The main problem for me as far as dog food goes isn't so much the price, but who carries what. The only pet store I haven't tried for dog food so far is PetCo. Nobody else carries any of the brands mentioned. I'm frustrated with the lack of all-natural dog food availible in this area and am already worried about what I'm going to feed my dog when I get it. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/frown.gif
Beneful
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685 Posts
I've asked before but will again. Marley is on Eukanuba puppy. how does that rate?
I was also a Beneful feeder. During the summer, the Wonder Twins started throwing up after they ate. I know it was becaue they were goobling it down so fast. I switched to Purina One(which probalby is not that much better) and they gooble anymore and *knock on wood* they have not thrown up since!
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46 Posts
There are so many great foods at moderate or economy prices that are void of the sugar, preservatives, and artificial dyes that Beneful contains. Dogs are basically carnivores, they need meat to thrive and for long term health. This food is not only grain based, but loaded with carbs and sugar ... I can't believe that will not have a deletrious effect on health at some point. Its a fact that cancer cells feed off sugar, that sugar depletes the immune system. Dogs require meat based fat as their main energy source and for great coat. They need protein for just about every metabolic function, and its not just "generic" protein found in plant based foods that are acceptable. They require the amino acids (the building blocks of protein) found uniquely in MEAT!
Pound for pound, Beneful and similar foods are not the cheaper alternative to higher priced "holistic" kibble. They are low in calories, yet high in sugar & carbs. They're just more convenient because we can pick them up at the local grocery store. Its McDonald's for dogs, quite literally. Not trying to be condescending at all, don't take it that way, please :rotatesmiley2: Just giving the facts. This food lacks so many essential nutrients and provides dogs with ingredients that they do not need, can not absorb because they are carnivores and need their protein from meat.
Foods such as Wellness are very good choices, but thats not for everyone's budget ... including mine. There are so many foods from Petco that are great choices that won't break the bank. I know that certain foods have too high a purchase price for many to even consider, but don't discount it just because it may be somewhat higher than Beneful. With Beneful, the purchase price you pay covers Purina's advertising costs. Its not indicative of the quality of the food in the bag. You get EXACTLY what you pay for. Every last cent. The cheap ALWAYS comes out to be expensive in the end, and JMHO, but I'd rather pay a few $ more for a better food than hundreds more at the Vet!
Ok, off my soapbox, now, I promise,lol :soapbox:
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I was a huge supporter of Iams/Eukanuba. Fed it for about 7 years & was a member of their breeder program. The food has been steadily going downhill over the past few years, but the straw that broke the camel's back was about a year ago. My adult dogs were incontinant, rotted teeth, badly shedding coats. One of the pups I sold was kept on Euk and was incontinant for months - all urinalysis tests came up negative for infections. Problem was completely resolved when we pulled the dogs off the Euk once and for all. They raised the price of the food so that I was paying close to $50 a bag while they lowered the levels of Omega 3 in all the formulas, and protein was lowered in the performance feed. I cannot tell you how many dogs I know belonging to other breeders got sick on it in this past 12-18 months from protein in the urine to incontinance to temperament changes. I avoid it like the plague now. Not worth the price, anyway. Its now referred to as Pukanuba in this house
ukey:
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456 Posts
Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul/Senior ingredients:
Ingredients
Chicken, turkey, chicken meal, cracked pearled barley, whole grain brown rice, oatmeal, millet, white rice, potatoes, ocean fish meal, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), tomato pomace, duck, salmon, egg product, flaxseed, natural chicken flavor, choline chloride, glucosamine hydrochloride, dried chicory root, chondroitin sulfate, kelp, carrots, peas, apples, tomatoes, blueberries, spinach, dried skim milk, cranberry powder, rosemary extract, parsley flake, yucca schidigera extract, L-carnitine, Enterococcus faecieum, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Saccharomyces cerevesiae fermentation solubles, dried Aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.
That's it. I'm done reading dog food labels! My beag's LOVE it, and if it's that much better for them at 2 bucks a bag more, I'll sleep a little better!
Ingredients
Chicken, turkey, chicken meal, cracked pearled barley, whole grain brown rice, oatmeal, millet, white rice, potatoes, ocean fish meal, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), tomato pomace, duck, salmon, egg product, flaxseed, natural chicken flavor, choline chloride, glucosamine hydrochloride, dried chicory root, chondroitin sulfate, kelp, carrots, peas, apples, tomatoes, blueberries, spinach, dried skim milk, cranberry powder, rosemary extract, parsley flake, yucca schidigera extract, L-carnitine, Enterococcus faecieum, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Saccharomyces cerevesiae fermentation solubles, dried Aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.
That's it. I'm done reading dog food labels! My beag's LOVE it, and if it's that much better for them at 2 bucks a bag more, I'll sleep a little better!
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1,058 Posts
I completely agree which is why I won't even consider Eukanuba or Iams (same company). It's just the principle for me, I have honestly never even looked at the label.
If Spencer didn't have food allergies, I would consider the Chicken Soup kibbles.
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That is because of the stool hardeners that are added to these foods, they mask any issues that your dog actually might be having.
You have to remember the with the higher quality foods, there are less fillers and your dog needs to be fed less of it so ya, the bag might cost you more but it will last longer. If you work out the price per meal, you will see that some of them are pretty comprable. For example, if Spencer was eating Pedigree, he should be getting 2.5 cups per day where on Fromm, he gets between 1 and 1.5 cups. Obviously the bag of Fromm will last me a lot longer.
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131 Posts
Yes I agree- stay away from IAMS- they are cruel..
http://www.iamscruelty.com/
- just to warn you it's REALLY upsetting reading these articles- so you might not want to! I wonder how many other pet food companies are this bad and just haven't been uncovered yet. Really sad. Here we are thinking they care about animals.
http://www.iamscruelty.com/
- just to warn you it's REALLY upsetting reading these articles- so you might not want to! I wonder how many other pet food companies are this bad and just haven't been uncovered yet. Really sad. Here we are thinking they care about animals.
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86 Posts
Nuts. I was just catching up on some reading when I saw this thread. We just bought Diggity a small bag last week becuase she wouldn't eat her other dry food (unless it was mixed with canned.) We were thrilled that she would eat the Beneful plain and finish her food all at one time...now I know why. She really loves the canned stuff but its so inconvenient. I'm glad we just got a small bag.
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113 Posts
We switch recently to Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lover's Soul from Science Diet. It is much better food. Although our vet told us Science Diet was "ok". I am not sure why they didn't explain the importance of the ingredients. But our puppy class at Petsmart did go over this. I got some strange looks from the other people when we went around and told the trainer what food we used. I wanted to say "Its good food, better than the crap you are feeding" and they were feeding crap.
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456 Posts
I wanted to give you all an update since my pack has been eating Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul for a little over two weeks. Not much behaviour change except that they seem to rest better. The most significant change is that their teeth- all three dogs, are 200 percent cleaner. They still gobble up the Chicken Soup just as they did the Beneful.
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