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is pedigree really so bad?

emmawright

Well-known member
just popped bluebell to the vet this afternoon as she had a tick right above her eye, anyways that was removed and all ok now. however, the vet nurse who i saw said that bluebell was a bit on the large size and asked what i fed her. i told her that i feed them pedigree wet and dry food. i found her quite patronising as if i shouldn't be feeding her this.... is it really that bad?

i don't feed them a cheap one, i get one with no additives and it has vegetables in it. The wet food is also of good quality - with pasta and veg in it. they both like to eat this and get along fine.

They were on royal canin bisc but i decided to change to pedigree seeing as they were on the pedigree wet food (and she was still just as big on royal canin) i have given them the wet food for quite a while now.

i just found her to be quite rude about it, i love my dogs and would never feed them anything "crap". it has just made me feel really sh*t at the moment. We then weighed Bluebell and she was 14kg. i did see the vet a little while ago about her weight and she said bluebell was in good health and she was just a large cavalier. The nurse today told me to cut her food down. i don't think she is overweight, but i will cut it down a bit.
 
Maybe your pedigree food is different than ours here in the US?

This is our pedigree:INGREDIENTS
GROUND WHOLE CORN, CHICKEN BY-PRODUCT MEAL, GROUND WHEAT, MEAT AND BONE MEAL, ANIMAL FAT (PRESERVED WITH BHA/BHT), WHEAT FLOUR, LAMB, RICE, CORN GLUTEN MEAL, NATURAL FLAVOR, SALT, POTASSIUM CHLORIDE, DICALCIUM PHOSPHATE, VEGETABLE OIL (SOURCE OF LINOLEIC ACID), CARAMEL COLOR, DRIED BEET PULP, TITANIUM DIOXIDE, VITAMINS (CHOLINE CHLORIDE, dl-ALPHA TOCOPHEROL ACETATE [SOURCE OF VITAMIN E], L-ASCORBYL-2-POLYPHOSPHATE [SOURCE OF VITAMIN C*], VITAMIN A SUPPLEMENT, THIAMINE MONONITRATE [VITAMIN B1], BIOTIN, d-CALCIUM PANTOTHENATE, RIBOFLAVIN SUPPLEMENT [VITAMIN B2], VITAMIN D3 SUPPLEMENT, VITAMIN B12 SUPPLEMENT), MINERALS (ZINC SULFATE, ZINC PROTEINATE, COPPER SULFATE, COPPER PROTEINATE, MANGANESE PROTEINATE, POTASSIUM IODIDE), ADDED FD&C AND LAKE COLORS (YELLOW 6, YELLOW 5, BLUE 2, RED 40). FEEDING INSTRUCTIONS


Where to start-- corn as #1, chicken by products/ preserved with BHA/ BHT, salt, carmel color, Yellow #6 -- well look at all the artificial colors
 
ours is: cereals, rice, chicken, oils and fats, veg protein, minerals, vegetables (beans and carrots). With Vitamin A, E, D, antioxidants and extra Omega 6.
 
It is a low quality food that often causes gas, bloat, and would be implicated in lots of allergic reactions-- anything you can buy at a supermarket is made cheap in order to sell cheap. Hence you get filler (cereals) and cheap protein sources (by-products, non-specific 'meals', 'derivatives'.

The first ingredient should be the meat, and it should be actual meat or a named meat meal (not just 'poultry meal'; or 'meat meal').

In the UK there are much, much better choices -- Royal Canin, James Wellbeloved, Burns etc.

Mine have gone to a kennel where they were fed pedigree and they have huge stinky soft poos for the next two days whenever they are fed it which to me confirms that this is like cheap processed food. The first thing we do to get rescue dogs in shape is get them onto James Wellbeloved or Royal Canin. Pedigree is a compete food so is nutritionally balanced but it is pretty junky. Also you will find that buying a 10-15kg bag of a quality food works out to the same or LESS per kg to feed that the supermarket foods in small bags!
 
