Worst dog food brands
October 8, 2008 by admin
Filed under Dog Food Tips
Interested in the worst dog food brands? Ingredients separate the worst dog food brands from the best dog food brands. Lets take a look at what make a dog food brand the worst dog food brand:
- By-Products
- Non specefic animal source
- Contains BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin
- No meats in the first five ingredients
- Contains artificial colorants
- Contains ground corn or whole grain corn
These are just a couple of the things that will make a brand of dog food the worst. Now lets take a look at some of the first dog food brands on the market (These are just my opinion based on the ingredients).
Top 10 Worst Dog Food Brands.
- Beneful Dog Food
- Eukanuba Dog Food
- Hills Science Diet Dog Food
- Iams Dog Food
- Kibbles and Bits
- Opitmum
- Pedigree Dog Food
- Pro Plan Dog Food
- Purina One and Chow Dog Food
- Royal Canin Dog Food
BEST DOG ON THE BLOCK Dog Tips
Dog Food – Friend or Foe?
by Mark Siebel – Owner – DOGGIE STEPS Dog Training
I find it funny how some dog owners have NO idea what they’re feeding their dogs; “This is what I’ve always fed FIDO, and he seems to like it.” Upon years of observing dog behavior and health trends, I have noted how the longevity and quality of a dog’s health is directly related to the food eaten.
I have recently adopted the attitude that I will NOT feed my dogs anything that I wouldn’t eat. Holding true to this philosophy, below are a few simple tips to ensuring your dog will be treated to a well balanced meal and not leftovers from who knows where:
1. Dog food nutritional standards. According to the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), all of a pet’s dietary needs (ie..proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals) must be present in every meal. The AAFCO approval label is found on 95% of all dog food, including those that have inferior nutritional value. So, how do we know that the food is actually nutritionally sound for our dogs? Do your homework!!
2. Read the ingredients label on your dog food bag. Most inexpensive dry dog foods contain “fillers” such as corn, millet, wheat, and rice, ALL of which are not natural in a dog’s diet. Be aware that the first 5 ingredients on the ingredients label will comprise over 85% of the food’s content. If any of the following ingredients are currently listed on your dry food, BEWARE!! *4-D: comprised of meat from dead animals, including the possibility of tainted and/or diseased meat. *Propylene Glycol: a preservative thought to have the similar molecular structures to that of antifreeze. *BHA & BHT: a suspected carcinogen. *Ethoxyquin: a major preservative used in rubber tires, and sometimes in dog food as a synthetic antioxidant to keep fats from turning rotten.
3. Find a Veterinarian who practices “Holistic” Medicine. Today, most traditional vets don’t even own a dog!! They recommend a dog food that “coincides” with your dog’s current ailment, and will most often recommend a steroid injection (cortisone) to mask the symptoms of the dog’s illness while not treating the actual disease. It’s nice to have a vet who will assess your dog’s history of illness and prescribe the appropriate foods and recovery program to establish a healthy nutritional balance.
4. Finally – What to feed your dog. A raw, homemade diet is often chosen by dog owners who want to provide the freshest organic meats, vegetables, and proteins to their dogs. This often requires a lot of work, time, and money. To satisfy your dog’s appetite, the following dry dog foods have been tested/qualified to be the top dry brands for both overall nutritional balance, and immune strength: Innova, Eagle Pack, Canidae, Wellness, Fromm’s, Solid Gold, Canine Caviar, California Natural, Natural Planet Organics, and Prairie. ALL OF THESE FOODS ARE MADE IN THE U.S.A. These same brands have wet food to accompany the dry. I recommend a tablespoon of wet food daily for added protein and flavor.
If we eat at McDonald’s every day, we get overweight and a triple bypass at the age of 62. Eating with natural/organic food in mind, we can achieve better future health and the comfort of knowing that our immune system is more resilient against disease. So, the next time you’re thinking about saving a few bucks by buying the cheapest dog food at your local supermarket, think twice.
