Beneful

Approval Rate: 55%

55%Approval ratio

Reviews 50

Sort by:
  • by

    gmvt08

    Tue Jul 05 2011

    The ingredients of this dog food are horrendous and it is amazing they are still making any profit off it! Besides having corn as the first ingredient which is one of the major allergens in dogs, it has meat by-products, and artificial colors and flavors. This is definitely not "human-grade" and it is one of the worst dog food brands on the market. I have seen dogs lose fur and develop hot spots when eating this food as well as other commercial grocery store brands. A dog I am pet sitting for this summer had seizures while on this food at 2 years old... so sad

  • by

    ej927b94

    Thu Apr 28 2011

    If I could give this product negative stars... I would! This is by far the WORST dog food that you could ever let your pet eat! If you care about your dog in the least bit...STAY AWAY!!! My poor dog ate this food for the first 2 years of her life. This is the first dog of my own and I never thought about looking at the ingredients. I fed her Beneful one day and when I came home from work, there was bloody loose stools everywhere! We took her to the vet and they confirmed that it was colitis... from contaminated dog food!! Poor thing was so sick for days! On top of that, she would throw up on almost a daily basis! She had done this since she was a puppy and after numerous vet trips, I just assumed that she was a sickly little dog. Little did I know that it was the food doing this to her! I read reveiws and was shocked by the some of the comments from other consumers. Your dog loves this food because it is loaded with sugar! Your kids might love sugar too, but are you going ... Read more

  • by

    oldeenglish

    Fri Feb 18 2011

    Garbage.......I have an Olde English Bulldogge and fed Beneful and he sheds like crazy and has a bad odor....Switched to another brand and all has cleared up.

  • by

    yourstruely

    Sat Feb 05 2011

    It is the only dry food that he will eat. My 1 year old American Eskimo had tried everything in petland; he tried merrick, science diet, eukanuba, nutro max, wellness and nutro ultra. The merrick would make him shit blood which didn't look so healthy. He would starve himself before trying the nutro formulas and science diet is too expensive for its contents. Here are the ingredients- Whole Grain Corn, Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Animal Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Dried Beet Pulp, Chicken Liver Flavor, Brewers Rice, Dicalcium Phosphate, Lactic Acid, Fish Oil, Flaxseed, Soybean Oil, Iodized Salt, Potassium Chloride, L-lysine, 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), Magnesium Oxide, m... Read more

  • by

    lay_z325

    Sun Dec 26 2010

    Just because Beneful has pretty pictures on the bag doesn't mean it's anything close to healthy. When I got bags of Beneful, both times it smelled like a mixture of burned rubber, rancid fat, and old tomato soup. When I pass by that part of the grocery store to this day, I often get a whiff of that strange scent. I only ever bought two bags of the stuff, and that was a long time ago. So, fortunately, my dog never suffered any lasting side effects of this brand's horrible ingredients. And they are horrible. I know that a lot people tend to laugh off arguments based on a brand's ingredients, but in case you haven't noticed, the ingredients are all the food IS. Therefore, I consider them to be quite important. I know several people who claim their dogs do well on Beneful, and I feel sorry for them. Two of them go through about a bottle a month of quality shampoo in order to keep their dogs from stinking up the house. The third keeps his dog outside. All three have problems with itchy sk... Read more

  • by

    noahhabib

    Tue Dec 21 2010

    Of course dogs love Beneful, there is no nutrients, just all fats and other things with no nutritional value! It's like eating McDonald's or KFC everyday. On top of that, my 2 year old Shih-tzu/Bichon started to loose some of her once beautiful coat only after eating this food for only a week. Soon after, I switched to Before Grain. Before Grain is a great brand with lost of nutrients, and my dog loves it, she gets so excited whenever she sees the bag and her bowl. I recommend Before Grain, but definatley not Beneful.

  • by

    susieq19

    Mon Dec 06 2010

    WOW!!! I can review Beneful from BOTH ends!! My 2 year old lab/husky came to me with tummy problems!!! Nightmares problems for me! I got her regulated and not to be too graphic her poo-poos are beautiful. However she seems prone to an ear condition(fungal infection) that may be diet related. I am torn, Beneful does wonders for her tummy but wreaks havoc on her ears!!! She loves this food but there seems to be something she has a reaction to in this food. You need to make a special diet for dogs like mine and we will continue to purchase your food.

