Beneful dog food
September 23, 2008
Filed under Beneful, Dog Food Reviews
Beneful dog food review
Beneful dog food formulas are manufactured and marketed by Nestle Purina Petcare Company. Currently, there are two Beneful product lines for dogs—dry dog food and one canned formula.
Beneful dog food has often been criticized as a low-grade product because of the low-quality ingredients which are incorporated in their dog food formulas. It is primarily grain-based and uses chicken by-product meal as the major source of animal-based protein. We do not recommend Beneful dog food brand to your dogs.
Currently, there are seven Beneful dry dog food variants formulated to meet AAFCO nutrient profiles for all life stages. However, these dry dog formulas contain controversial ingredients that compromise the nutritional value of the dog food.
Beneful’s first five major ingredients are made up of ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour, and animal fat.
Ground yellow corn as the first major ingredient already tells a lot about the nutritional value of the dog food. Although corn is a good source of carbohydrates, there is no way of knowing if the corn grains that have been used are of the first class grade and not one which has been designated as livestock feed grade. Corn has been also pinpointed as one of the important food allergens in dog food.
The same way can be said with wheat flour which has been linked to food allergies in dogs.
Another corn-based ingredient is corn gluten meal. Gluten is also a by-product after starch has been extracted from corn. It is an inexpensive but inferior source of essential amino acids which can add to the total protein content of the dog food formula.
Chicken by-product meal is made from chicken parts which have been considered unfit for human consumption. The meal is made by rendering chicken slaughterhouse waste including chicken beaks, feet, entrails, even undeveloped eggs. As you can see, most of these by-products are inedible.
Although chicken by-product meal comes from such savory ingredients, it is still a good source of protein compared to fresh chicken.
The use of animal fat is controversial, in that the source/s has not been identified. Fat which has been used can come from any source including slaughterhouse waste, diseased livestock, and even restaurant grease.
Beneful dry dog food contains propylene glycol, a food moisturizer which has been banned by the FDA for use in pet food.
Controversial ingredients incorporated in Beneful dog food formulas include garlic oil, menadione, and non-chelated minerals.
Garlic oil, extracted from raw garlic, has been associated with the occurrence of Heinz body anemia in dogs.
Menadione is a controversial form of vitamin K which has been linked to several serious conditions including allergies, liver toxicity, and abnormal break-down of red blood cells in the body.
A run-through of the ingredients will reveal more than 50% carbohydrate content while protein dry matter is only a measly 29%. Fat content is insufficient to satisfy the nutritional requirements of all ages of dogs.
Customer Reviews
A significant number of dog allergies have been reported which have been linked to Beneful dog food products. Many dog owners are dismayed to be fooled into buying a dog food because of its rampant marketing strategies and excellent packaging without considering the poor quality ingredients of the dog food inside. Dog owners also report of digestive problems including diarrhea, bloating, and vomiting. Overall, we do not recommend Beneful dog food and would suggest Kirkland dog food as a higher-quality value alternative.
Please visit the links listed below for Beneful dog food reviews by formula.
Have a comment or question about our Beneful dog food review? Want to share your experiences with others? We welcome your comments!
Beneful dog food reviews
Beneful Dog Food Formulas:
- Beneful Original dog food
- Beneful Healthy Weight dog food
- Beneful Playful Life dog food
- Beneful Healthy Radiance dog food
- Beneful Healthy Harvest dog food
- Beneful Healthy Growth for Puppies dog food
Beneful Dog Food Consumer Rating
My keeshond Cheyanne is 5 years old, and she was always a healthy dog she wasnt bought from a pet shop or puppy mill, she came from a very good breeder. About two months ago she had a really bad seizure around 3 am we brought her to the vet and they didnt find anything wrong with her, we were giving her beneful at the time, so when we got her home we switched foods and she was fine(thank god) for about a month.. then we had another dog in the house so not thinking we switched back to beneful(the other pup had a skin problem) not even a week after they started eating beneful she had another seizure… PLEASE DONT FEED YOUR DOG BENEFUL!!!!!!!
My God, why didn’t I read this earlier – I am broken hearted because yesterday I had to put my beloved poodle down due to kidney failure, after only a couple of months of using Beneful. Why can’t something be done about this!! PLEASE DON’T FEED YOUR DOG BENEFUL. I’m going to ask the local grocery store to stop selling it – it’s a start. Now’ I’m angry.