Mark Siebel has trained over 500 Arizona Valley dogs, has dog training tips published monthly in various AZ magazines, appears on NBC Channel 12 Arizona Midday, ABC Channel 15 Sonoran Living, speaks regularly with local schools youth groups about the importance of dog safety and ownership, and donates time to kids who want to learn more about dogs. He is a member of APPSA (Arizona Professional Pet Sitters Association) and ASC of Arizona (Australian Shepherd Club of Arizona). Mark owns (2) Australian Shepherds named Leinie and Kugel. For more information or general dog questions, go to: http://www.doggiestepsdogtraining.com/index.html or call Mark @602.318.0122.
You forgot the all-time worst food ….. Old Roy sold at Walmart!
I cringe when I see Ole Roy at Walmart-how could they sell such an alful food? But look at the dumb looking people that buy this garbage. Spend more money on a fancy cell phone and say that cant afford a good food or say “the dog loves it” how about a shovel to go with the food so you have a lot of clean up.
I spend all my money on the best food and treats. The back yard can prove it, less shedding-poop- and they eat less (because it real)
Dog and service dogs should not be eating dog food that has corn and sugar in it. It will not help them grow big and strong. All this does for them is make them full, Eating this make them have bad breath, and bad teeth. Also they will die 2 1\2 years earlier, do you what your best friend (dog)to not live health. If you do feed them this type of dog food then you should not have a dog or a service dog. You should read the back of the bag, to see what they put in the dog food be for you buy it. dry, can and moist dog food. If you can feed them right don’t get a pet or service dog. It’s not fair to the animal.
Who cares about those mutts. All they need is table scraps. LOL
IS EUKSNUBA REALLY BAD I HAVE A YORKIE I AM SO WORRIED HELP
Crystal,
you should use Chicken Soup For Pet Lover’s Soul Adult Dog Formula or Puppy Formula.
This food is really satisfying for your dog.
It will love it!
My dog is picky and he liked it!
Plus this food prevents plaque and tartar and bad breath.
It is made with all natural ingridients, none of that frozen food. Everything is pure.
Enjoy
Btw, “I” the one who wrote…
“Who cares about those mutts. All they need is table scraps. LOL”
that was not funny.
i hate it when you go to the grocery store and dispite the petfood recall people are still feeding there dogs what was recalled just because they belive what the tv tells them.and i would just like to say that my dog is 8 years old and he can run really fast because of solid gold petfoods its one of the best it doesnt have by-products,corn,wheat,dairy,soy also known as lection),no animal fat added and no sugar or salt and no sunfolwer oil which is a very cheap oil and it increases the risk of cancer by up to 69%
If I had a pet I really did love, I would feed them the best. I don’t.
Most of the Wal-mart buyers buying “Old Roy” usually are rednecks who own some mixed barnyard mutt wandering around their trailer park so they don’t give a horses patoot what’s in the ingredients.
I have to say that my 2 year old Golden was on Pedigree up untill a few months ago…after doing a little research online and talkin to my friends I switched her to Solid gold…she does likes it a lot. It is the first dry food she will eat with nothing else added to it…
For all of you who REALLY care about your four legged friends, please read the article that changed my mind about dog food (click the link below).
WHAT DO U GUYS THINK OF PRO PERFORMANCE for small size puppies?
Thank u:)
Our dog is a large breed, and a rescue from a backyard breeder that was shut down due to deplorable conditions (so he didn’t get the best start in life). He has a host of inherited health issues as well, so it’s not like we have a naturally healthy dog. But he is now ten, and is as rambunctious and fun-loving as ever. When we moved into our new house a year ago, our dog was nine, and I mistakenly thought our neighbor’s dog was much, much older. He walked slowly, and just seemed like a very, very old dog. Nope. He was seven. Just fed crap his entire life–Pedigree.
