Purina Mighty Dog Review

Dog Food Reviews March 6, 2024
Purina Mighty Dog Review

Purina Mighty Dog Review

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Purina Mighty Dog Review

Purina Mighty Dog dog food is wet/canned food formulated for small adult dogs. The brand was first introduced in the 1970s, when it was developed by Friskies Pet Food.

Purina promises that Mighty Dog will give small dogs the protein and nutrient-dense nutrition they need. We can tell you if Mighty Dog is a good choice for your small dog in our unbiased review.

Purina Mighty Dog: Top 5 Recipes Reviewed

Brand Score

Our reviews are based on extensive research and years of professional knowledge of dog food brands. In order to remain objective, we do not accept gifts of free products or write sponsored posts on this site.

We’ve examined Purina Mighty Dog dog food closely and graded the brand according to the PupJunkies.com standard. Our criteria include ingredients, quality, customer experience, recall history, working with veterinary nutritionists to formulate the food, nutritional standards, research, and price.

Purina Mighty Dog
Brand
Overall Score
Pros
  • Foods are 100 percent nutritionally complete and balanced for adult dogs with meaty flavor
  • Purina Mighty Dog dog food uses meat by-products; some meat by-products can be good ingredients, depending on the source and parts used. It usually depends on the quality of the company.
  • Purina has high manufacturing and testing standards at their facilities with relatively few recalls over the years
Cons
  • Products include meat by-products (see Pros above) which are an unknown
  • Purina Mighty Dog uses soy flour
  • These foods use added colors and flavors
Pros
  • Foods are 100 percent nutritionally complete and balanced for adult dogs with meaty flavor
  • Purina Mighty Dog dog food uses meat by-products; some meat by-products can be good ingredients, depending on the source and parts used. It usually depends on the quality of the company.
  • Purina has high manufacturing and testing standards at their facilities with relatively few recalls over the years
Cons
  • Products include meat by-products (see Pros above) which are an unknown
  • Purina Mighty Dog uses soy flour
  • These foods use added colors and flavors
Ingredients
Overall Quality
Customer Experience
Recall History
Formulation
Nutritional Standards
Research
Price

About Purina Mighty Dog

Mighty Dog was originally created by Friskies Pet Food, owned by the Carnation Corporation. It was introduced to dog owners in 1973.

Nestle USA acquired the Carnation Corporation in 1985, including Friskies Pet Food. At that time, Mighty Dog became a Purina brand.

Sourcing And Manufacturing

Nestle Purina manufactures Purina Mighty Dog dog foods in the United States, with at least 21 manufacturing plants. They don’t provide much information about ingredient sourcing but state a strict process for becoming a source.

Purina provides general information about ingredients for most pet foods and has headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri. Nestle Purina PetCare, part of Nestle S.A. in Switzerland, is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri.

Recall History

In March 2007, Purina recalled 5.3-ounce Mighty Dog pouch products manufactured between December 3, 2006, and March 14, 2007 for possible melamine contamination.

These foods were likely made at the Menu Foods plant in Canada, where many of the contaminated foods were produced. No other recalls were found.

What Kinds of Dog Food Does Mighty Dog Offer?

All Purina Mighty Dog dog foods are wet/canned foods. They are all formulated for small dogs. Otherwise, the products differ in the kind of meat protein used (beef, chicken, lamb, etc.). They also differ in texture: finely ground, hearty chopped, pulled style, and thickly sliced.

Purina Mighty Dog: Top Five Recipes Reviewed

We’re taking a look at five of the top-selling Purina Mighty Dog dog foods as found on Amazon.com so you can compare some of the different recipes.

1.

Mighty Dog Hearty Pulled-Style Chicken Dinner in Gravy Canned Dog Food

Product Info

  • Protein: 8% Min
  • Fat: 2% Min
  • Fiber: 1.5% Max
  • Moisture: 82% Max
  • Caloric Content: 872 kcal/kg, 136 kcal/can
Ingredients: Mighty Dog Hearty Pulled-Style Chicken Dinner in Gravy Canned Dog Food, 5.5-oz is the bestselling Purina Mighty Dog dog food on Amazon.com.

