i have a 12 week old shitzu, we have him eatting beniful but the vet suggests he should be on ukanuba any idea

Answer 1

Most vets recommend the food they get the highest profit out of. If you are happy with Beniful and the puppy is enjoying it and not getting an upset tummy I would stick with it.

Answer 2

Neither of those are high quality foods.

I'd suggest Innova Evo, Canidae or Nature's Variety.

Those are far better than either of the two foods you mentioned.

Nothing you find at a grocery store is going to be a good food. High quality foods can be found at large pet store chains, or online. A couple of foods I like are Nutro Natural, Innova, Innova Evo and Cannidae.

There are other high quality dog foods. Here's how to spot them:

A high quality food will have little or no fillers such as corn, wheat or soy. These aren't very digestable for dogs, and are common food related allergens. Since you were seeing corn meal in the first few ingredients, those are not high quality foods. Foods list ingredients by content, with the ingredient it contains most of at the top.

A high quality food will not contain BHT, BHA or Ethoxyquin, these are all chemical preservatives that have been linked to cancer.

A high quality food will not contain by-products of any kind. Meat meals are ok as long as the source of the meat is listed, such as Chicken Meal.

A high quality diet should have meat as at least the first ingredient., and be made from human grade ingredients. Foods that don't use human grade ingredients often get their ingredients from less than desirable sources, such as meat from animals that were diseased, or euthanized.

There is another diet option other than dog food. Some people choose to feed a raw diet. This involves feeding the dog raw meaty bones and organ meat. However it is not as simple as throwing a couple chicken bones in a bowl everyday. If you wish to feed this type of diet, do lots and lots of research first. Switching to this diet without knowing what your doing can lead to nutritional problems for your dog. I'll give you some links as a starting point in research if you are interested in this type of diet.

http://www.willowglen.com/barf.htm.........

http://www.bestfrisbeedogs.com/diets.htm...

http://www.rawlearning.com/rawfaq.html.....

http://www.rawfed.com/myths/index.html.....

http://www.rawdogranch.com

What's Really In Pet Food
http://www.api4animals.org/facts?p=359&m...

Answer 3

Beneful is just as crappy as Eukanuba. They are both filled with plenty of fillers like corn, rice, wheat and grain. Then, they don't have any real meat in the food - they use meat by-products which is CRAP. Why do you think ALL Vets recommend Eukanuba or Science Diet? Because 99% of Vet clinics will sell either or both brands! I suggest feeding him Innova Puppy Chow. It's slightly more expensive than Beneful and Eukanuba but is COMPLETELY healthy. They use fresh, healthy human grade foods!

Answer 4

certainly crate practice! bear in mind that 12 weeks remains too youthful to assume a housetrained canine...it will probable be a minimum of a month formerly your canine is even bodily in a position to hold it long adequate to be housetrained. a smart ingredient to do it to maintain the canine on a leash interior the homestead and tether it on your physique, loop it around your wrist or ankle, and while the puppy starts off to wander off, it will carry your interest back to him. it is variety of a soreness, yet much less so than cleansing up stains off the floor!

Answer 5

Benifuls is garbage. Compared with people food it rates up there with MC Donald's. Try Nutro or Natural Balance. Both are good natural foods and they can be bought at Petco type stores.I want to add that non of Nutro's DRY FOOD was recalled Check out their web sight at nutro.com or menu foods.com

Edit 3-16-07 Natural balance has recalled 2 of their foods. Check out the web sight.
Dali

Answer 6

Beneful is a terrible food..Eukanuba isn't a good quality food either, but it is better then Beneful.

Instead of either food I'd suggest looking into a much better, healthier, meat based food for your dog such as:
Canidae, Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul, Wellness, California Natural, Solid Gold,Innova just to name a few.

Answer 7

I wouldn't put him on either one, there are much better quality foods available.

Read the label - the first ingredient should be meat, NOT corn! Corn is only a filler, dogs can't digest it.

Answer 8

If your dog is healthy being fed Beneful, you don't need to buy a more expensive dog food.

You can always add fresh veggies and fruit and some boiled meat to your dog's diet if you feel it needs more nutrition.

(We're always suspicious of vets who try to "push" exensive dog food on clients; we always suspect such vets of being more interested in your money than your pet.)

