Review of Beneful dog food by Purina.
68I thought that I would make this hub to warn others about Beneful dog food by purina. My dog liked it and it was cheap, but I had to stop feeding it to him due to some major issues that he was having. He was getting allergies and a weakened immune system from this dog food.
On dog food reviews Beneful is rated a 1/6 stars. The company tries to make it look like a good premium dog food but it is NOT. They list ingredients in dog food by what it has the most of. Corn is not any good for dogs, they can have allergies from it and cannot properly digest it. It also has added colorings in it. Why does a dog food need coloring? These same colorings are highly debated and known to cause many cancers and other health risks.
You can easily find a better higher quality food for a higher price on todays market. Find something without these added colors and corn. Perhaps something with a bit more meat at the begining of the ingredients list. Your dog will thank you later!
Beneful Ingredients
GUARANTEED ANALYSIS Crude Protein (Min) 25.0% Calcium (Ca) (Min) 1.1% Crude Fat (Min) 10.0% Iron (Fe) (Min) 200 mg/kg Crude Fiber (Max) 4.0% Selenium (Se) (Min) 0.2 mg/kg Moisture (Max) 14.0% Vitamin A (Min) 10,000 IU/kg Linoleic Acid (Min) 1.5% Vitamin E (Min) 100 IU/kg
CALORIE CONTENT Metabolizable Energy (ME) 3689 kcal/kg 1674 kcal/lb 360 kcal/cup
INGREDIENTS 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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beneful is the worstt :)
Take some advice, from a person who is giving their two beloved pets insulin 2 x per day, and don't feed your dogs Beneful dogfood. The one ingredient they don't put on the bag is carbohydrates (41%). Plus they add sugar & sorbitol which are sweetners alone. It took one year (3 months apart) of a solely Beneful diet for our dogs to have diabetes, blindness (from cataracts-side effect of diabetes) and need 2 x insulin shots per day. My wife and I cannot even leave home overnight, at the same time, without paying two vet bills for boarding. We have a claim filed with Purina but I never expect to get a "thin" dime. Also, one other note: Purina is also involved in class action lawsuit for misrepresenting Beneful ingredients. A word to the wise is sufficient.
we adoped an 11 month old puppy in 2006 and her previous "owner's" (and i use the term loosely) were feeding her adult beneful! :( she has had chronic health issues from day one, and I know it is largely due to the horrible food she ate in her formative months. We've spent thousands of dollars on vet bills to try to get her healthy. If I weren't an Energy Healer, I don't think she would have lived through it!
Oh my God..I guess people are not happy unless they are complaining about something. I highly doubt that Beneful is why you are having to give your dog insulin shots but good luck with getting money from Purina. My dog has eaten the stuff her entire life, she is now 6 and NO health issues at all. My veterinarian has no complaints with it at all. The only food she told me to stay away from was Ol' Roy and grocery store brand foods. I work at a kennel and ALL those people who have been fooled into thinking the more expensive the better, they always come in complaining about how their dogs have extreme stomach issues and don't understand why..I mean..of my goodness..they spent 40 dollars on this bag..it should be gold!! HAHA..do your own research and make decisions for yourself. I will continue to feed my dog Purina...tata
My Vet just informed me that Beneful and Kibble and Bits are the two worse dog foods to give me dogs. He also said that Beneful was very high in carbohydrates but more importantly he said that each case he has treated male dogs with calcium oxalate crystals all pet owners were feeding their male dogs either Kibble and Bits or Beneful. My little male Chihuahua had to have surgery twice in two years to flush out these crystals that are like little pieces of glass and one stone was the size of a dime. He is going on Science Diet U/D for the next 4-6 months and then after I will be searching for a healthier food for him and his sister. Just because the commercial looks good and sounds good we must remember their mind set is selling a product where our hearts and minds are on the health and welfare of our dear pets.
I recently started my dog on Beneful, and he seemed to like it, but began throwing up after a few weeks, became lethargic and his gums were very pale.
I stopped feeding him Beneful and he is recovering. I think the reason it affects some dogs and not others is that some dogs have allergies and some do not. My dog has unspecified allergies - the vet isn't sure why Spike itches so much - so it's possible that he's allergic to one or more of the ingredients commonly found in most dog foods, and perhaps he's allergic to several of the ingredients in Beneful, prompting a more severe reaction?
I'm switching him to a grain-free food to see if that might clear up his skin condition.
The last time I used Beneful dog food, I had to take my dog to the VET. Id prefer a brand like Pedigree.
Pedigree is as bad or worse than Beneful, Seourl. Go to a specialty store and look for a food with either no grains or very little HIGH QUALITY grains, and plenty of named meat in the first few ingredients, something like Innova or Orijen.
I heard someone who recently told me in my family , who took their dogs to vets , she was telling me that Beneful was bad because of the dye or coloring they put into it and can make dogs depressed ! worse thing to feed them ! I think i will try iams !
