# pedigree vs dog chow



## trickaboo (Nov 12, 2008)

i was looking into these two brands today. the analasis on them were the same. but looking into the ingrediants dog chow impressed me more because it had chicken by product as 2nd ingrediant while pedigree had meat and bone meal. dog chow also has meat and bone meal but its the 4th or 5th ingrediant. but pedigree has no artificial flavoring and im pretty sure its artificial color is the very last ingrediant while puppy chows is a bit before last ingrediant. what do you think about this?


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## Acadia (Aug 6, 2008)

I think both are poor dog foods. Really good dog food shouldn't have by-product (which is left over animal parts: the beak, the feet, things that are not good for your dog), any form of meal (what is bone meal anyway?) or any artificial ingredients. 

Find a different dog food.


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## txcollies (Oct 23, 2007)

I know of an excellent show kennel of Irish Setters that feeds Pedigree to part of their kennel. 

*shrugs* Whatever the dog does well on.

And um, when you feed raw, the dog eats those so called by products. Yea, they are dogs. They love chicken feet, etc. Raw feeders feed that stuff all of the time.

I've had a couple of mine take down a chicken and eat every piece, beak and all.

From what I've read it's not all of those 'by products' etc, that should worry you in dog food. It's the carbs, sugars, (can cause cancers), grains, chemicals, etc. I would think those former ingredients are far more harmful than those "nasty" by products. I know raw feeders that feed road kill, and you'd be surprised at what my gang has come up with on the farm. ;-)


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## Pai (Apr 23, 2008)

Meal is not bad in itself, it depends on what _kind_ of meal it is. Meal is simply ground, rendered meat or meat products in a dry form that is added to a kibble mixture.

From The Dog Food Project:


> Contrary to what many people believe, meat sources in "meal" form (as long as they are from a specified type of animal, such as chicken meal, lamb meal, salmon meal etc.) are not inferior to whole, fresh meats. Meals consist of meat and skin, with or without the bones, but exclusive of feathers/hair, heads, feet, horns, entrails etc. and have the proper calcium/phosphorus ratio required for a balanced diet. They have had most of the moisture removed, but meats in their original, "wet" form still contain up to 75% water. *Once the food reaches its final moisture content of about 9-12%, the meat will have shrunk to sometimes as little as 1/4 of the original amount, while the already dehydrated meal form remains the same and you get more concentrated protein per pound of finished product.* This means that in the worst case you are left with only 4 ounces of actual meat content per pound of fresh meat included in a dry kibble, many of which contain less than one pound of meat per 2-3 pounds of grain to begin with.* Preferably a food contains quality meat meal as well as some fresh meat.*
> 
> What to look for:
> ►Specifically *named meats* and meat meals such as chicken, chicken meal, turkey, turkey meal, lamb, lamb meal, duck, duck meal, beef, beef meal, eggs and so on.
> ...


What's on a label is worded a very specific way and means, legally, a very specific thing. Lots of pet foods purposely try to make their labels look better than they really are, and to confuse people looking at them. That's why learning the legal definition of 'by-products' in an ingredient label is important. 
Subtract liver, hearts, kidneys, skin, meat, wings, and any other parts that could be used in some other food... and look at what you'd have left. I wouldn't want that stuff as the *main* source of nutrition in my dog's food. Nothing wrong with a dog eating it, of course, but not as the major ingredient. I'd want some actual decent meat in there somewhere.


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## UrbanBeagles (Aug 13, 2007)

Acadia said:


> I think both are poor dog foods. Really good dog food shouldn't have by-product (which is left over animal parts: the beak, the feet, things that are not good for your dog), any form of meal (what is bone meal anyway?) or any artificial ingredients.
> 
> Find a different dog food.



By-products should NOT consist of indigestable parts such as feathers, beaks, feet, etc. That's nothing more than industry propoganda, IMO. If you are just coming onto the scene and looking for a niche in the market, the easiest way to defeat your competition is to trash their ingredients. Scare tactis work very well in the pet food industry. Solid Gold's marketing is living proof of this, lol. 

When I fed Eukanuba's canned food I noticed that my old cans (we are going back to '99-'00) contained tripe & liver as ingredients whereas the newer cans ('04ish) had by-products listed in lieu of the indivigual offal ingredients. Calling the company confirmed they were purchasing these same organs together instead of seperately and by AAFCO guidelines had to now label it as by products. By definiteion, by products are organ meats that must meet the same stringent level of testing as any muscle meat used in pet food. 

BTW, bone meal is just that. Bone ground up into a powdered form. Many owners who home cook for their dogs feed bone meal because it's the best, most bioavailable source of calcium and other minerals. 

Getting back on topic, I do know a breeder who has had dogs in the Top 5 breed standings who rotates between Sensible Choice & Pedigree and her dogs, obviously are in top condition. I tried Pedigree for pups and was not happy with it myself, altho I temporarily used their adult formula a few years ago with successful results. I prefer Purina Puppy Chow, but what works well for my dogs may not do the trick for someone else's dogs. If I had to recommend one of the two I would go w/ Purina.


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## trickaboo (Nov 12, 2008)

UrbanBeagles said:


> By-products should NOT consist of indigestable parts such as feathers, beaks, feet, etc. That's nothing more than industry propoganda, IMO. If you are just coming onto the scene and looking for a niche in the market, the easiest way to defeat your competition is to trash their ingredients. Scare tactis work very well in the pet food industry. Solid Gold's marketing is living proof of this, lol.
> 
> When I fed Eukanuba's canned food I noticed that my old cans (we are going back to '99-'00) contained tripe & liver as ingredients whereas the newer cans ('04ish) had by-products listed in lieu of the indivigual offal ingredients. Calling the company confirmed they were purchasing these same organs together instead of seperately and by AAFCO guidelines had to now label it as by products. By definiteion, by products are organ meats that must meet the same stringent level of testing as any muscle meat used in pet food.
> 
> ...


thanks alot. you actually answered the question. but all the info im getting is awesome. what exactly is it that causes you to lean more toward the purina puppy chow? is it an ingredient or is it just your dogs like the taste more?


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

If I were to feed my dogs one of those 2 foods, I'd pick Dog/Puppy Chow, just because (as you mentioned) the protein source is slightly better. AND....I don't like that Pedigree has BHA/BHT. Nasty stuff.


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## UrbanBeagles (Aug 13, 2007)

trickaboo said:


> thanks alot. you actually answered the question. but all the info im getting is awesome. what exactly is it that causes you to lean more toward the purina puppy chow? is it an ingredient or is it just your dogs like the taste more?



Well, the puppers loved Pedigree, but were hyper, hyper, hyper on it, lol 

I have tried other puppy foods and Puppy Chow is still one of my favorites. I like Wellness, too, but it's not as easily accessable & I did get annoyed with all the soft, foul smelling poo. I am happy with the results I get with Puppy Chow - it seems to be very nutrient dense and pups grow very well on it. I never have to worry about their weight, they grow strong and healthy, coats are great! I raised two litters on it this year, one was born premature and had some problems with slow development and skin issues which were resolved with the introduction of Puppy Chow.


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## hbueain (Jan 5, 2009)

If I MUST choose between the two. I'll go for Pedigree.. at least they weren't on the recall list in 2007.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

hbueain said:


> If I MUST choose between the two. I'll go for Pedigree.. at least they weren't on the recall list in 2007.


Neither was Purina, they were unaffected by the recalls. 

Purina ONE would be better than either....no artificial colors.


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