For people who think buying higher quality dog food is a waste of money, let me explain why it’s not. Our dog’s food may be twice as expensive as a grocery store brand, but he eats half as much food on a daily basis because it’s a higher quality food without fillers and garbage in it. So in the long run, we are paying out the same amount. And we have a much happier dog, too.
I CANNOT beleive I am feeding my dog Beneful! I am in tears! My baby means so much to me…it’s all in my lack of better judgment. Please tell me what you think of blue buffalo, but I think I’m going to search for Solid Gold. I’m so glad I found this site…I Love You People!
I love the idea of posting bad dog foods – excellent thought with much sense behind it and I commend you to the limit, however, I can tell you you’re very wrong on Royal Canin. I have a Czech GSD – I would humbly say one of the top 10-15 male working GSDs in the world. I researched every link I could find, outside of published laboratory studies breaking down each component by component. THE best website for info on dog foods is pedigreedatabase.com. Regardless of the breed (don’t worry – no vets weighing in with opinions there), the OVERWHELMING consensus is that Royal is among the top 3-4 foods available. Your list is right on with the rest, but NOT Royal. I have no bias in any direction – I’m just informing you that the world’s top website for breeders, working dogs and show dogs with members chiming in constantly on this subject, is pedigreedatabase, and what is said by consensus there carries the weight of the world behind it. Working dog people are the absolute best, most intellectual, most knowledgeable and well versed. These are high level competitors and professionals (many WUSV contenders). They “get it”, trust me: They say Eagle Pack, Royal, Innova (which is typically too rich causing loose stools but of high quality), Blue Buffalo and a few others. More than a dozen other sites I have checked follow this consensus, and throw Solid Gold and Canidae (but for dry skin issues caused by Canidae) in as well. They do corroborate the balance of your list, btw;-)
I have a 1.5 year old Australian Working Kelpie and a 12 year-old Kelpie/Lab mix. My wife is very picky about what we feeds them, and they both get Innova Evo small bites. They are both happy, healthy and the elder dog is as active now as she was 5 years ago. It’s more expensive, but I know it’s been worth it.
Royal canin has been part of recall fact. Royal canin’s ingredient panel does not follow what the ideal ingredients of what a dog’s needs are fact. Royal Canin’s is the producer of Pedigree, Medi-cal, Nutro etc which have all had recall. fact. The problem with innova is with people and feeding amounts.
It is like saying that a balance diet for your children is too rich and we should stay with subpar, bland ingredients. Come on now people, figure out that the Vet’s should now be able to push pet foods as it is a contradiction to what they are supposed to do. Our own family doctors cannot sell meds, why should veterinarians?
my little boston terrier has just died of liver disease (diognosed at 9 yrs.old) she also had other digestive problems and gall bladder cancer i will always beleive that i shortened her life by feeding her kibles and bits. the dog food industries that put this junk in their pet foods should be ashamed i miss my little girl so much and had i known that i was poisening her i would have done things much differently. i have switched my little boy mackey from beneful to chicken soup for the pet lovers soul, i know it is to late to help bean dog but her early death has made me investigate dog food quality, i hope she knows i did not realize the health problems i was causing her to suffer, because pet food companies lie and that is the sad truth and now i have killed my dog and i blame her diet for her early passing.
I have to disagree with the dog foods listed as the top 10 worst dog foods. I recently switched my dogs food from Iams to Beneful. I asked my doctor what was a good food for my dog, but cheaper than Iams, as it is so expensive. He advised me that you get what you pay for. He suggested Purina/or Beneful as a second choice from Iams. Anything generic is not good…and if it is cheap, its cheap for a reason–it is not gonna be good/healthy for your dog. I am sure that my vet. would not give me information that was false.
Rachel,
Your vet may not give you information that is false, but they will give you information based upon ignorance. Not stupidity, as that is something else, but being ignorant of what they’re talking about. If you knew how little education vets receive about nutrition, you’d be amazed. Again, read the ingredients, that’s all you have to do.
