# Beneful dog food



## Jorge_Saltos (Oct 26, 2008)

have you heard any problems with beneful food now, my pointer is sick in the hospital and doctor's dont know yet ut so far she had a bladder infectionand he fears she might have kidney infection or problem ??/ help do you know what to watch for?


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## dogfood_admin (Jun 16, 2008)

First off, sorry to hear about your dog. Beneful dog food is a poor quality of dog food. With that being said, I have no idea if the food caused your dog being sick or not. While your dog is at the vets I would ask for a recommendation on food. He will probably recommend something with a lower amount of protein, if your dog has a kidney infection. Come on over to the forum: http://dogfoodchat.com/forum and talk to some of the other dog lovers about dog food nutrition.


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## Barbara_Smith (Oct 29, 2008)

My dog was on beneful and I lost him last week to kidney failure.
I have talk with others who have lost dogs to kidney failure and have all been on beneful.


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## Brian_Andreson (Dec 5, 2008)

I have a siberian husky puppy who started out with the beneful puppy chow. The breeder said her dogs like beneful. He's about 5 months old now and we've begun feeding homemade food, with some beneful playful life as well. We've begun dropping him off during the work days at the breader's all day. There he eats beneful while spending the day with his "pack". He's begun to have diarrhea for the past few days and shows no signs of getting better the more time he spends there. I've been giving him only the homemade food of rice, oats and lean ground turkey with kidney, lima, and green beens. It seems like I should recommend the breader stop using beneful? I couldn't find any recalls recently for the brand, but I'm getting quite worried from these posts about kidney failure!!


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

You should ask the breeder to stop letting him have Beneful when he's over there.


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## matt_paxton (Dec 29, 2008)

My two german shepherds eat beniful. Recently my male started becoming very sick. He had lethargy, trouble standing, glazed eyes, and the vet said an extremely swollen liver. He refused to eat. So we began feeding him deer meat, chicken, and bread. He also had meds (antibiotics) from the vet who thought he may have an infection in his liver. 

He made a recovery after about 2 weeks. THE VERY DAY we decided to give him some of his beniful dry food with his meat he began throwing up and diarrhea. So I decided to do a search and found tons of posts from THIS YEAR, and previous years. Most of the posts were from Oct 08 - Nov. 08. 

BEWARE!!!!!


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## katrina (Jan 2, 2009)

i have been doing research on Beneful dog food because that's what my dog eats and is theo nly food he likes. i have come to find out that beneful is made up of euthanized animals (collars, tags, hair and all) and of road kill. not only that it contains many chemicals and products harmful to dogs. it is made up of 25% fecal matter (yes, 25% crap). many animals who eat beneful food are proned to kidney failure and many kinds of cancer. beware of what you are feeding your dogs.


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

Most dogs love the flavor of Beneful and get "addicted" to it because it is chock full of sugar. It's like how kids get addicted to candy and McDonald's and refused to eat their regular healthy food. But you wouldn't just succumb to your kid's desires and let them live off of candy and McDonald's would you? Nope! Same goes for dogs. They aren't going to let themselves starve to death. When they realize you aren't going to cave in to their every whim and fancy, they'll learn to eat what's good for them instead of just what tastes the best.


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## Michelle1 (Jan 22, 2009)

My dog has eaten Beneful for a couple of years but last fall she developed chronic diarehha and started losing weight. She's 16 years old and with age has become more sensitive to foods so I switched her to chicken and brown rice to settle her digestion. She came out of it and although I still give her chicken and rice, she gets a different brand of dog food as a supplement. 

At about the same time, my parents' 14 year old lab started having severe seizures and losing control of his bladder. They had switched him from a specialty brand to Beneful in October but after he stopped eating, they switched brands again. We speculated whether the Beneful was a factor. Since the switch, he's been making a recovery.

Just today I found out that a local vet had made a connection between Beneful and several dogs he's treated for kidney / liver issues and deaths. That's enough for me to wonder why haven't we heard anything on the news about this? I called my vet to give them a head's up so hopefully they will pass the word quickly!


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## Deanna (Jan 26, 2009)

Please... stay away from Beneful. I also gave it to my dog for years. It was cheap, the bag looked great and it matched many of the ingredients in Iams. All garbage! I also read where they put anything into that food and I strongly emphasize anything. I can't believe some dog foods are able to be sold to the public... then again we are on our way to becoming an underdeveloped nation. Ok.. anwyay... my dog got liver cancer at almost 9 years old. I had it removed and it was about the size of a softball. She is almost 1 year post op and thank God.. is doing well. I cooked for her for the first 6 months and she now gets Wellness Core. I pay more but better that than vet bills and most importantly, she's still here!!!. My next four legged member of the family will not be given cheap food. Its cheap for a reason!!


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## cojc14 (Feb 22, 2009)

I went into Walmart to buy Beneful & found the shelves empty. I came upon this chat trying to find if it had been recalled. Please advise me as to where you found the info about what is in the Beneful. I find it very hard to believe the things being said & would like to read the facts for myself. My greyhound has eaten this for years & he has neevr had any health issues.


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## Colette (Feb 27, 2009)

I adopted two italian greyhounds (ages 4 and 10) Jan 1 2009, and neither of them had had any health problems. After two months of beneful, both have had seizures. I am taking them in for tests this week and will report back with what the vet has to say. Since the seizures, we've been feeding them Natural Balance Venison & Sweet Potato (which is grain free) which has since been recommended to us by a person at the rescue place. Just in 4 days of being on this new food, we've already noticed a difference in the 10-year-old who seems less lethargic and more active.


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## Steve2 (Mar 2, 2009)

My bloodhond was started on beneful puppy and the switched to playful life eventually, after a few weeks he began having severe diarehea. We took him to the vet and he was diagnosed with a massive infestation of grain mites in his stool. I did some research on the food and found many complaints about this problem with beneful. Has anyone else had this problem with food?


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## Annette1 (Mar 14, 2009)

We'd been using Iams and moved to a brand from Pet's Mart, and then a brand from the natural foods store. Our doxie wasn't too interested in the foods. As my in-laws use Beneful and swear by it - so we tried it. The doxie was interested in her food for the first time ever. So, a year later - our cocker is feeling poorly and has been throwing up. I'm horrified at what I'm reading. The Beveful is going in the trash and we're going to find something else today. Although I think we should be making their food as we ease in the new dry food.


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## Carol2 (Mar 16, 2009)

My 10 year old wonderful Lhasa Apso just passed away after eating Beneful
Healthy Radiance - it was from a newly opened bag. That was all she
had eaten and became sick shortly after eating. I am heartbroken.
I hope to get the bag of food analyzed.


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## maggie1 (Mar 23, 2009)

I HAVE 4 POMS AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT I HAVE ALWAYS USED BENEFULS AND NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH THERE DOG FOOD 1 OF MY POMS IS 7 YRS OLD AND HEALTHY RADIANCE HAS REALLY DONE WONDERS FOR HIM! 1 IS ON PLAYFUL LIFE AND 2 BABIES ARE ON GROWTH FOR PUPPIES SO MAYBE YOU ALL SHOULD STOP WITH YOUR BULLSHIT ! I CAN TELL YOU THAT I HAVE ALWAYS RAISED POMS ON BENEFULS AND WILL KEEP USING IT.


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## Rose_Lake (Mar 25, 2009)

I have a wonderful dog. He is a Springer Spaniel and a valued part of our family. He started getting sick over a year ago. He had very bad hot spots, lost hair, energy. He smelled like "dead dog" all the time no matter how many times he was shampooed.

We have spent hundred of dollars in vet bills trying to find out the cause of his sickness. We did antibiotics, creams, special shampoos, You name it, we did it. They could never give me an answer. He suffered horribly. Guess what? He was eating Beneful. I have since changed his food and he has improved so much. All the hot spots are gone, he no longer suffers each day and where can we go from here?

Beneful needs to be accountable for the products and what they are doing with our beloved family members.


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## Pat_McKenzie (Mar 27, 2009)

My Jack Russell never had allergies until I started him on Beneful Prepared Meals at age six. While on Beneful, he scratched his ears till they needed prescription drops to heal up. He chewed and licked his paws and developed lick granulomas. He scratched his mouth and lip area till it was raw. When he developed a renal glomelular problem at age eight, the vet changed his diet to Wellness products. He was off Beneful one week and I could see a change in him. After a month, the itching and sore spots were gone. I will have a urine sample re-tested in 3 months to see if his kidney function is better. I am hopeful he will get better, and am really thankful I found out what was causing the allergies. I have 3 other dogs who have eaten Beneful and suffered no allergy problems. They are off Beneful now and eating Wellnuss products. I feel better about giving them a proper digestible protein that is easier on their kidneys. I always thought Purina was a company that promoted animal health thru proper nutrition. Boy did this situation change my perspective on Purina!!!!!!


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## Julie (Apr 6, 2009)

My two dogs are on beneful and have been on it for a couple months. Since my husband got a paycut at work and I lost my job that is the only food that we can afford that they will eat. We have noticed no problems, they eat their food well and are healthy and happy.

I cringe to look at the ingredients as I switched them from high quality foods to this but so far they are doing well and as long as they are doing well we will keep them on this food as long as we need to.


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## fenix (Apr 11, 2009)

This is in response to cojc14 regarding the empty shelves at walmart. I work for a company that does business with Nestle Purina Pet Care (the company that produces the Beneful brand) and I know that the walmart outage was due to conflicts/negotiation over pricing. Walmart eventually accepted Nestle's increased price and subsequently refilled their shelves. It was not due to a recall, but with that being said, I would not feed this brand to my dog simply because of their choice of ingredients (mainly preservatives and basically pesticides that increase the shelf life on their product). Even though vets and/or governing agencies have not specifically ruled that this formulation of ingredients is harmful, I don't believe in putting that level of chemical additive/preservative in my own body and I wouldn't knowingly give it to my pet, but that of course is just my own opinion and preferences.


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## jen2 (May 6, 2009)

This is to Fenix. So, the amount of perservatives and pesticides in Beneful you say are used in this product to increase shelf life, is it any different compared to other dog food products out there? I also assume that you suggest that you are also not likely to use the gravy based meals over the dry version- is this correct?


