Pedigree Dog Food - Is It Good For Them?

[Roxy_and_Missys_Mum]

I have a dog and a puppy (as shown in the signature)

I currently feed my girls Pedigree dry food and wet food (half a bowl of wet food and half of dry food).

Pedigree is the one that says on their ads "We're For Dogs" and they claim to only put good stuff in their food.

Can anyone tell me if it's good for them?

When I went to the local pet supply shop to get new beds for them, the lady asked what I feed them and she told me that I should only be giving them dry food? I feel bad not giving them some form of meat too though. They normally eat their wet food first so tonight I gave them only dry food first, then some wet food once they'd finished (to ensure that they actually ate the dry food if it's supposed to be better for them).

My vet, however, told me to feed them human food and he said the whole pet food industry is a joke.

What can anyone suggest for me to ensure that my dogs are getting a good healthy meal?

One more thing, I give my puppy weet bix for breakfast (it's what the vet recommended - he said to use real milk too - not puppy milk). How long do I need to continue breakfast for a puppy? She's nearly 3 months old.

Edited October 11, 2007 by roxygirl_em

[New Age Outlaw]

Pedigree won't harm them, but there are probably better things to feed (in my opinion). I use a good quality dry food (I personally use Eagle Pack, but there are other super premium brands that are good as well), raw meaty bones (I have bigger dogs so prefer turkey necks) and good quality mince with vegies mushed in; I don't make my own (too lazy ) - but I have a great place where I buy pet food that does it all. I also give them occasional fish (sardines, mackrel, salmon). However, different dogs do well on different food, so it may be a bit of trial and error to find out what works best for yours.

[laffi]

I have a feeling you will get quite a few replies.

I am just going to state few points:

Stop the wet food: it's 80% water and has NOTHING to go with meat. If you want meat go to the butcher and geat some meaty bones: necks for example (chicken, turkey, lamb..)

You can get good dry food but it wouldn't be Pedigree. Few good brands are: Nutro, Nutrience, Eagle Pack, Royal Canine. They are more expensive than Pedigree but you feed less so it's not AS expensive.

Your vet is quite right saying that the pet food industry is a joke, however I am not sure his weet bix and milk suggestion.. You can just get dry food for puppies for your pup.

Also do a search about BARF, in case you don't want to feed dry food.

[Toohey]

My vet, however, told me to feed them human food and he said the whole pet food industry is a joke.

Wow I'd hang on to that vet. He's a rare one!

You can feed a natural diet if you like, with a bit of research it is not hard, and it is great for the dogs. Here's some reading for you

http://www.rawmeatybones.com/

http://www.abc.net.au/wa/stories/s1293692.htm

http://www.drianbillinghurst.com/

http://www.drianbillinghurst.com/barf_philosophy.html

http://www.rawlearning.com/

http://www.njboxers.com/faqs.htm

http://sonia.clove.net.au/diet.html

One more thing, I give my puppy weet bix for breakfast (it's what the vet recommended - he said to use real milk too - not puppy milk). How long do I need to continue breakfast for a puppy? She's nearly 3 months old.

Hmm, would probably not do that... I'd give the puppy milk though small amounts of normal milk is OK, lactose free would be better for their digestion.

Weetbix doesn't have much to offer...carbs aren't really necessary. Growing pups need protein, calcium and fats firstly. I'd probably feed a couple of raw chicken necks for brekkie, or a small handful of dry if you want. She will need three meals a day until she is four months old, then you can cut it back to two.

With natural feeding lots of variety is the key. Mushed vegies, fruit pieces, sardines, a little egg, a little natural yoghurt....spread it out over a week, don't try and give everything in one day. They key to the BARF diet is to feed 70% raw meaty bones.

Never feed cooked bones, onion, or chocolate.

Edited October 10, 2007 by Toohey

[Mystiqview]

I had sent you a PM re Pedigree.

However they do have a premium range called Advance.

In that range they have one called puppy rehydratible. The beauty of this is the kibble is really small and only takes about 10 minutes or less to rehydrate.

Weetbix is only a filler. It has no nutritional value at all. Lactose Free or Goats Milk are good choices as well.

Pedigree soaked in milk is better than weetbix soaked in milk. There is some goodness in base grade dog foods, maybe not a lot, but more than weetbix.

[nobul]

Choice is yours what your feed

Some people feed dry food nothing else (like me) BUT most will feed a Premium dry food, like Eagle Pack, Science Diet, Pro Plan etc Pedigree do a premium brand called their Advanced range like Mystiqview has suggeested the rehydrate is good

A lot of dog food companies do have a lower shall i say supermarket brand dog food , marketed to you the human, words like tasty, flavoursome, blah,blah,blah, most of these foods are not of quality at all.

A lot of breeders also feed raw , take your time look up some of those sites and then make a choice.

I am suprised at your vets breakfast suggestion as as stated before weetbix hasnt much value to puppies and most dogs are lactose intolerant anyway.

