Recently, I have had some questions about low-purine kibble options for our puppies. I decided it was time to revisit the question. As I began to search the internet, I quickly remembered what a frustrating process it can be to try to find any information about purine levels in a specific dog food. After I finished, I was thinking how daunting- and nearly impossible- it would be for a new Dalmatian owner to find a suitable kibble for their pup. The same food doesn't work for every dog, so options are a good thing. I am posting my results here, to save you the hours of research that I had to do.

I have decided against a long discussion here about why it is necessary for Dalmatians to eat a diet low in purines. I think it is important to note, however, that Dalmatians, unlike almost every other breed of dog, lack the ability to fully metabolize their food. Their body stops one step short of complete metabolism, and the result is high levels of uric acid building up and being released into their urine. This can cause the formation of urate stones, which can quickly become a life-threatening problem for a Dal. Reducing purines in a Dalmatian's diet, as well as other preventive practices, reduces the amount of uric acid being produced.

I am not making a commentary on the health value of any of these foods. I only evaluated dry dog foods that received 4- and 5-star ratings, based on their health value. However, some of these foods received terrible purine ratings from me! They may be excellent quality dog foods for another breed, just not Dals. I strictly evaluated them based on their purine levels, and thus their suitability for a Dalmatian. 

And now for the results. For our purposes, the fewer points a food scores, the better. You might notice that the same food is listed under both the puppy section and the adult section. That is because I believe it can be suitable for both. I am including an approximate price for each food (as of 9/27/2016), which I found on chewy.com for most foods, Tractor Supply Co. for the 4health brand, and Life's Abundance.  If more than one food received the same score, I listed them in order of cost per pound, lowest to highest. Each dog food name is a link to the company that makes that food, so if you click on it, you can check out their information. I am not affiliated with any of these companies.

Remember- the lower the score, the better! I did not include in this page any dog food that scored higher than 17, and I would recommend trying to stick to foods with a score of 15 or lower.

Puppy Food

Score: 3
Approx. $45 for 30 lbs  ($1.50 per lb)

Score: 5
Approx. $46 for 25 lbs  ($1.84 per lb)

Score: 6
Approx $48 for 24 lbs  ($2.00 per lb)

Score: 6
Approx. $54 for 25 lbs  ($2.16 per lb)

Score: 7
Approx. $50 for 30 lbs  ($1.67 per lb)


Score: 8
Approx. $38 for 30 lbs  ($1.27 per lb)

Score: 8
Approx. $36 for 25 lbs  ($1.44 per lb)

Score: 8
Approx. $50 for 30 lbs  ($1.67 per lb)

Score: 8
Approx. $76 for 40 lbs  ($1.90 per lb)


Score: 9
Approx. $37 for 35 lbs  ($1.06 per lb)

Score: 10
Approx. $45 for 40 lbs  ($1.13 per lb)

Score: 11
Approx. $51 for 35 lbs  ($1.46 per lb)

Score:11
Approx. $51 for 33 lbs ($1.55 per lb)

Score: 12
Approx. $48 for 24 lbs  ($2.00 per lb)

Score: 14
Approx $85 for 35.3 lbs  ($2.41 per lb)

Score: 15
Approx. $71 for 25 lbs  ($2.84 per lb)

Score: 16
Approx. $60 for 25 lbs  ($2.40 per lb)

Score: 17
Approx. $58 for 26 lbs  ($2.23 per lb)

Adult Dog Food

Score: 1
Approx. $37 for 35 lbs  ($1.06 per lb)

Score: 3
Approx. $45 for 30 lbs  ($1.50 per lb)

Score: 3
Approx. $59 for 30 lbs ($1.97 per lb)

Score: 4
Approx. $45 for 40 lbs  ($1.13 per lb)

Score: 4
Approx. $45 for 25 lbs  ($1.80 per lb)

Score: 5
Approx. $52 for 30 lbs ($1.73 per lb)

Score: 6
Approx. $39 for 40 lbs  ($0.98 per lb)

Score: 6
Approx. $57 for 24 lbs  ($2.38 per lb)

Score: 6
Approx. $37 for 35 lbs  ($1.06 per lb)

Score: 6
Approx. $25 for 14.5 lbs ($1.71 per lb)

Score: 6
Approx. $53 for 30 lbs ($1.77/lb)

Score: 6
Approx. $76 for 40 lbs  ($1.90 per lb)

Score: 7
Approx. $68 for 25 lbs  ($2.72 per lb)

Score: 8
Approx. $38 for 30 lbs  ($1.27 per lb)

Score: 8
Approx. $40 for 30 lbs ($1.32 per lb)

Score: 9
Approx. $37 for 40 lbs  ($0.93 per lb)

Score: 10
Approx. $52 for 28.5 lbs  ($1.82 per lb)


If there is a dog food that interests you, and you don't see it here, shoot me an email. I will happily evaluate it using the same system, and add it to my list! 

If you are interested in how I came to my conclusions, here is the method to my madness. I started at Dog Food Advisor, and chose some dog foods that received 4-star and 5-star ratings. I spent hours going back and forth between company websites that listed ingredients of each kibble recipe, and websites listing purine levels in each individual ingredient. I devised a points system so I could compare purine levels in one food to purine levels in another food- more points for 'red light' (high purine) foods, and less points for 'yellow light' (moderate purine) foods. Also, any red light or yellow light food in the first six ingredients got a higher score than if it were found lower in the ingredient list. Because Dalmatians are a high-energy breed, and need protein to be healthy, I chose to not assign any points to chicken, lamb, turkey, salmon, or whitefish- moderate protein ingredients, but lower-purine meats, which makes them a preferred protein source for Dals. I also added a point if the food had over 27% protein content. I did not evaluate any foods with a high-purine meat as the main protein source.