WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU FEEDING YOUR PET!
Pets are often able to eat just about anything that tastes Okay, this doesn’t mean that you are feeding them right. So how can you tell if you are feeding your pet exactly what they need to stay healthy.
Pets require certain food components at various age levels and this can be tricky unless you have a proper guide to show you what you need to know and why you cannot feed your adult dog with certain meals and expect proper growth and development.
We are going to show you all the requirements for a healthy family pet by comparing two popular pet food brands that is not just nutritious for your pet but also contains all the required food groups in adequate proportions.
During the course of this article we will answer all your pet food related questions as well as provide you with insight on how to pick the best pet food brand to suit your pet’s nutritional needs.
Ever heard of the popular Purina One pet food brand? or perhaps you have seen the meticulously packaged Pedigree pet food products? If yes, then you may have seen the gold mine of pet foods.
Stick with us as we explore the nitty-gritties of these two wonderful brands.
After you are done with this awesome comparison check out Pedigree and Purina One here to see the different flavors and pricing.
Contents:
- 🤔 Pedigree vs Purina one FAQ
- ⚖️ Pedigree and Purina one Pros and Cons
- 😻 Types Of Pet Food
- 🥕 Nutritional Value Comparison
- 💰 Price Comparison
- 🤤 Ingredients and Flavors
- 🏡 About Pedigree and Purina One
- 🙀 Product Safety and Recalls through History
- 🏆 Pedigree Vs Purina One: And the winner goes to…
🤔Pedigree vs Purina One FAQ
What is guaranteed analysis?
The concept of guaranteed analysis on pet food products is to assure purchasers of the precise nutrient content of each consumable. Emphasized by AAFCO, guaranteed analysis by food labels must meet certain requirements such as an exact value for the minimum percentage of crude protein and fat, as well as the maximum percentages of crude fiber and moisture on the basis of dry matter obtained. All of the percentages that I use in this comparison are averages of dry matter basis. Learn about dry matter basis here.
Which one has more protein?
Purina One dry dog food recipes have 31.6% protein whereas the Pedigree dry dog offers 24.9%. For wet dog foods, Purina One provides about 45.3% protein while Pedigree contains 41.5%, giving Purina one a major lead. More so, only Purina One has dry and wet cat food recipes.
Which one is cheaper?
The Pedigree pet food is slightly cheaper across all meal type when compared with Purina One. Whereas Purina one, as a brand is considered to be quite affordable
Which one has more flavors?
The Purina One brand has 25 dry foods recipes and 27 wet dog foods recipes while Pedigree has only 10 recipes for dry food but dominates the wet foods chart with 41 recipes.
Purina One has 14 dry dog food recipes, 12 recipes for wet dog foods and 3 recipes for dog treats while Pedigree offers 10 recipes for dry dog foods, 41 recipes for wet dog foods and no recipe for dog treats.
For the feline creatures, the Purina One brand offers 11 recipes for dry cat food, 12 recipes for wet cat foods and none for cat treats.
Pedigree does not offer any kind of cat food or treat, this gives Purina one the higher advantage as the most flavored brand.
Which one has had more recalls?
Purina One as a brand has been recalled only once whereas Pedigree has had two recalls since its inception.
Check out the current prices, recipes and flavors for Pedigree and Purina One
⚖️ Pedigree and Purina one Pros and Cons
Pedigree Pros:
Pedigree Cons:
Purina One pros:
Purina One cons:
😻 Types Of Pet Food From Purina One and Pedigree
| Product (Dog Food) | Purina One | Pedigree |
| Dry Food | 14 recipes | 10 recipes |
| Wet Food | 15 recipes | 41 recipes |
| Treats | 3 recipes | ❌ |
| Product (Cat Food) | ||
| Dry Food | 11 recipes | ❌ |
| Wet Food | 12 recipes | ❌ |
| Treats | ❌ | ❌ |
| 😻 See all Purina one recipes | 😻 See all Pedigree recipes |
From the table above, we can see that the Purina One brand has 5 different food types with a total of 55 recipes for both dogs and cats. On the other hand, Pedigree has only 2 food types with a total of 51 different recipes, all for dogs.
Also, it’s important to note that both brands do not have any treat for cats and only Purina One provides treats for dogs. However, it is safe to say that they both have a wide variety of recipes.
🥕 Nutritional Value Comparison
Nutritional values are the principal elements by which all food types are categorized. Certain nutrients are required in high quantity, while some are only required in small quantities and even as micronutrients.
Our pets have a sensitive biological system which often requires a reasonably balanced diet in order to grow, develop, and maintain a fairly constant internal environment; immune to diseases and other health problems. If you want a healthy and a happy pet, pay close attention to your pets’ nutritional requirements.