  • by

    quincyt

    Mon Nov 01 2010

    this stuff is like crack for my dog. he usually starves his spoiled self before eating dry dog food but beneful is his favorite food. if i offered a steak and a bowl of beneful he would go after the beneful.

  • by

    laholbrook

    Fri Oct 08 2010

    We have a small terrier mix (13 pounds, looks like Toto) who developed rashes after we switched her to Beneful Prepared Meals. When we took her to our vet to have the rashes looked at, she said that this was the third dog she’d seen *that day* that had come in itching after having switched to Beneful. Caveat emptor.

  • by

    chels1928

    Tue Sep 21 2010

    I think it is really funny how practically every single bad opinion on this review page is about the ingredients, and even funnier when people say my dog loves it but then I looked at the label does it really matter the quality of the ingredients if your dog likes it and is healthy on it then what is the problem. I just got a cockapoo and the previous owner feed her beneful and I live with another dog and had been on the healthy stuff she did great with all of that food, then I got Blue Buffalo that is a dog food that needs to be taken off the market she was horribly sick and had bloody diarrhea and couldn't even make it out the doggy door, switching back to beneful she loves it and she is becoming healthy again and that is what I care about the most, and the corn is used as a roughage to clean out the colon(fiber) exactly why we eat it too, so to all you health nuts have fun emptying out your bank accounts!

  • by

    ruger5al

    Wed Sep 01 2010

    the first pitbull i had i feed it science diet i was paying 70$ a bag he got serious skin problem and it cost me over 200$ to fix the problem so i switch to iams which costed me $40 a bag when he started eating eat after a month i notice serious weight loss and i mean serious he looked like a skeleton and that should not have happened because i was feeding him 5 cups of food a day mix with a can of iams wet food so i went to petco and seen beneful and i read the nutrients in it not the ingredients when i started feeding him the beneful he gain the weight back he became a healthy 80lbs pitbull his skin was beautiful no dryness no flaking no itching it had a beautiful shine and he was all black i feed him beneful for two years with no problems at all i use to mix it with wet pedigree he died but not from beneful i now have a blue and white pitbull he been on beneful for 6 months now and he is very very healthy i can post a pic to prove it and i just got a female pitbull who was in horrib... Read more

  • by

    writergal86

    Wed May 26 2010

    It seems really bad...we just got a new dog and we started giving her beneful because we got her from a shelter and they said her food was switched all the time because they had to get donations from people. Well after a few days of eating it she got really bad diarrhea, she has been sleeping non stop, her eyes are all blood shot. She has been itching really bad and she just seems depressed. Safe to say we just went out tonight to switch her food. I hope she gets better soon :( She was literally lying in the bed and she has had bad gas, her stomach is making all sorts of noises and she wont eat anything yet.

  • by

    jesusizcalling_u

    Tue Apr 13 2010

    I have 3 UKC registered Blue APBTs and they love it. They are all healthy, energetic, and my 2 eldest placed first in show twice and ranked high in weight pull. No digestive problems or coat issues. Two of the three are 3yrs old and the 3rd is 4 months old. Their first yr as pups, I fed them Nutro Ultra Hollistic dry food; no complaints, great food, but over-priced. I switched to Beneful due to financial reasons unforseen. I can honestly say that I've saw no difference in my dogs. This may well be due to just good breeding, but I saw no difference in health, energy, or appearance. May I add that the financial problem lasted a yr and I got back on my feet, better than I was prior to its occurance. I decided to stick with Beneful not for price because I could afford it, but for common sense. Why pay more for something that's not making a difference? I'm in agreement with a previous rater on here, dogs in the wild will eat anything and everything, and live long lives if not for other thin... Read more

  • by

    jordans

    Fri Apr 09 2010

    Terrible food. This stuff is no good. the first three ingredients poor quality grains. Why do I see SUGAR on the list? Why are beef tallow, animal fat preserved with BHA and by products the only protein sources(besides beef which is the 11th ingredient down). And theres no excuse for putting dyes into their food. Do people who think Beneful is so healthy ever stop to consider why the kibble is bright red and green? You can do much better than this. And when I fed it a few years back my dog barely touched it.