Here’s a look at the main ingredients in this food:

Water Sufficient for Processing, Chicken, Liver, Wheat Gluten, Meat By-Products, Soy Flour, Corn Starch-Modified, Artificial and Natural Flavors, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Tricalcium Phosphate, Added Color, Calcium Carbonate, Zinc Sulfate, Choline Chloride, Ferrous Sulfate, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Copper Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Manganese Sulfate, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Potassium Iodide, Folic Acid, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Biotin, Sodium Selenite.

Meat by-products are not, by definition, a bad ingredient. You probably eat named meat by-products yourself. For example, chicken liver and beef kidneys are specific meat by-products. However, generic meat by-products can be a problem because you don’t know the animal or the parts. Meat by-products are not the same as meat and bone meal.

Soy is a problem for some dogs. It also increases the protein percentage without adding meat protein to the food.

Because of the investigation into nutritional dietary dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), we do not automatically consider grain products to be bad ingredients.

This food also contains artificial flavors and added colors.

According to the dry matter basis (DMB), this food has 8 percent protein, 2 percent fat, and 1.5 percent fiber. This formula has an estimated 19.4 percent carbohydrates. It has 136 kcal per 5.5 ounce can.

Our rating for this food is 3 out of 5 stars.
2.

Mighty Dog Hearty Beef Dinner Canned Dog Food

Product Info

  • Protein: 10% Min
  • Fat: 7% Min
  • Fiber: 1.5% Max
  • Moisture: 78% Max
  • Caloric Content: 1,370 kcal/kg, 213 kcal/can
Ingredients: Mighty Dog Hearty Beef Dinner Canned Dog Food, 5.5-oz is another top seller on Amazon.

Here are the ingredients:

Beef, Water Sufficient for Processing, Meat By-Products, Liver, Chicken, Ground Rice, Tricalcium Phosphate, Added Color, Guar Gum, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Natural Flavor, Sodium Tripolyphosphate, Carrageenan, Ferrous Sulfate, Choline Chloride, Zinc Oxide, Vitamin E Supplement, Copper Proteinate, Sodium Nitrite (To Promote Color Retention), Sodium Selenite, Manganese Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Potassium Iodide, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Folic Acid.

We note here that beef is the first ingredient which is a positive.

This recipe contains added color and added flavor. It also contains carrageenan which comes from sea weed/kelp. Carrageenan has been used for hundreds of years as a meat preservative and food stabilizer but there are groups that believe it is harmful to the digestive tract. However, it is widely used in all kinds of foods, for humans and animals.

This food has 10 percent protein and 7 percent fat, according to the dry matter basis (DMB). It has 1.5 percent fiber. Our estimate of the carbohydrates in the food came out to 2.3 percent, DMB. Be aware that this food is very high in fat. It contains 213 kcal per 5.5 ounce can.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars.
3.

Mighty Dog Porterhouse Steak Flavor in Gravy Canned Dog Food

Product Info

  • Protein: 10% Min
  • Fat: 3% Min
  • Fiber: 1.5% Max
  • Moisture: 78% Max
  • Caloric Content: 939 kcal/kg, 146 kcal/can
Ingredients: Mighty Dog Porterhouse Steak Flavor in Gravy Canned Dog Food, 5.5-oz is a formula with chunks of meat in gravy.

You can take a look at the ingredients:

Water Sufficient for Processing, Beef, Liver, Wheat Gluten, Meat By-Products, Chicken, Soy Flour, Corn Starch-Modified, Added Color, Natural Porterhouse Steak Flavor, Potassium Chloride, Tricalcium Phosphate, Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Zinc Sulfate, Choline Chloride, Ferrous Sulfate, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Copper Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Manganese Sulfate, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Potassium Iodide, Folic Acid, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Biotin, Sodium Selenite.

