Is Pedigree or Purina better
Pedigree vs Purina Dog Food: 2024 Comparison
You wont find two more massive titans in the pet food world as Pedigree1 and Purina2-the biggest and second-biggest pet food brands in the world, respectively. Youll find their brands anywhere pet food is soldbut does the fact that theyre ubiquitous mean that theyre good?
And more critically, when it comes to Pedigree vs Purina, which one is better?
We took a deep dive into both brands to determine a winner so that you can give your dog food you can trust. And while there was one brand we prefer over the other, that doesnt mean that we didnt uncover a few surprises along the way (more on that in a minute).
A Sneak Peek at the Winner: Purina
| Rating | Image | Product | Details | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best Overall | | Purina One True Instinct | Check Price | |
| Runner-Up | | Pedigree Complete Nutrition | Check Price |
Pedigree seems to be focused more on providing affordable food than it is making sure that food is high-quality, whereas Purina manages to achieve both aims with much more success.
However, it should be noted that since both manufacturers make such a wide array of foods, youll be able to find some at one brand that compares very favorably to a few at the other, and vice versa. So why would we feed our dogs Purina foods over Pedigree? Read on to find out.
About Pedigree
- Very affordable
- Can be purchased just about anywhere
- Good for owners who prefer to give dogs wet food
- Uses cheap fillers
- Heavily reliant on animal by-products
- Wet food may not be as good for dogs as kibble
Pedigree is a subsidiary of the giant Mars, Inc. corporation, a brand thats best known for making a wide variety of candy bars. And as you might expect from a candy company, nutrition isnt necessarily their biggest concern.
Instead, the brand focuses on making food thats affordable, regardless of whether it meets every single dietary need your dog has. Its not quite junk foodbut no one will ever accuse it of being a health food, either.
Pedigree Had the Pet Food Market Cornered for a Long Time
In addition to making dog food, the company is also known for its Whiskas brand of cat food, among others. They were also notable for popularizing canned food, although dry kibble was still by far their best-selling product. For a long time, the pet food market was made of Pedigree and a lot of smaller, regional brands, most of which made the same boring, cheap kibble. As a result, there was little pressure on Pedigree to improve or diversify.
That began to change in the 1980s and 90s, however. At that time, Purina began to become a viable competitor to Pedigree, and many other boutique brands started to rise to national prominence as well. This forced Pedigree to change with the times, but they also left their ideology unchanged, at least as far as their basic kibble goesthey wanted to make dog food that anyone could afford to feed their pet.
Pedigree is Still the Biggest Petcare Company in the World
Operating out of England, the company sells more pet food than any other organization in the world. They held a stranglehold on the global market for some time and then strengthened their grasp on the U.S. market by acquiring Los Angeles-based Kal Kan in 1968.
In addition to its flagship Pedigree line, the company also owns brands like Sheba, Eukanuba, Cesar, IAMS, and Nutro, among others.
Pedigrees Focus is on Affordability
The company tries to ensure that its kibble is affordable for all dog owners, which is why you can find it in grocery stores and big-box stores as well as boutique pet markets.
To keep their food affordable, however, they tend to skimp on meat and rely on cheap fillers like corn and wheat. Also, what meat they do include is often heavily reliant on animal by-products, which are the leftover parts of the animal that would otherwise have been discarded.
Pedigree Pushes Wet Food as Hard as Kibble
When they think of Pedigree, most people likely picture their big yellow cans. The company has long pushed wet food as a healthy alternative to dry kibble, even though the science doesnt necessarily back them up in that regard.
Some of their lineslike Cesar, for exampleare primarily wet food-based.
About Purina
- Uses generally healthy ingredients
- Wide array of products to choose from
- Great for specialized diets
- Still relies on cheap fillers and animal by-products
- Selection can be overwhelming
Purina comes in second to Pedigree in terms of worldwide sales, but its the biggest U.S.-based pet care company. Many of their products seem focused on the American market as a result, and almost all their manufacturing is based in the USA.
The quality of their food varies wildly depending on which line produces it. As a result, you can buy anything from dirt-cheap kibble that rivals what Pedigree makes to high-end recipes designed to satisfy the pickiest of eaters.
Purina Has Placed an Increasing Emphasis on Nutrition
For a long time, Purina was as laser-focused on price as Pedigree continues to be, and their food was as inexpensive as their bigger rivals. However, as the pet market (especially in the United States) began to drift towards healthier, natural foods, Purina began to shift its focus as well. They began to introduce specialized lines that were more expensive but used higher-quality foods as well.
Their ONE line was the first large-scale premium pet food ever made, and while it cant quite rival some of the human-grade foods made today, it nevertheless represented a seismic shift in the pet food industry. ONE is still one of their top-performing brands.
Despite its continuing emphasis on high-quality, nutritious foods, the company still makes many affordable options that use cheap fillers and animal by-products. Recently, though, theyve been trying to offer foods that use healthy ingredients at prices that rival those of their competitor.