Happy researching

[blacklabrador]

Do yourself a favour and feed them something that makes them poo less

[JeffnCel]

We're BARF converts... it's not as difficult as it first appears to be, it's really simple and we've found our puppy poos less *YYYAAAYYY* and she doesn't get hypo after her meals like she did on dry food. We do have Royal Canin in the cupboard for those just-in-case emergencies.

[Pug Hugger]

I have hear pretty average things about pedigree and as someone said it is mostly water, fillers and junk - your dogs could certainly be doing better.

I personally have louie on eagle pack dry (which i doak in water for him) and science diet wet with 25g of premium mince a day. He is only a baby but I fully intend on sticking to the diet - expensive but worth it for my little guy...

[Gomez the Norfolk]

Choice is yours what your feed

Some people feed dry food nothing else (like me) BUT most will feed a Premium dry food, like Eagle Pack, Science Diet, Pro Plan etc Pedigree do a premium brand called their Advanced range like Mystiqview has suggeested the rehydrate is good

A lot of dog food companies do have a lower shall i say supermarket brand dog food , marketed to you the human, words like tasty, flavoursome, blah,blah,blah, most of these foods are not of quality at all.

A lot of breeders also feed raw , take your time look up some of those sites and then make a choice.

I am suprised at your vets breakfast suggestion as as stated before weetbix hasnt much value to puppies and most dogs are lactose intolerant anyway.

Happy researching

I wouldn't put Science Diet and ProPlan in the Super Premium category, they have a lot of fillers and mediocre ingredients - the Super Premiums available here are Eagle Pack, Nutro, Natural Balance, Innova and to a lesser extent Royal Canin -

Do a search in these forums for "kibble" there is A LOT of information, even just in the past 6 months...

[Roxy_and_Missys_Mum]

Ok, I have just been to my local pet supplies warehouse and picked up Nutrience. I was convinced I was going to get Advance but the lady seemed to think very very highly of Nutrience, so I decided to go with that. It was also cheaper than the Advance in this particular store.

I got the puppy one and the adult one, and we'll start them on it tonight!

She said to mix in half of the pedigree dry food with it for a few days so they don't get an upset stomach.

Thanks for your advice everyone!!!

[monosylabik]

Looks like there are definitely a lot of bad vets out there

Like others have said, feed your dogs what they do best on. But think about it, they are an animal. What would they eat if humans didn't exist? Mostly raw food.

This site has loads of different opinions and reviews on food and diets, especially in this thread. Have a look in there, and give some of the brands a try. Obviously you have to change diets slowly as it upsets the dogs stomach, so check for recommendations on how to do that.

I feed my dogs a mixture of Eagle Pack dry food and a raw BARF diet. They do really well on it. Less poo, less farts(!), better breath and better health. Which, for the most part, all equals less vet bills. Bones are also the cheapest dental care you will ever buy.

Bad breath can be one sign your dog's food is not working for them, just as an example.

Good luck and remember to check all the threads and ask questions, it's what this sub-forum is here for!

[badboyz]

I like Nutrience and feed it sometimes to my dogs & cat. Mostly they get raw though.

[Flaves]

Nutrience is great.

Good choice. My jack is on it for her allergies at the moment and doing awesome on it.

[Roxy_and_Missys_Mum]

A few days on and they're doing well on Nutrience.

Missy is on Nutrience Junior for Puppy Small Breed.

Roxy is on Nutrience Supreme for Small Breed.

It's a bit of a task getting Roxy to eat hers and leave Missy's alone, we're having to watch meal time very carefully while they're on different foods. Missy doesn't seem to mind but Roxy thinks Missy is getting something nicer than hers and tries to swap

There's also less poo's already!

[Guest Pandii]

Great to hear

They will get used to eating out of their own dishes in time

[Roxy_and_Missys_Mum]

One more question regarding their food.

Tonight I halved their Nutrience dry food portion and also gave them raw premium mince (from local pet food supply store - $3.85 a kilo)

Is it ok to do this regularly mixing the dry food with mince?

I just felt sorry for them only having the Nutrience dry food.

[axlerose]

Supermarket foods are made in bulk- this means what they say is in the bag is actually in the whole container they make to fill 100 bags. Meaning your bag of pedigree might be from the bottom container more minerals less meat or on the other hand from the top containing more fat and less nutrients.

Feed a premium diet either

-advance

-eukanuba

-hills

These contain an entire meal with everything they need.

They have a dental claim and reduce the amount of stools! (bonus!)

Puppy's should start on kibble puppy or wet food from 8-12 weeks of age.

Another pointer is to try and maintain a 90% dry food diet to 10% everything else

example 1 cup of dry food morning and night and 1 treat a day or bone etc.

Dry food has an abrasive affect against the teeth and prevents dental disease-this will also help you in about 3 years time from having to spend $400 +++ on a dental for your puppy!

Hope this helps