# Worst dog food brands



## JRTPup (Oct 13, 2008)

I thought the top dog brands brands thread was pretty interesting. I am interested to hear what you guys/gals think some of the worst dog food brands are.


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

Ol' Roy
Kibbles N Bits
Pedigree
Hi-Pro
Alpo
Purina anything including Beneful except maybe Pro Plan Selects
Science Diet
Iams/Eukanuba
Bil Jac

Yeah, that oughta do it, but I'm sure I forgot some.


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## BoxerMommie (Jun 26, 2008)

Ol Roy
Purina (any Purina)
Science Diet (including RX diets)
Iams
Eukanuba
Pedigree
Kibbles N Bits
Royal Canin
Sport Mix
Mighty Dog
Alpo

Really anything that you can find at a grocery store or discount store (ie Wal-Mart, Target, etc), I think there's too many to remember and list LoL.


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## danesandhorses (Sep 14, 2008)

I agree, anything you can buy at stores like Walmart you should steer clear!


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

I forgot Atta Boy, that definitely deserves a spot on the list.


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## BoxerMommie (Jun 26, 2008)

rannmiller said:


> I forgot Atta Boy, that definitely deserves a spot on the list.


Wow I've never even HEARD of that one!


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## TippysMom (Oct 3, 2008)

Wow. And not that long ago I thought some of those were okay. I also think Nutro should be on there...I just switched away from that one about 3 months ago. Thanks to this site and an urge to educate myself after the early death of my last fuzzy family member (not that his food was the reason, but I'm sure it didn't help).


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## couq (Oct 25, 2008)

Pretty much any dog food brand that is on TV!!


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## a&gxo (Oct 29, 2008)

all of the above... :wink: like someone else mentioned.. anything sold at wal mart, etc. (in my opinion!) :smile:


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## basschica (Dec 3, 2008)

TippysMom said:


> Wow. And not that long ago I thought some of those were okay. I also think Nutro should be on there...I just switched away from that one about 3 months ago. Thanks to this site and an urge to educate myself after the early death of my last fuzzy family member (not that his food was the reason, but I'm sure it didn't help).


Yah, Nutro used to be one of the better ones but as they get popular, the more they market, and the more they market, the more chains carry them, the more that chains carry them, the higher the demand, and the higher the demand the higher the need to mass produce and lessen quality (of ingredients and production methods), and the larger the audience, the more likely they are to be influenced by ads/marketing and not be informed, so then it doesn't matter (to the company that now cares about bottom lines more than the pets' health).

Sadly, I think the above described is exactly the route Canidae is choosing to go in. I'm sure it won't be long before they are carried at the big box pet stores, followed by the retail / grocery chains. It seems like every food you end up liking, within a handful of years they grow to the point that they make decisions that harm the quality of the food and your pet. I can think of numerous brands that have done this. And it's rough not knowing who to trust because the changes get made without you knowing until after the fact.


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## BabyHusky (Jul 21, 2008)

I just wish they didn't sell out. Its possible to be carried at the larger stores without altering the brand. I mean, look at Solid Gold and Wellness. They're carried in PetCo and they're still standing true to their name. It would be soo much more convenient if the larger stores carried the other ones in an Organic aisle or what not....


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## BoxerMommie (Jun 26, 2008)

BabyHusky said:


> I just wish they didn't sell out. Its possible to be carried at the larger stores without altering the brand. I mean, look at Solid Gold and Wellness. They're carried in PetCo and they're still standing true to their name. It would be soo much more convenient if the larger stores carried the other ones in an Organic aisle or what not....



ITA Natural Balance is also a good food and is carried in PetCo. It's a shame when foods like Canidae have to cut corners just for profit and don't care what the consumer thinks. Very disheartening. Honestly, I used Canidae for a long time and after the response to my e-mail I will NEVER use them again even if they go back to their old formula and even though they now have a grain free formula. I'm just disgusted with the company as a whole.


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## beachgirl (Dec 3, 2008)

Just joined your forum today and wanted to say Hi!

many people don't realize how bad some of the dog foods out there are for their dogs. Walmart dog food is probably the worst...........just read the ingredient list


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## zomo (Nov 24, 2008)

. Hills (because it is sold by vets to people who take their word for it) 
. Ol Roy because it is terrible
. Purina
. Iams because of all the marketing they do 
.Canidae because they had a good food and they changed their formula


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## BoxerMommie (Jun 26, 2008)

zomo said:


> . Hills (because it is sold by vets to people who take their word for it)
> . Ol Roy because it is terrible
> . Purina
> . Iams because of all the marketing they do
> .Canidae because they had a good food and they changed their formula


However I would like to say that their new formula is not bad at all and is still worth the price and is a good food, unfortunately it isn't as good as their old formula and some may have a problem with it being made at a Diamond plant, but ingredient wise it isn't a bad food (although I am not fond of the company anymore either).


