# Pedigree Adult Complete?



## AlleyDogz (Aug 26, 2009)

Hi! I am new here with a question about Pedigree dry food (Adult Complete). I have three dogs (2 Shepherd mixes and one Heinz 57 mutt) who are very active and spend a lot of time outside. They are all very healthy dogs. For over 10 years now I've fed the top notch brands like Merrick, Timberwolf, Wellness, Canidae. We also have been supplementing with raw meats for several years. 

I was using Merrick for about 2 years straight up until the end of spring, when I had my hours cut at work. My husband was recently laid off so needless to say we were broke  The dog's food was too much to keep up with. We were paying around $50 for 25 lbs of food, with the bag only lasting no more than 12 days with three large dogs. 

We tried out Purina ONE, which was much easier on our budget. I can't say it was bad, but it was still pricy our new budget and it seemed to be going through the oldest dog (9yo Heinz 57). The other dogs looked good, tho, except for much more tartar than usual. When they were in for their shots in July, their Vet noticed the tartar and that they had lost some weight and told me to give them Puppy Chow. Even better price but it did nothing to put weight on them, and after a few weeks on it they started to look pretty haggard. When we bought the third bag, it seemed to cause diarrhea and vomiting  Maybe a bad batch, but we wanted to switch anyway. 

As a last resort when we ran out of food, we bought a small bag of Pedigree. Dogs seemed to like it and the next morning poop was VERY firm. When that bag was gone I purchased a 20lb bag of the Adult food, just to try. It's been less than two weeks, the bag is almost finished. I am surprised that not only are the dogs haveing no ill effects from the food, they look great! The oldest dog who lost the most weight is filling out slowly but you can tell he just feels better. Their coats are coming in very glossy and thick. I am shocked at how on a diet that agrees with them their teeth have also lost at least a layer or two of tartar. The old dog always had clean teeth, now they look white again. 

I have always heard bad things about anything from Pedigree in the past. I've owned dogs all my life and tried to stay "in the loop", lol. So I know full well what type of bad reputation Pedigree has. But if the dogs continue to look the way they do, I'll be hard pressed to switch them. Best of all is the price. I can get the 20lb bag for $15, and the 40lb bag for about $26. So my budget is happy. I will probably be giving them vitamins if we stick with Pedigree, just in case, but so far so good. 

I am curious if anyone is feeding Pedigree now, and what you think of it. I have met a lady with a 10yo Rottie whose been fed Pedigree since he was a pup, but I'd like to get more opinions on it before we make any definite decisions to keep them on it. PM me if you don't want to publicly admit feeding it  Thanks! And looks like a great board with lots of knowledgeable people!


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## CorgiKarma (Feb 10, 2009)

If it works for you dogs and they are thriving on it, keep feeding it. We all have gone through financial hardships and do the best we can. I personally feed Wellness. Glad your dogs are doing well!


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## BenTheMan (Aug 18, 2009)

Hi Aley---

I've been trying to decide whether pricey foods are actually worth the extra money, in terms of a real benefit for the dog. There seems to be a dearth of unbiased information on the subject, with most sources on the internet advocating super expensive boutique-type dog foods, or a raw food diet of some sort. Most of these references are written by people selling some sort of dog nutrition program or the other, and I'm always skeptical of the ``holistic'' types. 

Anyway, you might check out this link which I found pretty helpful:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/...-2009/money/pet-food/overview/pet-food-ov.htm

There are several pointers from people working as vets at top vet schools. The consensus among people interviewed there seems to be:



article said:


> "There's no scientific evidence that any food is better than the next," says Joseph Wakshlag, D.V.M., Ph.D., an assistant professor of clinical nutrition at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine.


What you might be able to do, instead of buying more expensive food, is supplement your dogs dry kibble with other ingredients, like raw eggs or canned fish, or almost expired meat or fish from the grocery store (usually in the meat section, and priced to move---this is something I learned from my mom). One difference between expensive foods and cheaper foods that I can see is the supplements that the more expensive foods add---so, for example, they may include fish oil to make your dog's coat shiny. You can buy fish oil in bulk at a nutrition store, though, and squirt a pump or two on your dog's kibble in the morning. It's been my experience that both dogs and cats LOVE this. You can check out the raw food diet info that people have on the web, and I'm sure that you can find some combination of your Pedigree/meat on sale/supplements to fit your budget.


