What dog food is the best and why?

Question

I give my dog bentiful is that a good dog food or should I switch

Answer 1

As far as nutrition goes, all dog foods are very similar so the choice on what is the best is more for the owner and their own personal set of opinions then for the dog. Buy whatever you feel comfortable with for whatever gimmicks strike your fancy and whatever one your dog eats and thrives on.

Answer 2

I would definantly switch. That's the worst food on the market.
check out this grading chart below. Scroll down to where it has "Purina Beneful", it scored a 17 which is an "F"

How to grade your dog's food:

Start with a grade of 100:
1) For every listing of "by-product", subtract 10 points
2) For every non-specific animal source ("meat" or "poultry", meat, meal or fat) reference, subtract 10 points
3) If the food contains BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin, subtract 10 points
4) For every grain "mill run" or non-specific grain source, subtract 5 points
5) If the same grain ingredient is used 2 or more times in the first five ingredients (i.e. "ground brown rice", "brewer’s rice", "rice flour" are all the same grain), subtract 5 points
6) If the protein sources are not meat meal and there are less than 2 meats in the top 3 ingredients, subtract 3 points
7) If it contains any artificial colorants, subtract 3 points
8 ) If it contains ground corn or whole grain corn, subtract 3 points
9) If corn is listed in the top 5 ingredients, subtract 2 more points
10) If the food contains any animal fat other than fish oil, subtract 2 points
11) If lamb is the only animal protein source (unless your dog is allergic to other protein sources), subtract 2 points
12) If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 2 points
13) If it contains wheat (unless you know that your dog is not allergic to wheat), subtract 2 points
14) If it contains beef (unless you know that your dog is not allergic to beef), subtract 1 point
15) If it contains salt, subtract 1 point
Extra Credit:
1) If any of the meat sources are organic, add 5 points
2) If the food is endorsed by any major breed group or nutritionist, add 5 points
3) If the food is baked not extruded, add 5 points
4) If the food contains probiotics, add 3 points
5) If the food contains fruit, add 3 points
6) If the food contains vegetables (NOT corn or other grains), add 3 points
7) If the animal sources are hormone-free and antibiotic-free, add 2 points
8 ) If the food contains barley, add 2 points
9) If the food contains flax seed oil (not just the seeds), add 2 points
10) If the food contains oats or oatmeal, add 1 point
11) If the food contains sunflower oil, add 1 point
12) For every different specific animal protein source (other than the first one; count "chicken" and "chicken meal" as only one protein source, but "chicken" and "" as 2 different sources), add 1 point
13) If it contains glucosamine and chondroitin, add 1 point
14) If the vegetables have been tested for pesticides and are pesticide-free, add 1 point

94-100+ = A 86-93 = B 78-85 = C 70-77 = D <70 = F

Dog Food scores:

Alpo Prime Cuts / Score 81 C
Artemis Large/Medium Breed Puppy / Score 114 A+
Authority Harvest Baked / Score 116 A+
Authority Harvest Baked Less Active / Score 93 B
Beowulf Back to Basics / Score 101 A+
Bil-Jac Select / Score 68 F
Blackwood 3000 Lamb and Rice / Score 83 C
Blue Buffalo Chicken and Rice / Score 106 A+
Burns Chicken and Brown Rice / Score 107 A+
Canidae / Score 112 A+
Chicken Soup Senior / Score 115 A+
Diamond Maintenance / Score 64 F
Diamond Lamb Meal & Rice / Score 92 B
Diamond Large Breed 60+ Formula / Score 99 A
Diamond Performance / Score 85 C
Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Ultra Premium / Score 122 A+
Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Venison and Brown Rice / Score 106 A+
Dick Van Patten's Duck and Potato / Score 106 A+
EaglePack Holistic / Score 102 A+
Eukanuba Adult / Score 81 C
Eukanuba Puppy / Score 79 C
Flint River Senior / Score 101 A+
Foundations / Score 106 A+
Hund-n-Flocken Adult Dog (lamb) by Solid Gold / Score 93 B
Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Premium / Score 73 D
Innova Dog / Score 114 A+
Innova Evo / Score 114 A+
Innova Large Breed Puppy / Score 122 A+
Kirkland Signature Chicken, Rice, and Vegetables / Score 110 A+
Member's Mark Chicken and Rice / Score 84 C
Merrick Wilderness Blend / Score 127 A+
Nature's Recipe / Score 100 A
Nature's Recipe Healthy Skin Venison and Rice / Score 116 A+
Nature's Variety Raw Instinct / Score 122 A+