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## Milo's_Mom (May 9, 2009)

Our dog has had severe loose stools and has been lethargic, glassy eyes and has been throwing up blood. Before heading to the vet, I thought I would google this and was disgusted by what I have seen. We have had him on beneful for 7 years or so and have not had any problems. We switched to the Playful formula and this all started within 3 days of having it. We will be making his food now and I hope and pray that he doesn't have any liver issues. Ironically, my vet encouraged us to get him on beneful after visiting the Purina plant and gave it his stamp of approval!
Thanks!


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## Tiffany (May 12, 2009)

Read the ingrediants on Beneful dry dog food! One ingrediant is ANIMAL WASTE. Why would anyone want to feed their beloved pet ANIMAL WASTE.


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## Marlene (May 13, 2009)

We have been feeding our dog Beneful original for years. We bought a new bag from Wal-mart around Easter. Our dog started vomiting and having diarrhea. He became very lethargic and his eyes were very red and glassy. He also had a putrid odor to him. He started not to eat or drink, could not walk the stairs or stand on his back legs. We took him to the vet and the initial blood test indicated that he had ingested anti-freeze or another toxin, which he did neither. He was kept at the vet and put on antibiotic IV therapy and intravenous fluids. Repeated tests indicated that his kidneys were shutting down and that his creatinine and bun levels were off the chart. He eventually died of kidney failure. He was only 8 years old. After he died we discovered all of the problems with Beneful. I called Purina and they wanted samples for testing and of course the Lot number from the bag which I do not have. I am having the food independently tested and am very disappointed that a company can knowing kill and/or poison our animals that are aprecious to us. Something needs to be done to have these companies become responsible.


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## Celeste1 (Aug 1, 2009)

I recently opened a bag of Beneful dog food and noticed it had a lot of moisture in the bag. A week later I started finding what appeared to be "sawdust" on my coffee pot and areas surrounding my microwave. I wiped the "dust" off and pondered where it might be coming from. As soon as I cleaned, the "dust" would reappear. A day later it seemed to multiply 10 fold. That's when I noticed the "dust" was actually moving! It appears the Beneful Dog Food was infested with mites and now I'm having trouble ridding my kitchen of the freaking things! Does anyone have any suggestion? I have thrown the food out and washed everything down with soap and water, rubbing alcohol, 409....their numbers have reduced but they're still here!


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## Disgusted (Aug 10, 2009)

In response to Celeste, Aug 1, 2009 post. I just bought a new bag of Beneful Original. For the past week my dogs hasn't been eating it as he usually does. Spitting out chewed pieces esp. the red balls. The second day he threw up. I checked his food and didn't notice anything. A few days later my son noticed these extremely tiny white dots in the pantry. If you stare at them long enough you notice they are moving!!! I checked the Beneful bag and sure enough the inside was crawling with billions of these dots. They are GRAIN MITES which are usually found in low quality dog food. They multiply rapidly. I contacted Pet Smart and they asked me to return the bag for a refund. Pet Smart was totally uninterested in removing or checking the product on the floor. I'm calling Purina this morning. I threw out every unopened item in my panty. My dog is now eating homemade food. I just have to find out how to make sure he is getting all the nutrition he needs. I cleaned with bleach and water. Hopefully I don't have an infestation.


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## Michelle3 (Aug 11, 2009)

We had grainmites from Beneful. After cleaning the whole area, place spaceheaters all over the area - they cannot live in a hot dry area.


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## Emily_W (Aug 11, 2009)

My two dashchunds are on ORIJEN dry food. I also feed them two tablespoons of California Natural canned food in a vatiety of flavors such as chicken & brown rice, beef & sweet potato and lamb & rice. Prior, they were on Hill's R/D (Rx dog food). Stay away from Hill's & Science Diet dog foods!! They are money moguls and they are owned by Colgate-Palmolive and use all their money to advertise to vets whereas Orijen and California Natural use their funds to actually MAKE THE DOG FOOD and not spend thousands advertising their foods. Please invest in holistic, organic dog food for your beloved best friends as it is sooooo worth it, guys! Wellness, Inova and Orijen are all terrific brands.


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## Mary2 (Aug 13, 2009)

I have a Lab that is 6 years old...I just began giving her Beneful two months ago. Just recently, I have had to take her to the local 24 hour emergency vet due to health issues. After running bloodwork and other tests, the vet said her liver enzyme count was signficantly higher than it should be. My dog started having what they felt was an onset of seizures. After reading this, I plan to change her food and I will report back with what I observe. I hope if it is caused by Beneful, that the effects are reversable in this case. 

As a side note: My dog was due for her yearly checkup in June (before changing her food to Beneful)...the vet said she was in perfect health. Just something to think about. 

I am not typically someone who is easily scared by findings like this, but after discussing things with my vet...I am now really afraid that Beneful is the problem.


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## Bridgette (Aug 18, 2009)

I switched to Beneful Healthy Radiance because my dog had skin issues. That was a couple of years ago and starting last year he got very sick and started having severe seizures. We tried everything and is now on two different meds. My sister told me how bad Beneful was so I decided to switch to Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul. I am happy to say that after two weeks, not one seizure. Before I switch foods, he was having three seizures a week. I cannot believe the progress he has made in just two weeks!


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## ashley1 (Aug 21, 2009)

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!!!!!!!


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## Broken_Heart (Aug 22, 2009)

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.


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## Lauren2 (Aug 23, 2009)

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.


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## Tami's_mom (Aug 27, 2009)

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" .


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## Swampers (Aug 30, 2009)

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.


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## Pam_Davis (Aug 30, 2009)

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.


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## DAWN1 (Sep 6, 2009)

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!


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## Amy_Windish (Sep 18, 2009)

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.


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## Emily1 (Nov 11, 2009)

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).


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## Melissa2 (Nov 17, 2009)

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..


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## John5 (Nov 17, 2009)

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.


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## Tami (Nov 26, 2009)

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!


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## Catty (Dec 1, 2009)

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.


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## amber1 (Dec 13, 2009)

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.


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

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/


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## Stephanie_Alain_Dargis (Dec 14, 2009)

Hello Everyone. I have a wonderful little shitzu named Rocky. Let me tell you a bit about him. When he was about 6 months, we almost lost him to a car accident. He acutally got ran over, and spit 
out the back wheels of a pizza delivery car. After taking him to the emergency animal hospital, and watching him very closely, he was fine. A little shaken up, but we all considered him to my little miracle puppy. That was about 3 and a half years ago. For the pas month, we noticed some uncharacteristic signs going on such as he was drinking a lot and waking us up in the middle of the night to go outside, but we just assumed that it was him acting out because I am 5 months pregnant. THen, about a week ago, we noticed that he was now throwing up his water, almost as soon as would drink it. We had decided to take him to the vet tomorrow, since we were going to a Christmas party out of town Friday evening, and the vet would be closed when we got home on Saturday. So, as usual, when we go out of town, we bring Rocky to his grandparents house. While he was there, they noticed that he wasn't himself, but thought that it was just because he missed us. When he came home last night, I knew that something was seriously wrong. he was lathargic, and just really sick looking. After taking him to emergency, and 8oo dollars later, we found out that he has accute kidney failure. While speaking to the doc, it was concluded form the x-ray that he has had this for a while because one of his kidneys is much bigger than the other. the only thing we could come up with, BENEFUL PREPARED MEALS, which we gave him for about six months and stopped for about a year. We were so confused. The doc then procedded to tell us that he was probably compnesation with his other kidney, which finally gave up when he got a normal bladder infection. The result of all this, he isn't responding to treatment, and after costing us over 2000 dollars, we are going to have to decide as to whether or not we should have him put down. Rocky has been part of out family for the past 3 years, 9 months. He is not like the normal shitzu. He loves children, especially babies, and taking rides in the basket under the stroller. He is the most well mannered dog I have ever met, and the thought of losing him is killing me. I thought I would share my story, and hopefully we will have some good newa tomorrow morning, even though the docs aren't very hopeful.


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## Stephanie_Alain_Dargis (Dec 14, 2009)

ROCKY HAS PASSED AWAY. UNFORTUNATLY DISPITE ALL OF OUR EFFORTS, HIS BLOOD TOXIN LEVELS WENT UP OVER NIGHT, AND HE WAS EVEN WORSE THAN WHEN WE BROUGHT HIM IN ON SATURDAY. PLEASE PRAY FOR THE FAMILY


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## Cassandra (Dec 23, 2009)

I have a corgi mix puppy named Zeppelin. He will be 1 yr old in Feb. 

I took him to the vet around 6-7 months old and the Vet told me to start him on adult food. I picked beniful because I belived it was a good dog food.

Well now we have little bugs all over our kitchen. I have reasearched this and it appears that I am not the only one this has happened to.

Now.... I see all these posts of dogs that have had kindy failure and are dieing. I am terribly worried about Zeppelin. I am throwing out the food and taking back the NEW bag of BENIFUL i just bought today.

Does any one know how to get rid of Grain Mites?

And will Zeppelin be ok?


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## Pam_Myers (Jan 2, 2010)

I bought Beneful once for my Golden Retrievers (have 3), and when I served it I did think it looked a bit too colorful. Color is purely for the human's gratification and has no benefit for the dog. One of my retrievers had a pretty severe allergic reaction which, thankfully with vetinerary help he survived. I was told he was likely allergic to the artificial color addatives. I do not buy Beneful. Too much emphasis on pleasing the owner's eye over the dog's need to avoid unnecessary chemicals IMO.


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## Vicky_Wallace (Jan 4, 2010)

I fed my Shih Tzu Beneful for 2 days when she was 19 months old. She began to have severe uncontrollable diarrhea that was bloody. Within 3 hours after the diarrhea began she was lethargic and could only lay in the floor. I took her to her veterinarian immediately. I was told that the food coloring in the food was caustic to her. It took several days of treatment to get her over this and to this day she is very sensitive to food. We never know when she will vomit seemingly for no reason. Obviously we have never used it again. At present we use Royal Canin for Shih Tzu’s but she is not impressed with it. In fact she will only eat it if hand fed. My son is a deer processor and she loves venison and fairs quite well when I give it to her so I am considering putting her on a home cooked diet. I am somewhat hesitant because I know there are other nutrients she will need other than pure meat. I am just unsure what to include in the recipe.


