Beneful vs Nutro

[chris]

K, just wondering your guys opinoins. Ran out of dog food last night and the nearest place to get Nutro is 20 mins away. popped in at Jewel and picked up a bag of Beneful until I can get to the pet store. The pups seem to L O V E it. Few things to think about are...
1. Beneful is less expensive
2. dogs like it
3. easier to get
BUT.... is it just as good for my babies?

[KathrynH]

I have tried both, and I wasn't happy with the Beneful at all. Their stools were loose and soft and WAY bigger than with the Nutro. I've been very happy with the Nutro comparatively. When Annie was with us I saw a major difference in her coat and health when we put her on Nutro.

[Jeff&Peks]

I can't even believe your asking that question but then again marriage does distort ones mind. The dogs may lke Beneful but did you ask Steal the Chow what he thinks.

Cooking,baking,Cleaning the oven and now thinking about changing food, What has happened.

[CoraP.]

I'm sorry to say that I have read that Beneful is a very poor quality food.

[chris]

Steel finnished his bowl before anyone else. And he is a picky eater. Ok ok... I'll stick the the Nutro. LOL... sheesh. I only would have switched to the beneful if it was eaqual or beter for them as Nutro.

Jeff, you crack me up.

[chris]

no no.. point taken. I just bought a small bag, they got 1 bowl. If I were going to switch I would do the gradual change over. I just asked everyones opinoin. Had to get something for them to eat last night. Hubby just brought home nutro. I wouldn't just switch "cold turkey". come on now...

[chris]

and I just said... I would Only change over if the beneful was as good if not better than Nutro... but it seems it isn't so Im not switching. so SIT DOWN Johnathan...

[Layla]

I think we've all had those days when we run out of food & just get anything we can to feed our dogs. No need to get mean about it

I'm not suprised they love Beneful Chris... Millie's all time favourite food is Iams.... or puppy crack as my vet calls it Shame it's so bad for her

[kingalls]

for any food - it's important to not have all those fillers which alot of the lower quality foods have - it's really bad. It's like giving candy to a kid - it's not good for them but they will gobble it down because it tastes good. Most of your grocery store and convenience store brands are low quality foods. I'm not an expert but if you have to give it in a pinch until you can get the better brand, it shouldn't hurt short term (and I mean really short term). I'm guilty of getting a can of Pedigree when I discovered I had run out after the pet store hours.

jonathanfsu1 - being a moderator doesn't equate to being an all-knowing Chow Chow expert - we are here to moderate what people are posting and try to keep the posts civil...

[summer_rose03]

Nutro! - Better ingredients, no dyes, less corn/fillers/etc. With Nutro they will eat less and poo less because they are keeping more of the nutrients.

Beneful= lots of dyes, fillers, corn, etc.. Lots of poo, need to eat more


(I work at PetSmart and based on what I have learned about dog foods, Beneful is bad, Nutro is good). I personally feed my dogs Blue Buffalo and the cats eat Authority (PetSmart brand). For the price, Authority is a good food.

[Red Dragon]

no no.. point taken. I just bought a small bag, they got 1 bowl. If I were going to switch I would do the gradual change over. I just asked everyones opinoin. Had to get something for them to eat last night. Hubby just brought home nutro. I wouldn't just switch "cold turkey". come on now...

Uhhh....you just did switch cold turkey. When you change foods you should start out by adding a small amount of the new food with the old food, then gradually increasing the new food amount each day. Did you have a blonde moment? Usually if a food is going to be a problem, you will see it the first day, in the form of runny poo all over everything. Or gas that will run you out of the house. Given the option of those two foods, I think I would have to choose Nutro.

[Jeff&Peks]

She used the Beneful because she ran out of Nutro like we all have at one time or another she didn't have time or had the food to mix and match. I ran out one time when we went camping and had no choice but to buy Iams, Luckily the squirrels cleaned out 2 ten lb bags before Pekoe could get to much of it. All she did was ask if its any good she didn't recommend it or say she was going to feed it, she tried it, she ask, she got an answer so she's not feeding it. Not the national catastrophe its being turned into.

[Auddymay]

I couldn't get my usual brand for 2 months running this past summer. Wolf King was more expensive, but I got a bag...longest 2 month of my life. Accidents. Ugh. The second kind I got was in a foil bag, also pricey, and had moon and stars on it. The name eludes me. They did much better on that one, and when Nature's Recipe Venison and Rice was back on the shelf, I nearly bowed before it.

