MIAMI, FL—A consumer advocacy research center based in the University of Miami has recently discovered that the majority of starving puppies they tested prefers Pedigree brand dog food to other brands by a ratio of 2 to 1.
These robust findings appeared after 572 trials of denying 6-day-old puppies food for 3 days, and then offering them a choice between 4 types of food. In approximately 64% of those cases, the puppies first consumed the Pedigree brand food before moving onto another brand, vomiting what they had consumed too quickly, and then licking it back up off of the floor.
The researchers believe that their findings can be attributed to the higher moisture content of the Pedigree food, making it easier for the puppies to chew and then swallow without choking on it in their weakened and highly vulnerable state as a result of lack of nutrition.
The team of scientists explain that they were careful to control for breed and tolerance to hunger, by putting each of the puppies through at least 12 trials of "forced fasting" before presenting them with food again. They found that, of the puppies who survived through their 8th trial, there was a preference for Pedigree in as much as 79% of choices, which may indicate a further advantage for the food in bringing small canines back from the edge of survival.
The agency explains that its findings are enormously useful for consumers as they now can make better choices when attempting to nurse a starving puppy back to health. Said Sean York, 44, the head researcher, "How many of us have gone off on a vacation for 6 or 7 days, and then suddenly remembered the puppy we adopted the day before we left? Well now, consumers can make informed choices about which brands of dog food are likely to be preferable for their journey of bringing little Fido back to his vibrant and vivacious self, assuming he was able to find water in the toilet, that is."
As for future directions, the researchers hope to now test for similar patterns in kittens, and have a $4 million study plan currently being reviewed.