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## Tamaraja (Jan 5, 2010)

I know it's old, but it really warrants a response:
I HAVE 4 POMS AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT I HAVE ALWAYS USED BENEFULS AND NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH THERE DOG FOOD 1 OF MY POMS IS 7 YRS OLD AND HEALTHY RADIANCE HAS REALLY DONE WONDERS FOR HIM! 1 IS ON PLAYFUL LIFE AND 2 BABIES ARE ON GROWTH FOR PUPPIES SO MAYBE YOU ALL SHOULD STOP WITH YOUR BULLSHIT ! I CAN TELL YOU THAT I HAVE ALWAYS RAISED POMS ON BENEFULS AND WILL KEEP USING IT. 

Here we have someone that is reading all of the posts about liver failure, kidney failure, grain mites, etc. relating to Beneful. Rather than have an "a-ha moment" and think about what they're feeding their dogs, they'd rather slam everyone else and we should all stop with the "bullshit". That's right...just because she hasn't experienced a problem, everyone else is wrong and must be lying about their problems. Interesting behavior on her part. 

At any rate, anyone feeding Beneful should just open the bag and look at the food. How many colors are actually used in there? Do you realize that the colors used are the same ones used in cosmetics. Yellow 5 is actually a very controversial colorant and shouldn't even be used in prescription medications to color the tablets/pills. Yet Purina has decided that this is ok to put in your pet's food. Amazing..


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## Teressa (Jan 11, 2010)

I have been feeding my 2 dogs Beneful for the past 5 years. My golden retriever is 9 years old and my Sheltie is 10. Neither of my critters have experienced any problems resulting in feeding them Beneful. Both dogs are healthy and happy. My veterinarian has not indicated that this product is harmful to my animals.


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## Michelle6 (Feb 12, 2010)

Purina has been misleading its customers for years they use words like healthy and playful in the names of their dog foods when in all actuality they are anything but healthy!!Please don't be fooled by their advertising campaigns !!!Every thing you need to know about the dog food is on the ingredient list.Look at the first five ingredients their should be at least 3 named meat sources Meat and meat meals No meat by product meals.their should not be any corn,wheat,soy.Ideally there should not be any grain in the dog food at all,because dogs are carnivores grain is not a natural food source for them.You will not find any good quality food for your dog at a grocery or department store.You will need to go to a pet store to get a good quality food for your best friend.Do some research on the subject.Type in dog food reviews and ratings.Boxer world has a great website very informative.They rate dog foods on a scale from 1 to 6 . I did my research there and chose a food with a 5 star rating.Merricks Before Grain food for dogs.It is completely grain free.By the way for the lady that was swearing that is un called for.If she would educate herself she would know that beneful received a 1 star rating simply because there is nothing lower.Your dog might survive on beneful,But my dog is thriving on Before Grain!!!


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## Connie1 (Mar 2, 2010)

Hi, thank you frist of all for this website. 
Second. What is in this dog food that makes my dog go crazy over it? We have tryed my 1.5 yr old puppy on everything and she would not eat anything unless she was very hungry or it had the wet Beneful in it! Now we have switched to the dry food and she is eating it like it is going out of style! She is now gaining wait, happy, playful and full of energy... maybe sometimes to much energy! Thank you for a great dog food... all the best in the future to come for your company...


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## Michelle6 (Feb 12, 2010)

Connie,Beneful is not a good food for ANY dog!!It's just loaded with all kinds of nasty stuff!! Ingredients: 1 Ground yellow corn-no nutritional value Also a known allergen.When you eat corn doesn't it look the same when it comes out?? That's because you did not digest it!! 2 Chicken by product meal- this is feathers,beaks,feet oh it's parts of the chicken- not the parts I would eat!! 3 Corn gluten meal-CORN AGAIN!!?? 4 Whole wheat flour-another known allergen!! 5 Animal fat-What animal?? This could be ANYTHING - restaurant grease ECT!!Further down the list we find Sugar there is no reason to have SUGAR in dog food it causes DIABETES in dogs.Animal Digest this is simply CRAP!!Think about it what happens when you digest something?? Yellow #5 Red#40 Yellow#6 Blue#2 Artificial Colors?? These are known carcinigens and really they are there for the owners benefit not the dogs!! Menadione Sodiun Bisulfite Complex - Synthetic Vitamin K - causes a whole host of problems for your dog!!- Severly weakens the immune system - go ahead and google it!! Listen- your dog might gobble this crap up but it will also drink ANTI-FREEZE if you let it!!


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## Michelle6 (Feb 12, 2010)

Connie, if you want a good food for your dog any one of these are a million times better than Beneful, oh and by the way most of them are family owned and operated ( they make their own products ) Fromm Family- Fromm. Merrick pet care- Before Grain,Whole Earth Farms. Champion Pet foods-Orijen,Acana. Natura pet-Evo,Karma,Innova,California natural.If you are on a budget then you could try Costco brand Kirkland Signature-it really is a good food for the money.


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

It really is sad when someone thinks they are getting one thing, but in reality it is just the opposite. Michelle, this poor girl has been totally fooled by big business advertisment. I was once there and never thought our goverment allowed such false advertising. I was totally fooled by the hearing the words "false advertising", I never really knew about the words "paid off".


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## Alison (Mar 12, 2010)

My yellow lab began having seizures 2 years ago; every 2-3 months. he would be completely disoriented and could not stand. blood work was normal and the vet just said to keep an eye on him. he just had another one this past sunday afternoon, and that same night my westie had a seizure. he has had 3 since then. took him to the vet and his blood work is normal. The one consistent thing among my two dogs - - BENEFUL!!!!!!! i've been doing research and all i keep reading is all these people saying how bad this food is and all the problems this food is causing. WHY ARE THEY STILL ALLOWED TO SELL THEIR PRODUCT?????


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

Pretty sad day in America's history when they allow people to feed poision to their dogs. See my post above, two words say it all (paid off).
Why do think their are so many ILLEGALS ALIENS in this country?? Big business (pay off) our politicians and don't think for a minute your politican isn't being "paid off" by some big business somewhere.


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## SaltyDog (Mar 10, 2010)

Advertising really works and they know this. People buy dog food, not dogs.


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## miriam1 (Apr 2, 2010)

i'm trying to pick out the right dog food for my black lab...and i went on almost every dog brand name and its like everyone is blaming dog food for what is happening to their dogs and im just going to go with my heart and decide on my own...i realize that dogs are somewhat like humans and have allergic reactions to food like humans..i had a dog that seizures and it wasnt caused by dog food and she is still fine she is six years old now i fed my other dog ol roy cause i know i cant afford anything else and she produced a litter and she is doing well and energetic
i think it depends on the stomach the dog and how they handle their food...
but seriously i wish i could just find one group of people that would just say (hey this dog food is wonderful and i recommend this to everyone)


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## SaltyDog (Mar 10, 2010)

Every kibble food on the market from Ol' Roy to Orijen is processed. You'll never find one food that everyone loves although, you'll be hardpressed to find many who don't like Orijen.

The only group of people that swear by their feedings are those that feed raw. Raw feeders will never waiver!

I only recommend one kibble to every dog owner, for all of its life stages....and that is Orijen Large Breed Puppy. Even for adult dogs. This is my recommendation and it is the only kibble I whole heartedly recommend to all dog owners. It does not fit in the budget of all dog owners. You can feed whatever you want, it's your dog and you are the master


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

I agree with Eric on the fact all dogs aren't gonna do good on the same food. But I do believe you should stay away from foods with corn,wheat,glutiens,BHT,BHA,colorings and fillers. This is why I made up this list and I know Eric is gonna diagree with some of these foods. I made this list up because these are the foods I would feed to my dog. Orijen is the main food for my dog but I do rotate some of these in.

The A list
1.	Orijen
2.	Evo
3.	Horizon Legacy
4.	Acana
5.	Innova
6.	Taste of the Wild, wetlands & Prairie only
7.	Blue Wilderness
8.	Fromm
9.	Merrick
10.	Wellness Core

The good price list
1.	TOTW
2.	California Natural
3.	Health Wise
4.	Kirkland, Costco

The B list
1.	California Natural
2.	Go, free endurance, chicken & Salmon only
3.	Instinct
4.	Evanders
5.	Artemis
6.	Timberwolf
7.	Wellness
8.	Solidgold
9.	Canidae
10.	Prairie
11.	Karma
12.	Health Wise


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## SaltyDog (Mar 10, 2010)

Nah, I won't disagree on that list. Maybe take Blue and Canidae off of it.

I agree with you on TOTW as a price point and will add Chicken Soup to that for price point. Chicken Soup is a $1 per lb. I'm not recomending it is the best food, but for only a buck a pound, it's better than anything your going to find at Wal-Mart.


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

Earlier today I bought a bag of Health Wise and gave it to the Humane society for their drive. I gotta little upset seeing all the bags of Liams. I didn't say anything because at least they are GIVING SOMETHING to a cause that needs as much help as they can get. I was a little disappointed in how few bags their were, 25 maybe & mostly tiny bags. It irrates me because these people use this HUGE park (25 acres plus) and they can't give a 30 dollar bag of dog food once or twice a year to a great cause.


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

I should have pointed out this drive was at the dog park and you were supose to give if you wanted to use the park. Of course it wasn't mandatory. I also noticed it was very empty and I mean empty especially for a fair day on the weekend. I had some issues to deal with this morning so I just dropped the food off. I bet next Saturday it well be packed, good weather or not.


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

You have to see these pictures. It was a contest and the theme was head tilts, you know when your talking to your dog and they might tilt a little to try and understand. You gotta check these out some are just unreal cute.

http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/monthly-photo-contest/131872-march-photo-contest-theme.html


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## Liz1 (Apr 11, 2010)

My folks have 2 10 y.o. Border Collies. My husband & I noticed that my aging father who is always looking for a deal at Walmart switched their food - They appeared to be eating a form of fruit loops for dogs - We did not know what it was but were not very happy with the change because the dogs have always done well on a Lamb/Rice blend.

To make a long story short we noted that recently one of the BC's was very apathetic - not herself - We chalked that up to her getting older but then her sister had a full blown seizure yesterday! She had never had a seizure before. I could not help but think that somehow the technicolor food was the cause so researched the key words red-yellow-green-dogfood-seizures via the net and read these postings - I called Dad and he confirmed that low and behold the food was "Beneful" How on earth can a dog food company create such deadly crap?