Thank You for posting I was very concerned with my dogs condition he was getting very very dry skin and even though I give him fish oil the condition was not getting better. I started to notice the correlation between beneful and his reactions I was not sure what it was neither was the vet but now it is clear. My suspicions were correct. So many people cannot be wrong. I do not care how many kennels a person works in if a animal is having issues with a particular,food, medication, etc It should be looked into and people should have compassion, not scoff at someones else s ill pet's condition. For those ignorant enough make insensitive comments all I can say is get a sensitivity chip. Thank You once again and my dog does too :)
I gave my first dog Ol Roy for 15 years and the old girl lived to be 16 years old. She did have a lot of problems with itching that I did not know could be from dog food. The next dog I got itched alot and when I found out it could be the food I put him on Beneful Healthy Weight. He and the girl dog we adopted after him seem just fine with it. My only issue in getting on here and looking it up is because they are not losing weight. They each get 1 cup a day(per vet's recommendation).
As with anything in life you get what you pay for. These animals you are talking about are your pets and extended family members. If they could choose their own food they would rather have the high carb foods we stuff ourselves with. It is up to you to make sure they are being given the best possible diet. I know the best foods are expensive but maybe if you can't afford the Iams or Diamond brands you should rethink having a pet. These are Gods creatures and they depend on us to give them a wonderful, quality life and that includes their diet.
I was getting on here to get some advice from other pet owners on what and how much to feed my dogs. I don't need a lecture from PETA.
I have six greyhounds and have never had any issues with Beneful. I also work with animals all across the country using a holistic approach.
I wanted my dogs on a better food, here are some of the results.
Solid Gold, yeah, the price, my dogs looked like they lived on the streets for months with awful coats and lost weight.
Wellness, six sick dogs, orange soup for poop.
Canidae, two girls almost bloated out after two months on this food.
Premium Edge, many senior dogs cannot tolerate tomato pumice, which seems to be present in many high end foods these days. This will be evident by hearing their tummys make a lot of noise and even blood in their stools.
The list of one issue after another on so called high end foods is endless for me as well as the money spent for vet bills. Hill Science diet, by the way is garbage, they support the vet industry with grants, in turn vets are required to sell their foods, even my own does not recommend it.
So, what to feed, research your breed, it's health issues, and if you find a food that keeps them healthy, if it's not broken, don't fix it. Use good supplements, Transfer Factor is the #1 supplement any animal can and should take, sick or well.
After spending megabucks on every brand imaginable, Beneful was one I had no issues with. It is only if you have a dog with allergies that this is not a good choice. Corn by the way is considered a "neutral" food, no real value, but not high on the allergen scale. Wheat & Soy anything are. Chicken is also beginning to top the charts on the allergy scale.
If I had small dogs, I would make their food and supplement according to their health needs. The B.A.R.F raw food diet is also highly recommended, but caution, many of my clients have major digestion issues with this diet. I have not found it to extend any animal's life.
So, what to feed ?? For me, I have had the biggest success with dehydrated raw, Honest Kitchens and A Taste in the Wild. However, since we are talking about Beneful here, even my vet said anything Purina is not a bad food for dogs who fall into that mid food range on feeding needs. The bottom line is you do NOT get what you pay for. Consider the needs of your specific dog and go from there. Try small samples of different foods and see which they do the best on. My dogs do not suffer food switch angst, I can go from one to another with no problems, and this is a current recommended trend, switch every few months, it will help strengthen up their digestive systems.
My mother told me the other day all the dogs on the farm lived past 15, hardly ever saw a vet, and in those days, they did not have dog food, they ate what people ate. Food for thought :)
I had my dogs on Beneful for two months, One of them started to loose weight right away, the other started gaining weight.within a month my younger one came up with hot spots. After a vet visit and 250.00 in meds it wasn't improving. I supected the food but my vet assured me that it couldn,t be the food. Poor Guss was misarable! I found a food on line to make at home for hot spots, two days on it and Guss was remarkably better. It turned out that he was retaining fluids, He lost 1 1/2 lbs in two days!and his hot spots are almost gone in less than a week! Tazz is starting to gain some weight back and has stoped itching. Bad Bad Beneful!
I just got dared to eat 2 pieces... fml .
hm... I feed my dog this and he's quite healthy and fat...
Been feeding my English Bulldog Beneful for about 6 months. He seemed to Love it. He developed horrible skin allergies slowly to the point of digging himself bloody. He even scratched and scarred the cornea in his left eye. I read an article in the Sunday paper about food allergies and that night cooked him rice and added meat left over from dinner. After doing this for 3 days, the itching has stopped. I feel so guilty. He was miserable. now I just have to research a good healthy food for him. Beneful is filled with junk!!