Purina Boasts a Wide Array of Specialized Brands
While Pedigree seems to believe that dog food is dog food, Purina has gone the other direction to become one of the most specialized dog food companies in the world. They have several different brands (like ALPO, Beneful, and Mighty Dog, among others), but their primary Purina brand is largely divided into three major lines: Purina Dog Chow, Purina ONE, and Purina Pro Plan.
Purina Dog Chow is just basic dog food, with recipes as imaginative as its name. The latter two brands, however, boast a wide variety of sub-brands, each of which is targeted at specific issues your dog may face.
As a result, theres a Purina recipe for just about anything you want to focus on with your dog, whether thats making sure he ages gracefully, giving him gentle food for his sensitive stomach, or ensuring he gets the maximum amount of nutrition to fuel his active lifestyle.
Purina Generally Uses Healthy Ingredients But Theres Plenty of Room for Improvement
Youll find a few recipes in their cupboard that use only high-quality ingredients, with no questionable foods or additives. For the most part, however, each food has room to improve. The vast majority use cheap fillers like wheat and corn, and many use at least some sort of animal by-product.
That being said, real meat is usually the first ingredient, so at least the rest of the food is built upon that healthy bedrock.
Purina is Made Almost Exclusively in the United States.
Purina was founded in the United States, and even though it merged with the global Nestle corporation in 2001, its focus is still on the American market. It owns several manufacturing plants in the U.S., mostly in the Midwest and Northeast. Almost all its food is made domestically.
While thats a good thing, it doesnt necessarily mean that the food is sourced domestically, too. With a few exceptions, the company is tight-lipped about where its ingredients come from.
3 Most Popular Pedigree Dog Food Recipes
1. Pedigree Adult Dry Dog Food
This is the companys basic kibble, and its extremely affordable. You can buy a large bag for cheap, making it a great choice for owners on a budget or those trying to feed several dogs without going broke. Why is it so cheap? A big reason is that the first ingredient is corn. This is a pretty cheap filler, and its full of empty calories, too. The second ingredient is meat and bone meal, which is full of important nutrients, but it feels incomplete without also having lean meat in there as well.
Most of the other ingredients are either animal by-products or grain meal, so dont expect a ton of nutrition. Theres only 21% protein and 10% fat in here, toowhich is not ideal for keeping your dog lean and trim.
Theres a decent amount of fiber inside, largely due to the dried beet pulp they include. While fibers important, its a distant second to protein. Wed say we want them to increase the amount of protein inside, but given the ingredients list, were afraid of where theyd find the meat to do so.
- Very affordable
- Good for multi-dog households
- Decent amount of fiber
- Made almost exclusively of fillers and by-products
- Low in protein and fat
- Not ideal for overweight animals
2. Pedigree High Protein Adult Dry Dog Food
We complained about the minimal amount of protein in their basic kibble above, and this recipe is their reply to that criticism. However, high protein to them appears to be average protein to most other food manufacturers. The protein levels are at 27%, which is goodbut hardly outstanding, especially for a food that bills itself as high protein. Theres a little more fat and the same amount of fiber as in the regular kibble.
The ingredients list is just as problematic, although this does have real beef inside. Unfortunately, its buried so far down the list that we wonder how much is inside. Youll find lamb meal down there in the vicinity of the beef, which adds a little more animal protein. Its just not enough to excite us, though.
- More protein than other Pedigree kibbles
- Includes real beef
- Lamb meal for extra protein
- Uses just as many fillers and by-products
- Only average protein levels compared to other brands
- Limited amount of lean animal protein
3. Pedigree Large Breed Adult Dry Dog Food
While nominally designed to address the unique nutritional needs that bigger dogs have, this food is hard to distinguish from the basic kibble. It has 1% more protein than that food does, which is good, although hardly worth writing home about. The overall levels are still low.
The meat and bone meal swap places on the ingredients list with chicken by-product meal, as the latter has higher levels of glucosamine, which is good for joint health. This is extremely important for big pups and were glad to see it but getting that glucosamine from low-grade meat is still very off-putting. Also, all the cheap fillers are full of empty calories, so your mutt may end up putting more stress on his joints due to adding extra pounds. Theres only 10% fat in here, too, so most of his energy will come in the form of basic carbs.
Wed definitely feed a giant dog this kibble over their basic one, but it wouldnt be hard to find a non-Pedigree brand food that was better than both.
- More glucosamine than basic kibble
- More protein, too
- Low amount of protein overall
- May cause weight gain
- Heavy focus on basic carbs
3 Most Popular Purina Dog Food Recipes
1. Purina ONE SmartBlend True Instinct Natural Grain-Free Formula Adult
This is one of Purinas higher-end foods, and it costs roughly twice as much as a basic bag of Pedigree. However, you get at least twice as much nutrition, if not more. There are no cheap fillers like corn or wheat inside, nor are there any animal by-products. In their place, youll find real chicken, chicken meal, and starches like cassava root flour and lentil meal. This gives you longer-lasting energy, as well as fewer empty calories.
