Beneful Problems

ORIGINAL: abbysdad

The simple fact is the vast majority of dog owners want cheap, convenient, palatable dog food, that is why Ole Roy is the number one selling dog food in America. Purina doesn't see Timberwolf Organics as it's primary competitor, it sees Ole Roy and IAMs, and generic grocery store foods as it's main competitors, since these types of foods make up probably more than 90 percent of the market.

And tons of people eat McDonalds and Burger King every day for lunch even though it is terrible for you...

ORIGINAL: jenns

ORIGINAL: chelsea_b

I said before that obviously cheap foods are necessary, but that doesn't mean I have to or ever will agree with anyone's choice to feed them.

And  most of the time it's not even about what one can afford.  Today in the supermarket parking lot I saw a thirty-something year old couple loading a bag of Purina Fit and Trim into the back of their BMW SUV.

I wouldn't have a problem with a food that had cheaper ingredients that was marketed as the cheaper alternative for those that can't afford more.  But when it's marketed as being the healthiest thing your dog can eat, like Beneful, I have a problem.  Beneful is an examle of the most deceptive advertising I think I've seen in the pet food world.

I saw almost the same exact thing at Petco this week.  I was putting a bag of Natural Balance in my Toyota Matrix ( and I am retired on SS) and this lady is loading a large bag of Beneful into her Cadillac Escalade......[8|]

Folks, face it, WE are fanatics when it comes to what we feed our dogs, and we make a point of educating ourselves about nutrition, at least for our dogs.  Mine eat just a tad bit healthier than I do....but I suspect that some of our dogs have a far better diet than us humans do.
 
How can we expect John/Jane Q Public, who dine on Mickey D's or BK every day to be more concerned about what they feed their dogs than what they put in their own bodies?

And tons of people eat McDonalds and Burger King every day for lunch even though it is terrible for you...

 
If tons of people did not want cheap tasty and convenient foods, then McDonalds would be out of business, you can't blame McDonalds or Purina, because people want cheap easy convenient food, if Mcdonalds just sold broiled Salmon and Broccoli for $12 a plate, they would go out of business pretty quick, as would Purina if they just sold, an all natural all organic product for $60 a bag, and even if both these companies did completely change there products, there would be other companies ready to swoop in to replace them, it is not the company that drives the market, it is the demand for the product that drives it and as long as most people want cheap, easy, and convenient foods there are going to be companies that provide that.

I wanted to resist, but I have to say it.  Just because somebody has an expensive car, doesn't mean they are rolling in money.  There are tons of people who will spend soooo much  money on a car, but can't afford to do anything else.  I don't think we can judge somebody's financial situation on the vehicle they drive....geez.

yeah, but how many people eat NOTHING but McDonalds food? Most people realize McDonalds isn't a healthy diet.
 Those poor dogs whose owners get sucked in by the Beneful ads eat NOTHING but that stuff every day, day in, day out. and the owners think they are doing their best for their dogs.

ORIGINAL: mudpuppy

yeah, but how many people eat NOTHING but McDonalds food? Most people realize McDonalds isn't a healthy diet.
Those poor dogs whose owners get sucked in by the Beneful ads eat NOTHING but that stuff every day, day in, day out. and the owners think they are doing their best for their dogs.

I might eat McDonalds once a semester or so... but that doesn't make my diet healthy either. The people who eat McDonalds on a regular basis seldom eat well at home. If you're eating a healthy diet, you can't eat McDonalds because it does horrible things to your system... at least it does to me. When I'm eating moderately healthy, fast food makes me nauseous, and when I eat it anyway, I regret it later.

Even on Hills I still think my dogs ate better than I did. At least the overall food profile was complete... I'm surprised I haven't come down with a vitamin deficiency or something in college.

ORIGINAL: sandra_slayton

If i'm to be totally and utterly honest,i say there is NO excuse to feed low or mid grade food. If a person cant afford the $40 odd bucks it costs for a bag of food per month then what are they doing owning expensive to keep animals like dogs? There is especially no excuse when the bad ingredients in some foods have been shown to cause harm and the person still carries on feeding it,or there is no excuse if a person can afford to feed a good food,but is too cheap to do so.Or even worse the person who is too stubborn to try another food,who couldnt possibly know if their dogs would do better on better food because they've never tried

And if you should not own a dog if you can not feed it premium food, what would be next?  Where would it all stop?

