Pedigree Small Dog Complete Nutrition Roasted Chicken, Rice & Vegetable Flavor Small Breed

The average dog food we reviewed had 39 total ingredients, with 1 controversial ingredient. This product has 12 total controversial ingredients and an astounding 5 of them are the first five ingredients. This is very concerning because the first 5 ingredients make up most of the product, meaning the majority of this food is controversial.

Top 5 Ingredients

Dog food ingredients are listed in descending order of weight. So when looking at dog food label, take a close look at the first 5 ingredients. They make up about 80% of the total weight.

• Ground Whole Grain Corn
  Corn (also known as maize) is a cereal grain that provides carbs, protein, fat, vitamin B and other nutrients. Ground corn in dog food is an inexpensive (and often feed-grade quality) ingredient that we do not consider a high-quality dog food ingredient. However, ground whole grain corn is a higher-quality ingredient as it often contains more protein and nutrients.

• Poultry By-Product Meal (Source of Glucosamine & Chondroitin Sulfate)
  Meat by-products are animal parts other than meat that are left over at the slaughterhouse. This can include the lung, spleen, brain, liver, blood, bone, beaks, kidneys, fatty tissue, and intestines. Because there is a wide variety of animal parts companies can use, and because details don't need to be disclosed, it's tough to compare the quality of different by-products. Generally speaking, by-products can provide important nutrients for dogs but can be of lower quality than meats and meat meals. Additionally, this ingredient doesn't identify the species it comes from making it questionable and intransparent. This includes the potential that rancid, dead, dying, disabled or diseased meat sources could have been used. For these reasons, we do not consider this a high-quality ingredient. Glucosamine is a combination of glutamine (an amino acid) and glucose (a sugar) that's present in chicken. Chondroitin sulfate is a chemical that's naturally found in the cartilage around the joints of animals.

• Brewers Rice
  Brewer's rice is the small, broken fragments of white rice that are left over when rice is milled. It's used in dog food since it's not considered aesthetically pleasing enough for human food. It's a cheaper alternative to whole rice or other grains, providing calories but only modest nutritional value. It is missing many of the nutrients contained in whole ground rice and brown rice. For these reasons, we do not consider this a high-quality dog food ingredient.
  
  
• Corn Gluten Meal
  Corn gluten meal is a waste product from corn manufacturing that is used as an inexpensive protein source in dog food. While it provides protein, corn gluten meal is less nutritious than meat (its ability to provide amino acids to your dog's body is lower). Therefore, we do not consider it a high-quality dog food ingredient.
  
  
• Soybean Meal
  Soybean meal are ground and dried soybeans. While soy provides protein, its nutritional quality (the bioavailability of amino acids) is lower than that of meats. For this reason, we do not consider soybean meal a high-quality dog food ingredient.

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‍Controversial Ingredients

1. Ground Whole Grain Corn
2. Ground whole grain corn is a lower cost ingredient that does provide energy, but dogs can be sensitive to it. As a kernel it is not digestible, so it must be processed, but that processing leads to a higher glycemic index. Yellow corn is not generally considered a controversial ingredient, but is controversial if it is used in the top five ingredients (which make up about 80% of the food's weight) where a named meat or lean protein would be more nutritious.

1. Poultry By-Product Meal (Source of Glucosamine & Chondroitin Sulfate)
2. Meat by-products are animal parts other than meat that are left over at the slaughterhouse. This can include the lung, spleen, brain, liver, blood, bone, beaks, kidneys, fatty tissue, and intestines. Because there is a wide variety of animal parts companies can use, and because details don't need to be disclosed, it's tough to compare the quality of different by-products. Generally speaking, by-products can provide important nutrients for dogs but can be of lower quality than meats and meat meals. Additionally, this ingredient doesn't identify the species it comes from making it questionable and intransparent. This includes the potential that rancid, dead, dying, disabled or diseased meat sources could have been used. For these reasons, we do not consider this a high-quality ingredient. Glucosamine is a combination of glutamine (an amino acid) and glucose (a sugar) that's present in chicken. Chondroitin sulfate is a chemical that's naturally found in the cartilage around the joints of animals.

1. Brewers Rice
2. Brewers Rice is basically white rice that has been broken into smaller pieces. It's a waste product of the milling process and considered a low quality ingredient because its missing many of the nutrients contained in whole ground rice and brown rice.

1. Corn Gluten Meal
2. Corn gluten meal is a low cost protein ingredient that is used to add protein and bind food together. This protein is far less complete in nutrient content than meat based proteins, but because of its low cost it is often used to bump up the protein percentage. It is controversial if it is used in the top five ingredients (which make up about 80% of the food's weight) where a named meat or lean protein would be more nutritious.

