VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION about Pedigree Dog Food!--->?

Question

okay, i use Pedigree soft dog food for my 3 shih tzu's! The Little Champions packages! and i just heard that this food is very bad for my dogs because in the ingredients it has, ....

poultry by-product which i found out is dead animals!

is that true??????/if so, isn't it bad for our dogs?

also, meat by-product and other things in it are bad too! like....corn!!!!!!!!!!????????????

please let me know a safe food i can feed my shih tzu dogs!

any dogg ytips on food, let me know! thank you all soo...much!

Answer 1

I have 3 shih tzus and they get canned Nutro. I also give them Avoderm Kookies for treats as they are natural and they love them.

Answer 2

I prefer a "natural" dog food. Try Canidae, Nutro, Eagle Pack, California Natural there are many. You might not get these from a Petco/Petmart possibly a specialty pet shop. May cost more but definitely worth it. I've never had a problem with dog food recalls

Answer 3

Step one:

visit both sites listed below
dogfoodproject.com
dogfoodanalysis.com

dogfoodanalysis ranks dog food brands based on ingredients. they have a star rating system, 6 stars are the best and 1 star is garbage.

it would be easy to choose if you know the products available in your area, try choosing a brand with at least 4 stars.

i use canidae and solid gold: just a wee bit

Answer 4

On choosing a good dog food:
Read the ingredients on the food you buy. Go with a high quality dog food. A grain should not be in the first couple ingredients ingredient (corn and such are mainly fillers, dogs don't digest it well). Avoid foods that have a lot of "by products" listed.

Here is an article about byproducts:
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=ingrd

And an article on what ingredients to avoid:
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=badingredients

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There is no single food that is "best". For example, some dogs thrive on grain-free foods, while grain-free is too rich for other dogs. What you want to find is the high-quality food that *your dog* does best on.

I recommend feeding dry food. It's healthier for the gums and teeth.

Some GOOD foods are :
* Merrick - http://www.merrickpetcare.com/
* Solid Gold - http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/
* Canidae - http://www.canidae.com/
* Timberwolf - http://timberwolforganics.com/
* Orijen - http://www.championpetfoods.com/orijen/orijen/
* Wellness - http://www.omhpet.com/wellness/
* Chicken Soup brand - http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com/
* Blue Buffalo - http://www.bluebuff.com/
* Innova - http://www.naturapet.com/brands/innova.asp
* Innova EVO - http://www.naturapet.com/brands/evo.asp

Or check this website for good foods: http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/
(I recommend only feeding foods rated 4, 5, or 6 stars. Anything 3 stars or less, I would stay away from.)

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Stay away from grocery stores brands. They are low-quality foods chalk full of fillers, preservatives, dyes, etc.. (Grocery store foods are those like Beneful, Old Roy, Alpo, Pedigree, Purina, etc.)

Beware "premium" foods. "Premium" does not mean good nutritionally, and is not a nutritionally high quality food. It has the same types of ingredients as grocery store foods, just a bit better quality of those not-so-good ingredients. (Premium foods are those like Iams, Eukanuba, Science Diet, etc..)

Another thing to be wary of: A lot of vets will recommend what they sell in their office. They get profit from the brands they keep on their shelves, that's why they push it. Truth is, vet schools don't focus a lot on nutrition. It's not saying that a vet is a bad vet because he recommends those foods, a lot of vets just are told "this is good food", so they pass the message along without proper nutrition knowledge. Also, some dog food brands (like Hills) support vet schools, so vets have heard of it from the time they start college, which makes them think it's good as well.

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Higher quality food may seem more expensive at first, but it evens out. The higher quality the food, the less fillers eaten (and therefore the less poop comes out the other end). Your dog eats more to try to get the nutrition it needs, and most of the food just passes right on through. Also, it will make your animals healthier, so you save money on vet bills in the long run.

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"Big box" petstores like Petco and Petsmart rarely have quality foods. (I do believe that PetCo sells "Solid Gold" brand, which is a quality food, but most of the foods aren't.)

Also, grocery stores and Walmart aren't good places to buy food either.

Your best bets for getting quality dog food are:
- small, locally owned petstores
- dog boutiques
- farm supply stores

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When switching foods, do it gradually. I do this over about a two week timespan:
25% food A, 75% food B
50% food A, 50% food B
75% food A, 25% food B
100% food A
.

Answer 5

It's perfectly safe. There is no scientific evidence that said things are bad for dogs. Its the opinion of people that just don't like certain things themselves so project it to their dogs (conjecture). All dog foods provide everything a dog needs but all have marketing gimmicks to entice people to buy them. If you are uncomfortable with certain ingredients, buy another food but they won't hurt your dog. Studies have shown that due to the higher amount of fiber in cheaper dog foods (the ignorant call it filler), there is a marked decrease in intestinal cancers in dogs fed said foods.

Answer 6

Pedigree was one of the food NOT on the recall list.

It does give dogs bad gas though

Answer 7

yeh dog food also has horse meat in it too!!!! my family uses iams for our 4 american bulldogs.

Answer 8

it would be difficult for the dogs to eat it if it had LIVE animals in it wouldnt it?