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## Rescue Squad (Nov 26, 2008)

I agree with all of the lists above. They are all not so good foods to feed your dogs and the list could go on and on! Did you know too that Petco, Petsmart, Hungry Hound and all other big chain pet stores along with grocery store chains, Target, Kmart and others will not carry a dog food that has a shelf life that is less than one year?? Can you imagine the preservatives it would take to keep a bag of dry dog food on the shelf for a whole year????


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## BoxerMommie (Jun 26, 2008)

Rescue Squad said:


> I agree with all of the lists above. They are all not so good foods to feed your dogs and the list could go on and on! Did you know too that Petco, Petsmart, Hungry Hound and all other big chain pet stores along with grocery store chains, Target, Kmart and others will not carry a dog food that has a shelf life that is less than one year?? Can you imagine the preservatives it would take to keep a bag of dry dog food on the shelf for a whole year????



I do not know about the others, but this is not true of PetCo. I know for a fact that Natural Balance (since I feed it) has a shelf life of 3 months (at least that is what is printed on my bags) and I would imagine that Wellness is pretty close to the same.


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## LIBarky (Dec 31, 2008)

*Worst Dog Food Brands*

I have a bag of Natural Balance recently purchased at Petco that has an expiration date of March 20, 2010. So there goes the 3 month theory.


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

When I was using Wellness Core it used to frustrate me because it seemed like the bags always expired in a month and a half. It could've been I was just getting old bags, but it was like that every time. Only one of my dogs was eating it at the time and only got about 1 3/4 cups a day so it was hard to get through even a medium-sized bag before it expired. Good food though.


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## ILuvLabs (Oct 27, 2008)

I agree with the list of ucky foods but I would like to say something that I think is very sad about Wellness Core.

I have used it in my rotation ever since it first came out......as soon as I heard that they sold out (company sold not long ago) & then they went mainstream........into the big box stores. That probably does it for me & Core.

Sadly, it seems that the bigger they get, the more they cut corners. Next thing you know, your dog is getting sick or has the runs......because they've changed ingredients. The more profits they make, it seems that they get ultra greedy & they want more so they start using cheaper ingredients.

Also, I refuse to buy any food in the big box stores after reading all the problems they have had with storing the food. So I'll stick with the little boutique pet food stores, thank you. They may cost a little more but I'll pay for safe food.

Happy new year to all of you!


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## BoxerMommie (Jun 26, 2008)

The only "big box store" i know of Wellness being in is Petco and to be honest I think it's GREAT that they're making good foods more readily available for everyone. There are many people in this country that live in the "boondocks" and the big chains are all they have. I do not think it's sad I think it's GREAT and so far there have been NO problems with Wellness, Solid Gold, or Natural Balance due them being sold in a "big box store" that I am aware of.

And the little boutiques are not fool proof either. Now I have never had a problem buying food from PetCo ever. When I purchased from a small boutique store, I purchased 2 bags of food and it had BUGS in it when I opened them. Come to find out, they had stored the food in their storage room (BIG room) in the back, well they bug bombed it (with the bags of food in there) and the bugs crawled into the bags somehow to get away from the bomb is all anyone could figure out. It was absolutely disgusting. But what also got me was that they would bug bomb the room and not take the bags of food out. 

So just because it's a small store, boutique or otherwise, does not make them necessarily any better than any place else.


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## FriskFantastic (Jan 9, 2009)

Dry Dog food with no chemical preservatives has an expiry of roughly 1 and half years after being manufactured. 
Orijen is a Canadian made brand. What are some other Canadian made brands that you all enjoy or dislike?


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## clockcycle (Dec 22, 2008)

BoxerMommie said:


> The only "big box store" i know of Wellness being in is Petco and to be honest I think it's GREAT that they're making good foods more readily available for everyone. There are many people in this country that live in the "boondocks" and the big chains are all they have. I do not think it's sad I think it's GREAT and so far there have been NO problems with Wellness, Solid Gold, or Natural Balance due them being sold in a "big box store" that I am aware of.
> 
> And the little boutiques are not fool proof either. Now I have never had a problem buying food from PetCo ever. When I purchased from a small boutique store, I purchased 2 bags of food and it had BUGS in it when I opened them. Come to find out, they had stored the food in their storage room (BIG room) in the back, well they bug bombed it (with the bags of food in there) and the bugs crawled into the bags somehow to get away from the bomb is all anyone could figure out. It was absolutely disgusting. But what also got me was that they would bug bomb the room and not take the bags of food out.
> 
> So just because it's a small store, boutique or otherwise, does not make them necessarily any better than any place else.