I've had 2 dogs on Beneful, and they've both done fine. My diabetic female maintained beautifully on it- I was even able to reduce her dose of insulin over the course of 6 months. Unfortunately she had to be euthanized due to a tumour- NOT food related. My puppy is currently on it, just switched over to Beneful adult and is doing great.
I work in a vet clinic and we always recommend to stay away from Iams Smart Puppy because even at the recommended amounts puppies gain unhealthily on it- ever see a 30 lb 8 month old Pug? I've seen 12 in 3 years, all fed Iams Smart Puppy. Every dog will gain or lose weight if it's fed improperly. Grocery store brands like Ol' Roy and Mainstay aren't the best foods, but not everyone can afford vet clinic diets, so Purina is one of the best.
Yes, some allergies happen. This is due to the dog's own immune system no longer tolerating something it has been in contact with or not accepting something it has never been fed before.
Corn is actually good for dogs. It gives them energy, great for working and racing breeds, and helps keep their coats glossy and thick. It also provides some protein which is used in the building and maintenance of muscles.
In 3 years of looking down microscopes at urine and blood samples, I have never noticed a direct correlation in the feeding of Beneful and the formation of crystals or onset of diabetes. Crystals come from the acidity of the urine being either too high or too low. Diabetes can be genetic or dietary. Both are commonly found in pets that are given table scraps.
Frankly, my diabetic dog did fantastically on Beneful. She loved it. She would always starve herself for days before finally eating, and then it would only be a cupful or so. After 2 weeks on Beneful, she was eager for her mealtimes and as I said, I was able to reduce her insulin dose.
As with anything, I suppose Beneful is one of those "Buyer Beware" products because not everyone will be happy with it. The best thing to do is research it at your vet clinic. They will tell you of any problems their clients have experienced and after trying to sell you the food they have in-clinic, they will give you all the information you want about any food you choose. I've never had my vet tell me to stop feeding my dog Beneful, and my boss has never told clients they shouldn't feed it. It's a better quality food than most out there.
i just started my dog on Beneful and about two days hes been throwing up evey were i wish i would of read these reviews before i gave it to him
Beneful is about the worst dog food you can give your dogs. If you have not experienced problems, either your dogs are very lucky or the problems have not occurred yet. I lost two dogs to illnesses related to this garbage. They suffered through cataracts and diabetes all because of this food. If your dogs have experienced health isses because of beneful, please contact me at benefulhealthproblems@gmail.com. I am an attorney exploring litigation against purina.
Corn isn't good for dogs, yet our lab/chow is constantly dragging whole corn stalks out of the fields in the last summer and eating all the kernals off the cobs. Weird huh? Anyway I know Beneful is bad for dogs but so far it's all my grandma's bichon eats. Our bichon, however, is eating the good stuff now :)
Beneful might have a budget friendly price, but I just learned the hard way NOT to ever buy it again ! Of course my dogs like it, but it made my Boston Terrier break out SO BAD! I should have never switched his food just to save a little money. Anything with by products in it is terrible for your dog. I know it's not good to just abruptly switch dog foods, but I HAD to get him off this stuff immediately. He's been on a better brand now for 3 days and is making slow but sure improvements day to day, which I'm VERY thankful for because I didn't want to have to spend big bucks at a vet!
I am totally confused about what to feed my dogs after I read these comments. I tend to lean toward the side that beneful, corn and by-products are not good for dogs. We had one dog that got diabetes and cataracts and he was fed Beneful which might have caused it. I don't know. But what I know is, if Beneful and low priced dog foods have a lot of fat and junk in them but our dogs love them, I can understand that. You think about us, what we eat and love are a lot of fat and carbohydrates containing foods! Of course our pets love the taste. We enjoy good tasting foods that are bad for us, don't we? Just a thought. I told my husband this when he said that our dogs eat the Beneful and like it. Yeah, but everything we eat is not good for us either. I think when the Beneful is gone, I'm going to look for something else.
My otherwise very healthy Chihuahua started having seizures after feeding him with beneful, because he had been adopted shortly before I took him to the vet who misdiagnosed him with Hydrocephalus and would need to be put down. After getting a second opinion, we discovered his food allergy. We have now switched him to all-organic produce and he has not had one since.
Pet lovers beware of a highly unregulated Pet food industry out there, it's worth paying the extra money to make sure your beloved friend is getting the care and nutrition he deserves.
MY SHIH TZU GOT REALLY SICK EATING THIS AS WELL,HE ATE IT FOR 1 WK ,THEN STARTED THROWING UP BLOOD AND SEVERE BLEEDING THROUGH HIS RECTUM,THE VET DIDNT THINK HE WOULD MAKE IT HE WAS HEMMORAGING SO DONT FEED YOUR DOG THIS,HOWEVER HE IS RECOVERING BUT I THINK HE WILLL MAKE IT!!
I have a white english bulldog that has been fed Beneful since he was a puppy..He is now going on 11yrs old and has never had a health issue..he takes heartguard once a month and once a year vet check up..