Although pets of same specie and breed might have similar nutritional requirements, every pet has its own peculiar needs as their body system might function differently because of varying environmental factors, genealogy, etc.
The nutritional values of pet food are presented in form of a guaranteed analysis found on the label of the products as enforced by the AAFCO.
The analysis usually must provide guaranteed percentages of Essential food groups such as crude protein, crude fat, and crude fibre as well as moisture content. Let compare both brands based on their nutritional value.
| Product (Dry Dog food) | Purina One | Pedigree |
| Crude Protein | 31.6% | 24.9% |
| Crude Fat | 17.2% | 11.6% |
| Crude Fiber | 4.3% | 4.5% |
| Product (Wet/Canned Dog food) | ||
| Crude Protein | 45.3% | 41.5% |
| Crude Fat | 25.8% | 21.5% |
| Crude Fiber | 7.1% | 6.1% |
| 🥕 See more Purina one info | 🥕 See more Pedigree info |
Protein
Why do our cats and dogs need protein in their diet? Does higher protein percentage mean a better pet food product?
Protein is the main macronutrient which supplies the essential amino acids required to sustain life, especially in dogs and cats. Protein can be gotten from different source, either plant or animal origin.
Every pet diet must contain protein at minimum or maximum requirement, but each pet will need a certain amount to live healthily.
Different pet food brands usually have different protein percentages, however, it’s important to check out their different recommended feeding amounts so as not to under feed or over feed your pet with protein.
Fat Content
Every balanced diet must contain fat, in fact, a minimum of 10% fat must be guaranteed by every pet diet.
Why is fat so important? Common opinion says fat is unhealthy, but this is not the case for pets.
Fat is essential for the proper growth and development of our pets. It provides energy and control water loss through the skin of your pets. Fats also aid in the absorption of some vitamin as well as the maintenance of a shiny and healthy skin coat in dogs and cat. Fat gives taste as well as flavor to every pet food.
Fiber Content
Do our pets really need fiber in their diet?The answer is yes.
Just because our pet can chew on almost everything doesn’t mean it is healthy for them. Many times, our pets encounter problems of indigestion resulting from the foods, treats or particles of things they ingest especially while playing or out for a walk.
Fibers are components that assist digestion in the small intestine till the food particles are pushed into the large intestine where it is acted upon by bacteria present. It is an important requirement of the digestive system. It also maintains optimum levels of good bacteria and promote the proper functioning of the gut.
There is really no significant difference between the crude fiber content of both brands.
Water (Moisture)
No healthy diet is complete without the presence of water. The moisture content of every pet food influences the percentage of other ingredients as well as the protein, carbohydrate and fat content.
Water is essential for the proper functioning of the body and it helps in eliminating body wastes. To regulate the body temperature, transport nutrients throughout the body as well as prevent dehydration, our pet need water in varying amounts inevitably.
Some amount of water can be found in wet and dry pet food, however, pets always require additional amount of water to meet up with their body requirement.
💰 Price Comparison
As much as we want the best for our pets, the cost of the pet food brand may become a determinant factor especially for pet keepers who are on a fixed budget.
Given the variety of brands and dealers in the market place, keeping track of the prices of the various products of your favorite brand could be a hard nut to crack.
Lets take a look at the prices of both brands using different metrics
| Dry Dog Food | Purina One | Pedigree |
| Per pound | $1.41 | $0.92 |
| Per calorie | $0.0008 | $0.0006 |
| Wet Dog Food | ||
| Per pound | $1.67 | $1.57 |
| Per Calorie | $0.0033 | $0.0037 |
| 💰 See the best Purina One prices | 💰 See the best Pedigree Prices |
Looking at the price tag of different products would only tell you the product cost, but you cannot really use that as a basis for comparison.
To compare the prices of pet foods from different brand, it is more accurate to use the average cost-per-kcal metrics. This is advisable because it tells you the average cost of pet food exclusive of its water content (dry matter basis).
However, you might still want to use the average cost-per-lb which gives you the cost of the food with its water content inclusive.
It is observed from the table above that both brands are considerably cheap, yet the pedigree brand is cheaper by all metrics than the Purina One.
So where is the best place to purchase these brands? Good question! Overall, chewy.com has the cheapest prices.
They also offer 30% on your first autoship order which saves you a good chunk of change and makes your pet food ordering process automatic. Overall, this has saved me a ton of time.
🤤 Ingredients and Flavors
Purina One and Pedigree are two great brands and their pet foods are known for exceptional quality and incredible taste. Ever wonder why your dogs or cats can’t get enough of these brands?
Each brand owns its distinctive flavor and ingredients that makes every chunk irresistible for your pet.
This is a catch for pet owners because different pets are attracted to different flavors. As a pet owner, you should know which flavor or flavors appeals to your pet, but you should not be afraid to try out new flavors and explore different available options.