Needless to say my husband and I have thrown out the food and will be purchasing the Border Collie's food from now on.

Thank goodness for these postings.


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## Bodie_Scott (Apr 12, 2010)

I have been eating Nutra Lamb and Rice for many years. My mom being on a very tight budget got me some Beneful. Now I am a pretty Border Collie, but I now have stained mouth and front legs (I always clean my front legs), from the dye in the food. HEY PURINA, DOGS ARE COLOR BLIND! YOU DON'T HAVE TO COLOR THE FOOD TO LOOK LIKE VEGETABLES FOR US! Never again will I ever eat another Purina product. Oh by the way, I am an Animal Assisted Therapy dog, and all the clients in our resthomes think I am a dirty dog! Thanks


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## Kimberly (May 9, 2010)

I have a 10 year old dachshund. Due to the economy and me being laid off, I switched to Beneful a little over a year ago. She previously only ate Nutro or Royal Canin. She has been sick the last 2 weeks, 2 vets visits and now a 3rd is a specialist. She has bladder stones, Liver enlargement due to liver disease from eating a not so healthy food. All 3 of the vets say beneful is the worst thing for a dog to eat......

My dog has always been healthy, she has never had problems, I feel horrible that I basically poisoned her body with this food for almost a year!!!!!!! She is on a liver supplement but the vets say her life is now shortened!


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

I really can't say how many times we have warned people here about the effects of corn, wheat, soy, coloring and other bad crap in dog food. It just seems everyone thinks we don't know what we are talking about, until it happens to them. Like I have said many times before, the reason I keep reseaching and posting about dog food is because I had to put a dog down because of crappy dog food like this and this is one of the foods I feed him. This is about as bad a dog food as you can find.


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## sherri (May 17, 2010)

I am so thankful to have found this website and hope it's not too late for my dog edison. He is now 8yrs and started having seizures 8 months ago. He has had 3 seizures in the past week. I am trying to transition him from BENEFUL to Canine Caviar but I don't see that on anyones recommended A list. Is there something wrong with this food too that anyone is aware of. I thought I did my homework but maybe not. Please help if you can


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## Jeffrey (May 17, 2010)

My Greyhound was on prescript dog food for a year and her loose stools were not getting any better. We adopted a Mutt eating Beneful and as soon as the Greyhound started eating the beneful.....wella no more loose stools.

Both Dog are happy and healthy four years later.

Now I have a cousin, if she eats hot dogs has a migrane for three days. She is now on a special diet and is doing better.

Not all foods are good for all creatures people. My Vet has told me soem of the foods listed here will cause problems because they are too rich and can cause kidney stones.


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

sherri, I can not get your food in my area so that is why it is not on my list. I think Eric has talked about this food and he likes it, so that would be good enough for me. Eric is pretty picky about the foods he recomends. I just looked at this product and the Lamb adult looks great but I don't have the time right now to really look it over. The only bad thing I saw was Beet Pulp Shreds and maybe a little light on meat and strong on grain. Over all it looks way WAAAAY better than Beneful.


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

Jeffery see my post above. It took me having to put a dog down before I figured it out. And I would go find a new vet, brecause yours must have gone to fly by night vet school. These are indredients that should NOT be in your dog food...

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=badingredients


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## SaltyDog (Mar 10, 2010)

Sherri,

Transition to Canine Caviar should be immediate. It is a raw kibble, not cooked....and it's never to late!!!! 

If you'd like to take it one step further, add this product to it....Wholistic Canine Complete Joint Mobility. It is a whole foods supplement with joint support as well. This will help detoxify and cleanse the blood, add essential vitamins and minerals in their natural state, not synthetic, will help with brain and heart function, and is a digestive enzyme to aid in the breakdown of the food for usage into the body.

Canine Caviar may be a little light on meat, but this is the only raw kibble on the market and it has no rendered meals in it. As far as beet pulp is concerned, I have no problem with this fiber. Jess quotes the dogfoodproject often, so check that site out as well and read what they have to say about beet pulp.

Best place to buy Canine Caviar that I've found is heartypet.com


To Jefferey.....I'm sure that their stools are awesome now, being that Beneful is full of fillers and stool formers. Qualtiy kibbles such as Orijen do not need these fillers because the dog actually digests what it is eating. It's full of meat, meat meals, animal fat and oils. 

If your vet is telling you that feeding high quality kibble with high meat inclusion causes kidney stones....it's time to seek out a new vet. FYI, vetrinarians are not versed in nutrition.


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## Jen7 (May 28, 2010)

I have 2 pugs who have just started having seizures. My older pug (1 yr) had her first one 3 months ago. She just had another one 2 days ago, and my younger pug (10 mo) just had one last night. Both their blood work came back normal and I am at a complete loss. I feed them Iams puppy food which now that I researched a little bit does NOT seem healthy at all. So I bought them a new kind today. They have another vet apt. next week, and I have a feeling everything will come back normal. Has this happened to anyone else? I can't take seeing them go through that one more time.


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## Nate (May 31, 2010)

There is absolutely nothing redeeming about beneful, except in the way that krispy kreme donuts are redeeming to people because they taste good. Of course, no one eats krispy kremes every day...but if they did, they'd have the same problems my dogs had from eating beneful....diabetes, cataracts, and a shortened life span. Sugar and sorbitol have no place in dog food. I lost two dogs because I gave them a food that was advertised as health, when, it is in fact one of the worst foods you can buy. I only wish I would have understood what I was giving them much sooner. I am also an attorney who is looking for justice against purina and to make sure they are forced to remove the harmful ingredients from this food. If your pets have suffered from eating beneful, please contact me at [email protected]


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## Sherri_H. (Jun 4, 2010)

We changed to Beneful about 3 months ago. Today, I had to rush my previously healthy, beautiful dog to the vet. She was biting at the air, lethargic, and acting really weird. Of course the vet found no reason for this. I immediately thought about the change in food. After doing some research, Beneful is in the trash. I'll monitor her for a few days and see if that is the problem, but from what I have seen on numerous websites, I think is. Hopefully I haven't poisened Lucy too much.


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## Stacy (Jun 15, 2010)

I have been feeding my Chow mix Beneful since she was a puppy. She is now almost a year old and has experienced no problems since being on the food. She was started on the puppy formula, changed to Playful Life, and I have now put her on the original. She has a beautiful coat, is at a healthy weight, and has had no health problems whatsoever. When I asked my vet what type of dog food she should be put on, I was told that Beneful was a great choice. He told me that of all the supposedly "healthy" dog foods, that Beneful has never been recalled. This is a very important aspect of picking out a dog food for me because if Iams/Eukenuba has recalls (was always known as one of the most expensive/most healthy dog food for dogs by past vets) then where should I turn?!

I think that Beneful has been doing great things for my dog. She is healthy, happy, active, and gobbles it up at every meal!


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## Michelle6 (Feb 12, 2010)

Stacy Hi-Please do your dog a HUGE favor,write down the ingredient list for Beneful,the whole entire thing please.You can get it at the top of this page just click on the formula that you use.I could go through each ingredient and point out what is bad about it,but it is just easier to leave a link to a site that will fully explain it to you. http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=badingredients


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## Michelle6 (Feb 12, 2010)

Stacy Hi-Please do your dog a huge favor-write down the ENTIRE ingredient list for Beneful,if you go to the top of this page you will find it there.Just click on the formula that you use and then click on ingredients.I could go through the entire list and each individual ingredient and tell you why they are bad,but it is just easier to leave a link.When you get there you can check your ingredient list up against all the bad ingredients.Oh and don't forget about the last Bad ingredient Menadione sodium bisulfite(source of Vitamin k activity) this is a really BAD one,click on the more info on this one I think that you will be shocked when you finally realize what you have actually been feeding your dog. http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=badingredients


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

I have some real solid advice for you, CHANGE VETS, because yours is a moron.

This is the posion I was feeding when my dog got his tumor. He was put down because of that tumor and when I asked ""my vet"" if it could have been his food, he just shrugged his shoulders and said maybe. My dog did great on this posion for 10 years. He used to throw up and have diarrhea but I blamed it on the kids leaving the lid up on the toliet.


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## Michele2 (Jun 18, 2010)

Unbelievable! I have an 11 year old Beagle who is a very picky eater. We usually cook up chicken, turkey, for her and mix it in her premium dog food. Yeaterday we decided to give her a treat...Beneful. She ate it like she was starving. 10 minutes later...seizure! A perfectly healthy dog who has never had any medical issues in her life. She reacted as if she has gotten a hold of a mushroom, trembling, large pupils, rapid heart rate, pale gums. I knew the mushroom theory was not a possibilty as for 1...I had just checked the yard. And 2....like I said, she's picky and does not graze outside.
I suspected perhaps the food was loaded with sugar and spiked her blood sugar. I had no idea what I would read this morning when trying to conclude why this happened. I'm relieved to know I'm not the only one who has had this experience but furious at the same time. 
Luckily it happened right away and not after being on this crap for a prolonged period of time. I'm hoping this was just an isolated incident and we will have no more episodes. I find it sad that so many pets have gotten so sick from something so simple as eating. Now, what to do with the brand new bag of food? I have a few not so nice ideas! Thanks for taking my money, Purina!


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## Michelle6 (Feb 12, 2010)

Michele-why in the world would you go from a "premium" dog food to this crap??? It has corn, chicken by-product no actual meat, more corn and whole wheat,Animal fat WHAT ANIMAL??? Then you have SUGAR and a bunch of food coloring.I don't know what "premium" brand you are using but I would not consider Beneful a treat,it's more like a big bag of early death....