The protein levels are way higher, tootheres 30% protein in here, which is more than Pedigrees high protein kibble. Theres an equal amount of fiber, but significantly more fat. As a result, this is a better choice for both active and overweight dogs. This food is far from perfect, though. It has ingredients like dried egg products, which many dogs have trouble digesting, and it uses a lot of plant proteins. Also, as we mentioned, it will cost roughly twice as much.
However, if you can afford it, its a vastly superior food.
- No fillers or animal by-products inside
- High amount of protein
- Good for both active and overweight dogs
- Twice as expensive as Pedigree
- Has ingredients some dogs have trouble digesting
- Heavily reliant on plant proteins
2. Purina Beyond Grain Free Natural Adult
Another of the brands grain-free offerings, this one is a tad more expensive than the ONE option above. Even so, we prefer the above food to this one. The biggest change happens in the first three ingredients. While the ONE food has animal proteins as the first two ingredients with starch in third place, this food moves the starch up a notch. As a result, youll get a bit less protein (27% compared to 30%) but more fiber (5% versus 4%).
Picky dogs may prefer this food, though, as it has tender bites of protein mixed in with regular protein, which improves the flavor while being gentle on teeth. This food has many of the same issues as the ONE variety, including reliance on plant proteins and ingredients that dogs may have problems digesting.
Purina Beyond Grain Free is a particularly good food, but we think you could do just as well and save a few bucks by purchasing ONE Grain Free instead.
- Chewy bits of protein mixed in with kibble
- More fiber than ONE grain-free
- Good for picky eaters
- The same issues with plant proteins and triggering ingredients as the ONE variety
- Lower amount of protein
- Slightly more expensive
3. Purina Pro Plan SPORT Formula Adult
While there are a variety of recipes in their Pro Plan SPORT line, this is one of the few thats grain-free. As a result, its the one we like the best. Of course, we may just have expensive tastes, as this is also one of the most expensive. Its high in both protein and fat (30% and 20%, respectively), so its a great choice for active or energetic pups. Theres quite a bit of animal protein in here (as well as some plant protein), but they also add fish oil to give your dog valuable omega fatty acids.
Its a very calorie-dense food, so if your dog is sedentary, it might be too rich for him. Also, theres more salt than wed like. You wont find many better foods in Purinas entire lineup than this one, but just be aware that youll be paying a premium as a result.
- High in fat and protein
- Great for active dogs
- Lots of fish oil
- Expensive
- Too calorie-dense for lazy dogs
- High salt content
Pedigree vs. Purina Comparison
Now that you have a better idea of what each brand stands for and how some of their foods stack up, its time to compare them on a variety of important metrics.
Taste
This will vary depending on which specific recipes you compare, but broadly speaking, most dogs will prefer real meat to cornmeal. As a result, Purina should be the clear winner more often than not.
Nutritional Value
As we wrote above, Pedigree often sacrifices nutrition to create budget-friendly food. That means that they use filler grains and animal by-products instead of high-quality meats and starches.
Purina isnt always stellar in this regard, but they almost always outperform Pedigree.
Price
This is the one area where Pedigree has a clear advantage over Purina. Almost all their foods are inexpensive and well within most dog owners price range. You get what you pay for, and what youre paying for with Pedigree is cheap ingredients.
Selection
Purina has a much bigger selection than Pedigree. You can find entire recipes designed to address a single concern, and many recipes are offered in regular, high-protein, and grain-free varieties.
However, all that selection can get a bit overwhelming, so if you just want a basic kibble, Pedigree is much less likely to flummox you.
Overall
Unless youre extremely price-conscious, when pitting Pedigree vs Purina for the best dog food option, Purina is the clear winner. Its better food, and it uses higher-quality ingredients. Most dogs seem to prefer it as well.
Recall History of Pedigree and Purina
Pedigree has suffered numerous recalls in the past few years. There were several in 2008 due to potential salmonella contamination, although no dogs were reported to be affected by eating the food. There was another in 2012 due to concerns that there might be bits of plastic in the food that could pose a choking hazard. A couple of years later, another recall was issued due to the possible presence of foreign materialspecifically metal fragments. We couldnt tell if either issue affected any dogs, but neither incident is very reassuring.
Purina has had two recent recalls. In 2013, a possible Salmonella outbreak triggered a recall, although the contamination was limited to a single bag; no pups were harmed. In 2016, they recalled some of their wet food over concerns that the food may not have the listed number of vitamins and minerals. The food was not considered to be dangerous.
Pedigree vs Purina Dog Food: Which Should You Choose?
In some ways, it feels unfair to compare Pedigree and Purina dog food, as they both have different target audiences. Pedigree is designed to be affordable, while Purina is intended to be nutritious and delicious.
However, given that Pedigree is the biggest pet care company in the world, it hardly feels like were picking on David at the expense of Goliath here. The company could easily boost the nutritional profile of its food if they so desired.
At the end of the day, the only reason to feed your dog Pedigree over Purina is if your budget requires you to make sacrifices. If your primary concern is your dogs health and well-being, though, you should pick Purina just about every time.