The flavor of a pet food product distinguishes it from another product of the same brand and other products from different brands. The different flavors are a result of the different ingredients used in the formulation of each recipe.P
Pedigree
Pedigree pet food equally contains so many ingredients such as meat and bone meal, vegetable oil, beef, wheat gluten, natural poultry flavor, ground yellow corn, iron oxide, dried plain beet pulp, brewers rice, salt, wheat flour, wheat meddling chicken by-product meal, caramel, , corn gluten meal ground whole grain, fructose corn syrup, tomato pomace, lamb, vitamins and minerals.
All these different ingredients put together in the appropriate amounts produces the different flavors that the brand is known for.
Popular Flavors
- Grilled Steak and vegetable flavor
- Meaty Ground dinner with chopped chicken
- Roasted chicken, rice and vegetables
- Biscrok gravy bones
Purina One
Purina One pet food is formulated with a wide variety of ingredients such as chicken, oat meal, ranch raised lamb, whole barley, brewers rice, poultry by-product meal, whole grain wheat, whole grain corn, soy flakes, canola meal, ground wheat, turkey by-product meal, pea fiber, soybean meal, fish meal, carrots, peas, spinach, sweet potatoes, chicken stock and broth, garlic oil, liver flavors, carrageenan, guar gum, locust bean gum, glycerin, caramel, poultry broth, sun flower oil, vitamins and minerals.
With the number of ingredients listed above, one can only imagine the variety of flavors the brand offers.
Popular flavors
- Salmon and trout recipe
- Lamb and rice formula
- Ground beef and brown rice entree
- Ground Chicken and brown rice
Check out the current Purina one and Pedigree recipes here
🏡 About Pedigree and Purina One
Pedigree Information
This brand manufactures dog foods and was originally found in 1957 by Forrest Mars. It was initially branded as “Chappie”in the 19th century when it was found but it is now called Pedigree.
It is presently owned by a subsidiary of Mars Incorporated, headquartered in McLean Virginia, United States. The brand slogan has changed severally over the years, from “Top Breeders Recommend it” to “We are for dogs”.
The brand offers a wide range of product such as the Pedigree meaty ground dinner, Pedigree longevity formula for dogs, Pedigree choice mixed in gravy, Pedigree active meals for healthy dogs, Pedigree adult complete nutrition for dogs, Pedigree little champions grilled sauce flavor, Pedigree little champions chunks in gravy, and others.
Purina One Information
This brand manufactures both dog and cat food. It was found in 1986 and introduced as Ralston Purina’s first premiere pet food. It’s owner from 2001 till date is the Nestle Purina PetCare, a subsidiary of Nestle.
It has its company headquarter in St. Louis, Missouri with a worldwide distribution network.
The top ingredients of this brand are chicken, whole grain corn, corn gluten, soybean meal, meat and bone meal and animal fat. Chicken and corn are the brands primary source of protein and carbohydrate respectively.
The first product by this brand is the Purina One Natural Blends which uses only natural ingredients.
Others include Purina One beyond white meat, chicken & whole oat meal recipe, Purina One sensitive systems, Purina One smart blend lamb and rice formula, chicken and brown rice in gravy, wholesome turkey and barley entrée, wholesome beef and barley entrée in gravy, and others.
🙀 Product Safety and Recalls through History
Companies make scheduled recalls on products that may have a foreseen defect or safety issues. The importance of a recall is to conduct further safety tests in order to effect changes to the product to ensure that it is safe for use.
Pedigree Recalls
This brand has been recalled twice in history
- Aug. 31, 2014: Metal fragments
- Aug. 26, 2014: Presence of a foreign material
Purina One Recalls
This brand has only been recalled once, but the problem has been fixed and the brand is back in the market. However, some pet owners believe that a voluntary recall was issued in mid-2016 but till date no recall-associated problem has been recorded.
- Aug. 30, 2013: Salmonella risk
🏆Pedigree Vs Purina One : And the winner goes to…
It has been a tough competition between both brands, but it’s safe to say that Purina One is the winner as it is seen to have dominated in protein content and fat content whereas Pedigree stands out as the cheaper brand.
Purina One obviously has a lot more flavors for both dog and cat foods and has had less recalls than Pedigree which offers only dog food, however, both are great brands and offer great nutritional values for pets.
| If you want | Then you should choose |
| Higher levels of protein | Purina one |
| A cost effective option | Pedigree |
| A wider variety of flavors and ingredients | Purina one |
| Safety, based on number of recalls | Purina one |
| A balanced diet for all age levels | Both brands |
References:
https://www.pedigree.com/dog-foods
https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/pedigree-dog-food-dry/
Thank you very much, really helpful.
Have a really nice day.
Love your post! Great analysis and well written. Thank you.