JUST BROUGHT MY DOG HOME FROM THE VET'S OFFICE AFTER A 3 DAY STAY DUE TO SEVERE ALLERGY. STARTED FEEDING BENEFUL ABOUT THE SAME TIME ALLERGIC REACTIONS CAME ABOUT. ALLERGY WHEEZING MINOR AT FIRST, NOW THE EPISODES ARE MUCH CLOSER TOGETHER AND IT JUST SNOWBALLED. I DON'T KNOW HOW I AM GOING TO BE ABLE TO AFFORD THE ALLERY SHOTS. THE TEST ALONE IS 500.00. I TOOK HIM OFF BENEFUL WHEN I BROUGHT HIM HOME AND COULD NOT BELIEVE THE IMPROVEMENT... BUT NOT OUT OF THE WOODS YET. THANKS FOR EVERYONE'S INPUT..IT JUST SUPPORTS MY THOUGHTS THAT THIS BRAND OF DOG FOOD IS THE ISSUE. I HAVE AN APPOINTMENT WITH MY VET IN 2 DAYS AND WILL GIVE HIM THIS INFORMATION.
I have been feeding my short leg jack russell Beneful since he was 6 weeks old..he is the picture of health..no problems and he is almost 2yrs old now..oh yea one problem he's spoiled....
Whatever you feed your dog, make sure to read the label-if there are ANIMAL BYPRODUCTS listed please do not feed your pet this food. Animal byproducts could be anything from dog organs, feces, up to even road kill. Come on, what kind of company could do this crap to animals?
My poor Max is 3 and has developed serious itching and dry skin since we've put him on Beneful. He's a mid sized Rotty mix. His poor skin is so dry and flaky- makes me itch just to watch. We had switched from Science Diet because something in that food (that he had never had a problem with before) started making both my dogs ill. The illness stopped but the itching started. We're going to switch to Blue Buffalo and see how that goes.
I've been researching the effect of food and additives on children for years now because I have a son with autism. What I am learning is that some people are more susceptible to having reactions to the kinds of food available to us due to intolerances for various reasons (food additives, coloring or gluten, etc.). Not every child develops symptoms. I would suspect the same to be true with dogs. Maybe YOUR dog well on Beneful but someone else's doesn't. If you find your dog has allergies and is having health problems, change his food .... We used Ol Roy for years for my dog and he suffered terribly and developed Cushings. So, while treating him I switched to Solid Gold and he did fabulous for the next 4.5 years until he was 15 and he went into remission for Cushings. We recently had to put him to sleep because he was having too many problems. I am thankful we could make his last 4.5 years the healthiest years of his life, with no weekly allergy shots and reducing our vet bills tremendously from $1000 a year to about $200 a year. I hope this is helpful to someone ...
i have three dogs none of the same breed one is twelve and she has ate beneful about her whole life , another one is four and he has ate it since he was six weeks old, and my last dog is a year and i have had her since she was born and she also has ate beneful her whole life all of my dogs are very healthy and that's the only dog food they will eat every dog food has to have some dogs that don't like it
i fed my dog science diet and he had bad skin problems i fed my dog iams and he was getting very skinny his bones was showing and i feed him alot of iams when i put him on beneful he became very healthy so now i put all of my dogs on beneful it is very good dog food
I work in a grooming salon. Whenever I see a dog with horrible skin problems, I ask what the owner is feeding the dog. 75% of the time, the answer is Beneful.
I have a greyhound and a doberman both on Beneful. The greyhound for over 3 years and the doberman for the last year. Just came from the vet, he said both dogs are a picture of health. What is the deal with all the complaints about Beneful. Without a complete autopsy how can you say for sure why your dog died. How can you say all dogs are going to have problems with one brand of dog food and not another. What makes you the expert? I say feed your dog one or the other and see which one he does best on. People have allergys for a lot of different reasons, dogs do to. Don't tell me not to feed my dog something just because your dog had a problem. I have one child that can't eat certain foods but the others have no problems.
Our maltepoo was up all night vomiting. Never feeding him "beneful" again.
I have fed both of my dogs Beneful for several years, and after reading this forum I feel like an idiot. One of my dogs (like in many of the other posts) has severe skin allergies. He will pull his hair out with his mouth, resulting in bald spots. The odd thing is different bags effect him differently. He always has the itching problem, but this bag has made him extremely pukey. He puked all morning today. The last bag we bought didn't effect him this way, but the one before that did. It's just an endless cycle that is about to stop, because I'm changing their food.
I resent the comment made by coden, that if you cant afford the best food you shouldn't have pets. EVERY dog is different. Some dogs can be fed Beneful or Ole' Roy their whole life and have no problem, while others HAVE to have specialty food. But if a person is willing to save a dog from a life of shelters, and possible euthanasia than they are heroes in my eyes. Shame on you for your judgement. What makes you any better than any of the other loving pet owners on this post?
