Has anyone heard of these problems with beneful?

Question

I ran across this on a forum for Husky owners, do not use this food but thought I would try to inform anyone who does
Beneful Dog Food is Suspected of Causing Sickness and Deaths

HEALTH ALERT! .....

Discontinue use of Beneful until this is resolved!

Multiple Reports We have received multiple reports of dogs becoming sick or dying after eating Beneful dog food. The first reports were placed in our new forum and was overlooked by DoggyBling.com staff until we received direct emails last week and then another today.

After speaking on the phone with the lady who emailed us today, we feel that there is sufficient cause for alarm. Dog lovers make a lot of effort to take good care of their dogs and will want to know if they are feeding them something that could be harmful. Most of the alerts by email, forum and phone cited Beneful dog food that was purchased at Wal Mart around Christmas of 2006.

We spoke with Terri Culp at Beneful this morning and were assured that they are aware of the situation and are researching the problem. We assured them that this won't go away and we would be alerting our email base of the problem and posting a news item on our site. We also told her that DoggyBling.com visitors and dog lovers everywhere would be evaluating the way the Purina Corporation (Parent to Beneful) handles the potential crisis.


Symptoms

The symptoms reported have been very similar. The reported symptoms include some or all of the following:

General weakness or sluggishness, glazed eyes, not interested in food or water, white gums, lack of control of bodily functions. Some of the callers reported dogs that have died and others say they had gotten sick but had recovered. I am inserting the first forum post about a dog that became sick, but didn't die.

A week before Christmas we bought a bag of Beneful dog food at Wal-Mart, DeFuniak Springs, FL. On 12/23 I noticed a tan mold like growth on the dog food. Our 14 year old Dalmatian mix had been getting weaker by the day and by 12/24 she was near death. Glazed eyes, couldn't stand, eat, drink or control her functions. Her gums were white. We had to carry her to the yard and hold her up so she could go. The only thing she would eat was ham and turkey scraps. I spoke with a microbiologist and she said the mold growing in the dog food was toxic. It took a week for Sparky to regain her strength. I did notify the manufacturer of Beneful, they were very sorry and are sending coupons. Said it was a rare happening.


Notify us if your dog has had symptoms after using Beneful We are going to stay on top of this situation and would like to know if your dog has had any of the symptoms listed above after eating Beneful. If so, please send an email to ric@... or give us a call at 904-430-0260.

http://www.doggybling.com/newsarticle.php?id=1070

Just wanted to get this out there!

bassetnut, I am not passing judgement on purina or thier foods, and I also do not feed my Sibe this type, but I know a few friends that do feed this food and just wanted to make sure the info is out there for owners, I just don't want any furkids to suffer

Answer 1

I have heard, and its not happening just with Benifull it happened also with Authority and California's best. With the pressures on dog food companies to compete with one another, dog foods have become more organic and meat based. Adding meat and natural foods to the recipes come with added dangers. With out boosting chemicals for freshness and anti bacterial properties, because people want a pelleted food for easy and speed, they also dont want all the chemicals. So these companies are boosting meat and natural foods and lowering chemicals.
CASE IN POINT: BINGO it means more problems with the foods shelf life. They ROT. They grow mold and nasty bacterias. People think since its biscuit form its safe but far from it. Companies that supply foods are not aware of all this stuff. They stock the bags and they NEVER ROTATE these bags of food. You know on average the bag of food that you bought could have been on a shelf for over a year? As an owner you have to be aware of things, ask the shop some questions, do they rotate stock? How long do they keep it stocked before giving it away? Does the food have a freshness date on it? How much percentage of the food is all natural? If its more an organic food the less shelf time it should have.
We used to get all old food from Target and Walmart and a pet food company to feed our shelter dogs, and after so many problems with moldy food, and believe it or not, GRAIN MOTHS. We stopped accepting the free food and went to a specially ordered food formulated for shelter dogs. We shelled out the bucks for fresh, high quality kibble from a reputable company. Royal Canin. We strictly fed only Sensible Choice made by this company. Saved headaches and vet bills.

Answer 2

There is no confirmation yet that Beneful is responsible for any problems, and no samples have been analyzed yet as far as I can tell. Therefore I will reserve judgement until the facts are out.

OTOH, I wouldn't feed Beneful simply because it's crap, full of fillers, corn, sugar and artificial colors.

Answer 3

We have always fed our two dogs (Australian Cattle Dogs) Beneful but this may cause me to stop. My male dog seems OK, but my female has lost control of her bladder over the past few months and checked out OK at the vet...could it be Beneful...I think I will switch. Thanks for the info.

Answer 4

i just read a report about dog food and it was bad and i am so confused as to what to feed my dog now but i know any thing from walmart or grocery stores is not good

Answer 5

Thank God for Purina. I heard similar reports about Greenies...that they were choking dogs and killing dogs.

Answer 6

I have not heard of this but will certainly look it up and do a little more research myself. I do not know what I would do if something happened to my kids!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANKS