Exclusive Dog Food by PMI Nutrition

Question
We have an 8 week old lab puppy and are very confused on what to feed him.  Your article on how to buy dog food is really great and cleared up several things for us.  My question is have you heard of Exclusive by PMI Nutrition and what is your opinion of it?  Their website is www.pminutrition.com.  Thank you for any assistance you could give us.

Answer
Hi Becky,

Congratulations on getting a puppy!

Exclusive Dog food is a really good diet, however because of their increased nutritional requirements, a puppy should receive a puppy food diet for it's first full year. If you choose this brand, be sure that you select their puppy formula.

Many people, including myself, choose to feed their dogs a corn free diet. Exclusive puppy food contain corn gluten meal.
Corn gluten meal is the dried residue from corn after the removal of the larger part of the starch and germ and the separation of the bran used in the manufacturing process of corn starch or syrup. It is a cheap protein filler, used instead of a more costly source of meat.

That said, in the Exclusive puppy food,  corn gluten meal is not within the first five ingredients listed (it's listed as number 6), so while it does indeed contain this corn product, it's not a primary ingredient. The choice is yours as to which food to feed your puppy. You may want to consider the price and availability of Exclusive puppy food to the following super premium puppy foods that contain no corn or other "problem" ingredients:

Innova Puppy Food
Wellness Super 5 Mix Puppy Food
Holistic Select Puppy Formula
Precise Puppy Formula
Sensible Choice Natural Blend Formula Puppy Food

Best of luck!
Patti