Dog lovers? Yeah!! I gave my dog beneful..never been sick in her whole LIFE! NOW? Possible liver disease!!! I called the FDA..if enough people call and file a complaint they will do an investigation. You just need to give them the info from whatever brand you've feed the dog. Trust me with an letharic dog who was vomiting, peeing in the house, and emptying her water bowl in 5 mintues cuz she was so thirsty....and an upcoming ultrasound? over $1,000 later? yeah, no dog lover here!
Ever since we've been giving our Beagle Beneful, she's been limping on the front legs a bit, and we paid $500.00 for one tumor to be removed from her ear (1/2 the size of a dime), and she's got another one in her other ear (not at the edge but right in the middle), serious ear infections and four other tumors......my aunts dog feeds her Cocker Spaniels Beneful they got huge tumors all over, one is deaf, one is blind, I keep trying to tell my parents but they don't listen, because the bag of dog food costs them $71.00, is it worth continue feeding that dog food if the future vet bills will soar, along with a itchy immune system? Older generations can be such imbeciles and dunkheads!!
ok, where to start??? For anyone feeding Beneful you guys are nuts turn over the bag and read the ingredients... MEAT AND BONE MEAL< ANIMAL FAT AND ANIMAL DIGEST research these ingredients PLEASE I am an animal lover and I believe that most people just don't know what they are feeding, because all they see is the colourful bag with lots of vegetables and believe it is healthy. Those ingredients I mentioned are actually dead deseased and uthanized animals being put into dogs food. A dog's food should not have by products, animal products, digest, corn sugar etc in it, JUST RESEARCH A LITTLE PLEASE AND EDUCATE YOURSELF ABOUT DOG FOOD INGREDIENTS
i just wanted to say that after reading all the comments about beneful, it still hasn't changed my mind on feeding it to my dogs. i have a blue heeler and a corgi and they have never had to visit the vet for any reasons whatsoever. my dogs love the food and will not eat any other kind. they are very healthy and very active dogs. i think beneful is doing them just fine. it's everyone's preference of what to feed their animals. some people like to pay for the expensive stuff but i don't think it's necessary. i don't know what else to say, but have a nice day. :)
purina is a very respected name
I don't know the science behind all of the dog foods, but this I DO know. I have fed my 3 yr old black lab Iams since we adopted her @ 7 weeks old. I recieved a coupon for a FREE bag of BENEFUL dog so I of course used it, (I did say it was free!) She has been eating if for a 2 weeks now and has changed GREATLY! She has started consuming large amounts of water.... We find ourselves refilling her water bowl from 2 times a day to six! She now comes in my room EVERY NIGHT crying and begging to go outside approx. every 2 hours. I was scared that she had become suddenly diabetic! Out of concern, I googled "Does Beneful cause increased thirst in dogs?".... and here I am. I was amazed at the information that came up! I do feel that Beneful is causing the excessive thirst, increase in urination and offsetting her normal schedule. I am somewhat relieved to know that changing the food can reverse the symptoms. With that being said, I am discontinuing the Beneful immediatley and going back to Iams. I will keep you all posted on my findings. Now I am concerned with my friends dog who was recently diagnosed w/ diabetes and eats Beneful on a daily basis and has for years. He hasn't been able to get her glucose levels under 400g/dL even w/ insulin injections 3 x's daily.... with now knowing Beneful has such a high level of carbs, I am thinking it might be a factor in the uncontrolled glucose levels. Please know that I am NOT anti-purina. Sometimes good companies put out a bad product, just like good people sometimes make bad decisions. In either case, it is okay if they learn from the mistakes and make better choices in the future.
Is it possible for beneful dog food to lead to cancer? More specifically, lymphoma of the liver? Recently, my 3-year-old Shar-pei passed away due to complications with Lymphoma. Curiously, I wondered if there was anything we might have done....to aggravate a delicate situation in a pure-breed.
While googling, I keep coming back to...Beneful. All we fed her from the middle of summer....to the end of her life, was Beneful. And never once did I think the food could be the problem. After she stopped eating, we tried Wellness because shar-pei's are a picky breed by nature... we had her for 6 months, the vet said...because she was young and because the cancer was so aggressive she couldn't have had it for more than a month. Maybe a little more.
So, I ask, is it possible BENEFUL could have played a part in her passing?
My dog was having occassional seizures. She also began bleeding internally and was found to have an infection of her digestive tract. The vet asked what brand food she eats and I told her Beneful Healthy Weight. She said that she had 2 sick patients the same week who ate Beneful. She recommended changing to Science Diet or Purina One(no other Purina product).
I have nine dogs,8 of them were rescued mixed dogs.
I feed them with Beneful dogs food for 3 years.
All of them are in good health.