Ok, by "bombed" it you mean Fog inspect spray in the storage room with the bags of food still in the room? I am assuming this because you say the bugs crawled into the bags to escape the bomb.. Makes me think further, the bug carried the poison into the bags and tainted the food as well?

Bo Wheebles can make holes in bags to get at the grain as a source of food. I assume those are the bugs you're reffering to?

It stinks to think things like this happen, who knows what happens in storage and transport. I also read a comment about a reputable company may use the best ingredients, but usually don't get any detailed information about the ingredients from their source and just have to take their word for it. These things are out of their control usually. Sad to think.


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## BoxerMommie (Jun 26, 2008)

I mean bug bombs, the kind you buy at the store, fogger bombs whatever you want to call them. They're cans and you set them off in a room close up the room and let them go for a few hours. I don't know what kind of bugs they were there were no visible holes in the bag, it was sealed up tight. Wasn't just me who had problems so I know they didn't come from my home. But yes, a bug bomb, fogger bomb.


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## clockcycle (Dec 22, 2008)

*3 Star Rating foods?*

Considering a 6 star rating system, 3 stars should be like good, passable, decent, midrange IMHO no?

Walmart Maxximum Adult Recipe Lamb & Rice Formula

Dog Food Reviews - Maxximum Nutrition Adult Recipe Lamb & Rice Formula - Powered by ReviewPost

[CostCo] Kirkland Signature (various formulas)

Dog Food Reviews - All Products - Powered by ReviewPost

Just those as examples are they really 3*?? It feels misleading.

Same for some of the 4-6 star rated foods, I see the same ingredients listed as in the lower rated ones, but not the same comments/warnings, but are still given higher ratings. Again misleading.

Are the editor's opinions skewed or bias some how towards what they deem as "high quality" good name brands?


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

Depends on what ingredients you're looking at. Sometimes the mid quality and high quality foods have some of the same ingredients, that's why the mid quality ones aren't considered low quality, because they do have some decent ingredients in them. 

I'm not sure if they're biased towards certain brands, I think they do a pretty good job of rating the foods for the most part, but you always have to take those review with a grain of salt. Check out the food's website, check out consumeraffairs.com to see if anyone else has had issues with the food. Check out our home page of dogfoodchat.com and see what we have to say about certain foods, ask us on the forum, etc. 

I know it can definitely be a process to find a food you can trust, at least you have a support group on here to help maintain your sanity.


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## GGWOODY (Jan 9, 2009)

Worst:
Merrick
Wysong
Beneful
Ol Roy
Science Diet

In no particular order


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## BoxerMommie (Jun 26, 2008)

Why would you list Merrick and Wysong as worst dog foods? They're both very good.


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

After reading that post, I looked up Wysong ingredients and they're decent but one of their formulas has cane molasses and corn in it. Merrick is decent but they're really grain heavy. Maybe it's all the marketing and high prices? I wouldn't put Merrick as a worst for sure, there's way worse foods out there.


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## BoxerMommie (Jun 26, 2008)

Yes their regular ones are but they do have a "before grain" which is a grain free diet.


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

True enough. I think ggwoody would have to explain those choices so we'll understand because I just don't know.


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## cherbro50 (Jan 10, 2009)

Hello everyone,
I'm new to the site and thank-you for being here. I have a new puppy and a three year old Husky. I'm looking for what to feed my puppy. He was on Eukanuba, and two people said I could switch to Purina puppy food,which I did and now he has a lot of gas,so I thought I should switch back to Eukanuba(which the vet recommended). Whats wrong with Eukanuba(to those that put it on the worst dog food list).?


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## BoxerMommie (Jun 26, 2008)

First off Eukanuba (Iams) tests on animals (if you do a Google search you can read the stories), secondly their food contains ingredients that are known carcinogens such as BHA and BHT, corn which is unhealthy for dogs, animal digest, by products, artificial colors and flavors...basically it would be like you eating McDonald's and Burger King on a daily basis for the rest of your life. 

If you look on the best food list you will find MUCH healthy alternatives that are about the same price, as Eukanuba is very expensive.

Also, please do not listen to your vet when it comes to food unless they are also a licensed canine nutritionist (which 99% are not). They know absolutely ZERO on dog food and recommend what they sell and what is marketed for the same reason that most people buy and it and obviously if they're selling it they're a bit biased in the first place. Typically the foods that most vets recommend are some of the worst foods on the market.

Good luck.


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

I no longer trust canine nutritionists anymore either, I had a lady tell me her canine nutritionist told her Purina is one of the best foods on the market because of all the research that they do. Uh huh. And I definitely don't trust vet recommendations of food, for the reasons BoxerMommie has already explained. If you see that your vet sells Eukanuba in his/her office or has it advertised all over the office, you know your vet gets kickbacks from Eukanuba and is more interested in making more money rather than your pets' health. 