Here’s something to think about: http://consumerist.com/2008/09/purina-isnt-bothered-by-dog-food-infested-with-fly-larvae-maggots.html
To Chris K. Boye, you need to quit lying on a message board like this. I have had many GSD’s and their is no way in gods green earth would I feed any of them a poison like RC. The crap is so grain heavy and low grains at that and has many other low grade ingredents that any GSD would have a lot of problems with it. I would love to see how your dogs look up close and next to mine. I would bet everything I own, it would be night and day, in looks of the coats(big time), eyes, nose’s and the way they act. I feed mine only the “best” Oriejen Large bred puppy, Horizon Legacy puppy, Merrick Puppy plate and California Natural. I mix it with Innova large bred puppy. Let me tell ya where ever I go and other big bred dogs are their I get asked over and over again what I feed him. I GOTTA TELL YA THEIR HAS NEVER BEEN ANOTHER GSD THAT COMES CLOSE TO HIS LOOKS AND I ALWAYS GET COMPLIMENTS ON HOW HE LOOKS. LIKE I SAID I WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOUR GSD’S NEXT TO MINE YOU WOULD BE SHOCKED.
Rachel, find a new Vet because yours is a total moron. You just can’t find a worse dog food than Benacrap. LOOK WHATS IN IT?????
1.Ground yellow corn. Crap just crap
2.chicken by-product meal. This is the crap the workers walk on in the slalter(sp) houses. It’s not chicken it is feathers and other garbage.
3.corn gluten meal. This is just unreal, how bad 2 types of corn in the 1st 5 foods be. SUPER BAD
4.whole wheat flour.. Wheat is even worse than corn and causea many problems in dogs.
5.animal fat. It say animal fat but not which kind, just flat out scary.
Look at a dogs teeth,,, does it look like they are made for grinding corn and wheat????? Heck NO,, THEY ARE MADE FOR ripping apart MEAT !!!!!!!!!
Not so fast condemning wal-mart Old Roy is a premium dog food and is manufactured under controlled conditions by a major company. Years ago in Kansas I watched a fox go to a silo to eat. I asked the company what was the product that attracted the fox ? The response was Purina dog food.A fox won’t continue to eat what is not good.Many years ago I had a doberman and he would turn the bowl over if it wasn’t purina, after him I had an American Eskimo she ate nothing but Purina (OLD ROY) and passed away 17 years later and never once in her life did she ever have a sick day.Venison now has a wasting disease I’ll continue to feed my dogs Purina, and you use yours.
Note:Sitka my Eskimo was a Blue Ribbon champion.Dogs should not eat human foods they can have early blindness from lack of the right food sources.
LOL, old roy should be named old crap. A premium food ??? You are kidding me??? Wal worst carries nothing but the cheap crap and I don’t care what product line your talking about. Man I would like to see your dog next to mine.
oldgriz, do you really believe that, Ya and I saw my buddies ford being towed to the dealer (for the 5th time) to get fixed and the next day he told me he has had nothing gone wrong with his car. And just what would those food sources be ?????? Meat, dogs need lots of meat, not corn, wheat and the othe crap that is in this so called food. Go to this site and get a #6 or 5 star product and you will see a difference in a week.
Hello Good People. I am so ashamed i never thought about doubting the owner of my dog mother. I have a shar-pei – she told me Pro Plan is the best to fed. We did have allergies all the time – although now she is fine for few weeks – i put her on adult salmon one.
I do find corn there and I am reading how bad it is. I live in Russia and we dont have so much variety as you guys there – I travel to USA a lot – so I will be able to bring food for my girl.
So Pro Plan is really that bad?
I had fount that Nature Innova is very good – and they do sell it here!
I had been feeding my dog Nature’s Variety Prairie Canine Beef Meal and Barley Dry Food for several years and he got very sick recently. I should have known that something is wrong since many times my dog smelled the food and then just walked away from it. He didn’t do that until recently and later he got very sick from eating that brand of dry food. I took my dog to the vet and he recovered now. But I switched to Wellness Super5Mix Complete Health Chicken Dog Food and my dog just loves it. He’s like a complete energetic and happy dog like he used to be. I just feel that by giving my dog better food that will help me to save some medical bills later on.