  • by

    celry690

    Fri Mar 26 2010

    Dogs in the wild will eat everything and anything and survive fine healthwise. The meat, the fat, the gut, the bones. This is what they were meant to eat. Just because they are domesticated doesn't mean they have to eat only steak. I don't get too upset when I see the words by products. This being said, good vet care, teeth care, regular walks, a raw egg here and there, table scraps if they come from left over meat and vegetables are good for them. Large knuckle bones with meat attached is great too. Beneful is good if your dog is thriving on it and likes it. I foster a lot of dogs all year round and I mix the Beneful with whatever the shelter gives me. The change over is always smooth and I have never seen any digestive problems or loose stools. However, if it makes YOU feel better by paying more for their food, well that's your perogative.

  • by

    vilhelm1211

    Sat Feb 13 2010

    This stuff is random floor scrapings. Almost killed my dog. It's just cheap corn chaffs, and no meat except what's swept off the floor, plus sugar and food coloring. Buy a midrange dog food. Anything without corn and has a recognizable meat product. Dogs tend to eat just enough to satisfy their nutrional requirements, and then their natural hoarding instincts provokes them into preserving the rest - so the dog won't eat as much of a good, albeit more expensive, dog food. Here is a good rule of thumb. Corn = don't give a rat's behind about your dog. There's no reason to stick this grain in dog food. It doesn't do the dog one bit of good because it's indigestible and allergenic. But they do it because it's cheap.

  • by

    ladybug105us

    Wed Jan 27 2010

    I had about the same thing happen to me - my dog got very sick and stopped eating altogether. I went and bought a different brand of dog food and he scarfed it down like he was starving and he probably was as he had not eaten hardly anything in over a week.

  • by

    dbecktx

    Wed Jan 27 2010

    I bought a huge bag of Beneful Playful Life for my 14 month german shep/great dane mix. After eating about half the bag (a week) he DIED. Our raccoon was also eating only this food and she quit eating for a week before and after the dog died. We got a new dog and she got sick too!!! That's when we realized it was the Beneful. I am about to contact Purina, the bag says they'll refund the purchase price but who's going to bring my Buddy back?!?! If the other animals would have died I'd be owning Purina right now. I will never buy any of their products again.

  • by

    shale155

    Fri Jan 08 2010

    nothing but junk. i wish they would spend more time to make there brand better than spend it on lying commercials. "its so good for them" BS i would stay away from this. i dont understand why some company's put food coloring in it, my dog don't care what color his food is lol i would never recommend this food to any one

  • by

    herveaa

    Fri Jan 08 2010

    We've tried many other dry dog foods, but our Dacshund only tollerates Beneful Healthy Weight formula. Other brands, even the high priced scientific and veterenarian formulas, only upset his digestion. I read some of the other comments and decided to research the ingredient listing. Chicken is listed second on the ingredient list, and listed 2 other times in different forms. As far as medical issues go, he is healthy and very energetic while on Beneful Healthy Weight. Perhaps Beneful isn't right for every dog, but it is the only food that's good for ours.

  • by

    loki1830

    Fri Jan 01 2010

    If I could give this zero star I would Used to purchase this at costco and then walmart They changed their ingrediants. I should have not fed it to my dogs when I opened the bag. The dog food always smelled like garbage. My dogs started to lose hair and lose energy, I called Purina and requested refund. A had to throw away the dog food. Not worth the price of having to take your dogs to the vet just because the food is inexpensive. This is horrible food and you should not feed your dog this garbage. It will literally kill them

  • by

    daisyboston

    Tue Dec 22 2009

    This food is great if you want your dog to get addicted to something. Of course they wont eat anything else once they have had this its packed with sugar!!!! Sure I love candy to but I wouldnt eat it as my balanced meal. Nor should your dog. And where is the meat?

  • by

    bay09bfe

    Thu Dec 10 2009

    This food is scary. It has nothing but fillers, animal parts, and food coloring. It is junk food for dogs, and is bound to give them kidney and liver problems. Dog food should not be green (peas) and orange(carrots) - thats artificial. Look at this food scoring guide, I think Beneful is the lowest one. Its frightening. Why would you feed your dog the worst food out there? Beats me http://www.versatiledogs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t= 4761

  • by

    dogfoodman

    Sun Nov 15 2009

    I`m pretty forgiving when it comes to dog food,and I`ll recommend some dog foods that the dog food fanatics wont,if it meets the minimal criteria.But beneful is among the worst.Even the few veggies found in beneful are not enough to compensate for the overall poor contents.No meat content,sorbitol,artificial lake colors,corn gluten meal,etc.I saw an empty beneful bag in the dumpster the other day when I took the trash out.I thought of the poor dog being fed this stuff.