Yes I agree with Karlin.
Its just a learning curve really. The family dog we had when I was younger was fed pedigree... but now that I am a lot older and have my own place and my own dog... I researched into everything... rather obsessively to be honest. I found much better foods such as those mentioned, James Wellbeloved being one I would personally reccommend.

Might be worth some research. It is rather shocking what goes in to some 'reputable' brands of dog food. Some people are fine with it, and others think its "crap"... I'm sure the vet didnt mean to offend you though! :)
 
You should think of what a dog in the wild would eat; They would eat meat first, then some grass, fruits and vegetables, and maybe some grains. They would definitely not eat cereal (they'd have to make it!) and no corn (seeing as corn grows about 6 feet in the air, they couldn't reach it!)

I personally will not buy a food unless there are THREE protein sources out of the first FIVE ingredients (ex; chicken, whole eggs, turkey meal, etc). This SHOULD NOT include any "by products".

By the way, for those who are not aware, a protein "by product" is the bones, fur, feathers, intestines, and bad meat that the producer wasn't able to use anywhere else! GROSS!!!!!! It's like the worst kind of hot dog~ lips & ass, isn't that what they say?

I'm sorry the vet made you feel stupid for feeding your dog what you do. Lots of people do it...I know with my first dog she was fed Purina One until I learned it was crap food wrapped in a healthy looking bag.

It's all about learning. But then again, if you eat nothing but processed foods, frozen dinners, and McDonalds, then Pedigree is about the equivalent. If you're fine with it, that's okay too!

Most of the people on this site are more educated about pet foods and it comes from reading all of these posts. So you're doing the right thing by learning. The decision is yours, but it doesn't really cost any more in the end to feed them premium food. You can serve less and they are full.
 
Well, grains are actually the same as cereals, and they would get these in the bellies of things they eat, but primarily grains isn't a great food choice. However, dogs haven't lived off wild food diets in tends of thousands of years, and humans have eaten grains since they had fire to cook; so one can assume dogs have eaten cast offs including cooked grains for quite a long, long time.

Various canids do tend to eat different things as well -- lots of rotting scavenged carcasses generally, though, and sick and elderly animals, and not exactly what is in the posh foods people buy nowadays! :lol: Which often include seaweed, herbs and other things no wild dog would be eating. So I am not sold on the wild diet argument, but do like to see real food and not by products, anonymous proteins, and more grain than protein. :)
 
It's all about learning. But then again, if you eat nothing but processed foods, frozen dinners, and McDonalds, then Pedigree is about the equivalent. If you're fine with it, that's okay too!

well i do not have a diet of mcdonalds or any other bad food! i don't know that i agree with the price argument, the bag of royal canin i bought was £35.00 and they got through it pretty quick as it was small biscuits. the pedigree is larger pieces, so they have less of it and it takes them longer to eat it. i think if you a buying a value brand or a supermarket own brand then it will be pretty rubbish but i feel happy with what we do. and the wild arguement, well cavaliers wouldn't survive in the wild nowadays, they need humans.
 
If you were happy with what you do,.... then why ask?;):)
I've never tried Royal Canin... i dont even think ive seen it before, so im not sure how much it costs. We've just got Holly... at the moment ;)... but we buy the bags of JWB. I probably would be cheaper buying the huuuuge bags... but i just buy the inbetween ones... not sure the weight and i cant be bothered to pry myself from the couch.:rolleyes:

LOL... I agree... my Holly couldnt live in the wild... although i do give her some raw meat and she loves it :eek::D
 
Various canids do tend to eat different things as well -- lots of rotting scavenged carcasses generally, though, and sick and elderly animals, and not exactly what is in the posh foods people buy nowadays! :lol: Which often include seaweed, herbs and other things no wild dog would be eating. So I am not sold on the wild diet argument, but do like to see real food and not by products, anonymous proteins, and more grain than protein. :smile:

