Pedigree Dog Food Review |Is Pedigree Good For Dogs |Dog Food Review
The Pedigree brand of dog food probably doesn’t need much introduction – we’ve seen all of these products on the shelves at our local supermarket or pet supply store.
Indeed, one of the main strengths of this brand is its availability and affordable price.
As we all know, however, just because something is cheap and easy to find doesn’t mean it’s the best option around.
While Pedigree dog food is an affordable option for owners on a tight budget, it is far from the best dog food you could possibly feed your canine companions.
Between low-quality ingredients and extensive recall history, it may be time to switch your dog to a more expensive brand.
Pedigree dog food reviewed
Pedigree is an affordable and widely available brand of dog food that almost all pet owners have seen on their pet store or supermarket shelves.
While these formulas are an ideal option for dog owners on a tight budget, they may not be the best option for all (or even most) hungry dogs.
Who makes Pedigree Dog Food and where is it produced?
The Pedigree brand is one of many dog food labels owned by Mars, Incorporated, which also owns popular human consumables like M&M candy, Snickers, and Milky Way. Don’t worry, though: the factories that make your favorite chocolate bars don’t even prepare your dog’s dinner!
While many Pedigree dog food formulas carry a Made in the USA label, it is unclear whether this applies to all dog food recipes produced by the brand.
As this information is not readily available, we think it’s safe to say that not all Pedigree dog food formulas are made in the United States.
If you are concerned about where your dog’s food is made, we suggest that you only purchase Pedigree products that carry the Made in the USA label.
What types of dogs is purebred dog food best suited for?
Overall, we recommend Pedigree dog food for healthy puppies. In other words, these aren’t necessarily the best formulas for dogs with pre-existing health conditions, food allergies, and other concerns.
That said, this brand is one of the most affordable dog food labels around for a reason. If you are able to invest a little more in your normal dog food budget, your four-legged companions may be better off with something a little more quality.
While we understand that not all dog owners can afford premium dog food formulas, some great alternatives available at the local supermarket might include Nutro Wholesome Essentials Adult Dry Food or the Purina Pro Plan FOCUS Adult Sensitive Skin & Stomach.
Is Pedigree Good For Dogs?
While Pedigree dog food isn’t perfect, one great thing about the company is its willingness to share information on its core ingredients. These include:
Whole corn
Despite its poor reputation, high-quality corn can actually be an important source of nutrients for your dog, including amino acids (proteins), fiber, and linoleic acid. As long as your dog has no known allergies to corn, there is no reason to avoid this ingredient entirely.
However, many Pedigree dry recipes have corn as the first ingredient, which means animal-based protein is not a priority.
Meat and bone meal
While it’s always nice to see whole meat as an ingredient in our dog’s food, it’s far from the only option when it comes to sourcing nutrient-rich animal protein. In the case of Pedigree, most of its formulas are based on meat and bone meal instead.
Put simply, the meat-and-bone meal is a ground mixture of the unused parts of an animal after being slaughtered for human consumption.
No, this doesn’t sound very appetizing to our human stomach, but dogs (and their wild ancestors) rely on bone, cartilage, and organ meat to get the necessary nutrients.
Hence, the use of this ingredient is not too much of a concern. However, we wish there were additional sources of animal protein in most Pedigree formulas.
Beetroot pulp
Just like us humans, dogs need a good amount of fiber to keep themselves regular. Beet pulp is a safe and easily digestible source of fiber.
Vegetable oil
According to Pedigree, many of its formulas contain vegetable oil. While it is true that vegetable oil is a source of linoleic acid and can help improve the appearance of the coat, there are better oils you could feed your dog.
Despite its popularity in dog food recipes, vegetable oil can cause diarrhea or other digestive symptoms in some dogs.
Ingredient analysis
Calorie breakdown:
** We selected Pedigree Complete Nutrition Roast Chicken + Rice to represent the other products in the line for this review
Recall history
- Although a larger brand is actually more likely to experience recalls than a smaller competitor, the number of recalls issued by the Pedigree brand in recent years is on the high end.