  • by

    dean118d

    Fri Nov 06 2009

    We started feeding our dog Beneful (Also came from Walmart) about a month ago. She has not been well ever since. her appetite is now almost non-existant, she has lost lots of weight, her third eye is showing, red eyes in general, today started vomiting yellow fluid( not clear but solid colored). Of course we are very worried but all the other reviews have helped me to deal with this accordingly. It sounds like Beneful is the culprit. We cant afford expensive vet bills, and from what i read, i'm not sure it would really help. Please pray for our "Emily". thanks.

  • by

    yidder

    Sun Oct 25 2009

    I have a beautiful black lab who was on beneful for about 4 years. He is now 14. I had been buying it at Wal-Mart in the 14 pound bags, and soon after my dog developed these really bloodshot eyes with sagging eyelids. After medications failed to work, my vet recommended surgery to "tighten up the lids". I decided to experiment with his diet instead. I changed to Wellness For Seniors brand dog food and within 1 month everything was back to normal. I have heard that large quanities of Beneful sold at Walmart were contaminated with some sort of microbe. Looking back, I wouldn't buy any dog food at Walmart. My dog went through a lot of discomfort, me a lot of worry and it cost me alot more in the end that if I had fed him high quality food from the start.

  • by

    ravenvaughn

    Fri Oct 23 2009

    DO NOT FEED YOU DOG BENEFUL! My sweet baby is my life as my husband and I don't have children. She has been on beneful for about two years and 1 day after I opened a new bag she became severly ill. Just to name a few procedures she has had over the last week, 4 blood test, 2 sets of x-rays, barium series, ultrasound and 4 fluid IVs. We were about to take her for a scope and bio. She is starting to turn a corner but not out of the woods yet and it got so bad we almost lost her. She lOst 12 lbs in less than 1 week and we almost had to put her on a feeding tube. She had runny bloody stool, throwing up thick mucus and blood, foaming at the mouth and very much out of it! I had to lift her off the bed several times. Her breathing go so slow and faint I had to shake her to get her to breathe again. I DON'T WANT ANYONE ELSE TO GO THROUGH THIS SO PLEASE DON'T FEED YOUR DOG BENEFUL! iT ISN'T WORTH IT. I HAVE REPORTED IT TO BENEFUL.

  • by

    totallyadogper_son

    Sat Sep 26 2009

    If you're lucky enough to have a dog with a cast-iron constitution, lucky you. Unfortunately, dogs with allergies and food sensitivities cannot use this food. Spike, my 72 lb. Pit Bull/Lab mix, loved Beneful, but after a few weeks, began throwing up regularly, became listless, and his gums became unusually pale. Not only that, but he began scratching obsessively (and no, we do not have fleas or ticks). I stopped feeding him Beneful and he is, after a week, starting to recover his old vim and vigor. I suspect that the large amounts of grain products and food colorings in this product exacerbated allergies that had once been mild.

  • by

    milkmama

    Sat Sep 05 2009

    If a star wasn't required I wouldn't give this product even 1. You couldn't ask for a worse product with better marketing to trick unknowing pet owners into feeling good about feeding their pets garbage. I clean for a lady who has 2 dogs on this food and I can say the dogs are not impressive. They shed horribly, the chihuahua is sadly overweight for being 3yo, and the other one is very sensitive, throwing up all the time. This woman has no idea she is slowly killing these dogs. I printed out some info from dogfoodanalysis for her, but don't want to offend her, so I'm looking for a way to get it to her in a way she will recieve. I want to help these poor dogs, they are so unenergetic and unhealthy for such a young age.

  • by

    sheltervt

    Tue Aug 18 2009

    Beneful is the single best marketed abysmal quality food on the market. Really. Clean, crisp, white bag. Colorful pictures of cuts of meat, fruits, and vegetables. The very name implies that the food is beneficial and healthy. The reality, however, is different, and the ingredient list tells a different story. The first five ingredients in Beneful Original Formula? Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour, animal fat Corn is an all but undigestible carbohydrate source. Dogs and other carnivores simply cant digest it. Hell, PEOPLE, designed to digest vegetables, can't properly digest corn. Dogs even less so. Also, corn is one of the top allergens for dogs, causing dry, itchy, flaky skin, ear infections, and other issues. And it's the primary ingredient in this food. Chicken by-product meal is all parts of a chicken unfit for human consumption. Beaks, feathers, feet, bones, diseased carcasses, unformed eggs, etc. Not real meat, but ... Read more

  • by

    pittbull77

    Sun Aug 09 2009

    This is a standard, corn-based, filler food. Everyone is welocme to feed what they want, but if you are going to feed corn based food, save a buck and go with Pedigree or Old Roy. Actually, the Ol Roy skin and coat isn't corn based but lamb meal based. It does have all the fillers the others do but in lower proportions. We feed a mixture of Bil-Jac and Natures Variety, 80lb Lab is satisifed with 1.75 cups a day, 75lb Pit 2cups a day, and the 55lb Pit is only 2yrs old so he gets 2.25 cups a day to keep him going strong. All are perfect weight, per the wholistic vet, and look awesome. Keep in mind that proper daily exercise is almost as important as the food, and grooming come sin a close third. Without all three in the correct balance, you CAN'T have a healthy dog!!!! God bless all who care enough to read these posts!!!!

  • by

    mangravy

    Wed Jul 22 2009

    I have a neighbor that left out a bag of Beneful on their porch. I noticed their were dead roaches all over the porch. I looked in the bag and the bag was full of dead roaches that had eaten the dog food. Anything that kills roaches is known as poison. And to the person that discovered that the dog food was bad and latter gave it to a friend. Please don't ever call me a friend. Even if you hated the person don't kill the dog.

  • by

    saltypaws

    Mon Jun 29 2009

    People smoke they get lung cancer, they do it becasue they love it.. dogs will be dogs, and eat what they want. stop nagging about which is better..do something about it.. Make your own dog food .. thats what i do.. and on the side i feed nutro max for adult active dogs...its healthy.. Get the cheap steak , hambuger , and chicken, put it in a food processer with brown rice carrots celery, and chicken or beeef broth.. they love it... easy .. Dogs are my kids because i have none, so they eat like champs!!

  • by

    lillyjrt

    Fri Jun 26 2009

    DOG LOVER BE AWARE!!!! If you purchased Beneful the Healthy Skin and Coat kind with Salmon, Chicken and other stuff. Please take a look at the red/pink pieces (apparently salmon) stare very closely at that piece for 5 seconds and look at tiny little white dots moving on it. If you can't see them, then brake that piece in half and look inside and you will see things moving in it. The white dots are MITES!!! I was giving my dog her meal and I saw one of the red pieces looked more pinkish, so I grab it and it almost broke as I picked it up. So I looked closely and I saw all those white things moving in it. I got very scared and I took my dog, the food and her poop to the vet at Petsmart for the vet to look at it. While I was waiting, it occurred to me to grab one of the same food bags from the shelf there and open it up to see if that food had the same white things in it. and guess what? it did!!! So I showed the vet's assistant my dogs food and the new bag and she went to the microsco... Read more

  • by

    rold8c95

    Mon Jun 22 2009

    My dog ended up in the emergency room from eating Beneful. He was extremely listless, vomiting and had severe diarhea which required IV fluid replacement and a bum cream to heal. I will never feed it to him again!!!

  • by

    marshill

    Wed Jun 03 2009

    most worthless junk ever. Feed your dog this, and you should be arrested for animal cruelty. Its designed for PEOPLE. Why the hell would anyone stuff food coloring in dog food and give it cute little shapes? Obviously so a human being can say "Oh look! This food looks like vegetables! It must be sooo healthy!" Furthermore, dogs are CARNIVORES and are NOT Omnivores, this means that they need meat, not a bunch of carrots. Over time, stuffing your dog full of food coloring, carrots, and parlsey will cause hardship on kidneys and greatly increase your dogs risk of kidney failure. Stop buying dog food just because it looks like a healthy plate of vegetables! Don't be so stupid. Love you dog....don't buy this JUNK