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## Michelle6 (Feb 12, 2010)

My mom used to feed Beneful to her dog Shelby,she is a sweet little Shetland Sheepdog....she deserves much better...She used to eat her poop all the time.Now that I have educated myself about good and bad ingredients,no dog that belongs to my family and friends will ever eat such crap food again!!My mom feeds good foods now,Merrick and Fromm and guess what she doesn't eat her poop anymore because she is getting good nutrition from her food.Let me guess you love Beneful and you think your dog does too?? Well check this out and tell me if you still feel the same way,oh and btw the technicolor food should be your first clue that a dog food is not good... http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/beneful-dog-food-dry/


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## Michelle6 (Feb 12, 2010)

Please don't be fooled by the pretty picture on the front of the bag turn it over and look at the ingredients.Do you see ANY real meat?? http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-industry-exposed/dog-food-packaging/


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## Michelle6 (Feb 12, 2010)

Here's an article to help people understand what to look for in dog food... http://dogfoodadvisor.com/chosing-dog-food/ideal-dog-food/


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## ThatCreepyKid (Jul 17, 2010)

I have a question to ask you all.
Why dont you cook for your dogs?
I'm sure if you took the time and cooked for your dog,you'd have a meal that was WAY more nutrituious for it and probobly less expencive in the long run.
Me?
I'm going to read more reviews,take some notes,eventually go to the pet store and see what there is to get.
If it works out,cool,I'll keep using it.
If it doesnt,oh well,I'll toss it out and cook for my dog until I find something better and something that works on my budget.


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## laurine (Jul 17, 2010)

hi.
i bought beneful puppy 7/7/10 and today 7/17/10 my 2nd pom puppy died (2 in 3 days). they were both healthy and beautiful and became sick suddenly and died the next day. we had another pup a pit/boxer he got sick but using medicines he survived but both of my pom pups died. I hadn't heard of any recalls or problems with beneful and i usually bought purina health puppy but due to my husband being laid off (unemployment ran out) and the food on sale i thought it was safe. sure wish i had found this site before i bought it they might still be alive today.


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

I don't cook anything but chicken or eggs and I do add meat to my dogs diet. Cooking meat takes some of the nutrients out of the meat.


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## Vaish (Jul 18, 2010)

Hi Jess, Michelle,
Visiting this website a couple of times and I know you both are active and dedicated people and not some sales person, I am from India, the highest quality food available in India is Royal canin at this time, which is really an awful food.i have a labrador and german shepherd puppy, my lab is two years old and is in home made food( 1 kg chicken, lamb, beef, rabbit,duck or turkey with 300 grams brownrice carrot apples and sweet potatoes at small level like 15% of whole weight)my father in law owns a poultry farm and he strongly refuses me feeding raw to my dogs as he says he is 100% sure that the dogs skin and few millimeters inside will contain bacteria. my lab was on royal canin until six months back now on home food and doing great. now the real problem is my GSD puppy as he needs correct levels of calories and protein and calcium, i dont know how much he will get from what i feed from and could not find these details too, so i am forced to give him royal canin which i dont want to, Please help what should i do where can I find sources for these, my Gsd is only 9 weeks old and he need proper nutrients money is know object for me as i am ready to spend 200$ a month just for food, importing pet foods into india is tough and is a never ending process, only big crap food manufacturers like RC, IAMS, Pedigree, Purina are available. i have searched almost every were in the internet i also bought the book by John miller on home made food but it contains lots of wheat flour and corn than meat. and it doesn't look like a complete food just like alternative. please help me help my growing GSD his name is MAX and already in love with me, i would do anything to keep him healthy and happy. I look forward to your inputs


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## Vaish (Jul 18, 2010)

Hi Jess, Michelle,

i forgot to mention, i am ready to feed even 3 kg of cooked meat instead of raw, i use only boneless meat as it is danger to dogs, i can semi cook them and serve too, i just want to do what is best for my dogs at this situation of mine. admin sorry to post twice the same post i am in desperate need for help.


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## Halo (Jul 18, 2010)

Beneful - Bottom of the barrel dog food but to each their own if you like feed your dog nothng but artifical ingredients made to look like real meat and vegetables loaded with sugar and chemicals. The only reason people probably unfortunately buy this garbage is the tons of money Proctor and Gamble spend to market this product.


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## Vaish (Jul 18, 2010)

Hi Jess, Michelle,
Visiting this website a couple of times and I know you both are active and dedicated people and not some sales person, I am from India, the highest quality food available in India is Royal canin at this time, which is really an awful food.i have a labrador and german shepherd puppy, my lab is two years old and is in home made food( 1 kg chicken, lamb, beef, rabbit,duck or turkey with 300 grams brownrice carrot apples and sweet potatoes at small level like 15% of whole weight)my father in law owns a poultry farm and he strongly refuses me feeding raw to my dogs as he says he is 100% sure that the dogs skin and few millimeters inside will contain bacteria. my lab was on royal canin until six months back now on home food and doing great. now the real problem is my GSD puppy as he needs correct levels of calories and protein and calcium, i dont know how much he will get from what i feed from and could not find these details too, so i am forced to give him royal canin which i dont want to, Please help what should i do where can I find sources for these, my Gsd is only 9 weeks old and he need proper nutrients money is know object for me as i am ready to spend 200$ a month just for food, importing pet foods into india is tough and is a never ending process, only big crap food manufacturers like RC, IAMS, Pedigree, Purina are available. i have searched almost every were in the internet i also bought the book by John miller on home made food but it contains lots of wheat flour and corn than meat. and it doesn’t look like a complete food just like alternative. please help me help my growing GSD his name is MAX and already in love with me, i would do anything to keep him healthy and happy. I look forward to your inputsi forgot to mention, i am ready to feed even 3 kg of cooked meat instead of raw, i use only boneless meat as cooked bone is danger to dogs, i can semi cook them and serve too, i just want to do what is best for my dogs at this situation of mine. admin sorry to post twice the same post i am in desperate need for help.


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## Ginger_Wong (Jul 22, 2010)

I am not a dog lover whatsoever BUT my 18 year old daughter changed her dog to Beneful. A week later we were driving in from another state and my daughter called in a panic. Her dog "Simon" had chewed up a plastic kennel, now he wasn't even inside of it, and when she entered the room he attacked her. She kicked him back and drug him outside. He was foaming at the mouth and growling at her. This is the sweetest dog on earth, my daughter even was attacked by two dogs and he hid behind her for protection. She called our old vet, he was on call, and they said they would probably have to put him down. When we got home 3 hours later, my husband went over to tend to them and Simon was calmed down but exhausted looking (confused too). The next day we took him to our new vet, she did tests and recommended a behavior school. Right before we began to leave, she said "I should have asked this but what food is in on?" We told her Beneful, she laughed and said I know what is wrong with him. It was the food. She said she has had more dogs come in with abrupt behavior changes due to some dog foods and Beneful was #1. We quickly threw that crap out and went and bought the Costco brand, which has no wheat or corn. He is back to normal and a happy dog. The vet said it was like he was a child and we were giving him a bag of hersheys every day, it is pure junk food. What a rip! My daughter could have been seriously injured due to this crap and a good companion put to sleep! I do have some coworkers that feed their dogs Beneful and have no problems but beware of sudden behavioral problems if you switch your dog to Beneful, please.


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

Vaish, I really don't have a good answer for you. If I were in your shoes I would most likely cook for my dog. Meat and more meat, brown rice, small amount of cooked potatoes, small amount of cooked vegetables, a little finely ground beets or pumpkin would help keep any diarrhea down. I would get some supplements and vitamins and add that to his diet right away. I would look very hard at the ingredient list and try to find the one with the least amount of garbage in it. 

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=badingredients

Maybe you could get something from k9cusine??


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## Vaish (Jul 18, 2010)

Jess, thank you for your reply, I have read the bad ingredients a 100 times and that is what scares me, royal canin has all of it mostly. I am ready to home cook as my labrador is on home made food, all i am concerned about is my growing 9 weeks old german shepherd.home cooking i am afraid that i may give over or less nutrition a puppy requires, like calorie wise or mineral vitamins or protien or calcium. I am able to find out the calories and protien in foods i make but the rest i dont know and also required levels for a growing puppy, i tried comparing in with large breed puppy food, while orijen has 40% protien and requires to feed abou 1000 -1300 calories a day for untill 3 months , wellness large breed suggests about 2500 to 3000 calories at the same age and i am completely lost, some body please help


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## Tracy3 (Jul 27, 2010)

I have 2 dogs, one a King Charles Spaniel and the other a Pug. Yesterday my Kali (KCS) started having some diarrhea. I kept an eye on her but by that night there was blood in the diarrhea and she wasn't drinking water. I force fed her water and was going to bring her to the vet first thing in the morning. I woke up to 3 piles of vomit on my bed and diarrhea everywhere. I put her outside and proceeded to get ready to leave. When I went to the bathroom, my Pug was in there and having the same problem with blood in the stool. I was so upset!
I quickly gathered them in the car and while on my way, posted it on Facebook to see if anyone else had the same problems with their dogs. The reason is because while having Breakfast Television on, a few people had emailed in that they were having a rough day and that their dogs were sick.
To my shock, I woman commented that she was so sad for me and that she just lost 3 dogs recently to a sickness but they weren't sure what it was caused from. She noted to me that she fed her dogs Beneful and hoped there wasn't another problem with the dog food again. Well thats what I feed my dogs and this was a new bag I opened 2 days ago. I have let the vet know and will keep you posted. I am soooo upset right now and if its Purina Beneful that is the cause of this, I will sue the pants off them. We have to make these companies accountable and more careful of what they put in their dogfood!!!


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## Deep_Search (Jul 30, 2010)

You know, a lot of people say Beneful is cheap and so I expected bags of Beneful to be really, really cheap considering the ingredients in the dog food. But for what you buy it is WAY, WAY overpriced. You can get much better dog food for your dog by just spending relatively slightly more or in some cases even the same amount. Checking on-line prices for Beneful they are around $12-13 for a 7 lb bag. I pay $14 for my dog's Orijen. It is slightly pricier, but I expected there to be a MUCH bigger price gap since people say Beneful is cheap. It is not that cheap. And Orijen is actually food dogs can thrive on, unlike Beneful. It's completely ridiculous people will drop that kind of money on this dog food. Same goes for other grocery store brands and Science Diet. If I am going to spend around $13 for a small bag of food or for a big bag around $30-40 or $50 (Eukanuba and Pro Plan can cost that much and they contain corn and byproducts), either way, I'm going to get something that is nutritious for my dog.

I am dog-sitting, currently, and the dogs I am watching eat Beneful Radiance. Let me tell you, the food stinks, literally. It makes me slightly nauseous. I feed my dog at home Orijen senior (before that, Innova) and I have to say it actually smells good. I have never fed my dog a food with the foul odor that Beneful has. I have tried talking to the owner of the dogs I am watching about their food (they are a family friend) but they just say "the vet said this food is fine." One of the dogs is a young big dog and he should really be on a food for large breeds. I will have to mention specifically that Beneful is one of the worst dog foods out there. It is frustrating to talk to people about dog food, and I hate doing it, but I also hate that dogs are fed foods like these when they could be getting something a lot better. I will suggest a food that is acceptable that is about the same price as Beneful. I will try to look into a large breed food that can be bought in big bags for a moderate price, but I am afraid this person will never get a specialized food for the large dog.