- In 2014, Pedigree recalled a selection of 55-pound dry dog food bags due to potential metal fragment contamination and a single batch of 15-pound dry dog food bags due to possible contamination with a foreign material.
- In 2012, Pedigree recalled three varieties of wet food for potential contamination with small pieces of plastic.
- In 2008, Pedigree recalled a wide variety of dog food products due to potential salmonella contamination.
- Unlike other pet food companies whose previous recalls have involved relatively minor quality issues, Pedigree’s recall history is concerning.
Reviews of the 3 best Pedigree dog food recipes
If you’re interested in learning more about Pedigree dog food, here’s a closer look at three of the brand’s best formulas:
1. Pedigree High protein dry dog food
Reasons to suggest–
- The Pedigree Dry Dog High Protein formula is popular with owners who want to increase the amount of muscle-building protein that is fed to their dogs.
- Compared to the brand’s standard adult dry food, this formula contains 25% more protein. It also contains essential amino acids and nutrients to meet your dog’s dietary needs.
- The Beef & Lamb recipe contains at least 27% protein, 12% fat, 4% fiber, and 12% moisture.
- Despite our criticisms of the Pedigree brand, this formula is quite popular with consumers.
- You can see what other dog owners have to say about this dry dog food by reading amaon’s reviews.
2. Pedigree breed cuts in sauce (country stew)
Reasons to suggest–
- If you’re someone who’d rather feed your dog wet food than kibble, even just as a special treat, the Pedigree Choice CUTS in Gravy is one of the brand’s most popular canned food recipes.
- Unlike the brand’s dry food formulas, the primary protein source in this food is real chicken, which is great to look at.
- Looking at Pedigree wet dog food reviews, this formula offers well-balanced nutrition for the price.
- For the Country Stew recipe, the minimal nutritional breakdown includes 8% protein, 3% fat, 1% fiber, and 83% moisture.
- Many dog owners on a tight budget rely on this food to feed their canine family members, so we encourage you to check out what other consumers have to say by reading
3. Dry food for pedigreed puppies (chicken and vegetables)
Reasons to suggest–
- For those looking for a Pedigree puppy food review, the Pedigree Dry Dog Puppy formula is definitely the brand’s most popular option.
- This recipe includes key nutrients for puppy development, such as DHA, calcium, and phosphorus.
- Like Pedigree’s adult dry food formulas, however, this product relies heavily on plant-based protein.
- In the Chicken and Vegetable flavor, you will find a minimum of 27% protein, 11% fat, 4% fiber and 12% moisture.
- To hear what other puppy owners have to say about this dry food formula, we suggest you turn to Amazon reviews.
What other users say :-
Looking at what other reviewers have to say about Pedigree and its line of dog food formulas, it’s clear we’re not the only ones thinking this brand is acceptable but definitely not the best.
PetAware: Although Pedigree formulates its products to comply with standards set by nutrition authorities, their use of questionable ingredients cannot be overlooked.
Dog Food Advisor: Pedigree is a grain-based dry dog food that uses a modest amount of poultry by-products or meat-and-bone meal as the primary source of animal protein.
Dog Food Attendant: This is not the food you want to give your dog if you have alternatives. There are some other foods that have some of the same ingredients, but this food doesn’t have any of the best ingredients you usually find to make up for ingredients you don’t like.
Labrador Training HQ: It’s safe to say that this dog food, while popular, is not the best dog food you should serve your pup.Our favorite deal right now
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Conclusion
So, should you feed your dog Purina dog food? In the grand scheme of things, feeding your dog any of these formulas, in the short or long term, is unlikely to do any harm.
There’s a reason Pedigree is one of the most popular cheap dog food brands out there, and we don’t see it going anywhere anytime soon.
On the other hand, we believe there is a wide variety of other great options out there that may be healthier for your dog. If you have access to superior quality dog food, we strongly recommend that you check your options before opting for a Pedigree formula.
Do you feed your dogs Pedigree dog food? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments below!
