Pedigree Dog Food: Review

Pedigree is one of the most recognizable names in the pet industry—but their reputation doesn’t necessarily translate into quality or innovation.

Across the brand’s range of 10 dry foods and over 35 wet formulas, there’s a lot of the same old meat meals, by-products, and filler ingredients that many owners (and their pups) are sick and tired of.

Pedigree has been around since the 1930s when a UK division of the Mars company began canning low-quality meat and selling it for dogs. Today, they are considered the major corporate rival to Purina pet foods and also produce one of the leading big-brand cat foods: Whiskas. 

Despite being one of the most globally available pet food brands, it’s perhaps most associated with The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, thanks to their long sponsorship of the event.

While there are tons of healthier options out there, it is true that many dogs can’t get enough of Pedigree’s formulas, which owners can consider the equivalent of a ‘fast food’ meal for humans. 

Pedigree also offers a cost-efficient way to ensure dogs have enough calories, thanks to the low quality of their ingredients.

While we don’t necessarily recommend Pedigree as one of our top dog foods, if you are looking for a cost-effective formula then Pedigree can enter the conversation with this dry food. This product has 21% protein, which is less than the industry average of 26.5%. It also has less fat and less fiber than the industry average. The first ingredient is Ground Whole Corn, which isn’t ideal, we like to see a meat product as the main ingredient. Meats have healthy proteins and fats in them.

The bottom line with this dry food is that is value for money coming in at under $15 for a 17-lb bag, however, you are sacrificing quality, which shouldn’t be done when it comes to your dog’s food.

Customer reviews:

“My dogs used to scratch all day until I switched them from the expensive dog food they were on. As soon as I put them on Pedigree it stopped. They like it, it’s cheaper, and they don’t itch anymore. Win win”

“Unfortunately my dog did not like this. I donated it to a shelter.”

Guaranteed analysis:

• Protein (min): 21.0%
• Fat (min): 10.0%
• Fiber (max): 4.0%
• Moisture (max): 12.0%

Nutritional Info
Ingredients: Ground Whole Grain Corn, Meat And Bone Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Animal Fat (Source Of Omega 6 Fatty Acids [Preserved With Bha & Citric Acid]), Soybean Meal, Natural Flavor, Chicken By-Product Meal, Dried Plain Beet Pulp, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Brewers Rice, Ground Whole Grain Wheat, Choline Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Dried Peas, Dl-Methionine, Natural Grilled Steak Flavor, Zinc Sulfate, Vitamin E Supplement, Monocalcium Phosphate, L-Tryptophan, Red 40, Yellow 6, Dried Carrots, Niacin [Vitamin B3], Blue 2, Yellow 5, D-Calcium Pantothenate [Source Of Vitamin B5], Copper Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Potassium Iodide, Vitamin A Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement [Vitamin B2], Vitamin B12 Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate [Vitamin B1], Vitamin D3 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride [Vitamin B6], Folic Acid.

Caloric Content
3348 kcal/kg, 309 kcal/cup

Pedigree’s wet dog food has mixed reviews, some dog owners say their pets enjoy it, and some say their dogs won’t go near it. I think an analogy to fast food may be in ‘order’ (get it?), the quality of ingredients in this recipe are low, but similar to a McDonald’s burger, it is still tasty…..and affordable. It’s perfectly fine to get every once in a while, but living on this food or McDonald’s for us humans will have health consequences. So if you want your dog to live a long healthy life, then this wet dog food should be passed on. Have a look at alternative wet foods for your pup.

If you are hard-pressed for cash, then Pedigree is cheap, but try and move your dog to a higher quality product as soon as possible!

Customer reviews:

“My husband and I have four dogs, more like children; All are rescues from shelters or strays that we have picked up. Just like children we want the very best for our four legged family members and for us that is Pedigree. The quality ingredients in Pedigree keep them happy, healthy, and well fed.”

“My dogs (a pure she pit and a she mongrel I grabbed off the road 2 years as sickly puppy… who I love more than I love any human…) would eat this food willing, if not with realish. I bought quite a bit of it over the years since it’s relatively cheap and satisfied them. Now, however, they have to come to not even want to bite of it. The last couple of cases of cans I bought were more often than not met with upturned noses. I’ve noticed to that food seems much more “watery” and “gooey.” I have moved to other brands and my girls are happy again (I always give them a choice or dry and wet). I will no longer be purchasing Pedigree canned food.”

Guaranteed analysis: 

• Protein (min): 8.0%
• Fat (min): 3.0%
• Fiber (max): 1.0%
• Moisture (max): 82.0%

Nutritional Info

Beef

Ingredients: Water, Chicken, Meat By-Products, Wheat Flour, Beef, Liver, Wheat Gluten, Salt, Caramel Coloring, Sodium Tripolyphosphate, Natural Flavors, Guar Gum, Vegetable Oil, Potassium Chloride, Zinc Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Potassium Iodide, Sodium Alginate, Natural Smoke Flavor, Xanthan Gum, Onion Powder, Bay Leaves, Vitamin E, A, Garlic Powder, and Sodium Nitrite.

Country Stew

Ingredients: Water, Chicken, Meat By-Products, Wheat Flour, Beef Liver, Wheat Gluten, Peas, Salt, Carrots, Sodium Tripolyphosphate, Natural Flavors, Guar Gum, Vegetable Oil, Caramel Coloring, Potassium Chloride, Zinc Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Potassium Iodide, Sodium Alginate, Bay Leaves, Xanthan Gum, Onion Powder, Vitamin E, A and D3 Supplements, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Biotin, Garlic Powder, Yellow #6, and Yellow #5.

There’s significant use of corn across Pedigree’s dry and wet food ranges—with some formulas using cornmeal as a primary ingredient.

Aside from providing dogs with calories, this cannot be considered a nutritionally beneficial way to feed dogs or any omnivores, who require diets rich in proteins, fats, minerals, and vitamins.

Cornmeal and gluten are inexpensive, but they can also damage a dog’s digestive systems over the long term, increasing the risk of digestive issues, diseases, skin conditions, and allergies.

Pedigree also makes use of unnamed meat meals and meat by-products in the dry food recipes, which are generally considered the lowest rung of meat ingredients.

In unnamed meat meals, multiple types of animals may be used, and it may not be possible to guarantee against the presence of non-edible animal content such as feathers, beak, and bone.

Just like their dry foods, Pedigree isn’t afraid of packing their wet food recipes full of non-nutritious ingredients.

A majority of their formulas include unsavory things like meat by-products and wheat flour within their first five ingredients, meaning that they make up a significant amount of the product’s weight.

On a more positive note, many Pedigree wet foods do contain a reasonable amount of real meat (just don’t expect any sustainably-sourced or welfare-first produce from this brand).

Thanks to a mix of real meat and concentrated protein sources, average nutritional levels for Pedigree wet foods are about equal to the industry averages:

As one might expect from any large, low-budget pet food manufacturer, Pedigree and Mars have incurred several recalls and controversies over their history. Recent warnings include:

• In 2015, several owners claimed an association between their dog’s falling ill and consuming Pedigree food containing “clear, wiry, string-like fibers.” Pedigree denied any association between the owners’ claims and their formulas.
• In 2014, Pedigree recalled bags of their Adult Complete Nutrition dry dog food due to the presence of metal fragments inside the packaging.
• In 2012, Pedigree Weight Management wet dog foods were recalled due to the presence of plastic pieces in cans.
• In 2008, A large number of Pedigree product lines were recalled after suspected salmonella contamination at a Mars manufacturing plant.