I agree. Personally, I can't stand it when people try to mimic "wild dog" diets in our domesticated dogs. Our dogs are so so so far off from their wild relatives. Cavs never existed in the wild and without a doubt no Cav would be able to survive in the wild. Same goes with every other domestic dog. Besides, wild dogs such as wolves have an average life expectency of 6-8 years. Why in God's name would anyone want to mimic the lifestyle of a distant relative that usually lives half as long as our domestic dogs is beyond me??? Domestic dogs have been bred over thousands of years by humans and for humans to fulfill certain tasks, this bond does not exist with any wild animal. I look at it like this. Chimps are our closest wild relative - do we follow a Chimp diet? I hope not or we'd be eating colobus monkey instead of cattle. We've been doing fine off the ape diet for a very long time now, so you can't argue with progress. We've learned to cook food so that its easier to digest, can be carried around without spoiling as quickly, and to rid the food of harmful contaminants. Why not share this progression with our closest friends - our dogs.

Anyway back to the topic. Pedigree isn't considered a very good brand because of their extensive use of fillers, like corn. Basically it's a marketing strategy certain pet food companies use to boost profits because they don't fill their foods with high quality ingredients. If you do chose to switch to a different brand, keep in mind you may have to acclimate your cav to the new food by initially mixing it with the old.
 
Personally, I can't stand it when people try to mimic "wild dog" diets in our domesticated dogs. Our dogs are so so so far off from their wild relatives. Cavs never existed in the wild and without a doubt no Cav would be able to survive in the wild. Same goes with every other domestic dog. Besides, wild dogs such as wolves have an average life expectency of 6-8 years. Why in God's name would anyone want to mimic the lifestyle of a distant relative that usually lives half as long as our domestic dogs is beyond me???

There is a group of raw feeders on this board that would disagree with your statements. Everyone has the right to feed their dog/s what they see best fit and what works with their lifestyle; for some people that's kibble, for others it's home cooked, and for some people it's raw...and some people combine 2 or more of these methods of feeding. There's no "right" way to feed; it's a personal choice. Personally, I wouldn't feed my dogs kibble as their regular diet. Have they had kibble? Yes. I am not "anti-kibble" - when we travel they eat kibble, and that's fine, but I prefer to feed raw the majority of the time. My dogs have done extremely well on raw; my breeder feeds raw and she had a Cavalier who just died at over 16 years old. Most of her dogs live well beyond the 10 year life expectancy of Cavaliers. I think the way she raises/feeds her dogs has a lot to do with it. I am not saying that there aren't any problems or potential dangers with raw; I know there are risks, but after doing a great deal of research I decided that for me and my dogs, the benefits of feeding this way outweigh the potential risks. Many people are uncomfortable with it or scared to try it; I was in the beginning because it's a very different way of feeding. But I wouldn't judge someone for not feeding raw just because that's the way I feed.
 
I do see the benefits of a raw diet and understand owners have every right to feed their pets as they wish. The problem I have is that many feel that a raw diet is beneficial because it's what "wild" dogs eat or how "wild" dogs live. In fact, many resources that advocate the raw diet use this as their primary punch line. It should be remembered that even those who do feed their dogs raw foods, are still feeding them food items which were tested and inspected by humans, which we hope is safe for us all, whereas a "wild" dog wouldn't have this luxury. I feed my dogs commercially prepared foods but I know and respect others who feed their pets differently, weather it be cooked or raw. I'm certain that there are many many healthy, happy, long lived dogs from each school of thought. I just don't like the play on words that's all.
 
Oh a touchy subject it seems.

I don't like pedigree and the reason why is it has cheap and nasty ingredients, I want my dogs to be as fit and healthy for as long as they possibly can and I want them to live for as long as they possibly can and so I choose to feed a premium food which I am happy with and that I can afford, I add fruit or raw meat/fish such as lamb mince/liver/sardines/mackarel/banana/apple/tomato for variety and my dogs are very happy on this and do well on this.
I think the reason in which the "in the wild" debate comes into play is people are looking at the physiological anatomy of the dog and the way in which it uses its food digests its food and benefits from the food. To do this they are looking back to see what dogs did in the wild before humans came along.