I feed my 8 month old Golden Retreiver, Magnolia, Beneful for puppies and she has never had a problem. She is one of the healthiest dogs I see at the dog park.. lot sof energy, beautiful full coat..
I know some of that mya just be genetics, but the beneful hasnt created any problems and we have gone through 3 small child size bags.
We also give her nutro ultra holistic pet food for puppies that is wet and comes out of the pouch. The one thing I can say about Beneful negatively is that it doesnt have much protein in it (as stated by my vet and trainer), and so it leads to behaviors such as digging up cat poop, or in my case, eating it out of the litter box because it is full of protein. So, if you do feed your dog beneful, it might be best to supplement it with some kind of better wet food. i mean, it’s so freaking cheap anyway that you definately can splurge on a few pouches of the wet with the beneful and still end up paying less than some other brand that is just as bad. i mean, really, pedigree and all those other grocery store brands are the same.. and people have been feeding their dogs those foods for years long before the fancy brands came along. i am sorry, but if you spend 40 bucks buying the organic stuff then you have your priorities all wrong. that stuff is ridiculous, and dogs lived long and healthy lives long before they ever came on the market.
I used to buy afordable 50 Lb Beneful dry dog food at Costco.
My 6 year old Lab, had never had any problems, and loved it too.
Since three month now Costco no longer caries Beneful on their shelve.
After reading mostly bad comments about Beneful from Costco, I can only surmise they pulled it off their shelves due to many complains.
Thank you for the eye opener.
I have since replaced it with “Super Primum” Lamb Rice & Vegetable,from kirkland Costco signature adult Dog food which my Tami doesn’t lik.
Any comments are a welcome about the Above Kirkland “Super Premuim” .
Lauren,
Please do more research on dog food or you WILL lose one of your babies to crap food. I agree that most brands USED to be good, however, in the last 10 years or so, things have changed. Big corporations that make human foods have all jumped on the pet food band wagon and use their waste products to make pet foods.
Just look at the new owners of the big brands. They are all making billions from their waste.
That’s why cheap foods are cheap. They are made from by-products and crap.
Paying more for your pet’s food will save you money in the long run. Less waste, the animals actually needs less food, and vet bills will be much less, and your babies will live longer.
Dogfoodanalysis.com is a great place to start your research.
My mom’s 6 year old Alaskan Malamute died a couple of months ago due to eating Beneful dog food. He had a heart attack due to the fat content from the dog food.
I have three dogs, two small and one large. I started buying Beneful a couple of months ago, they really seemed to like it! I just got a new bag last week, they all have been vomiting/diarrhea with a skin rash. I thought the smaller dogs had just been in an ant mound (Florida), but after I fed them today the rash turned bright red with hives! So I started surfing the net for causes. I know now it IS from the food. Once I read about the mites and such, sure enough we had them in our bag too. I will NEVER feed them this again. I am so upset that I was indirectly causing my dogs to be SICK! Don’t feed your dogs Beneful! It is not worth the risk!! I have to give them all benedryl just to help them stop itching!
My dog became sick today after opening a new package of Beneful; vomiting, diarhea and seizures and other side effects. I have since removed this from her bowl and will keep the bag to contact Purina. I’ve been told some dogs are effected by the red die, #40 but I don’t know for sure this caused her side effects. I’ve noticed recalls on several of Purina’s products.
I would not feed Beneful to my dog because I am paying for filler, dogs to not digest ingredients like corn…it comes out the back end. How do I know-I have worked in a vet clinic for 8 years.I love Orijen and Acana(made by the same company), my dog loves it and I feel confident feeding it. I always tell people that complain about the price to compare price to feeding instructions and kcal content in the dog food. I’m a poor college student and I went and figured prices, I spend around 38 cents more a day to feed my 80 pound dog Orijen with healthy ingredients, than to feed him corn based popular brands made by large corporations like purina…thats it…38 cents, its easy for me to find a way to not spend that extra 38 cents(walking to stores within range instead of driving-is a great money saver, that’s where most of my extra 38 a day comes from, getting water from the tap and reusing a water bottle instead of buying a new bottle-that’s a dollar saved and almost 3 days of better dog food for my pet).