Moderators are like anyone else. We don't claim omnipotence in the Chow Chow arena. I am of a different mind than Karen when it comes to rude comments such as we saw. If a person cannot see how rude their comment was to begin with, they will likely not have the courtesy to remove it. I was appalled, I removed it.

[Layla]

The second kind I got was in a foil bag, also pricey, and had moon and stars on it. The name eludes me. They did much better on that one.

Maybe 'barking at the moon'

I am of a different mind than Karen when it comes to rude comments such as we saw. If a person cannot see how rude their comment was to begin with, they will likely not have the courtesy to remove it. I was appalled, I removed it.

[chris]

Battery operated comment? I must have missed that or I would have removed it myself. Thanks Aud... Thanks Jeff

[leisa75]

I feed all 3 of mine Nutro Lamb and Rice kibbles, and they also get one spoon of Nutro lamb and rice soft food !! They do awesome on thsi food !!! All of the chows I own have eaten it !! I did switch once to the Orijen ...that was a mistake theere coats were terrible and there skin ect. I got them off that and now everything is back to normal !!

[Red Dragon]

Glad I didn't blow any money on that Origen food, I had serious doubts about it.

[leisa75]

there coats were terrible !!!! Garbage food in my books !!!! I want the best for my dogs and that certanly was not it!!!!

[Red Dragon]

Just another food that the Dog Food Analysis page is wrong about, that site should be shut down!

[Auddymay]

I find it a big mystery at times. They did okay on Nutro, no physical problems, but I could tell they didn't care for it, flavor wise. Pip was on grocery store brand before Lily. When Lily was on Nature's Recipe puppy blend, I got NR L&R for Pip. They refused to eat Nature's Recipe L&R and when they did eat it, Pip had gastro rumblings and worse (they have always ate from each other's dish when Lily had puppy blend)...Lily loved hers, and I thought Pip would like NR too. She ate the puppy blend, no problem. I went right to Nutro until a year ago. The Farmer Stand blend of Nature's Recipe caught my eye, so I tried a bag, and they liked it, except for the dehydrated carrots, which I found all over the house...lol. No problems like NR L&R. I then saw the Venison and Rice blend of Nature's Recipe, and they really like it. When we had the shortage it was bad. I find it curious some do well, and mine act like it's poison. Oh, and I did try Nature's Recipe L&R again several months later, in case it was a bad bag...I returned it.

[Michael's Maggie May]

I was turned off of Nutros when I learned some of it had the Chinese melamine in it, in fact Nutros removed their food from the shelves until they remanufactured it. Beneful has too much food coloring in it, you can tell each nugget is a different color.I am now using Blackwood, they have 3 or 4 different flavors. I'm using 3000 which is lamb formula. Breeder recommended it and she loves it with a spoonful of wet to make her drool.

[Jeff&Peks]

Nutro was a volenter pull just like the other 99% of the other dog foods that volunterly pulled thier food becouse no one knew what was going on, there wasn't any malmine in Nutro at that time or ever. they did have a problem with one of the brands of wet food but i wouldn't feed any kind of wet food no matter what the brand. Pekoe has been eating Nutro for 13 years with out any problems but then again I do buy the special magical California blend, I don't know what kind of nutro you mid west people are buying with all the problems you have with all dog foods.

[Mia]

I have struggled with the "what's the best food" for two years now. No, not stuggled - agonized. But, I have to tell you, I found something FABULOUS this evening at Petco.

It's called Spot's Stew by Halo. I found the wet food (can) which has:

listen to this: lamb, chicken broth, carrots, gre4en beans, beef liver, yellow squash, zucchini, celery, green peas, mustard greens, dicalcium phosphate, dried kelp, barley flour, otas, barley, flax seed meal. calcium citrate, pumpkin, sweet potato and ascorbic acid.

Doesn't this sound great?

I didn't have a chance to look at the dry food, but I can't wait to check it out. I don't usually feed wet food, but, it's my Valentine's Day special for my chowlings.

Has anyone tried this?

[Jeff&Peks]

I wouldn't feed wet dog food (any brand) to my mother in-law but thats my opinion.

[Mia]

I am just using a spoonful for topping on the regular Solid Gold Hund-n-Flocken. But, didn't you think those ingrediants were great?