Avoid this food at all costs, Purina should be sued for deceptive marketing. This food is not healthy for your dogs. I made the mistake of switching my dog from Nutro to this after I moved to a new area where Nutro wasn't available. My dog began drinking much more water after switching to beneful and would pull his fur out at times. He ended up having 2 bladder stone operations because of this food.
Spend the extra money on good food like Purina 1, Nutro, Science Diet, etc and save yourself some $$$ from vet bills and most importantly save your pet unnecessary suffering from eating this trash.
I had recently decided to find a better quality and better tasting dog food for my Bostons. So I set out to the store in hopes of finding a good dog food at a reasonable price. I came across Beneful Healthy Weight which from reading the bag sounded like a great dog food for my babies. And it was also a pretty good price for such a big bag. So I bought a 40 lb. bag and took it home to test it out. Well, my dog's absolutely loved it. They ate it like it was the best thing ever. So I decided to permanently switch them to it. We feed all our small puppies Purina Puppy Chow but was out one day and decided to feed our healthy fat little 10 week old Boston the Beneful. She ate it for about 4-5 days and then started having severe bloody diarrhea. Before she had ate the food she had perfect firm stool. The diarrhea smelled awful and the first thing we thought was "oh no, it's gotta be parvo". So we took her to the vet and it wasn't parvo and they thought maybe she had ate something that upset her tummy. So when we got her home we started her back on her normal Purina Puppy Chow and two days later she had perfect firm stool again. At the time we thought nothing of it and just figured maybe she had a sensitive stomach or had ate some fuzz or something off one of her toys that may have made her sick. In the meantime we had kept feeding our other dogs Beneful Healthy Weight. Now our dogs have been on this food for about 3 weeks as of today 2/28/11. Most of our dogs had had diarrhea for the first few days after switching but we thought it was just the change in food and that it was nothing to worry about. Now about 4 days ago yet another one of our fat healthy Bostons is very sick. She is 4 months old and has been going through very bad episodes of throwing up, loss of appetite and is very lethargic. She throws up this clear foamy liquid and doesn't want to eat at all. She looks like skin and bones and this has all happened within 4 days! All she does is drink water and go lay down. She used to be a very hyper playful dog but since she's been eating the Beneful Healthy Weight she's been so sick that she can't do anything. I have read the previous complaints on this food and I WILL NOT be buying Beneful ever again for my dogs. With all the issues related to this food it should be taken off the shelves. It is clearly making dogs very sick and in some cases possibly causing death! Consumers need to be made aware of the dangers of feeding their dogs Beneful.
well I was told by a vet that every dog is different just like people. If the dogs coat is nice, they are not having bloating issues and they are pooping normal then the food is right. what is good for one is not good for another. Acana and Orijen are made a few miles from my home and I can assure you that the vets around here dont recommend it. My dog looks annorexic from it. buy what you want its all crap anyway
I know all dogs will react to beneful differently. Some dogs can eat anything and not get sick but that does not mean that the food is good for them just because they aren't sick or have allergies that just means that particular dog has good genes. The ingredients in beneful are very bad for your dogs wether you want to admit it or not.
It's basically like if you were to eat Mcdonalds every single day of your life. I was not as knowledgable about dog food a few years ago, so all of my dogs and other family members dogs were eating beneful. 7 out of the 8 dogs who were eating beneful all died of cancer. The only thing they had in common was the fact that they all ate beneful. I'm not saying that beneful will give your dog cancer but do you really want to risk it?
Research every single ingredient in beneful and you won't find good things. If you compare the actual kibble to another high quality brand beneful looks and smells disgusting its greasy and stinks, compared to my dogs high quality food.
My friend decided to do a study with the 10 puppies that her dog had. 5 of the puppies were fed beneful and the other 5 were fed a high quality food. The only difference in all of the dogs was the food they were being fed. All of the dogs fed beneful died of some form of cancer and the other 5 dogs who were fed good food are alive still. I'm sorry to say but beneful does not seem to be looking good at least in my experience.
All of you saying "My vet says this" Your vet knowns NOTHING about nutrition the only nutrition info they get in college is by some big name brand dog food company coming in and speaking to them about there food. My vet has admittingly told me that he does not knows very little about nutrion. The only vets that truly known about nutrion are holistic vets and holistic nutritionists. So go ahead and keep feeding your dog beneful or some other crap food but don't complain when your dog gets sick and if it doesn't great but that is RARE
I switched to beneful with my doxies. It has been about 2 months since this switch. I just got back from the vet with one of them and found the horrible news that he has liver failure. None of them have ever been sick like this before. I feel horrible that I did it by feeding him this crap. Poor baby isnt even 2 years old.
If you feed beneful to your dog, you might as well feed it chocolate.
Try Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lovers Soul. Thats what I feed my Bichon. The ingredient list is impressive.
