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Liwanu-Mack posted an excellent link to Dog Food Analysis dot com. Its impartial and simply describes the quality and quantity of ingredients in virtually every dry food you can buy. They rate foods as 1 to 6 stars. Here is what they say - Beneful gets 1 star, the lowest possible ranking. I also think its funny that Beneful puts an ear of corn on their package, when corn is NOT a natural part of dogs diet. Its bad for dogs.
The primary ingredient in the food is a low quality grain. Corn is a problematic grain that is difficult for dogs to digest and thought to be the cause of a great many allergy and yeast infection problems. We prefer not to see this used in dog food.
The second ingredient is by-products. It is impossible to ascertain the quality of by-products and these are usually products that are of such low quality as to be rejected for use in the human food chain, or else are those parts that have so little value that they cannot be used elsewhere in either the human or pet food industries. The AAFCO definition of chicken by-product meal is “a meal consisting of the ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs and intestines, exclusive of feathers, except in such amounts as might occur unavoidable in good processing practice.”
Corn appears a second time as the third ingredient, this time as gluten meal. The AAFCO definition of corn gluten meal is "the dried residue from corn after the removal of the larger part of the starch and germ, and the separation of the bran by the process employed in the wet milling manufacture of corn starch or syrup, or by enzymatic treatment of the endosperm". In plain English, that which remains after all the nutritious bits have been removed.
Wheat flour is another grain fragment. The use of wheat is a significant negative: wheat is believed to be the number one cause of allergy problems in dog food. This is another ingredient we prefer not to see used at all in dog food.
Beef tallow is a very low quality fat obtained from the tissue of cattle in the commercial process of rendering. We are appalled to see sugar in dog food. Animal digest is a further low quality ingredient of indeterminate source which AAFCO define as "material which results from chemical and/or enzymatic hydrolysis of clean and undecomposed animal tissue. The animal tissues used shall be exclusive of hair, horns, teeth, hooves and feathers, except in such trace amounts as might occur unavoidably in good factory practice and shall be suitable for animal feed".
Beef, the 7th ingredient, is the sole named meat product in the food but since this is beef inclusive of its water content (about 80%) and this ingredient will weigh only about 20% of its wet weight once water is removed (as it must be to make kibble) it is unlikely that this is the true first ingredient in the food and would be more accurately placed much further down the ingredient list. This is insufficient to make up a significant proportion of the food.
Rice flour and soy flour are grain fragments and filler. Soy is a poor quality source of protein in dog food, and a common cause of allergy problems. Some believe that it is the number 1 cause of food allergies in dogs (outstripping even wheat). We are appalled to see sugar in this food.
We prefer not to see the use of artificial colourants in dog food. Some of these are believed to be carcinogenic and cause hyperactivity disorders and are banned from use in many countries. See the main page for more explanation of the dangers of chemical additives to pet foods.
Coco, thats great you are doing better, but you know, if you check out Sedona's posting about dog food/guide, you might find you do even better on another food. We sure did!!
I give my dog food the 'smell test'. If it smells disgusting straight from the package, it's not going into my dog. The food I currently feed (Orijen/Eagle Pack) smells like food which is a contributing factor to why I chose it. The other problem with Beneful is that the food is heavily dyed. I started reading into it and conducted a 'poop test'. Mack's mother is on Ol' Roy (BELGH!!!) and I compared her feces to Mack's after they had sat next to each other in the yard for about a week. Mack's mother left odd colored (dyed) feces which didn't dry and crumble to dust. Mack's stool turns white within 36 hours and crumbles to dust. I found some from last October (when I fed Good Life Recipe to all the dogs) which are still mostly intact behind the shed and are still funny colors.
Gross I know but if the stool comes out smelling awful, doesn't decompose and is still red/pink after a week in rain, sun and humidity something is wrong.
My parents feed their chocolate poodle beneful and haven't had any problems with it. They tried several foods on her (she is 5) some better quality than others and the only one to this day that she will touch in beneful. Honestly sometimes you just have to feed what works for your pet. My Zack is a very picky eater but my Sasha will eat anything.
Most dogs will eat anything (including their own droppings and that can't be good for them.) If beneful works for you I don't see a problem
Zach, how about feeding your dog a diet of Beggin' Strips (gluten, artificial flavor and chemicals) since most dogs like the taste. Since when are dogs the judges of what's best for them. I thought that was our job as the responsible owners in the picture.
OP, If you're looking for a reasonable priced kibble with quality ingredients and no objectionable ones, try Canidae. I pay 84 cents a pound for the big bag. You feed less so it lasts longer.
Dallas I was gonna say Froot Loops, but Froot Loops actually has natural fruit flavors and some natural colorants in it! Can't say the same for Beneful...
ROFLMBO!!!!! Thank you Princess That was an image all to familiar in this household. Dogs like children and other beings who are deemed 'dumb' by law are NOT capable of making their own decisions. 85% of picky eaters are picky because their owners let them get away with it. My dogs don't get the choice. I will feed them what I feel is best for them which means a minimum of dyes, chemicals, preservatives and biologically inappropriate food stuffs.
I feed Orijen and Eagle Pack...I pay exactly 50 dollars every two weeks for a 16lb bag of Orijen AND a 16lb bag of Eagle Pack. When I fed just Mack and was feeding Beneful and then Goodlife Recipe I was spending 40$ every two weeks; so for better quality and better health I shell out an extra twenty dollars a month....
50$/32=1.56 Translation: I pay 1.56$ per pound for high quality food.
32/14=2.28 Translation: I feed both dogs (combined) 2.28lbs of food a day.
40$/35= 1.14 Translation: I paid 1.14 dollars per pound for the cheap garbage.
35/14=2.25 Translation: I fed ONE dog 2.25 lbs of food each day.
I think I'm getting the better deal now. Everyone seems worried about the sticker price. It looks huge and scary when you see it in the store and on the reciept but in reality if you do the math using the ($/lbs) and (lbs/T) formula above it comes out to a very small addition to the financial aspect.
* Getting off my podium now* There is a lot more to it than simply settling for cheap or assuming that if the dog eats it then it must be fine. Sometimes it means feeling horrible about not giving in. Beneful is a fine example of false advertising. Their claims have no backing and you can see the indigestible matter being passed which is a very bad thing.
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Getting off my podium now* There is a lot more to it than simply settling for cheap or assuming that if the dog eats it then it must be fine. Sometimes it means feeling horrible about not giving in. Beneful is a fine example of false advertising. Their claims have no backing and you can see the indigestible matter being passed which is a very bad thing.