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## Wynpyp (Sep 19, 2008)

I believe there are quite a few on this forum that feed Pedigree and/or Purina kibble and their dogs are doing great. It's about doing the best you can for yourself and your dogs. There are times when I feed the Costco brand dog food... it's a really decent food for a REALLY decent price! I think it is $28cnd for 28lbs. I can't quite remember right now though lol! My boy does ok on it.

If Pedigree is what works for you and your dogs are doing good (happy and healthy), then don't worry about it


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## Martiniz (Jul 12, 2009)

I been feeding my 6 yr old pomeranian pedigree ever since she was a puppy. She is very healthy and very active. Don't listen to what others say. If your dog likes the food and it's helping them become healthier then keep feeding them Pedigree.


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## HersheyPup (May 22, 2008)

If I had to feed Pedigree, Dog Chow or Alpo in order to be able to keep my dogs, I would do it! I'm sure your dogs would rather eat table scraps and Alpo than be without you.


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## PureMutt (Feb 6, 2009)

What's more important: ingredients or nutrient profile?


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## lovemygreys (Jan 20, 2007)

I can't stand the dog food nazis. If a food works for your dogs, then feed it. Who cares what anyone else thinks or says?

Having said that, Pedigree is what it is. It is a carb-loaded food. Will dogs gain weight? Yes. Calories are calories. Will they shine up? Usually. That's the fat they spray on the kibble to make it palatable. Will the poop firm up? Yep. That's the fiber/filler they add. Having long-boned dogs, I would prefer to stay away from carbs as cancer cells use rely heavily on carbs for energy. Can't hurt to feed a low carb, high protein/fat diet for preventing or slowing down the growth of cancer, so that's what we have decided to stick with.

Is Pedigree a miracle food? Nope. Neither is Call of the Wild or Kirkland brand or Blue Buffalo or whatever. Feed what your dogs do best on. End of story. 

Dogs can survive and thrive on a variety of diets. They are not obligate carnivores. It's the reason they have been so incredibly successful as a species living off the human world. They pretty much eat what we don't want to (even those premium foods are using meat that can't be sold to humans or made into human food...they ain't using filet mignon).


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## PureMutt (Feb 6, 2009)

lovemygreys said:


> I can't stand the dog food nazis. If a food works for your dogs, then feed it. Who cares what anyone else thinks or says?
> 
> Having said that, Pedigree is what it is. It is a carb-loaded food. Will dogs gain weight? Yes. Calories are calories. Will they shine up? Usually. That's the fat they spray on the kibble to make it palatable. Will the poop firm up? Yep. That's the fiber/filler they add. Having long-boned dogs, I would prefer to stay away from carbs as cancer cells use rely heavily on carbs for energy. Can't hurt to feed a low carb, high protein/fat diet for preventing or slowing down the growth of cancer, so that's what we have decided to stick with.
> 
> ...


Good point. May I ask what dog food you currently feed?


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## lovemygreys (Jan 20, 2007)

We feed a raw diet.


...but we have fed everything from Natural Balance to Kirkland to, yes, even Pedigree in the past. Our hounds did horribly on Pedigree and did the best on Natural Balance. But it's really hard to find a kibble that agrees with so many hounds, unless it's a natural diet.


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## luvntzus (Mar 16, 2007)

lovemygreys said:


> ... Pedigree is what it is. It is a carb-loaded food. Will dogs gain weight? Yes. Calories are calories. Will they shine up? Usually. That's the fat they spray on the kibble to make it palatable. Will the poop firm up? Yep. That's the fiber/filler they add. Having long-boned dogs, I would prefer to stay away from carbs as cancer cells use rely heavily on carbs for energy. Can't hurt to feed a low carb, high protein/fat diet for preventing or slowing down the growth of cancer, so that's what we have decided to stick with.


That's exactly the point about why foods like Pedigree aren't great. It's also the potential long terms effects from BHA/BHT, artificial colors and "animal" fat and "meat and bone" meal that comes from very questionable sources.


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## waterkeeper03 (Aug 18, 2009)

> That's exactly the point about why foods like Pedigree aren't great. It's also the potential long terms effects from BHA/BHT, artificial colors and "animal" fat and "meat and bone" meal that comes from very questionable sources.


Agreed. Thank you for that... 

But times are tough. do what you have to do..

Take a look and see if you can find "Precise". We just brought in that line and it's really affordable for a good food. The Foundation(chicken adult) is a 44lb bag and I sell it for $42.99 That's under $1 per pound.


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