  • by

    ilovemyhuskys

    Thu May 14 2009

    Well about 3 months ago my boyfriend and I got his dog Jinx (a husky mix) back from someone who didn't take real good care of her unfortunantly... they were feeding her crap dog food, I don't remember the brand, she was under weight and under nourished. I started her on beneful, she wouldn't even eat her other dog food when I did the whole mixing the foods ordeal. So she came back around all full of energy and very happy to be back with her original owner. A month later we added a new addition to the family A 2 month old Husky. A friend refurred me to switch to Canidae all stages, so I could feed them the same food and it was "good" for them... Needless to say BAD BAD BAD IDEA!!! I Switched from Beneful to Canidae... Both dogs got real bad diarrhea, which you know tends to be a normal surcumstance when intoducing a new food, what was wrong with that is it didn't go away.. 2 months later, our oldest Jinx who is about 6 years old, pretty much refused to eat it (when she would always ... Read more

  • by

    sassypkg2

    Sun Mar 29 2009

    My dog always loves to eat Beneful. I have read most of the other reviews and would like to place a comment on them. I don't believe that it is fair to blame a food for what could already be an inherent medical problem with the dog. Like humans, dogs are also prone to medical issues that may arise during its lifetime. Yes, for any product in the world, there will always be humans or pets alike, that may be allergic or may develop negative affects. I think what is most important, is that the pet owner recognize and treat the problem before it gets worse instead of blaming the food for the pets entire care.

  • by

    extex74e

    Wed Mar 11 2009

    I have a female Great Dane (from the SPCA). The only thing she would eat at first was Pedigree, although she is allergic to the wheat. We tried switching her over, but she wouldn't eat anything else, even though I tried the 25%, 50%, 75% mix over a period of time. Once I got past 50%, she wouldn't eat it. We were told that the Wellness Fish and Sweet Potato would be good for the allergies (our vet) so we tried half and half. That helped, but Wellness kept going up and up on price, and I couldn't afford Wellness. I thought I'd try Beneful and it's better for our dog than the wellness. She loves the food mix (50-50 with Pedigree), she's much healthier now. To be blunt, her "poops" are much better as well. With just Pedigree and with Wellness, the "poops" were sorta runny and not very firm. Adding Beneful with the Pedigree, much firmer and she's more regular. I'm not a purist and I'm certainly not a breeder, just a dog lover. I figure the best "person" to know is the do... Read more

  • by

    yomara95

    Sat Jan 03 2009

    My dog is currently 12. He has been eating Beneful practically his whole life. He is always hyper and happy and healthy. Has never gotten sick. I don't know what all of you are complaining about but my dog loves it. We have tried giving him other food but he just doesn't accept it.....

  • by

    kc1111

    Wed Dec 17 2008

    My dog has almost died by eating this food, not because of the apparent crappy content after I have read these reviews, but due to the stupid little "Luckey Charm" shapes of the kibbles. One of the pieces is almost shaped like a number 1. It's almost like a barbed fish hook. It lodged in my dogs throat. 2 days of vomiting and thousands of dollars later, my emergency room vet confirmed the foriegn piece lodged in her throat to be a kibble. My dogs are my children and I give them the best that I possibly can. I feel terrible that I allowed my dog to eat such a dangerous product.

  • by

    theasnyu

    Tue Dec 09 2008

    I wish I had done more research before I bought this food for my dog. I had been feeding her Pedigree but she started having an allergic reaction to the food so I switched to the Beneful. Her allergies cleared up so I was happy. About a month after I started feeding her Beneful she started acting lethargic and stopped eating altogether. I thought she just had the flu until the symptoms persisted for three days. Needless to say, I took her to an emergency vet because it was a Sunday and my normal vet couldn't be reached. Then I got the news. Her BUN levels had reached 117 mg/dl. In case you don't know what that is, it means her kidneys had shut down. She was seven. Now I know Beneful wasn't completely to blame for this incident, she probably had bad kidneys before, but their food couldn't have made it better. I blame myself for her death and I've been distraught ever since. I just want every dog owner who is even thinking about Beneful to reconsider. I'm mad at Purina for allowing th... Read more