My basset mix has fought a deep ear infection for 10 months now. NO RELIEF. So I switched vets - she advised I stop feeding him Beneful NOW and switch to Purina One for sensitive dogs - recommending the Salmon and rice or the Lamb and rice. I cannot condone feeding any dog or human lamb - so we bought the salmon and rice. Will see if that switch along with another round of different antibiotics will give him long overdue relief. The vet called Beneful "the itchy dog dog food".
I used to work for a Vet in California. We had a few clients whose dogs got sick from Beneful. One day one client was talking about the vomiting her dog had while on it. Another client said her dog had the same symptoms from it as well. As soon as these dogs were started on a healthier dog food, the vomiting stopped.
For financial reasons I switched from Orijin to Beneful. I saw Beneful as half way between good quality Orijin and bad quality store brands. Within days my dog started lapping himself terribly. Both sides of his body and all four legs would be covered in his saliva. Vet said it was dry skin. Stopped the Beneful and he went back to normal.
For all you people who have read the ingredients in beneful and still feed it to your dogs, shame on you. If somebody told you there might be a chance your dog can develop health issues due to poor quality ingredients in a dog food, your initial reaction would be... to do some research and perhaps if true change your dog's food. Google animal fat and see what u r feeding your dog, corn a dog shouldn't eat corn, Sugar, animal digest, sorbitol,etc. Also science diet is horrible, and pretty pricey for no good indredients, you be the judge you don;t have to be an expert to turn over the bag and read the ingredients. If you love your dog and dont want to spend money in the long run on vet bills, do some research and particularly on these ingredients... animal fat, animal digest, meat meal, corn gluten meal, corn, sugar, or sugar substitutes. Ask yourself how such a big bag of beneful can cost so little??? Cause the ingredients are.... If you love your dog and want to give him the best possible life just do your research that's all. If debating what food is a good option check out this site dogfoodanalysis.com
My 3.5 year old Brussels Griffon has been eating Beneful for about two years now. Initially around the time of the switch I noticed some jaw shaking and lip smacking but didn't think much of it. Over the past few months I noticed increasing lethargy. A few weeks ago his jaw shaking and lip smacking turned into facial seizures and the vet says he has decreased liver function. It is difficult as a pet owner to prove the link between a dog food and health problems. Most of us aren't scientists, vets or nutrition experts. However, I can say affirmatively that I believe these problems stemmed from his Beneful diet, and I have switched him to Orijens and am praying for the best.
We have to be careful what we feed all our pets. My 12 year old cat Caesar has been diagnosed with feline diabetes - I had misplaced trust in Purina and Whiskas products.
You can read more on Facebook - search for CatDiabetes.
I started feeding beneful playful life to my dog....not knowing about allergies and ingrediants in dog foods.Well,here we are 6 weeks later of feeding beneful to my dog and she has very dry flaky sking now.I read the ingrediants...corn is the first!!!Then theres whole wheat and other grains and soy.I love my animals,they deserve the best,so I switched to an expensive,no grain dog food that is more of what a dogs diet should be and what do you know....skin has cleared,coat is shining,she is full of it lol and loving life.Dogs should not be eating foods with so much grains and fillers.Check out EVO or Orijin grain free foods.Expensive yes,but who cares,its quality stuff and your dogs deserve it.Do researc,compare the ingrediants and see for yourself what is best.....grain free,high quality food.I'll never buy any of the crap they sell in stores again
Sorry but I would NEVER EVER feed my Siberian Husky junk like Beneiful or Ol' Roy! When I buy his treats, I buy them at Petco or Pet Mart. I would never shop for his treats at Walmart. People who feed their dods junk is terrible! They need to really pay attention to what is inside their dog's dog food!!! Really, who would feed their dog "Meat-by products" "sugars" "coloring" Really folks? Really? Sad! Sorry but my Husky shall remain on only healthy stuff as he deserves the best of the best! Never will I ever even let him sniff low-quality dog food. I may sound stuck up but oh well, I will do whatever it takes to keep my boy happy and healthy and others with pets should to the damn same! Do re-search on the food you are feeding your dogs! I pity those who feed their dogs food like Ol Roy and beneful, sad people...sad, sad people, and I feel sorry for those dogs whose force to eat that horrible junk!
Our doxie had been eating beneful, he became sick, diarrhea, vomiting, bloody stool, we switched his food after a $150 vet bill, wasn't sure it was the beneful, went back to it after a few months, guess what, bloody stool, sick really bad diarrhea, never again. Shady Point
As an animal science major/pre vet student I am amazed at the lack of knowledge of some pet owners. Always talk to your vet when switching foods. Also, many dogs will have issues when switching to any new food and this could include vomiting and diarrhea. Also, as I have seen around the country working in different veterinary clinics many dogs are developing more and more allergies not only to food but also to their environment, and this is typically seen as itching and hot spots. I have been feeding my dog Beneful for over 5 years now after him having many bad reactions to other foods, dog foods really depend from dog to dog. I am amazed at the number of people saying that purina foods aren't good for their pets. Purina is one of the top and leading animal feed distributers in the country, providing feed for dogs, cats, horses, pigs, cows, etc. and they are one of the leaders in feed research. It is hard to determine the quality of a feedstuff. In my opinion (and the opinions of many of my professors) animal by-products (do not include roadkill), corn gluten meal, and soy are good quality for their price. If your pet has known allergies you should look out for that when buying new food. Also, always remember to gradually change your dogs food!