Nutra Nuggets Super Premium Lamb Meal and Rice / Score 81 C
Nutrience Junior Medium Breed Puppy / Score 101 A+
Nutrisource Lamb and Rice / Score 87 B
Nutro Max Adult / Score 93 B
Nutro Natural Choice Lamb and Rice / Score 98 A
Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy / Score 87 B
Nutro Natural Choice Puppy Wheat Free / Score 86 B
Nutro Natural Choice Senior / Score 95 A
Nutro Ultra Adult / Score 104 A+
Pet Gold Adult with Lamb & Rice / Score 23 F
Premium Edge Chicken, Rice and Vegetables Adult Dry / Score 109 A+
Pro Nature Puppy / Score 80 C
Pro Plan Sensitive Stomach / Score 94 A
Purina Beneful / Score 17 F
Purina Dog / Score 62 F
Purina Come-n-Get It / Score 16 F
Purina One Large Breed Puppy / Score 62 F
Royal Canin Boxer / Score 103 A+
Royal Canin Bulldog / Score 100 A+
Royal Canin Natural Blend Adult / Score 106 A+
Science Diet Advanced Protein Senior 7+ / Score 63 F
Science Diet for Large Breed Puppies / Score 69 F
Sensible Choice Chicken and Rice / Score 97 A
Solid Gold / Score 99 A
Summit / Score 99 A
Timberwolf Organics Wild & Natural Dry / Score 120 A+
Wellness Super5 Mix Chicken / Score 110 A+
Wolfking Adult Dog (bison) by Solid Gold / Score 97 A

Answer 3

I personally would not feed my dogs anything that is found at grocery stores or stores like Wal-mart. I only buy their food from the pet shop and prefer foods that are grain free and use human grade ingredients.

Some very good foods in my opinion are (in no particular order):

Timberwolf Organics
Orijen
Wellness
Innova
Fromm
Canidae
Solid Gold

I'm sure I missed a few, but those are just the ones I could think of right now.

Answer 4

I feed my bub Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Ultra Premium. Why? 2 out of top 3 Ingredients are meat sources. No artificial, all natural. Not THAT expensive! One of very few 'real' premium dog foods available in Australia (consider yourself lucky if ur in America). Oh and it also scores a grade of 122 in the above ^^^ rating system, not bad eh?

Beneful is bad bad bad, girlfriend! And shame on the person who said to switch to Pedigree!! Make the wise switch! Good luck!

Answer 5

EEEK BENEFUL IS A HORRIBLE FOOD . I am so glad you asked about this. I am happy you are making an effort to feed your dog goog food. The AAFCO gave it a 1 out of 6 simply because it had lots of fat,fillers like corn,soy which can cause allergic reactions,by products which are unwanted parts of an animal,artifitial flavors and colors. TERRIBLE.

If you scroll down on this dog food analysis page their will be a Beneful reveiw of Beneful for you to look at. This reveiw was written by strict dog food experts who KNOW what they are talking about!
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php?product=69&cat=all

I would really reccomend Caindae all Life Stages. It's ALL natural with 100% human grade foods. It's free of by products,soy,wheat,colors,or other cheap stuff and it was proudly awarded a 5 out of 6 for it's great quality.It also makes your dogs coat shiny since it is ric in Omega 3 and 6. It also results in less pooping and less eating since all nutritional needs are met.Frankly I only buy foods for my dog that were awarded a 5 or 6 by the AAFCO.
http://www.canidae.com/dogs/all_life_stages/dry.html

Thanks for reading I was happy to help you out!

