Purina Beneful?????????????????

[Catlady711]

Not meaning to get anyone's fur up or anything here, however at the hospital I work for....

Not all vets are given perks by pet food companies or even sell regular pet food. At our hospital we ONLY carry the more common prescription only foods. Head vet says that if he wanted to run a pet food store he would have bought a pet food store! He doesn't think too highly of other vets that carry numberous brands of non prescription foods, as well as tons of toys/treats. The profit margin vs. space/inventory just isn't worth the trouble, as well as the fact that people are more likely to take his advice concerning nutrition if they realize he is not making any money on the sale of the pet foods he recommends.

I don't know about other vets, but at our hospital keeping up with the latest seminars and such on pet nutrition is a routine thing. Head vet prefers to attend the ones hosted by independent companies that aren't trying to 'push' their own product with skewed statistics.

As for our hospital's stance on pet food in general is:

Stick with major name brands, not generic store brands (you get what you pay for) We will typically recommend foods like Science Diet, Iams, Eukanuba, Nutro, etc. We never push for any particular one of these, just that they feed a high quality, well balanced diet.

Stay away from foods with dyes (particularly reds/greens) as they can sometimes cause allergies in the form of skin problems or cause stomach upset in some animals. If I'm not much mistaken Beneful is full of dyes like this.

Sudden changes in food can sometimes cause diarrhea or vomiting. We always recommend staying with one food unless there is a medical reason to switch, and then make the switch gradually over a period of a few days. While some animals may take a sudden switch well and others may not, switching foods exposes the animal to more things which makes it more difficult to track down any food allergies. Also most allergies to food can take a few years to show up from repeated exposure, and any benefits from switching to a low allergy food can take up to 3 months to show.

As for dogs eating poop..Sometimes it is simply a bad habit, however it can also be because of a lack of specific digestive enzymes. A simple test at your vet can determine this, and the remedy is a simple, fairly inexpensive pill (at least at our hospital) given daily.

While I have only been a vet assistant for just over 5 years, our head vet has been in practice over 30 years.

Just my comments.

[timlewis]

Thank You Cat Lady This Is Some Of The Best Info I Have Got Here On Pt.

[Suki Wingy]

I just have a quick question while we're (or were) on the subject of soy. Is it bad to feed my dog soy nuggets as a treat every once and a while? They're one of his favorite foods.

[wolfsoul]

We will typically recommend foods like Science Diet, Iams, Eukanuba, Nutro, etc.

Just out of curiosity --- have you read the ingredient lists of these foods?

[mugsy]

Just out of curiosity --- have you read the ingredient lists of these foods?

Yep, I have and they suck! lol I think that the best all around food that is reasonably priced is probably Canidae and they have a new formula our that is simply Lamb and Rice. But, everyone is going to feed what they feel is right and since the dog can't say, "THIS SUCKS" they're pretty much stuck.

Also, I'm sorry I have already forgotten the poster, but, the McDonald's analogy is what Mike always uses when someone comes in and says their dog likes Beneful, Pedigree, Dog Chow, etc! Great minds!!!

You also feed less with the premium and super premium foods and pets get more out of the food too...

[Catlady711]

Just out of curiosity --- have you read the ingredient lists of these foods?

Yep, I have and they suck! lol I think that the best all around food that is reasonably priced is probably Canidae and they have a new formula our that is simply Lamb and Rice. But, everyone is going to feed what they feel is right and since the dog can't say, "THIS SUCKS" they're pretty much stuck.

Also, I'm sorry I have already forgotten the poster, but, the McDonald's analogy is what Mike always uses when someone comes in and says their dog likes Beneful, Pedigree, Dog Chow, etc! Great minds!!!

You also feed less with the premium and super premium foods and pets get more out of the food too...

To both:

I did not recommend either Beneful, Pedigree, or Dog Chow in my post. I agree with the opinion on premium foods, with having to feed less and the pet getting more nutrition from them.

Our hospital recommends any of the premium or better grades of food. What I mentioned by name were Iams, Science Diet, Nutro, Eukanuba etc. All of which are easier for our clients to obtain, which makes them more likely to purchase them and thus get their pet off of the grocery store generics we see every day. Whether you regard them as premium or junk, they ARE better foods than the grocery store and generics. I have seen many, many animals on the brands I mentioned in the first post and I have always seen that their coats are healthier, glossier, and shed less than pets eating cheaper foods.

Everyone is entitled to their preference on what they refer to as premium or super premium, however I personally have fed both Iams and Science Diet for years, and my cats have better health for it vs a cheaper food. Not saying that a higher priced specialty food couldn't be better, I'm saying that just because a person doesn't prefer to special order very expensive food does not mean they care less for their animals, nor that the animals health sufferes greatly because of it (save for pets needing prescription diets for medical problems).