If you really want to continue feeding Eukanuba, you might as well save yourself $20 and feed Iams instead as they are the exact same company and ingredients: garbage. 

BoxerMommie did a great job of explaining why Eukanuba isn't any good though so I don't imagine you'd still want to feed it anyway knowing that it's filled with a lot of non-digestible, health-problem-causing ingredients. 

And whoever told you to put your dog on Purina ought to be slapped. Just my two cents.


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## BoxerMommie (Jun 26, 2008)

rannmiller said:


> I no longer trust canine nutritionists anymore either, I had a lady tell me her canine nutritionist told her Purina is one of the best foods on the market because of all the research that they do. Uh huh. And I definitely don't trust vet recommendations of food, for the reasons BoxerMommie has already explained. If you see that your vet sells Eukanuba in his/her office or has it advertised all over the office, you know your vet gets kickbacks from Eukanuba and is more interested in making more money rather than your pets' health.
> 
> If you really want to continue feeding Eukanuba, you might as well save yourself $20 and feed Iams instead as they are the exact same company and ingredients: garbage.
> 
> ...


Be careful to trust here say. My in laws have told me that their vet says that Boxer females should be 80 pounds and males should be 100. Now COULD their vet have said that? Hmm I suppose, but have I EVER met a vet who has EVER told me that? Absolutely not, in fact I've always been told my Boxers are large for Boxers with my male that weighed in around 80 pounds and my female at 65, good weights for them just large Boxers. So, I have a feeling that either my in laws misunderstood or made it up to work for their own agenda. Just be careful on the "my friend knows a nutritionist who said" as the person may not be a LICENSED nutritionist (keyword there), the friend may not have actually checked to make sure they were licensed, friend could have misunderstood or not done their research on the person, etc. I wouldn't not trust all dog nutritionists based on what a friend told you that their "nutritionist" may have said. Hopefully that makes sense LoL.


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## Belgian2008 (Jan 18, 2009)

Abady (Byproducts)
Advance (Byproducts)
Advance (Insufficient meat content)
Alpha (Insufficient meat content)
Alpo (Inadequate meat content)
ANF (Inadequate meat content)
Arion (Inadequate meat content)
Arkat (Inadequate meat content)
Authority 
Bakers Complete (Inadequate meat content for feeding a canine)
Belcando (Byproducts)
Bench & Field (Use of meat and fat of unidentifiable origin)
Beneful (Inadequate meat content)
Beta (Inadequate meat content)
Bil Jac (Uses by-products)
Black Gold (Inadequate meat content)
Bozita (Insufficient meat content)
Buckeye 
Chicopee (Insufficient meat content)
Choice (Byproducts)
Chudleys (Inadequate meat content)
Country Pursuit (Insufficient meat products in the food)
Country Value (Insufficient meat content)
CSJ (Insufficient meat content)
Davies Ranger (Inadequate meat content)
Diamond (Byproducts)
Dr John (Inadequate meat content)
Eagle Pack (Insufficient meat content)
Eukanuba (Uses by products)
Evolution 
Excel (Uses by-products)
Field & Trial (Inadequate meat content)
First Mate (Insufficient meat content)
Flint River Ranch (Inadequate meat content)
Franks Breeder (Insufficient meat content)
Friskies (Inadequate meat content)
Gilpa (Inadequate meat content)
Goodlife Recipe (Inadequate meat content)
Happydog (Inadequate meat content)
Hi-Tor (Inadequate meat content)
Hill's Science Diet (Insufficient meat content)


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## Belgian2008 (Jan 18, 2009)

Eukanuba is one of the worst foods you can EVER feed your dog. The first ingredient in this food is a named meat product. The main grain in the food is corn. The food uses by-products. The inclusion of a second meat product (fish meal 6th on ingredient list) is appreciated. Beet pulp is another controversial ingredient – it is a by-product, being dried residue from sugar beets which has been cleaned and extracted in the process of manufacturing sugar. This is chicken inclusive of its water content which, once removed as it must be to create a dry food, will leave the ingredient weighing around 20% of its wet weight. Corn is difficult for dogs to digest and thought to be the cause of a great many allergy and yeast infection problems. It is impossible to ascertain the quality of by-products and these are usually products that are of such low quality as to be rejected for use in the human food chain, or else are those parts that have so little value that they cannot be used elsewhere in either the human or pet food industries. However the manufacturer does not claim to use ethoxyquin-free sources (ethoxyquin is a chemical preservative commonly added to fish meal, and that is banned from use in human food because it is believed to be carcinogenic).


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