It’s not rocket science all you need to learn is what each ingriedient is and then read labels. Yes a vet say Beneful is good is a vet that should be replaced!
Ok, Here is my list’s, the good and the Bad. If it is good and not on the list I might have over looked it. There are many more bad foods, but these are the ones I know the most about. If yours is on the bad list, well that’s toooo baaad because it is BAD..
Good Really BAD
Artemis Anything Purnia
Blue Wilderness Anything Royal Canin
Go Anything Old Roy
Horizon Legacy Anythind Abady
Evo Anything Beneful
Innova Anything Science Diet or Hills
Instrinct Anything lams
Orijen Bil Jack
Taste of the Wild Cesar Milan
Wellness Eukanuba
Acana Exclusive
Fromm PEDIGREE
Merrick Advance
Canidae Alpo
Evanders Arion
Earthborn Beta
Natrures Logic Friskies
Natures Variety
Solid Gold
Pinnacle
Timberwolf
Blue Buffalo
Halo
Natural Balance
CALIFORNIA NATURAL
THAT WAS MY GOOD LIST I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT HAPPENED. This is the bad list.
Anything Purnia
Anything Royal Canin
Anything Old Roy
Anythind Abady
Anything Beneful
Anything Science Diet or Hills
Anything lams
Bil Jack
Cesar Milan
Eukanuba
Exclusive
PEDIGREE
Advance
Alpo
Arion
Beta
Friskies
what is the best food to feed min schnauzers
There are several good quality foods out there. After a LOT of research I chose Fromm for my 2 Goldens. It is made by Fromm only & uses USDA approved ingredients. The quality is good, the ingredients are good & althought initially appears to cost more, you feed less to get more nutrition. Plus save hundreds in vet bills from bad food.
Fromm is a very good dog food.
Ol Roy is a really bad brand for dog food. It made my maltese visit the vet alot.
I’m wondering, does anyone know of a good dog food (wet and dry) to feed my maltese?
Thank You!
My dog had pancreatitis so my vet recommended Hills Science Diet i/d formula.I’ve noticed ALOT of scratching and itching-even my groomer noticed his eyes , paws and behind were pink- she recommended a better food since he might have allergies but I’m concerned about a recurrence of the pancreatitis which was very serious, I also have to add PanaKare enzymes to his food to another serious attack. My dog seems to like the food but the ingredients sound scary.He is a miniature poodle and I’m trying to do my “homework”.Any help would be appreciated
hi..my dog has diarrhea for 5 days..then the vet gave medicine..and i gave boiled chicken and rice for his food..after that, he became good.after two days, i put back his original food which is pedigree for puppy..and got diarrhea again…help me please…..
Try Orijen, Innova or Taste of the Wild, but if I were you I’d buy a small bag of California Natural and try that first.
hi anthony…is california natural available to all vet clinic/pet shop? coz i live in indonesia…how to shift?since pedigree results my dog having diarrhea, should i still give him pedigree and mix little bit of new dogfood?actually, i let my dog stay in the clinic to have him fecal examination….i really feel sad bout my dog..pls reply asap.thnx
Yes, mix it a little at a time. But in your case I’d go half and half right away. Check your pet shops. Here is a link where you can buy it, but being where you are I have no idea about shipping or where you could buy it. This site gives you free shipping (in America over 50 bucks) they also give away free stuff, check the top right. All three are great foods and I feed Orijen and California Natural. Good luck.
http://www.k9cuisine.com/
We lost our two dogs 2 weeks apart. Mixed breeds. Feed them Ol Roy’ dry food but knew nothing of the bad ingredients and price was NOT an option. Both our dogs got Kidney Disease. One was 9 and the other was 10. the one dog slowly died over 8 weeks and the vet said that she couldn’t be saved. the other dog died very quickly over 5 days. the docs don’t understand it. they were raised in the same home, ate the same food, etc. We are now devastated and don’t know what food is OK to keep our dogs healthy. Any advise or opinions would be welcome.
