Beneful Dog Food (Summary)

my dog’s a border collie mix – weighs 70lbs.  smart as cracking and has all the energy of a purebred BC (which he very possibly might be:  of a litter of 11, only he and his sister didn’t look like the black-and-white parents; he could be a throwback).  

beneful gave him screaming diarrhea.

had i two more border collies, i’m pretty sure they’d've gotten the runs, too.

so is your personal experience more valid than my personal experience or shall we let the simple facts tell the story?

that’s one of the reasons my dog ended up on raw food diet – i mean raw food, same as what i feed the family and myself.  he was chewing through big bags of store-brand “cheap” kibble to the tune of two a week – about $160/mo.  i wised up, did research, and found the local brand available that was recommended was acana – cost dropped to $135/mo because he was still chewing through 2-1/2x the recommended serving size just to maintain body condition (70lb border collie mix – uber-mega-high energy).  i feed him from the discount meat bin at the grocery store.  he eats sirloin, ground round, t-bone, blade steaks, pot roast, chicken (quarters, necks, backs), turkey (wings, legs, necks), lamb (if it’s not too expensive).  he also eats fresh fruit and veg.

costs me maximum $120/mo.

It is actually not cheaper to feed Beneful if you look at what the suggested serving size is.  
Beneful (1 star food): 3 2/3 to 4 3/4 cups for 51 to 75 pounds.  31lb bag is $38.Canidae Grain Free(5 star food): 2-3 cups for 51 to 75 pounds 30lb bag is $53.

Prices based off Amazon.  Simple math says you will pay closer to $70 for Beneful to the $53 for Canidae for the same # of feedings.  

Please click on the link to the dry food and READ the ingredients detailed in the review.  They are simply facts, Ryah.  The creator of this site, Dr. Sagman, has absolutely no vested interest in whether you buy expensive food or not.  He created this site so that consumers could become better informed and see what some of these companies are selling you as “food” are really made of.  You can’t argue with the FACTS.  The facts are, this food is made from cheap industrial agriculture by-products, meat-packing by-products, propylene glycol, sugar, flavor enhancers and several ingredients that include free glutamic acid, artificial color… there is literally NOTHING good about this food.  As someone who works in pet retail, I have seen hundreds of sick, scabby, itchy, gassy, and/or over weight dogs that were eating THIS FOOD and became healthy even just switching them to something like Pro Pac which is only $27.99 for 33 pounds.  Not expensive, huh?  That’s about the same price as Beneful, but Pro Pac has a 3 1/2 star rating on this web site because it is made with obviously better ingredients.  When you buy Purina, you are paying for marketing, not ingredients.  Do your living dogs a favor and actually read the review of the dry food (this is just a brand summary) so you can see what is in it and what those ingredients really are.      

The purpose of this site is not to give you a guilt trip. You can buy and feed whatever you’d like, of course, but the fact that your dog lived until 16 1/2 doesn’t make Beneful any less awful of a food.

Tuley you need to feed your dog whatever you think is best but you should do some research and you will see that Beneful is not good food.

Bumble Bee’s
Baja Grill is the brainchild of Bob and BJ Weil.  Bob, an avuncular
septuagenarian, has been a peripatetic presence at the restaurant since
it launched,  seemingly serving simultaneously as greeter, cashier,
waiter and busboy, but mostly as the restaurant’s genial ambassador.  If
he’s at the restaurant on the day of your visit, you can expect him to
stop by your table to make sure you’re enjoying your food and dining
experience.  Your experience is of Mexican Baja style cuisine,
characterized by uncompromisingly fresh ingredients melded together in
gustatory exciting ways then apportioned generously to ensure no diner
ever leaves hungry.   Seafood ingredients abound in “just caught”
freshness, no easy feat in landlocked New Mexico.  Meats and poultry are
char-grilled to exacting temperatures that ensure each bite is
succulent and juicy.  Bumble Bee’s salsas will awaken your taste buds
with just enough bite to complement your entrees without dominating
them.
 

I’ve been feeding my golden retriever Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover’s Soul for most of her 4 yrs of life. However, we were on an extended trip when we ran out, and was unable to find it anywhere, and had to settle for a grocery store brand. Beneful certainly looked good on the shelf, but it wreaked havoc on my poor girl. After only feeding her Beneful for 6 weeks, she lost all her usual vigor and energy, started loosing tons of her previously beautiful fur, now dull. And from all the coloring in Beneful, her sweet pink belly turned black, and it took over a year to get all the black gone! This is a horrible excuse for dog food, I will never use it again. And I beg all of you to never feed this to your beloved pet!

Dog Food Ninja, it still lists you as Jonathan on the left under Top Commentators. lol DFN.

Hi, I have a 4 yr old Cockapoo. I fed him on Halo because of another pet owners request. When I found this site I started checking out the dog foods I was giving him. I started out with Petigree, then Netro. Because of my friend he is on Halo. I was in a accident and my money is severely limited now. Even being a Vet I can not get help. An aid brought me some food for him, it is Beneful IncrediBites. I know it is not the best but the food I get Oreo is expensive. It is hard to get good dog food on a limited budget. I hope my dog will be ok.

Hi Mike,

Thanks for checking and approving You can leave this one up and delete the others. If anyone has difficulty finding either article they can post and I will re-post the links.

I completely understand the need for a spam filter and appreciate your attempts to spare us all from unwanted advertising (and especially the “even worse”)!!

I agree with Melissa. An “all life stage” food is going to have all the nutrients required by each stage of life making feeding much easier..

For your senior — they have know for over 10 years now that “senior” dogs actually need MORE protein then when they were adults as they are not as efficient at digesting their foods. The below quote is taken from nutritionist Mary Straus’ website (dogaware.com). Mary writes nutrition articles for Whole Dog Journal and other publications as well as owner of dog aware.

“The truth is that there is no reason to feed a lower protein diet to senior dogs. While lower protein diets have traditionally been recommended for senior dogs based on assumptions such as those above, we now know that a protein-rich diet is especially important for older dogs, due to the fact that their systems are less efficient at metabolizing protein. Recent studies show that healthy older dogs may need as much as 50 percent more protein than their younger adult counterparts.” http://www.dogaware.com/articles/wdjseniordiets.html

Nutritionist Lew Olson, vet Dr. Karen Becker and many others agree with, and have written articles about, the above quoted information.

Drs Foster and Smith also have an article on this. Having a hard time finding it but came across this — titled “Feed Your Collie Right” (thought it was appropriate )

I don’t agree with much of the article but do agree with the quote on protein in senior dogs. It is written by a vet.

“The ability to metabolize protein decreases with age, so senior dogs–even healthy ones–need up to 50 percent more protein than younger adults. Inadequate protein intake can cause muscle wasting, weakness and immune system impairment.” http://www.dogchannel.com/dog-nutrition/dog-breed-diets/article_collie-4.aspx

Michelle is right — “senior” (most) dog foods are a marketing scam to push lower protein, higher carb foods on unsuspecting consumers.