  • by

    adarondax

    Wed Oct 29 2008

    I bought an 8 lb. bag of Purina Beneful Healthy Radiance dog food. The TV commercials got my attention by pointing out that Beneful contains healthy ingredients, like vegetables, which are lacking in other dog foods. I chose the Radiance formula because it contains salmon, which is healthy for many reasons. My dog, a 12 year old male Brittany loved it. Ultimately I stopped giving it to him. It looked like I had poured him a bowl of M&M;'s. It struck me as odd that Beneful would contain added color (Yellow 5, Red 40, Yellow 6, Blue 2 ) because dogs are color-blind. Consuming artificial color increases the likelihood of hyperactivity in children. I looked carefully at the ingredients. They were hard to read in the store as they were printed on the side of the bag that is creased and folded at the top. I had to open the bag to get a good look at the nutrition information. As I said, I chose the Radiance formula because it contained salmon. However salmon is a minor ingredien... Read more

  • by

    stephann24

    Sun Oct 26 2008

    I HAVE NEVER FED MY DOGS THIS FOOD AND NEVER WILL. AND THE PEOPLE THAT DO FEED THIS FOOD TO THEIR DOGS ARE CRAZY! READ THE LABEL. JUST BECAUSE IT HAS VEGETABLES ALL OVER THE BAG DOESNT MEAN ITS GOOD! I DIDNT KNOW DOGS RAN THROUGH CORN FIELDS TRYING TO EAT THE CORN! DOGS ARE CARNAVORES AND NEED MEAT IN THERE DIET, AND BENEFUL DOESNT HAVE ANY OF THIS IN THEIR FOOD. PLUS, THIS FOOD CONTAINS CORN AND WHEAT GLUTEN WHICH IS TERRIBLE FOR DOGS BECAUSE THEY CANT DIGEST IT. IF YOU LOVE YOUR PETS YOU WON'T FEED THEM THIS FOOD.

  • by

    yazatas

    Mon Oct 13 2008

    Very low quality food.  Why would anyone feed this garbage to their dog?

  • by

    jocko760

    Fri Oct 10 2008

    hey i tried e mailing you before about my dog. my bf and i were giving here beneful aswell and she had the same problem your dog was contact me back so i can tell you what happen and how changing her food really made a difference im glad i read ur blog it really help us figure out what was wrong thanks again Jessica and Ryan

  • by

    calypsosmama

    Sun Sep 28 2008

    I had to buy this food for my GSD b/c he didn't like the other brands I tried and b/c of budget reasons. HUGE MISTAKE!! He got fat and itchy. The kibble smells terrible and I'm GLAD it's gone!! I'll never be this dumb again!! Granted, he loves it, but my kids love Hamburger Helper and we don't feed that to them on a daily basis. Since I can't afford the good stuff right now, I'm going to research homemade recipes for him.

  • by

    nathansausaged_ogowner

    Fri Sep 26 2008

    I just bought beneful because our two little sausage dogs were happier eating their poop than eating the "excellent quality" foods we were serving them. I guess these foods were so bad tasting and high in protien that crap tastes better and is still plenty nutritious. Didn't make their puppy-kisses much fun though (their breath constantly reeks of poop), not to mention finding half-eaten poop niblets all over the place! I am mixing some of the obviously yummy Beneful with some of the "good" food and that mix seems to work well. They're happy to eat food instead of crap (and even though they selectively eat a few bits they soon begin to devour all. Their breath smells tolerable and I'm not having to brush sh@t out of their teeth all day!

  • by

    aleashac

    Tue Sep 16 2008

    Zero meat content, loq quality ingredients throughout, fat of unidetifiable origin, artifial colorant

  • by

    beardog

    Mon Sep 15 2008

    My dog is getting sick off of beneful dry dog food. She has been on this food for a couple of years. I noticed that she seemed depressed, gaining a lot of weight and was developing a skin condition. I took her to the veterinarian and she was diagnosed as being hypothyroid. She was given medication and this seemed to have corrected the problem with her weight but not her skin condition. I still continued to attribute this skin condition with her hypothyroidism until just this past month when the store was out of Beneful, I ended up buying a different brand of food. She was as spry and spunky as she has ever been since she was a puppy. Finally I thought, she is feeling better. Her hair on her chest and belly started growing back and she didn't have this horrible smell that she has had. After she finished this bag of dog food, I went back to Beneful as I figured she was use to this. In the past week, my dog is deteriorating. She is lethargic, the skin condition is back and she h... Read more