I use to feed Beneful to my beautiful Chocolate lab, he probably ate it for 3-4 years of his life until I lost him two weeks ago. He had just made it to his 7 birthday and he was perfectly healthy so I thought. Chopper was full of life and we always went running until two weeks ago he woke up not feeling good and in a matter of 2 hours he was in Shock and slipping away from me.. The Xrays showed a huge mass (tumor) in his stomach and it had burst and he was bleeding to death and his liver showed to be affected as well and he had to be put down. After going through the process of adopting a new lab I was informed about what too look for in dog food and I almost threw up to see what was truly in the dog food I was feeding my Baby Boy.. so please anyone feeding Beneful or anything else please research what is in the food.. I know feed Blue Buffalo which doesnt have the by products or animal digest or any other toxic ingredients..
Our beautiful lab ate Beneful for about a year, then developed severe liver failure. He died long before his time. After reading numerous similar accounts I think there should be an investigation into the Beneful company and their ingredients. Apparently there is more to the slick packaging as Beneful had the top rating of the worst dog foods by Whole Dog Journal in 2008.
Everyone needs to spread the word as there are more accounts than just coincidence.
Two days ago I lost my beloved lab to toxins in the liver that were off the charts. I had been feeding both my dogs Beneful Healthy weight for several years and just had bought a new bag right before his death at Walmart. I opened up the bag and begin feeding both my dogs. My lab begin to get sick immediately as he eats more than my german pincher. Both dogs then refused to eat anymore, I took my lab to the vet….after blood tests, x-rays etc he said it had to be a toxin that was attacking his liver. My lab is inside and never runs loose so he could not have gotten into anything!! So I decided to have blood tests run on my german pincher. His liver toxins were also elevated. I immediately changed foods for my dogs but my lab was so sick he couldn’t eat anymore. We ruled out everything and the only thing common for the liver between my two dogs was the Beneful. I lost my lab two days ago and had my german pincher liver levels rechecked and SURPRISE since I have taken him off the Beneful his levels have been dropping. I called Purina and they acted like this was the first call they had ever gotten….I can’t imagine they wouldn’t know if you look at the internet it is everywhere. In addition, I looked at two products in Beneful one being Menadione Sodium Bisulfite which is a substance toxic to the kidneys, liver and mucous membranes. Repeated or prolonged exposure to the substance can produce target-organ damage. Also they have Copper Sulfate which is toxic to the liver. This is what people use to prevent fungus & mold on Apple Trees etc. My vet said both of these over time can cause liver issues. How can Purina keep producing Beneful and getting away with this…..if these were human lives they would have been shut down years ago! I will fight in memory of my loving lab until I get answers! How many other family pets need to die before their time! Something has to be done! I will never use a Purina Product Again!
Wow. I am amazed and shocked. I knew beneful wasn’t high quality, but this is horrible. My German shepherd loves this stuff and has been eating it for over a year as well as her litter mate (belongig to my brother). Since moving out my parents home I started feeding her Kirkland brand dog food from costco to save a little. However, she won’t touch the stuff and is beginning to lose too much weight.
I came here to look into the quality of dog foods since she has also been exhibiting signs of itchy skin and allergies (constantly licking her legs and rubbing her face into the carpet). I was considering switching back to beneful for her, but these reviews have set me right! Izzie will never eat beneful again! And I’m letting my parents and brother know so that their dog will not suffer (they have mentioned him having loose stool on a consistent basis).
Shockingly the vet has never noticed any health issues.
Does anyone out there have some dogfood suggestions for my girl? As worried a I am about the beneful her diminshing weight is at te height of my concerns as she refuses to eat the Kirkland brand.
my neighbor had a wonderful springer spaniel, she was such a good dog. i dont know how old she was but she was young. they fed her beneful all her life and about two years ago after her 3 litter of puppys she started loosing her hair, she had bald spots, she smelt awful! her eyes were red and she hardly ever ran around, she dident look up when my friend went out to play with her. she had cancer. she only had about 2 weeks left so about a week later they went and had her put down. my friend was crying about every 5 mins. she just staired out the window in to the empty backyard. they kept one of her puppys, the runt of the litter, and are now not feeding her beneful and she is the most energetic dog on the planet. i honestly think that it was the beneful dog chow.
Hey Catty use a 5 or 6 star product off this website and you can’t go wrong. I have had 6 German Sheperds and I can tell ya food makes a huge difference in the long run. I feed Orijen, Horizen Leacy, california natural and Merrick to my dogs and they are awesome looking. I wet their food down a little then mix in a little canned (Innova, which I water down and mix in really good) and make a can last 3 days and my dog go nuts for it.
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/