If you are not blue eyed and blonde, you should be exterminated.  If you are a jew by birth or choice, you should be extermianted.  And if you have to take up space and use a ramp (which forces businesses to build wheel chair  ramps, bathrooms to accomadate wheel chairs, etc, then you should stay in your place at home.  If you have to use a seeing eye dog or service dog of any kind, you need to keep away from places where someone might be allergic to dogs...stay home.  If you have a Downs child or a palsy child, etc, you should not take it out in public because people don't want to see children who remind of them of illness that could happen in their family  If you have a badly scarred husband, wife, or child due to accident or fire, keep them h idden at home because people do not want to see these things  If you can't afford designer clothes for children, don't have them.  After all they can be tramatized by other childen who dress in the best name clothes.  If you have to feed you children beans and cornbread a couple of nights a week and ground beef the rest of the nights--no rib eye steaks, no top sirloin, no lobster--then you should not have children,.  Just where would it stop?   I think it rather Nazi like of you to claim people that can't feed their dogs THE WAY  YOU FEED YOURS should not own dogs.....your way or not at all.

Seems like you are going over the top a bit to me.... No need to get upset, it's just a discussion.... geez.....

When people start saying folks shouldn't have a dog if they can't feed it "top of the line food", then what is next?  They shouldn't have children if they can't feed them the lobster and new york steaks?  They shouldn't have children if they can't dress them in designer clothes....  it is all the same.  The best clothes, the best food, the best religion, the healthiest, or not at all.  That was my point--rather nazi thinking in my book.

I'm the same with fast foods.  My point, mudpuppy was not that these folks eat crap every single day, but those who DO eat it on a regular basis don't THINK a lot about nutrition for themselves, so aren't real likely to think about really good nutrition for their dogs either.
 
I'm betting not many people on this forum started knowing a heck of a lot about canine nutrition....and we are different in that we are so nuttily devoted to our dogs that we do a lot of things that leave other dog owners scratching their heads.

ORIGINAL: mudpuppy

yeah, but how many people eat NOTHING but McDonalds food? Most people realize McDonalds isn't a healthy diet.
Those poor dogs whose owners get sucked in by the Beneful ads eat NOTHING but that stuff every day, day in, day out. and the owners think they are doing their best for their dogs.

I have talked to quite a few people that have switched from one of these dog "junk food" brands to something good.  The difference in cost per day for the average dog  is not that much. Most will tell you that their dogs coats, energy level, and digestion are markedly improved from the dog junk food diets the dog was previously on.  ..Here is a study on one of the sites comparing the junk dog food full of bad ingredients to something much better.  Now right off the bat, the pro junk food folks will probably start ridiculing the spread sheet, but if they would do the homework and do an actual per pound cost difference, they would find that it is pretty accurate, so I have included some price comparisons that can easily be verified on the internet.


[linkhttp://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=costfactors]http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=costfactors[/link]


Here is an example on Shop.com

Purina Dog Chow ( the worst of the worst) 31 lb bag  $22.79  It has ingredients in it bad enough to stop a clock.[]


Canidae Chicken and Rice Kibble...........33 lb bag  $23.99

Now is anyone in their right mind going to tell me that the Purina is better than the Canidae, or that they can't afford to buy the Canidae because it is too expensive?  
I think it is a matter of spending the time and energy to research this issue for the sake of your pets health.  It doesn't help, as far as I am concerned, when people try and defend the junk dog food and throw things out like the cost of the better food  ( which is bunk) as an obstacle for feeding your dog a decent food every day.

Prior to retiring, I used to see parents bringing their very young kids into a Dunkin Donuts near where I worked , for breakfast, when I would get my morning coffee.  A donut and a coke, is what many of these kids would be fed for breakfast , a( aka "sugar and greese" )a nd I would see the same people day after day.  I used to think that if I went over to one of these families and tried to explain how bad this crud was that they would start telling me that  I had no business commenting on what their kids ate, and that their kids were doing fine with it because they hadn't gotten sick yet.   I feel the same about the people in these discussion that try to defend the garbage foods, with the same excuses that don't really make any sense.  If you want to do the research and feed your dog something that is good for it to eat, there are plenty of foods to select from that are affordable. If you want to continue feeding your dog food that I bet you wouldn't want for yourself if you were a dog, you can do that too.  It's just a shame that the dog has no choice in asking for the more healthy diet.  