I've noticed that food choices around here are a volitile subject, and seem to result in many people downright arguing with one another over it. I don't think that is necessary as the whole point is the animal's health, not human preferences over the definition of premium.

Everyone is entitled to their opinions, and I prefer to let my cats vet (with 30 yrs experience) decide what is best for my cats health. I figure as long as the vet is not selling the same pet food he/she is recommending and stands to gain nothing in the way of profit for him/her self on the sale of said foods, and their job is regarding the health and welfare of your pet, then I don't have much of a problem with listening to the person who has a degree in animal health/medicine vs. my own opinion or the advertisement of a company trying to sell their own products for profit.

I was simply posting some more information to someone else in regards to food based on what we recommend at our hospital, it was not intended to start a war on what constitutes a premium or super premium food.

[wolfsoul]

Well, it is my opinion that none of those are better nor premium foods -- Iams IS a grocery store food btw.

These are the ingredients to President's Choice, which is a Supermarket food found at Superstore, Extra Foods, etc. IT can only be bought in grocery stores.

Chicken, chicken meal, brewers rice, ground corn, corn gluten meal, poultry fat (naturally preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of vitamin E), ground barely, fish meal, poultry flavour, flaxseed meal, yeast culture, dicalcium phosphate, potassium choride, dried whole egg, salt, mannannoligosaccharide, choline chloride, calcium carbonate.

Now, a prescription formula of Science Diet that can only be found at the vet.

Ground Whole Grain Corn, Pork Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Chicken By-Product Meal, Soybean Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Soybean Mill Run, Chicken Liver Flavor, Calcium Sulfate, Dried Egg Product, Soybean Oil, Flaxseed, Iodized Salt, Dicalcium Phosphate, Choline Chloride, Potassium 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), preserved with BHT and BHA, Taurine, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Beta-Carotene.

I'd pick the grocery store brand over the Science Diet any day. In fact, I rarely find a grocery store brand that has less natural ingredients than Science Diet...Even Beneful's ingredients are better than that, as well as most of the other Purina formulas. Even Pedigree has some better forumlas than that. None of these are "premium" foods, yet when compared to Science Diet appear much better. Is Science Diet still a "premium" food?

[Jessika]

I think we all seem to forget that, no matter WHAT we feed to our dogs, at least they ARE being fed something and that's more than we can say for a lot of dogs that end up on the side of the road or dropped off at a shelter. Whether it be a "grocery store" brand or "super premium" brand.

[signorelli21]

lol, i switched my dog to nutro max puppy about a week ago and have noticed a few differences, she has a little more energy ( if thats possible, lol) and eats less. as for the taste vs nutrition debate, um have any of you ever actually ate dog food?
i tried a handfull of beneful, then a handful of nutro, neither was very appealing, in fact they tasted pretty much the same, just smell different. kind of like stale crackers, lol.

[Catlady711]

I repeat myself.

Everyone is entitled to their preference on what they refer to as premium or super premium......I'm saying that just because a person doesn't prefer to special order very expensive food does not mean they care less for their animals, nor that the animals health sufferes greatly because of it (save for pets needing prescription diets for medical problems).

Everyone is entitled to their opinions.....it was not intended to start a war on what constitutes a premium or super premium food.

[timlewis]

I have to agree with jessika and catlady as long as ur feeding ur pet and it isnt starving to death i dont see a big deal. And yes it may be healthier to feed them these name brand dog foods but a lot of people cant afford them, myself i can i just cant find them. So what should i do i can travel an hour and a half to get some but to be honest i probably wont, I also think its crazy to say just because wal mart or other grocery stores carry a food its not healthy. Now that may be so in most cases but it doesnt mean in all cases, just like nutro starting to sell in wal mart (maybe) everyone says they will quit buying it. They dont even know if wal mart is going to sell it and if they do how do you know nutro will change their product? Noone knows unless u have seen it in wal mart and compared the ingredients, and from what i hear everyone say is they are suppose to start selling it not that they do or that nutro HAS changed their ingredients with proof. I make $22 an hour and that doesnt mean i wont go to the rag store or to the dollar store and buy my kids something to wear im no better than anyone else and neither are any of u despite what u might think. And im not saying that u think u are because i dont honestly know but its the same thing saying u wont go to wal mart for dog food it sure sounds that way. And by no meens is this intended to accuse anyone or is it aimed at anyone but u should really think about what u say before u say it. And although we all do love our pets and want to take the best care of them possible we have to realize that they are animals and they are liveing breathing creatures. But to say that someone should spend out of their limit or go all across the country to find a dog food that is healthier and MAY help the dog in the long run is not reasonable. BUT THIS IS MY OPINION AND EVERYONE IS ENTITLED TO THEIR OWN AND I HOPE NOONE HAS TOOK ANY OFFENSE TO THIS. AND THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR REPLIES.