...And "Nutro" is manufactured by Menu Foods -- the company that had to recall thousands of bags and cans of dog food because it was tainted with rat poison, drugs and melamin. We won't feed the shetler dogs ANYTHING that comes from that company.

Answer 9

I think that you should compare the two brands by reading the labels on packages then you decide .If your dog likes what he/she is eating then stay with what he /she likes.

Answer 10

Beneful is not a healthy dog food at all. Eukanuba is better than Beneful, but not by much very much.

Read the ingredients on the food you buy. Go with a high quality dog food. A grain should not be in the first couple ingredients ingredient (corn and such are mainly fillers, dogs don't digest it well). Avoid foods that have a lot of "by products" listed.

Here are some good foods (these are just a few, there are definitely more brands out there that are quality dog food, but it will give you an idea of the ingredients to look for):

Chicken Soup Brand - http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com/
Merrick - http://www.merrickpetcare.com/
Innova - http://www.naturapet.com/brands/innova.asp

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Here's an ingredient comparison of bad food (in this case, Beneful & Science Diet), to good food (in this case, Chicken Soup brand & Merrick):

Beneful:
Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour, beef tallow preserved with mixed-tocopherols (source of Vitamin E), rice flour, beef, soy flour, sugar, sorbitol, tricalcium phosphate, water, animal digest, salt, phosphoric acid, potassium chloride, dicalcium phosphate, sorbic acid (a preservative), L-Lysine monohydrochloride, dried peas, dried carrots, calcium carbonate, calcium propionate (a preservative), choline chloride, vitamin supplements (E, A, B-12, D-3), added color (Yellow 5, Red 40, Yellow 6, Blue 2), DL-Methionine, zinc sulfate, glyceryl monostearate, ferrous sulfate, niacin, manganese sulfate, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, biotin, thiamine mononitrate, garlic oil, copper sulfate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), calcium iodate, sodium selenite.
F-4090


Science Diet:
Chicken, Ground Whole Grain Corn, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Ground Whole Grain Wheat, Chicken By-Product Meal, Soybean Meal, Animal Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Corn Gluten Meal, Brewers Rice, Chicken Liver Flavor, Soybean Oil, Dried Egg Product, Flaxseed, Potassium Chloride, Iodized Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, vitamins (L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), DL-Methionine, preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid, Beta-Carotene, Rosemary Extract.


Chicken Soup Brand:
Chicken, turkey, chicken meal, ocean fish meal, cracked pearled barley, whole grain brown rice, oatmeal, millet, white rice, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), potatoes, egg product, tomato pomace, duck, salmon, flaxseed, natural chicken flavor, choline chloride, dried chicory root, 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.

Merrick (wilderness blend):
Buffalo, Oatmeal, Barley, Salmon Meal, Venison,Whole Brown Rice, Canola Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols (a source of Natural Vitamin E and Ascorbic Acid, a source of Vitamin C), Flaxseed, Potatoes, Carrots, Peas, Dried Chicken Liver, Whole Apples, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Chloride, Lysine, Guar Gum, Salt, Choline Chloride, Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Whole Blueberries, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Whole Clove Garlic, Chondroitin Sulfate, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Natural Venison Flavor, Chicory Root, Marigold Extract, Lactobacillus Plantarum, Enterocococcus Faecium, Lactobacillus Casei, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Natural Celery Flavor, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Vitamin E Supplement, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Natural Caramel Color, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Copper Amino Acid Complex, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D3, Niacin, Lecithin, Ribofl avin Supplement, Biotin, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Cobalt Amino Acid Complex, Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate, Sodium Selenite.

Notice how the better food has more meats, less grain, and no by-products than the other brand? That's where to start looking for what food is higher quality. Just because it's expensive doesn't mean it's a good food.

Another thing to be weary of: A lot of vets will recommend what they sell i their office. They get profit and kick-backs from the brands they keep on their shelves, that's why they push it. Truth is, vet schools don't focus a lot on nutrition. It's not saying that a vet is a bad vet because he recommends those foods, a lot of vets just are told "this is good food", so they pass the message along without proper nutrition knowledge. Also, some dog food brands (like Hills) support vet schools, so vets have heard of it from the time they start college, which makes them think it's good as well.