Answer 6

There is no known "best" type of dog food. To find out which food is best for your dog i suggest you inquire at your vets where they will be able to help find a product best suited for your dog. Alternatively you can trial different types of food and see which your dog prefers and which ones leave him/her in best condition the best way to do this is to mix the new food in with the old,adding more each day until your are only using the new product. Take note of your dogs skin condition, eyes and feces, these are all vital signs to show you whether or not the food is benefiting their health. Try each food for thirty days and record the results after-wards. Once you have trialled all the foods go back to the one which had the best results. Hope you find this useful.

Answer 7

YIKES.. I won't even go into how bad Beneful is.. I am sleepy and am getting ready to go to bed. But is is bottom of the barrel, it's down there with Pedigree, Purina, Iams/ Eukanuba, Kibbles N Bits, Ol Roy and Science Diet.. Beneful is worse than Iams and Purina foods..

Anyhow try the Canidae All Life Stages.. It actually works out cheaper, dogs eat less, poop less, and go to the vet far less. They have no chronic health issues.. They are healthy, good energy, happy healthy.. Shiny coats.. WHen I take photos of the dogs, I have one heck of a time with lighting.. They are so shiny that I have a hard time with the reflection and glare from their shiny coats..

I was in the grocery store today and saw a lady with Beneful in her cart.. We were standing in line and I was looking at her bag and thinking.. I have to say something to this woman.. I looked at her.. She seemed normal enough ( even tho maybe I am not for educating people in the grocery store ) and I looked at the rest of the items in her cart.. Pop, chips, ice cream and candy.. I looked back at the bag of Beneful and realized she eats exactly the same way she feeds her dog.. She isn't going to be interested in anything I have to say to her, and I didn't mention the food at all.. I nearly bit the end of my tongue off.. But I realized if she eats all that crap, why the heck would she care what her dog ate.. That's what people think of you when you are at the grocery store buying that garbage for your dog.. ' She must not care '

Answer 8

The brand of dog food you buy should be one that is good for your dog ... if your dog is 'healthy' and has the proper energy for it's breed, and it has a shiny coat, then don't change your food. If it's not that, then take the dog to the vet and get it tested and get what the vet tells you to feed it. THAT is the 'best way' to tell the 'best' dog food ... dogs are very different, and since you gave no breed, age, or other specifics, this is the 'best' advice I can give to you.

Answer 9

Wow - lots of mixed answers here but I guess that's normal for such a "personal preference" type question. We used to use Science Diet but after about 6 months our dog wouldn't eat it. We tried other brands and then moved on to Nutro - a lamb/rice variety after our dog developed allergies to corn-based products. However, after a recent bad experience with bagged dog food that I suspect was "bad", we started feeding our dog "real food". Cooking for your dog sounds crazy - my husband threw a fit - but it's so healthy for the dog AND for you and your family. Those manufactured foods are just so bad for so many reasons - even the "good" and expensive brands. I wouldn't have them in my house now!

We got a great book from Amazon.com called Real Food for Dogs and it has great vet-approved recipes. Within a couple of weeks our dog's coat was shinier, he was shedding less and he was a LOT happier. He mainly eats a lot of chicken and lean beef with brown rice, whole grain pasta and a variety of vegetables like spinach, broccoli, carrots and his favorite - peas! It has also helped our family... it made us realize that we were eating a lot of garbage too and now we all eat much healthier!

Answer 10

My vet recommends IAMS. However, it's the most expensive dog food and some people don't like the fact that the company does all kinds of testing on animals. Most of the time I go with either Beneful or Alpo. I don't rely on just dog food, though, and I will also give him half a multivitamin in his dish and sometimes table scraps (would you want to live on the same factory processed and pre-packaged type of food all your life?). Whichever brand you choose, I recommend you stay away from the cheapest generic, no-name, or store brand dog food. For some reason, they're more likely to cause allergic reactions in some dogs.