Pedigree Plus Healthy (Canned)

Rating:

Pedigree Plus Healthy Dog Food earns the Advisor’s lowest rating of one star.

Currently, the Pedigree Plus Healthy product line lists six canned dog foods… each claimed to address a specific health issue.

We found no AAFCO nutritional adequacy recommendations for these dog foods anywhere on the Pedigree website.

• Pedigree Plus Healthy Heart
• Pedigree Plus Healthy Joints
• Pedigree Plus Healthy Weight
• Pedigree Plus Healthy Digestion
• Pedigree Plus Healthy Immunity
• Pedigree Plus Healthy Skin and Coat

Pedigree Plus Healthy Joints Dog Food was selected to represent the other products in the line for this review.

The first ingredient in this dog food is water… which (of course) adds nothing but moisture to this food. Water is a routine finding in most canned dog foods.

The second item is chicken by-products… slaughterhouse waste. This is what’s left of a slaughtered chicken after all the prime cuts have been removed.

In a nutshell, chicken by-products are the unsavory and inedible leftovers deemed “unfit for human consumption”.

With the sole exception of feathers, this stuff can include almost anything… heads, feet, beaks, undeveloped eggs… you name it.

Although this item contains all the amino acids a dog needs, we do not consider animal by-products a high quality addition.

The third ingredient is beef. Beef is defined as “the clean flesh derived from slaughtered cattle” and includes skeletal muscle or the muscle tissues of the tongue, diaphragm, heart or esophagus.¹

Like most meats, beef is naturally rich in all ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.

The next item is meat by-products… more slaughterhouse waste. Like chicken by-products, these are also the inedible leftovers of slaughter considered “unfit for human consumption”.

Since the source animal is not named, the meat can come from almost anywhere. Road kill, dead zoo animals, diseased or dying livestock… even euthanized cats and dogs.

When you see the phrase “meat by-products” you’re looking at one of the lowest quality meat ingredients in commercial dog food.

The fifth ingredient is liver. Normally, a named liver ingredient can be a nutritious component. However, in this case, the source of the liver is unknown… generic. It could come from almost anywhere.

For this reason, this item cannot be considered a quality ingredient.

The sixth ingredient is brewers rice. Brewers rice represents the small grain fragments left over after milling whole rice.

This is a cheap cereal grain by-product and not a quality ingredient.

The seventh ingredient mentions flaxseed… one of the best plant sources of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Flax seeds are rich in soluble fiber.

However, we find it unusual to see flaxseed here in its whole seed form. Whole flax seeds are almost impossible to digest (at least for us humans) unless they are first ground to a usable powder before they are consumed.

From here, the list goes on to include a number of other items.

But to be realistic, ingredients located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to have much of an effect on the overall quality of this product.

Garlic and onion are controversial items. In rare cases, they have been linked to Heinz body anemia in dogs.²

Most of the professional literature we surveyed did not provide any conclusive warnings regarding the use of garlic or onion… especially in small amounts (as they are here).

Although we see no reason to be overly concerned, we do feel it is a mistake to include such controversial ingredients in any dog food product.

Also, the minerals listed here do not appear to be chelated. And that can make them more difficult to absorb. Non-chelated minerals are usually associated with lower quality dog foods.

We also note the presence of sodium nitrite… a controversial color preservative. Sodium nitrite has been linked to the production of cancer-causing substances (known as nitrosamines) when meats are exposed to high cooking temperatures.

Pedigree Plus… the Bottom Line

Just based upon the ingredient quality alone, we’re not impressed with Pedigree Plus Healthy “fill-in-the-blank” Dog Food.

Just the same, we never try to determine a final rating without first estimating the amount of meat most likely present here.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 36%, a fat level of 32% and an estimated carbohydrate content of 24%.

Featuring a brand average of 39%, protein numbers range from a high of 44% for the Immunity and Skin/Coat recipes down to a low of 36% for all the others.

Fat averaged about 21%… which suggests an overall carbohydrate content of 32% for the full product line.

Average protein. Average fat. And average carbohydrates… when compared to a typical canned dog food.

This is the profile of a wet food containing a moderate amount of low-quality meat ingredients.

One more thing…

Most of the time, we try to avoid commenting on the validity of any special health claims implied by any dog food companies.

Yet when Pedigree describes chicken on its label as “a natural source of glucosamine” (a nutrient used to treat joint problems), we feel compelled to make an exception to our policy.

Hey, come on, now. You mean, this dog food “promotes healthy joints” just because it contains chicken?

Wow, talk about stretching the truth.

Hey, we’re not saying chicken doesn’t have a little glucosamine in it. Or that glucosamine isn’t good for a dog’s joints (actually, it is).

No, we’re simply shocked that the simple presence of such a common, ordinary ingredient like chicken would allow a company to promote its product as “special” for joint health.

Sorry, Pedigree. Looks like a marketing gimmick, to us.

Bottom line?

Pedigree Plus Healthy line is a meat-based canned dog food using a moderate amount of chicken and meat by-products as its main sources of animal protein… thus earning the brand one star.

Not recommended.

Those looking for a better rated wet food from the same company may want to check out our review of Pedigree Choice Cuts.

A Final Word

Remember, no dog food can possibly be appropriate for every life stage, lifestyle or health condition. So, choose wisely. And when in doubt consult a veterinarian for help.

Have an opinion about this dog food brand… or maybe the review itself? Please know… we welcome your comments.

Notes and Updates

11/11/2009 Original review
06/03/2010 Review updated

Tagged as: adult, canned, health issues, maintenance