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## Shan1 (Jul 31, 2010)

Hey Vaish found some great source for homemade and raw diets http://www.dogaware.com/articles/wdjhomemade3.html . Hope this helps. Don't panic your puppy will do just fine. Well there are lots of e books and books you can purchase they are really helpful, a lot of details we require for home cooking is available, while the one you downloaded is only a recipe book and with this free article you can be making your own recipes. Good luck.


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## Michelle6 (Feb 12, 2010)

Vaish-Royal Canin Huh,if I were in your shoes I would either find some good recipes or maybe give dog food with fresh meat,veggies,and a little fruit mixed in...Can you order something better online? It's hard to give advice to someone in India,as I really have no idea what options are available to you there...


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## Vaish (Jul 18, 2010)

Michelle thank you, as I told before the only foods available here are Royal canin, Purina, Iams, pedigree. Needless to say they are all awful dog foods. Buying online from USA is never ending process as there is like a ton process and most people are not able to import pet foods even at a commercial level, the customs here are very strict on pet foods due to some outbreak in pet foods from USA in 1995 i guess.... I have ordered merrick puppy plate though 60 lbs through Ebay GEB, lets see what happens.
Thank you Shan, that link did provide lot of information. Now I am checking many other related topics on how much to feed puppy and how much and what to supplement.


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## Vaish (Jul 18, 2010)

oh forgot and eukanuba too, that whole bag is not worth a penny


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## Leslie_Ann_Holbrook (Oct 8, 2010)

We have a small terrier mix (13 pounds, looks like Toto) who developed rashes after we switched her to Beneful Prepared Meals. When we took her to our vet to have the rashes looked at, she said that this was the third dog she’d seen *that day* that had come in itching after having switched to Beneful. Caveat emptor.


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## Chris6 (Oct 26, 2010)

I have been feeding beneful "healthy radiance" to my girl since she was a pup due to a condition with her intestines. most other foods make her VERY sick, other than a super expensive RX dog food, that .. to be honest is just way way out of our budget (it would cost me more to feed her...than it does myself!) i always thought beneful was a good "middle of the road" food, however, ive found in recent research that it is the equivalant to eating fast food everyday. im shocked, and now feel like a bad parent! im switching to evo with the hopes that the natural ingredents will sit well with her. on another note, i had tried "healthy weight" one time before with her because one of the dogs i was fostering was way over wieght. withing two days of switching, gwens stool was blood filled. it was an absolutly terrifiying experiance. i immediatly discontinued and had her checked out. luckily she was okay, but i do blame this souly on the food and the extreme high levels of protein. this issue has never happend again. its my advice to stay away from beneful!


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## Rachel_Patterson (Oct 26, 2010)

your dog food is the best. its the only food my dogs will eat, ur food is a miracle to all familys who have dogs.


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## Brittany (Nov 12, 2010)

My dogs have been eating regular plain dog food like beneful for all their lives. One of them is a 10.5 year old bernese mountain dog who is in great shape. She walks fine, she is healthy, nothing wrong with her and they all eat beneful. I recently went to the vet and they gave me a print out of 'dog food myths'. Apparently the vet even rated IAMS as one of the best dog foods on the marker and beneful as an 'okay' dog food. Not terrible, but in the middle. So we bought our dogs IAMS and they ate it, but didn't like it as much as their beneful. It also smells bad too.
So we switched them back to beneful and they are happy as ever. They love the stuff and it hasn't hurt their health one bit. I have great healthy dogs.


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## Lizzie (Oct 22, 2010)

OK Brittany, if you want to feed your dogs crap even after reading ingreditents and all the posts, then it's up to you. Unfortunately your pet has to eat what you feed them. I also have a Bernese and I'm feeding her the best I can get - Orijen Large Breed puppy. I'm not going to take any chances with my beloved pet as I don't take chances with my own health. Also don't trust what vets say in regards to nutrition - they will push the foods that give them a commission! In the meantime I will pray for your Bern that she stays healthy as 10.5 is good age for a Bern to reach!


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

Well Brittany, I would love to meet your Vet and have a little talk with him along with my vet. BECAUSE beneful KILLED MY DOG AND THAT CAME FROM MY VET. I bet a thousand bucks your dog throws up and has runny stools all the time. You most likely just blow it off. ANY VET WHO MAKES A STATEMENT LIKE THIS IS NO VET IN MY BOOK. 

""IAMS as one of the best dog foods on the marker and beneful as an ‘okay’ dog""

UNBELIEVABLE, I gotta believe Brittany is a big fat liar...


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## Ginger1 (Nov 30, 2010)

My dachshund is a finicky eater. He rejected all dry foods except Beneful, which I would put out for him in the morning and leave out if I was going to be away that evening. He ate a can of Cesar's dog food in the evening. Because the bags would go stale before I could use them, I put the Beneful in clean 2 gallon sized jars. This worked for quite some time. In the past 6-8
weeks I have been infested with small mothlike insects which came from the jars and from one newly purchased bag of dog food. I'd like to know what this little pest is called and how to erradicate it. If you can help me please, please do so!


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## Shawn3 (Dec 16, 2010)

Im not sure what all the fuss is about. I have 3 year old Irish Setter who has been eating Beneful his whole life. No bloody stools, nothing but perfect health,radiance,and perfect doctor visits only once a year for his shots. 
I exercise him a great deal however. Maybe thats the key.


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

OK Shawn, it seems you are one of those who can't read. This crap caused the death of my last dog, IT IS A FACT !!!! If you don't believe me or my vet so be it. But you have been warned!!! Like I said above, when your dog goes outside go with him, every time rain or snow and I well bet anything that he throws up and has runny stools a lot more than you think. Or sit back on the couch and pretend you are feeding him a decent product. Or you could do some reading on your own...I really believe there should be a warning label on this crap.. Because there is "NOT one" decent ingredient in this food.

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=badingredients


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## Antonio1 (Apr 22, 2010)

I've never used Beneful, so I can't make a statement for/against this particular product. Hey Jess, just out of curiosity what was the ingredient in the test that your vet did that actually killed your last dog? I think I will start to check future products that I use to try and eliminate that possibility with mine.


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

He never singled out one ingredient and used the wording, low quality dog foods which should not be fed to dogs.

Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), rice flour, beef, soy flour, sugar, sorbitol, tricalcium phosphate, water, salt, phosphoric acid, animal digest, potassium chloride, dicalcium phosphate, sorbic acid (a preservative), L-Lysine monohydrochloride, dried peas, dried carrots, calcium carbonate, calcium propionate (a preservative), choline chloride, added color (Yellow 5, Red 40, Yellow 6, Blue 2), DL-Methionine, Vitamin E supplement, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, Vitamin A supplement, manganese sulfate, niacin, Vitamin B-12 supplement, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, copper sulfate, biotin, garlic oil, thiamine hydrochloride, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), calcium iodate, sodium selenite.


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## Antonio1 (Apr 22, 2010)

That's understandable, I was wondering b/c up until this year I didn't realize the issue w/ synthetic vitamin K & clay in dog food. So I'm trying to keep a look out.


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

Well, I have 3 dogs. A very old (17) Golden (who'll eat almost any dog food, won't touch Blue Wildreness), and 2 young (under 3) Italian Greyhounds (very picky). I've always fed them a variety of dog foods, and I do it in a way that most of you don't agree with. I "grab" a brand and feed it "cold turkey". They get a "different" food everyday. I don't usually have a problem with this (only 2 brands caused upset stomaches). My problem is that most of the "good" brands recommended, my young dogs will not eat. The only one they can be "encouraged" to eat is Taste of the Wild, and that one makes the Old Man extremely sick. The foods they eat (from most liked to least) are Beneful Healthy Radiance, Organix Adult Formula, Proplan Shredded Lamb, and Bil Jac. It seems that blueberries may be the culprit in the little ones dislike of the other brands. It's the only ingredient that all the others have, so is there a "good" brand that doesn't have blueberries in it?


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## themamulas (Jan 10, 2011)

Celt- I actually really like your way of feeding. Something different everyday makes perfect sense to me. Dogs that eat the same thing everyday become a product of that product. I would hate to eat the same cereal for every meal, everyday, my whole life. I currently use the method of switching every few months, but have wondered if i could switch more often. But I have one dog with a sensitive tummy so im afraid to try it.


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

Jessica--I'm not sure how your sensitive tummy dog would react, but I've never have done the "slow transition" feedings. I haven't had any of the dogs I've own react "badly" to just changing the food (not even young puppies), but a lot of dogs do seem to have this problem. Maybe try to switch just a little bit faster, like maybe switch a month earlier than you normally would and see if that caused a problem.


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

Why not throw in ol roy then you could be feeding your dog 4 of the worst dog foods made today. When you have to put your dog down Celt, just remember you could have feed them a good dog food.

Beneful Healthy Radiance, Organic Adult Formula, Proplan Shredded Lamb, and Bil Jac, you just can't feed a dog a much worse diet. Organic is the only decent brand


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## Michelle6 (Feb 12, 2010)

Hey Jess,you should put your budget list up for Celt......They all have MUCH better ingredients than the foods she listed,and won't break the bank.Especially the Kirkland brand. Ps.I think it should be called BeneAWFUL,because it is just plain AWFUL for your dog.With an ingredient list that includes Corn,wheat,by products,colored dyes, SUGAR,and Menadione.You really can't do much worse.


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

Okay,Jesse. First of all, I have tried most of the "reccomended" brands (as I stated before) and the younger dogs generally won't eat them. And if you didn't read the ages my golden retriever is 17 (which I've been told by many people, including breeders, is a very old age for this breed.) He is just now beginning to have problems with arthritis, and no he hasn't been vomitting or had diarrhea, except when we tried him on tast of the wild. So, if I do have to "put him down" it most likely will be because of an "age related" issue, such as being in pain from his arthritis. Oh I forgot the only other time he had "stomache problems" was when the vet tried him on pain meds.


