Which dog food is best for your dog? How does Formula K
compare with other brands? Below we look at Pedigree Complete
Light.
Pedigree Ingredients |
What We Think |
| Grain |
If a dog has a particular sensitivity
to wheat gluten, you could not tell from this ingredient
list whether this product would be suitable as it only
lists “grain” as an ingredient. |
| Meat and animal
by-products (min. 4% in poultry inclusion) |
|
| Vegetable by-products |
|
| Oils and fats |
|
| Vegetable protein extracts |
|
| Minerals |
|
| Vegetables (min. 4% carrots in carrot
inclusion, min 4% in bean inclusion) |
Although it claims to contain “carrots” and “beans” in
the recipe, they are only included at a very low level
(4%) in the individual components that contain these
ingredients. |
| |
|
Pedigree Ingredients |
What We Think |
| As
with many of the products in the range, Pedigree has
chosen not to list the specific ingredients. Whilst this enables
them to substitute and amend the levels of the ingredients
within the categories, it provides the purchaser with
no information. For example, if a dog has a particular
sensitivity to wheat gluten, you could not tell from
this ingredient list whether this product would be suitable
as it only lists “grain” as an ingredient.
It is therefore very difficult to comment on the quality
or suitability of the components, and purchasers can
only be expected to assume the worst to avoid feeding
an inappropriate ingredient. |
In
Formula K all
of the ingredients are listed and avoid the main causes of dietary problems,
being wheat and beef. |
| Although
it claims to contain “carrots” and “beans” in
the recipe, they are only included at a very low level
(4%) in the individual components that contain these
ingredients. For example, if the “carrot
component” is
included in the blend at 10% and the carrot within this
is 4%, the overall diet content would only be 0.4%, i.e.
0.8g (1/2 teaspoon) in a 200g serving. |
With
Formula K
all ingredients are included for a specific purpose and not merely at low levels
for marketing claims. |
| Obese
dogs are prone to type-II diabetes, which impairs the
body’s
ability to cope with high levels of carbohydrate.
Since “grain” is
listed first in the ingredient declaration, it will have
the highest inclusion level and hence, we would suggest
that it is not a suitable diet for any dog with a diabetes
problem. |
In Formula K all grains
have been listed, and have been selected for their low
GI levels, and included at minimal levels. |
| This
recipe has low vitamin contents. For example,
the AAFCO* minimum nutrient requirements, which are
generally accepted as the most authoritative source
of information, suggests minimum vitamin A and D3 levels
in the diet as being 5000IU/kg and 500IU/kg respectively.
This diet allows very little room for error with regard
to feeding allowance |
All
our nutrients are added in moderate excess of the AAFCO
minimum requirements. |
| Energy: In the Pedigree product, the declared energy content
is nearly 10% lower that the calculated value (by the
commonly recognised equation). Regardless of this, both
levels are very high for a weight control diet, and not
significantly different to most standard maintenance
diets. |
We have set the energy
level at a suitably low level to promote weigh loss,
i.e. approximately 20% lower than most maintenance diets,
but high enough to avoid lethargy and inactivity, as
exercise is an important part of the weight loss program. |
| Preservatives:
The Pedigree food contains synthetic antioxidants, BHA & BHT.
Although inexpensive, they have been linked to health
issues (carcinogenesis) in dogs. |
We
use only natural antioxidants, rosemary and tocopherol
are used). |
| Colours:
In the Pedigree product an array of synthetic colours
is added. While being unnecessary for the consumer (i.e.
your dog!), they have also been linked to dietary intolerances. |
We add no colours at
all. |
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