Was feeding my Golden retriever a different brand of dog food, he was getting bored so I switched to Beneful within a few days he started drinking a ton of water! I decided to look it up and NOW I know. will switch back to a better quality of food.
I am so relieved to have read other peoples complaints regarding Beneful Dry Dog Food. I was beginning to wonder if something was wrong with our beloved, healthy 6 year old pug, Keesha. We have never bought her Beneful Dry Dog Food until a few days ago. The next AM I awoken to throw up at the end of my bed. I know dogs can have an upset stomach once in awhile so I didn't think much of it. Sure enough the next night, Keesha threw up at the end of bed again. Still I wasn't too worried because she was her normal self during the day. Well on night 3, last night, sure enough she threw up. This time I was awake to be with her. I gave her some water, cleaned up the mess and went to bed. Sure enough at 2:30 in the AM I was awoken to Keesha making awful noises. She was near the patio door and vomiting in very large amounts. I gave her some water, cleaned up the floor and picked Keesha up to comfort her. She was very hot, which is not like her to get so warm. In the Am I started research online and sure enough found this site. I went out earlier today and bought her the usual brand of dog food she has had plenty of times with no problems. She seems okay, but I will tell everyone my story and will never buy Beneful again!
I have a 16 year old daschund that has had Beneful all her life and has had no health issues with it. NSince she was 10 yrs we switched to healthy benefel so she would not gain wait. She's doing just fine. Her sister lived to 14 years on the same food.
We also got 2 new big dogs last spring and tried Blue Diamond Dog Food because everyone said it was so much better for your dog. Well, both dogs had constant diareah, so we switched them back to original beneful and they are doing great.
I have a beautiful german shepherd and i fed her beneful for a while and she got really sick. She was getting constant ear infections and losing ungodly amounts of hair and when i started doing research i found out that on of the ingredients in beneful is propylene glycol which is a MAIN INGREDIENT IN ANTIFREEZE!!!!!!!!!!
I have been feeding my animals beneful for 15 years. I have two winer dog that are 18 years old. They have ate it there whole lives and are very healthy. They visit the vet twice a year for there shots and checkup. My vet has no objection to there diet. I have a minpin that is thirty on years old. She has been eatting beneful for 13 years. She is also very healthy today. My mix breeds also 13 years old and 14 year old eat it. There healthy as well. I believe beneful is a great dog food. The key to having a healthy dog is give them a combination of foods. I mix dinovite with my bbeneful before I feed it to them. Check it out at dinovite.com . I also give my animals raw meat twice a week. One feeding of lean beef and one feeding of raw catfish. They are dogs and have to eat what nature made them to eat. Also they take brewers yeast everyday. Youcan get the tablets at your local petco or pet store. Good day
My dog was short on food so I borrowed dog food from my neighbor little did I know the food was beneful this gave my poodle really bad diarrhea.
But I noticed that beneful gives my dog really bad reactions. Last year I tried beneful and dog got a rash that in order to scratch it he had to pull of his fur. He is doing a lot better now. BENEFUL is really BAD!!!
Great fun commercials (esp. The ball..."the round, bouncy thing")...smile everytime I see it. However, the food is horrible...have known this for yrs...like feeding your dog white sugar. Enjoy the commercials, boycott the food.
My 5 year old indoor Min Pin/Papillon recently became very ill. She stopped urinating & defacating, became lethargic and had a high fever. One vet said she had Pyometra and needed to be spayed ASAP. Took her to another clinic for the surgery, and after opening her up, they found out she didn't have Pyometra at all, but performed the spay anyway as a preventative measure. It's been 8 days since her spay surgery, and she still has some type of infection. The blood works shows that her kidney & liver levels are elevated, and she's also anemic. We feed her Beneful Playful Life... After spending hours doing research on what could be causing her infection, and reading countless terrible reviews about Beneful, I am not feeding that stuff to her ever again! Our trip to the vet today cost $400 for blood work, ultra sound, IM fluids and medicines... and there's no guarantee the meds will save her... I love my dog very much and am very upset to find out that she possibly got sick from her food! To know that I may lose my precious baby because of this is terrible. I will most definitely boycott Beneful and advise my neighbors & friends to do so too.
Have you guys read the recent article of Diamond. They are killing our dogs and us humans. Salmonella in the dog food. Do you guys still think Beneful is so bad compared to Diamond?????????????????????
Lgali 3 years ago
nice hub for dog lovers