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

Michelle, I was asking for a list of other dog foods to try, but it wasn't the price of the food that was the issue. From what I could tell from reading the ingredient lists of the foods that the "boys" wouldn't eat that it was probably the blueberries that was "turing them off" of those foods, as they all had blueberries in them while the foods they do eat do not. So could you be a little more helpful and recommend some foods that do not contain blueberries in them.


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

The A list
1.	Orijen
2.	Acana, Harvest, pacifica & grassland Only.
3.	Horizon Legacy
4.	Taste of the Wild, wetlands & prairie, ONLY.
5.	GO, grain free /Endurance Only.
6.	Fromm, 4 star.
7.	Merrick
8.	Wellness Core
9.	Blue Wilderness
10.	Acana, the rest of Acana products.
11.	Artemis
The B list
1. GO, the rest of their products.
2. Evangers
3. Timberwolf
4. Fromm, the rest of their products.
5. Instinct
6. Wellness super 5 mix
7. Now, Grain free. 
8. Solid Gold
9. Precise Holistic Complete, Only.
10. Natures Logic
11. First Mate
12. Kirkland or Natural Domain, Costco!(mainly because of cost)
13. Now, the rest of their products.
The C list
1.	Evo
2.	Innova
3.	Nutrisource
4.	Chicken soup for the dog lovers soul
5.	Exclusive
6.	Pure Vita
7.	Canidae, Grain Free ALS, Only.
8.	Wellness 
9.	Earthborn
10.	Pinnacle
11.	Annamaet
12.	Organix
13.	Natural Balance, not all are good!
14.	Whole Earth farms, this well move up!
15.	Premium Edge


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

I am about to change some things above, here and there, but over all I like all these foods MINUS Innova. I also believe Evo is starting to see some issues. Now here is my all good priced list and I think maybe Healthwise could be moving off the list because I have not been able to find it for a decent price.

1.	Taste of the Wild - About 43 bucks for 30 lbs.*****
2.	Kirkland (Costco) - About 25 bucks for 40 lbs.*****
3.	Whole Earth Farms - About 35 bucks for 30 lbs.
4.	4Heath - About 30 bucks for 30 lbs.
5.	Natures Domain - About 35 bucks for 30 lbs.
6.	ByNatural – About 40 bucks for 30 lbs.
7.	Nutri Source - About 45 bucks for 30 lbs.
8.	Healthwise – About 39 bucks for 30 lbs. 
9. Diamonds Premium Edge/Naturals – About 35 bucks for 35 lbs.
10.	Eagle pack
11.	Chicken soup
12.	Fromm
I want to point out that I do not like the Diamond Brand product and must be one of these two. The last 3 are here because they seem to go on sale quite often.


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## Michelle6 (Feb 12, 2010)

Hi Celt,The biggest reason that you are having problems getting your dogs to eat the healthier brands is because dogs have a sweet tooth,and since you have been feeding some foods that contain sugar,it may be harder to get them to eat the healthy foods which definately WILL NOT contain sugar.Also if a food contains beet pulp make sure it says sugar removed.One suggestion for getting a picky eater to accept dry kibble is to add a small amount of canned to make it more appealing.Make sure to mix it in well.I am also a big fan of rotating foods each month.These are the foods that I use and recommend.Fromm Family Foods,Merrick Pet Care,Champion Pet foods(Orijen).Budget brands-TOTW,Fromm Gold,Merrick's Whole Earth Farms,4Health(Tractor Supply),Diamond Naturals,Kirkland(Costco)Nature's Domain(Costco).I hope this info helps you.


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

Thank you for the list. I have tried most of the foods on the A and B list. The ones I haven't tried are: Orijen, Acana, Go, Fromm, Instinct, and Solid Gold. I've never seen any of these brands here. I haven't bought Kirkland because the bag is too big. I'm afraid that it will "spoil" before I could use all of it.I probably use less than 3 cups a day of dry. I give a different food every day. Their dinner is mixed with a little can. Oh, as a "dessert"(after their bowls are clean), they get a little Pet Botanics meat roll. Not one of them will touch Blue Wilderness,and Taste of the Wild makes the "old man" extremely sick.


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

Michelle is 100% correct you most likely have spoiled your dogs. It's just like a spoiled kid. He won't eat his veggies but he sure is gonna eat a piece of pie and a candy bar. I have never heard of a dog not liking TOTW wetlands, never. IF YOUR DOG WON'T EAT AFTER MIXING IN SOME CANNED YOU NEED TO QUITE FEEDING SNACKS. Look at your bag of dog food and it has a used before date and it won't “spoil”. Most dog foods are good for over a year and a half.


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

Okay, I said that TOTW makes my old dog sick. It is 1 of only 2 brands that get him sick, so no I'm not going to feed it to him. I also stated that the boys could be convinced to eat TOTW, but I only serve can with their dinner, not every meal. Secondly, I admit I spoil my dogs but they don't get a lot of snacks, as a matter of fact, my oldest "boy" has been known to spit out anything that he decides is not up to his standards. And I know most dog foods last a long time, but after a short time they all get an oily/greasy feel to them, which is why I only buy small bags of food. More expensive? Yes, but they get used before they get to that point.


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

oops, I forgot the can mixed in didn't work for the older one. He just sucked it off and spit out the kibble. I had to soak the kibble in meat broth (mix with can), and even then he spat out any "hard" bits. The brat


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

Do what you what to do ,they are your dogs, we tried to help but obviously help is not what you are looking for. Good luck with your dogs. And yes the old dog has lived a long time, 17 is a very long time. The breed I have always had, rarely live over 12 and is also the average age for a golden retriever. So you have gotten 5 extra wonderful years with a great breed.

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/goldenretriever.htm


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

Look at these pictures.....

http://www.google.com/images?q=golden+retriever&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=cPo0TciMO4assAOf_8y_BQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CDgQsAQwAA&biw=992&bih=397


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

Jesse, actually you and others did help. I looked into the brands that I've not heard of before and found that 2 of the Acana, don't have blueberries in them, and 1 of the Orijen. Although that one says its for large dogs, don't know if it would be okay for the "boys". I've been very lucky and never had a dog live less than 14 yrs barring the 4 pups that we lost to parvo (still don't know how those pups caught it). I think that's why I find it so hard to believe that the "old man's" age is such a big deal. I know that larger breeds aren't suppose to live a "long" time but like I said I've been very lucky. But thanks for giving some help.


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

They say good for large breeds because of the high protein and the old school thinking that high protein is bad for smaller dogs. High protein from a meat source is very good for small dogs, it is high protein from potatoes, grains, veggys and such, which are in fact bad for dogs. Oh by the way my name is Jess and I am a male, LOL. Ya, the dog gods are watching over you.

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=protein_myth


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## RPot (Jan 21, 2011)

We have an almost 8 year old beautiful yellow lab named Duke. We have fed our dog Iams all these years, as the vet recommended it to us. Eight years ago, it was probably a better dog food then now. Approx. 3 to 4 months ago I began feeding our dog Beneful as he stopped wanting his Iams. While we were on vacation he stayed with my mom whom feeds her animals Beneful and my dog really liked it. I made the switch. My husband began complaining of the smell of the dog food so after 2 months I switched Duke back to Iams. During the time frame that I was feeding my lab Beneful, he had a seizure. I had not witnessed the seizure, I walked in on the after math of it. He had urinated all over my house, my couch had been moved and he was shaking when I walked in the house. I had no idea what happened until about 2 weeks ago he had a seizure in the middle of the night which we then put 2 and 2 together to figure out the first was a seizure as well. The vet seems to think that my lab may have a tumor simply due to statitics of labs having seizures at his age. His blood work came back fine. My question is, if indeed these seizures were caused by Beneful, I had stopped giving him Beneful approx. 3 weeks before his 2nd seizure. Would this dog food still be in his system? 
Since then both mom and I have been online researching all the dog foods. She just couldn't believe what she had been feeding her animals and was very devastated!! At this time I am playing the waiting game to see if this lab will have any more seizures.


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

Ooops, sorry about messing up your name. Oh, I thought the warning might have to do with some of the other ingredients.


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## Cavielover (Feb 3, 2011)

I just wanted to pipe in that my parents have always had large breed dogs and feed them whatever looks good to my mom when she is shopping. I`ve seen Pedigree, Beneful, all the ones that look "yummy" to humans. They have never had a dog live less than 14 years ! One thing though, they always fat.  They`ve had rottweilers, dobermans, shelties, and a Pyranese mix. I feed my dogs 4Health and they love it, but just though ya`ll might like to know.


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## Bryan (Feb 27, 2011)

What an interesting thread. I wish dog food companies would sell small samples of their product. Having a variety available for a puppy might be a worthwhile way of determining which food is the best match. (I'm sick of wasting money on expensive brands only to have my puppy thumb his nose at them....of course, I should probably begin mixing in wet food so he develops a sweet tooth for the stuff.)


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## Jackie3 (Mar 14, 2011)

Well lets see I recently bought my first bag of purina beneful and my dog did not want to eat it at first but later on that day started eating it and started getting sick throwing up and very listless does not want to eat or drink and have been tring to give him water through a oral syringe so he does not dehydrate. Not very happy with this product at all. I previously was giving him purina one and now I will not buy any of Purinas Dog Food any more. My dog was perfectly healthy until this product... I do not think he is going to make it


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## John13 (Apr 2, 2011)

I have a beagle and a yello lab. BOTH dogs ate this food and BOTH dogs vomited and as above, are listless and despondent. Totally out of character and very alarming. I would not be surprised if this stuff is made in China. NEVER AGAIN.


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## JoMAc (Apr 19, 2011)

To Bryan: 
I don't know if you've received feedback but I wanted you to know that I have contacted dog food companies of many via internet and received many free samples. Some will send samples for a small shipping fee. Go to the companies web page and click on contact/contact info (usually situated on the bottom in small print)click and ask for a sample. Most have been great and share the product others just say no and no harm done. It is a great way to try foods without wasting large quantities. Hope this helps!