This food also contains soy flour; and added flavors and colors.

According to the dry matter analysis for this food, it has 10 percent protein, 3 percent fat, 1.5 percent fiber, estimated 20.5 percent carbohydrates, and 146 kcal per 5.5 ounce can.

Our rating for this food is 3 out of 5 stars.
4.

Mighty Dog with Lamb & Rice Canned Dog Food

Product Info

  • Protein: 8% Min
  • Fat: 7% Min
  • Fiber: 1.5% Max
  • Moisture: 78% Max
  • Caloric Content: 1,320 kcal/kg, 205 kcal/can
Ingredients: Mighty Dog with Lamb & Rice Canned Dog Food, 5.5-oz has a minced, finely ground texture.

You can take a look at the ingredients:

Meat By-Products, Chicken, Water, Sufficient for Processing, Lamb, Rice, Guar Gum, Added Color, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Sodium Phosphate, Carrageenan, Ferrous Sulfate, Choline Chloride, Zinc Oxide, Vitamin E Supplement, Copper Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Manganese Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Potassium Iodide, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Folic Acid.

Meat by-products are the first ingredient in this food. It also contains added flavors and colors.

According to the dry matter analysis for this food, it has 8 percent protein, 7 percent fat, 1.5 percent fiber, and 11.4 percent carbohydrates. This food is very high in fat. It has 205 kcal per 5.5 ounce can.

Our rating for this food is 2.5 out of 5 stars.
5.

Mighty Dog Thick-Sliced Chicken Dinner in Gravy Canned Dog Food

Product Info

  • Protein: 10% Min
  • Fat: 3% Min
  • Fiber: 1.5% Max
  • Moisture: 78% Max
  • Caloric Content: 940 kcal/kg, 147 kcal/can
Ingredients: Mighty Dog Thick-Sliced Chicken Dinner in Gravy Canned Dog Food, 5.5 oz. is a thick-sliced/chunks in gravy formula.

Here are the ingredients:

Water Sufficient for Processing, Chicken, Liver, Wheat Gluten, Turkey, Meat By-Products, Soy Flour, Corn Starch-Modified, Potassium Chloride, Tricalcium Phosphate, Salt, Choline Chloride, Added Color, Calcium Carbonate, Zinc Sulfate, Vitamin E Supplement, Ferrous Sulfate, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Copper Sulfate, Calcium Pantothenate, Manganese Sulfate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Folic Acid, Potassium Iodide, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Biotin, Sodium Selenite.

The formula uses soy flour and added colors.

According to the dry matter analysis for this food, it has 10 percent protein, 3 percent fat, 1.5 percent fiber and 147 kcal per 5.5 ounce can.

Our rating for this food is 3 out of 5 stars.

How Much Does Purina Mighty Dog Cost?

Purina Mighty Dog dog food is inexpensive.

What Do Customers Think of Purina Mighty Dog?

Most customers seem to like Purina Mighty Dog dog food. Some 75 percent or more gave the foods five star ratings on Amazon.com. The vast majority said that they would recommend the food to others.

Overall, is Purina Mighty Dog Dog Food A Good Choice?

Purina Mighty Dog dog food is a decent, inexpensive choice for small dogs who like canned/wet foods. There are some ingredients in the foods that will bother some owners, but these are nutritionally complete foods that should have a lot of meat taste.

Pay attention to the fat content of the foods. Some of them are very high. Your dog would love them, but too much fat isn’t good for most dogs.

Where is Purina Mighty Dog Dog Food Sold?

You can buy Purina Mighty Dog dog foods from Amazon and other online retailers. Purina Mighty Dog is also available in most supermarkets and pet stores.

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Carlotta Cooper is a long-time contributing editor for the weekly dog show magazine DN Dog News. She's the author of The Dog Adoption Bible, a Dog Writers Association of America (DWAA) award winner. In addition, she is an American Kennel Club Gazette breed columnist and the author of several books about dogs. She has been reviewing pet foods and writing about dog food for more than 10 years.
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