in cheaper recipes.
Position 6: supporting grain. Smaller contribution to the carb deck.
- 7grainwheat
Whole wheat. Fine for most dogs, though a portion are sensitive. Not a quality concern, just a fit-for-your-dog question.
Position 7: supporting grain. Smaller contribution to the carb deck.
- 8dried egg product
Whole eggs with the water removed. Same nutritional value as fresh eggs, just shelf-stable.
Position 8: supporting protein. Modest contribution to total protein weight.
- 9fiberpea fiber
Insoluble fiber from peas. Doesn't carry the protein-inflation concern of pea protein. Mostly there for stool quality.
Position 9. Moderate inclusion. Contributes carbohydrate and some plant protein.
- 10protein animalfish meal
Concentrated fish protein, usually whitefish, herring, or mackerel. Strong amino acid profile. 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.
- 13soybean oil
Plant oil. High in omega-6, which is required but commonly oversupplied. Fine in moderation.
Position 13: trace fat. Below the level that materially shifts the fat profile.
- 14mono and dicalcium phosphate
Source of calcium and phosphorus. Standard inclusion in complete dog foods.
- 15mineralsalt
Sodium chloride. Required at small doses for normal physiology. Not a quality concern in standard amounts.
- 16mineralpotassium chloride
Required mineral. Sometimes used as a salt substitute. Standard inclusion in complete diets.
- 17l-lysine monohydrochloride
Stable form of L-lysine, an essential amino acid. Common in plant-heavy formulas to balance the amino acid profile.
- 18potassium citrate
Source of potassium. Sometimes added in urinary-support formulas to help manage urine pH.
- 19mineralcalcium carbonate
Source of calcium. Functional. Required in complete dog foods, especially those without bone-in meat meals.
- 20supplementcholine chloride
Essential nutrient for liver and brain function. Standard inclusion in complete dog foods.
- 21supplementtaurine
Amino acid critical for heart health. Especially important in grain-free or pulse-heavy formulas where natural taurine precursors run thin.
- 22mineralzinc sulfate
Inorganic zinc. Effective at AAFCO doses but less well-absorbed than chelated forms like zinc proteinate.
- 23mineralferrous sulfate
Inorganic iron. Standard mineral source. Iron proteinate is the gentler, better-absorbed premium form.
- 24mineralmanganese sulfate
Inorganic manganese. Functional but less well-absorbed than the chelated proteinate form.
- 25mineralcopper sulfate
Inorganic copper. Standard, effective at small doses. Premium formulas tend to use copper proteinate instead.
Showing first 25 of 30. Position 1-5 has the largest weight in the recipe.
25 of 25 ingredients have a curated note. Coverage grows over time.