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## keri3 (May 13, 2011)

I recently bought a choc lab puppy at 10 weeks old. She was on Beneful. She was eating ALOT of it, and gobbling it down as fast as she could. However, she was getting sick, and had diarrhea alot. So, after reading the ingredients, I switched to ACANA large breed puppy. She eats less than 1/2 she did before, but is gaining more weight than before. She loves it, and is much more active! As for samples, ACANA does sell sample packs (about $2.75), and it is more expensive than Beneful, but she eats less and is more healthy. I figure, if you invest all this money into buying a dog, you better be prepared to give it the best you can. I definitely dont suggest Beneful, but do suggest ACANA!!


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## Angie2 (May 27, 2011)

I am shocked to see this.... i am not even sure what made me search this. My two labs have been on this for at least 2 years and we have never had a problem. One of our labs has horrible gas, but assuming its just him, because the other one does not. Will consider looking deeper into this though...


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## Bo_Turner (Jun 15, 2011)

When I first boarded my Bichon poodle with a breeder, groomer and dog show Chanpion; she took one look at the Purina food I had bought for him and asked, "Are you trying to kill Rascal feeding him this shit?" I switched to 
Pedigree then, but I had been feeding him that junk too long and had to be out down about a year later, because he was blind and crippled! I now feed my mini Dachshund Science Diet to keep her weight down as recommended by my vet.


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## Jennifer15 (Jun 22, 2011)

iv been feeding my dog (minature poodle) benifull for two years and he dosnt like it eats its im swithching and i cant realy buy other food for him becuase im only ten thats why my spellings not so good and i dont have that much money. but i recomend you swith now my dog vomits every once in a while


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## Jennifer15 (Jun 22, 2011)

sorry last comment says switch typo


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## Tessa (Jun 29, 2011)

I've had my Australian Shepherd on Beneful since he was a puppy... he's now 1.5 years old and I just looks this up. It's not very surprising.... There are lots of foods out there that are "cheap(er)" and are attractively marketed. 

Beneful's bags are "pretty" and the different shapes and colors of the kibbles make us think it looks good. However, so many ingredients are used in Beneful that are controversial. Food dye and sugar are one of them. 

Overall rating for Beneful on the many websites i've visited, is a 1 out of 5 stars. It's attractive to the human eye... So unhealthy for your 4 legged friend. I recently just switched to "Before Grain" which is a 5 star dog food made up of 96% real meat (You have the choice of Buffalo, Chicken, or Salmon) Check THAT out.

Most importantly, after I'm finished transitioning my dog onto new food, his almost new/full bag of beneful is going to the DUMPSTER. I'd rather spend a few extra dollars on his food every month, then end up taking him to the vet for allergy or health related issues pertaining to Beneful.


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## Barbara` (Jul 9, 2011)

Oh okay I have fed my five year old Boston terrier beneful dry with a small amount of wet food his entire life. small meals twice daily. He is healthy, active and alert! My two year old eats this as well. If I tried other dog food, then she had horrible gas! She is also active, healthy and alert. What the world??? Neither dog is fat or vomiting....wow. ....


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## Valerie_Emerson (Aug 14, 2011)

Though many dogs love avocados, words of warning are posted on the ASPCA Web page regarding the dangers of this popular fruit. While the oil from an avocado is known to give a pup a shiny coat, pet owners must be kept up to date on any sinister side effects. 

Both the ASPCA and APCC (Animal Poison Control Center) have listed that persin, an element in avocados, is known to be toxic to pets. They note it can damage tissue in animals, including, but not limited to, the lungs and heart. Additionally, the high fatty content in avocados can physically provoke severe stomach problems, vomiting, or even worse, pancreatitis.


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## Elysia (Sep 9, 2011)

We had our three dogs on Beneful for several years. Recently we had to put our otherwise normally healthy 5 year old husky/lab cross down for acute kidney failure. The vet suggested we switch all of our other dogs to another better brand of food. (In all fairness, she didn't make any suggestion that the Beneful caused the failure, but she did say our pups would have a better chance at a healthier life eating something else.) 

Within two weeks my little Chihuahua/terrier cross lost all the weight we had been struggling to get off with reduced portions and steady excersize!!! My suspicions were confirmed when later, completely out of food at home, and the pet store out of the new brand we had switched to, I caved and bought a bag of Beneful. Within two weeks again, the little guy had all his pudge back and was lazy as sin! 

Suffice to say, I'll never feed them Beneful again.


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## Xavier (Oct 3, 2011)

Not sure what all the negativity is about on the Beneful. We adopted a Blackmouth Cur from the shelter just a couple of weeks ago. While i am not a dog person my wife has had several dogs in the past that she adopted from shelters. She has always fed her dogs the Beneful formulas with no troubles at all. And we feed our Zoey the dry puppy formula as well as the moist meaty blends. She just LOVES these foods especially when we mix the moist with the dry. She is very active, athletic, energetic and always eager for her daily walk. Her coat is healthy and soft.Her stools are also very healthy. And when we told our vet what we were feeding her even he said, "I don't know what they put in that Beneful but whatever it is dogs just love it." So other than the ingredients that I don't really know whether or not are questionable, because once again I am not an expert on canines, I just don't know what all the negativity is all about on the Beneful line of food. If it is really that bad, then why is it sold at all ? But then of course, I'd never feed my Zoey any Ol' Roy either...


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## Kym (Nov 11, 2011)

I don't understand all the negativity either. I use to give my **** Hound/Lab mix kibbles and bits cause it was her favorite but she was shedding hair, not very energetic, and had bad dandruff issues. I spoke to our family vet and she suggested Beneful and WOW what a difference! She now acts like a puppy and wants to play and run constantly, her coat is gorgeous, we always get comments about how clean her teeth are, and most importantly NO dandruff or excessive shedding problems. It's amazing how much she has changed just from switching her diet and our vet states its because she was not getting the necessary ingredients needed for a healthy life. Beneful has changed my attitude when it comes to the best food for dogs!


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## kk (Feb 10, 2012)

We gave our puppy lab this food too.. the vet said what kind of good food you gave to your puppy to have such a shinny coat... i said: Purina Beneful.. I donno what that is but my puppy is always energetic and his stool is solid. Other than normal dry food i will give vegetables and fruits too.. actually he loves everything..except sour orange


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## Casie_J (Mar 14, 2012)

I board a dog that was fed Beneful, he had pink hair on his feet from all the licking and chewing it caused him. Beneful is not considered good because it is mostly ground yellow corn, which is very hard for dogs to digest and not very healthy as well as it causing a lot of allergy problems. It also smelled terrible and the dog was disgusted by it. We gave him some 4health kibble and he gulps it up like its candy. 

It also contains a ton of dyes which are solely to make it appealing to the person buying it, and not very good for the dog eating it.


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## Annie4 (Mar 31, 2012)

I don't know what it is with beneful but none of my dogs would eat it even if i mixed it with canned food turned their nose up and they eat pretty much anything but i feed all natural food. My moms dogs turned their nose up at beneful too. Not saying it's bad just strange how some dogs won't eat it.


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## Keanna (May 26, 2012)

We just bought some beneful today and I am so disappointed and disgusted with it. There are literately spider webs inside the package and white worms. There goes both mine and the dogs lunch. :\ never buying this product again.


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## Mary20 (Jul 17, 2012)

Our dog is a picky eater and we tried multiple dog foods before we settled in with Beneful Original. All these reviews make me wonder, but he has a sensitive stomach and this is what he likes. I think Keanna got an old package from a store that needs to clean up. I have used this product for the four years we have had Joe and it has always been fresh. I strted reading dog food reviews and Beneful gets sold down the river over and over. The brands that get good reviews are all expensive and have multiple recalls. Who do you believe??


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## Mary20 (Jul 17, 2012)

I neglected to add that Joe has a long silky coat that is absolutely gorgeous when he runs and the wind ruffles through it.


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## David_Deerberg (Sep 5, 2012)

I've been reading some of these posts and can't believe most of them. White worms in the bag, mildew and mold and then they feed the dogs the food looking like this and complain it's the dog food? If you don't eat moldy food or food with worms in it, why would feed it to your dog thinking it's alright? 

Anyway, I've been feeding my healthy 12 year old Shepherd mix Beneful Healthy weight since she found me 11 years ago (mixed with a little bit of canned food as well}, and if you saw her recent photos, you would think she was only 8 years old. Perked up ears, clear eyes and attentive looking and is in her healthy weight range and never ever has been sick or had diarrhea. 

However, I am slowly switching to a slight higher brand of dog food despite my budget since I have two other dogs that are having small allergic reactions to Beneful, itchiness and biting the bottoms of their paws. Most people don't realize that if and when you switch dry or canned foods for your dog, you have to do it gradually over a period of weeks or months and not all in one day or else you more than likely will have problems with diarrhea, weight loss and lost of interest in eating. 

I thank Purina for a good product such as Beneful and for almost twelve years of good eating and good health for my Princess.


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## Laura12 (Jan 20, 2013)

Read the ingredients on the label of Beneful dog food. It's all garbage. Sometimes it takes years to take effect inside the dogs system. Then suddendly the dog has liver/kidney issues. It just doesn't happen overnight. Same thing with a human, you love the junk food you eat because it taste good. The manufacturers put so much crap and chemicals to make it taste good. Of course the dog is going to love it. I researched and now use Natural Balance Alpha with no grains and whole meat ingredients. Take a look at the ingredient label compared to Beneful. And by the way, there is a warning out now on 1/19/2013 that Beneful should be recalled by the FDA. Educate yourselves, your pet will live a healthy, long life.


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## Michelle6 (Feb 12, 2010)

@ David Deerberg, YOU MUST BE JOKING??? You are thanking Purina?? Beneful is THE worst "dog food" on the market. I don't even consider it food, because it is merely the TRASH left over from the human food chain. Do some research. Your dog needs real meat,eggs,fish,organs. Not corn,sugar,and food coloring, which is what Beneful is. Thanking Purina? LMAO!


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## Anne5 (Mar 14, 2013)

After about two years on Beneful, my Shelties health was deteriorating, he was developing skin problems with extreme hair loss, constant licking of the paws and severe allergies.
After several blood tests and biopsies, the Vet figured that this was caused by pet food.
I began my research on the internet, and what I learned was frightening. Especially what I had learned about Beneful, which I had been buying exclusively in the previous years.
I am now cooking his own foods, he is once again a healthy dog, NO thanks to BENEFUL, though!
And yes, his fur was shiny, that was until he started losing his fur!


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## tommigrl (Jun 3, 2014)

It's all a bit overwhelming


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