For example a human could not eat bones, it does not have the jaw,mouth or acids to break down the bone, where as a dog can not (SHOULD NOT) eat something high in fat like a fried breakfast as it does not have the system to break down the fat with out it having the possibilty of health problems.

All that waffle aside it comes down to what is the best quality food you can afford for your dog ? only you knows that.

I have found that when you calaculate costs of a supermarket bought pet food that you may buy in a 2-3 kg bag with the cost of a higher quality pet food in a 10 - 15 kg bag from a distributer there is not that much difference ?
 
My first preference is Wainwright's from petsathome. As far as I can gather, it has all the hallmarks of a very good quality food, whilst being very cheap- 15kg bag for £26 or so. However, in between bags, I do sometimes feed Pedigree dry, but I don't like doing it. If you stick with it, try supplementing it with vegetables or fish oil. Personally, I wouldn't use it long term.
 
My partner's Samoyed/Husky mix lived 15 years off of almost entirely pedigree. I think it depends on the dog, and this was some sort of luck off of his part.

As far as byproducts go, it *can* include feathers and the like but also offal like liver, stomach, kidney, etc. I would prefer my dog have some of the organ byproducts as they contain important nutrients.

I prefer gluten-free foods for dogs. I also like switching brands. Feed what you're comfortable with and what your dogs do healthy with!
 
We feed Chester on James Wellbeloved mixed with some Natures Diet.

We buy the "inbetween" size bag of JWB - mostly due to space than anything - and I believe its around £6.50 from Pets at Home.

Having had Chester on a supermarket brand before, on changing to JWB & Natures Diet we actually saved money. One pack of Natures Diet usually lasts him 4 days as we only give him a little (and is around 80p a pack) & one bag of JWB usually lasts 2-3 weeks.

I agree that it is your choice as to which product you feed your dog, when I was growing up we had 2 cockers that lived off pedigree happily for nearly 14 years. However, 15 years ago we did not have the information available to us that we do today and surely, now knowing the reasoning behind not feeding these products, it is best to feed your beloved Cav the best diet you can afford for him.
 
I choose not to feed low quality food to my pets. It's horrible and disgusting that pet food companies would actually make and sell food containing by-products, un-named meats and fats, and processed grains that aren't whole grains. I'm not certain of this, but I think the un-named meats could be road kill.
 
it is best to feed your beloved Cav the best diet you can afford for him.

I absolutely agree :)
you have to do whats right for you, your dogs and your budget

My two are on Royal Canin, mainly because its the only food i've tried so far that Suki has consistently eaten well.

Don't beat yourself up about feeding pedigree, you have to do whats best for you :)
 
Ina discussion of foods, on Dogpages, several said that Pedigree made their dogs hyperactive. I don't use the dried , nowadays (the dogs weren't eager to it eat), but do use tinned occassionally. My dogs have iron constitutions and no food upsets them, though fresh chicken used to give Izzy smelly wind.

JWB is a quality food that is often on offer at PaH. Some other brands, with similar ingredients, to me, seem to be overpriced. I know a well known breeder, who doesn't use these expensive brands, and her dogs are both healthy and long lived.
 
i'll bet now you are sorry you asked?????:) only joking..... My vet told me never ever ever use pedigree and i should be using a good food that they sell called mini bites or something like that at the time or royal canin. I had ruby on pedigree at the time and i was very embarrassed by the way the vet made me feel that i was so baaaaaaaad for giving the dog pedigree....... Well imagine to my amazement approx 3 months later and i went to the vet to buy a lead or something and there it was !!!!!!!! Bags and bags of pedigree for sale on the shelf...!!!!!! I asked this same question that you just asked in a different way on this site, and was told how bad pedigree was and all the additives and junk thats in it etc etc......
You are doing your best and you will only find out as time goes by. Yes there are bad things in the pedigree and i do feed ruby different food now. But i found the vet to be very abrupt...and there are nicer ways that people like that can get a point across..... sometimes its like people slap you in the face with the abruptness....like the vet i mean!!!!!??:cool:
 
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