1. Soybean Meal
2. Soybean meal is ground and dried soybeans. Soy is not generally considered a controversial ingredient, but is controversial when it is used in the top five ingredients (which make up about 80% of the food's weight) where a named meat or lean protein would be more nutritious.

1. Animal Fat (Source of Omega 6 Fatty Acids [Preserved With Bha/Citric Acid])
2. Animal fat is created through a process called rendering which uses heat to convert animal tissue into more usable materials. Rendering dries the ingredient to separate bones, fat and protein. While fats are nutritious, this ingredient doesn't identify the species it comes from making it questionable and intransparent. This includes the potential that rancid, dead, dying, disabled or diseased meat sources could have been used. This ingredient also uses an artificial preservative called BHA which is suspected of causing cancer in dogs. For these reasons, we do not consider this a high-quality ingredient.

1. Meat And Bone Meal (Source of Calcium)
2. Meat and bone meals are created by cooking meat, tissue, bones and slaughterhouse waste products using high heat. In the process, most of the water is removed, resulting in a protein-rich powder. Pure meat meals contain about four times the protein meats do, so generally, they're a good source of nutrients. However, meals that also contain bones can be difficult to digest and have the potential to include rancid, dead, dying, disabled or diseased meat sources. This ingredient also doesn't identify the species it comes from making it questionable and intransparent. For these reasons, we do not consider this a high-quality ingredient.

1. Blue 2
2. Blue 2 is a synthetic dye used to change the color of food. This ingredient is completely unnecessary, dogs simply don't care about the color of their food.

1. Yellow 5
2. Tartrazine (also called C.I. 19140, FD&C Yellow 5, Acid Yellow 23, Food Yellow 4 and E102) and is a synthetic lemon yellow dye used to change the color of food, cosmetics and medications. In humans with Tartrazine hypersensitivity potential reactions include headaches, asthma attacks, itching or hives, insomnia, and hyperactivity. What's most concerning is that this ingredient is completely unnecessary, dogs simply don't care about the color of their food.

1. Yellow 6
2. Sunset Yellow FCF (also called Orange Yellow S, C.I. 15985, and E110) is a petroleum-derived orange dye used to change the color of food, cosmetics and medications. With potential links to ADHD and cancer, it has been restricted or banned in some EU countries and has restrictions in the U.S. - based on maximum intake ranges. What's most concerning is that this ingredient is completely unnecessary, dogs simply don't care about the color their food.

1. Red 40
2. Allura Red AC (also called FD&C Red 40, C. I. 16035 and E129) is a synthetic dye used to change the color of food. it has been shown to significantly reduced reproductive success, parental and offspring weight, brain weight, and survival. What's most concerning is that this ingredient is completely unnecessary, dogs simply don't care about the color of their food.

1. BHA
2. Butylated hydroxyanisole - Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) is an artificial preservative that is used to keep foods from going rancid. The US Department of Health says it is "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen" and it's been found to produce certain types of tumors in animals.

‍Country of Origin

Pedigree Small Dog Complete Nutrition Roasted Chicken is made in the USA. Dog food made in the United States has to follow strict quality and manufacturing guidelines, so this is a good thing.

Meat & Fat Quality

The protein sources in this dog food are overall of low quality. It includes ingredients like Poultry By-Product Meal (Source of Glucosamine & Chondroitin Sulfate), Animal Fat (Source of Omega 6 Fatty Acids [Preserved With Bha/Citric Acid]), and Meat And Bone Meal (Source of Calcium). All three of these do not explain the animal they actually come from, making their quality questionable. The product also lists Chicken By-Product Meal, which specifies the species it comes from - but that ingredient is included in a much lower amount (it can be found lower on the ingredients list). The ingredients don’t show added oils, so the fat comes from the lower-quality meat ingredients as well.

Artificial Preservatives

The animal fat used in this food is preserved with BHA, which is a very controversial preservative. Please note that ‍not all artificial preservatives are bad. That’s because they serve an important purpose, which is to prevent food from spoiling. However, we consider 11 artificial preservatives as controversial because of their potential link to cancer and other serious health conditions.

Artificial Colors

Unfortunately, this dog food also contains a total of four artificial colors - Blue 2, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6. All of them make it lower-quality food because they aren’t necessary for dogs to like the food and have potential health concerns.

Artificial Flavors

Artificial flavors is the only “artificial” category in which this food gets a pass. No artificial flavors are to be found, very good. We wish this product would skip the artificial preservatives and colors as well, but unfortunately it doesn’t.