Pedigree Dog Food Review
Easily one of the most well-known dog food brands today, Pedigree Dog Food commands a large and faithful customer following. The dog food that is available in dry food, wet food, and treats is suitable for dogs of all ages, breeds, and sizes. Some of the top-selling points of Pedigree Dog Food are its affordable price, its easy availability, and its trusted brand name. However, it is important to take a closer look at the ingredients before making any conclusions about how good the dog food is.
Pedigree Dog Food has corn as its main ingredient. Corn is not the best ingredient for dogs as they don’t digest grain very well. Corn can also cause gas in some dogs. The redeeming quality of Pedigree Dog Food, however, is that it uses poultry by-product meal and meat and bone meal. While not the best protein sources, the meal does have a higher percentage of protein than fresh meat.
Pedigree Company Overview
Pedigree Dog Food is owned by Mars Inc, the makers of candy bars. Mars is a mega-corporation and one of the few that is still privately owned. Pedigree Dog Food has been around for decades and has always had an excellent marketing campaign. Pedigree puts the focus on the owner’s love for their dog and their need to provide healthy nutritious food for them. While the original marketing campaign targeted breeders, later campaigns shifted the focus to pet parents and rescue dogs.
Unfortunately for Pedigree Dog Food, despite its great sales, it doesn’t do very well on the customer ratings and has only got between one and three stars on different sites; moderate ratings at best. As often happens with large manufacturing plants, it is hard to keep a close check on quality. Pedigree has had to face several recalls over the years.
The recalls issued on Pedigree Dog Food include:
- Recall in August 2008 for possible salmonella contamination.
- Recall in September 2008 because of possible salmonella contamination.
- Recall in June 2012 due to bits of plastic in the food that was a potential choking hazard.
- Recall in August 2014 because of the presence of metal fragments in some of the products.
Ingredients Found in Pedigree Dog Food
The main ingredients in Pedigree Dog Food are:
- Ground whole corn
- Animal fat
- Beet pulp
- Ground whole wheat
- Meat and bone meal
- Chicken by-product meal
- Vegetable oil
- Brewer’s rice
- Corn and gluten meal
- Vitamins and minerals
Pedigree Dog Food also contains artificial colors and preservatives which are a cause for concern. The large amount of grain in the food could make it unsuitable for dogs with food allergies and gluten intolerance. The total protein content of the dry food is around 22%. A closer look at the ingredients of Pedigree Dog Food gives us some reservations about recommending this food for your pet.
Pedigree Dog Food Product Line
Pedigree has a wide variety of dog foods available online. The company provides over 60 varieties of dry and wet dog food. You may notice when looking at the ingredient list on many of the Pedigree brands the ingredient list closely resembles other brands sold by Mars. The variety options are endless but the ingredients on numerous brands are fairly similar.