Patty
Hi I work for a large chain pet store and I am a nutritionist there. I started to become interested in dog nutrition when my Mini Schnauzer was diagnosed with food allergies. I find the lack of education about nutrition that vets have is terrible. The other appalling trend I have noticed is the mass amounts of commercials touting how wonderful their brand is, as a general rule (with the exception of blue buffalo)if you saw it in a commercial the best bet is that they spend more money on advertising than in quality of the food. The other rule is if you can buy it where you buy your food its crap. I have found a wonderful website that rates dog food and it is completely unbiased, it is done independently from any manufacturer. It gives you the rating, the ingredient list, the nutritional information, and an explanation of why it was given its rating. It is by far the best site I have found.
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/
Here is a short list of its best brands
Artemis Maximal
Blue Wilderness
Go natural Grain Free Endurance
Horizon Legacy
Innova Evo
Instinct
Orijen
Taste of the Wild
Wellness Core
And here are the worst
Alpo
Purina Bakers Complete and Purina Beta (Unimaginable how people could feed this to any living thing)
Beneful
Bil Jack
Country Vet Brand Choice
The majority of Eukanuba
Goodlife Recipe
Hills Science Diet
Iams
Kibbles and Bits
Ol’ Roy
Pedigree
Pet Promise
Pro Plan
Purina Dog Chow and Purina One
Royal Care Beauty Care and Dental Hygiene
Whole Meals
I am also a big fan of Natural Balance, even though it is a 4 star food, because of its limited ingredients. One of my dogs is allergic to chicken protein and is also epileptic so he cannot have turkey or rosemary and this is one of a very small number of foods that does not have any of those in it.
Here is a list of the ingredients you want to avoid at all costs
Artificial colorings- ex. Blue-2 and Red-40- Why: they serve no purpose other than to make the food look better to the humans buying it for their dog, and many are thought to be carcinogenic (Cancer causing)
Sugar-Why: it is to make the dog food more palatable, prolonged use can lead to Diabetes and Obesity.
Propylene Glycol- Why: used to keep moist kibble from drying out and to prevent some fats from becoming rancid, its also used in antifreeze and many solvents.
BHT and BHA-Why: Used to preserve Fats and Oils, is banned in many countries because it is believed to be Carcinogenic.
Ethoxyquin-Why: used as a preservative, it was originally designed as a stabilizer for rubber and as a pesticide, it is thought to be highly carcinogenic.
Menadione Sodium Bisulfate- AKA Vitamin K3 and synthetic vitamin K-Why: Linked to many serious health problems in dogs.
There is so much more information I could give but it begins to go into specifics for sizes and ages and breeds of dogs and would be way too much to fit here but if you have any questions feel free to E-mail me at FayFoodQuestions@Hotmail.com and I will respond as quickly as possible.
Don’t forget moist n meaty. Now THAT stuff is horrendous!!
hi…my dog has a cough…and he doesn’t have any phlegm or dirt from his eyes…but his cough sounds like scary…is this a normal cough for dog?my shih tzu puppy is now 3 months old..
Melody, Has your puppy had his Parvo vaccination? Is he eating/drinking ok. If no to vaccinations take him to a vet.
Oh …. and I came here to prove to a co-worker that Beneful was crap. If you’re feeding processed dog food the “good” lists are definitely better than the “bad” lists. BUT if you’re really wanting what is best and natural for your dog check into raw feeding. They are carnivores and are meant to eat raw meat and bones.
GET HIM TO THE VET NEVER TAKE ANY CHANCES !! HE IS WAY TO YOUNG….
i already had him parvo vaccination…he is eating and drinking..but i think the amount he eats reduced a little….he still has a cough..the vet gave me a cough syrup for baby and im using it to my dog…thnx pam