ORIGINAL: Bobsk8

ORIGINAL: mudpuppy

yeah, but how many people eat NOTHING but McDonalds food? Most people realize McDonalds isn't a healthy diet.
Those poor dogs whose owners get sucked in by the Beneful ads eat NOTHING but that stuff every day, day in, day out. and the owners think they are doing their best for their dogs.

I have talked to quite a few people that have switched from one of these dog "junk food" brands to something good.  The difference in cost per day for the average dog  is not that much. Most will tell you that their dogs coats, energy level, and digestion are markedly improved from the dog junk food diets the dog was previously on.  ..Here is a study on one of the sites comparing the junk dog food full of bad ingredients to something much better.  Now right off the bat, the pro junk food folks will probably start ridiculing the spread sheet, but if they would do the homework and do an actual per pound cost difference, they would find that it is pretty accurate, so I have included some price comparisons that can easily be verified on the internet.


[linkhttp://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=costfactors]http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=costfactors[/link]


Here is an example on Shop.com

Purina Dog Chow ( the worst of the worst) 31 lb bag  $22.79  It has ingredients in it bad enough to stop a clock.[]


Canidae Chicken and Rice Kibble...........33 lb bag  $23.99

Now is anyone in their right mind going to tell me that the Purina is better than the Canidae, or that they can't afford to buy the Canidae because it is too expensive?  
I think it is a matter of spending the time and energy to research this issue for the sake of your pets health.  It doesn't help, as far as I am concerned, when people try and defend the junk dog food and throw things out like the cost of the better food  ( which is bunk) as an obstacle for feeding your dog a decent food every day.

Prior to retiring, I used to see parents bringing their very young kids into a Dunkin Donuts near where I worked , for breakfast, when I would get my morning coffee.  A donut and a coke, is what many of these kids would be fed for breakfast , a( aka "sugar and greese" )a nd I would see the same people day after day.  I used to think that if I went over to one of these families and tried to explain how bad this crud was that they would start telling me that  I had no business commenting on what their kids ate, and that their kids were doing fine with it because they hadn't gotten sick yet.   I feel the same about the people in these discussion that try to defend the garbage foods, with the same excuses that don't really make any sense.  If you want to do the research and feed your dog something that is good for it to eat, there are plenty of foods to select from that are affordable. If you want to continue feeding your dog food that I bet you wouldn't want for yourself if you were a dog, you can do that too.  It's just a shame that the dog has no choice in asking for the more healthy diet.  

Ummm....I have no idea where you are looking, but here a 40lb bag of Purina Dog Chow is $19.99 at the grocery store (Harris Teeter to be exact)......

ORIGINAL: papillon806

ORIGINAL: Bobsk8

ORIGINAL: mudpuppy

yeah, but how many people eat NOTHING but McDonalds food? Most people realize McDonalds isn't a healthy diet.
Those poor dogs whose owners get sucked in by the Beneful ads eat NOTHING but that stuff every day, day in, day out. and the owners think they are doing their best for their dogs.

I have talked to quite a few people that have switched from one of these dog "junk food" brands to something good.  The difference in cost per day for the average dog  is not that much. Most will tell you that their dogs coats, energy level, and digestion are markedly improved from the dog junk food diets the dog was previously on.  ..Here is a study on one of the sites comparing the junk dog food full of bad ingredients to something much better.  Now right off the bat, the pro junk food folks will probably start ridiculing the spread sheet, but if they would do the homework and do an actual per pound cost difference, they would find that it is pretty accurate, so I have included some price comparisons that can easily be verified on the internet.


[linkhttp://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=costfactors]http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=costfactors[/link]


Here is an example on Shop.com

Purina Dog Chow ( the worst of the worst) 31 lb bag  $22.79  It has ingredients in it bad enough to stop a clock.[]


Canidae Chicken and Rice Kibble...........33 lb bag  $23.99

Now is anyone in their right mind going to tell me that the Purina is better than the Canidae, or that they can't afford to buy the Canidae because it is too expensive?  
I think it is a matter of spending the time and energy to research this issue for the sake of your pets health.  It doesn't help, as far as I am concerned, when people try and defend the junk dog food and throw things out like the cost of the better food  ( which is bunk) as an obstacle for feeding your dog a decent food every day.

Prior to retiring, I used to see parents bringing their very young kids into a Dunkin Donuts near where I worked , for breakfast, when I would get my morning coffee.  A donut and a coke, is what many of these kids would be fed for breakfast , a( aka "sugar and greese" )a nd I would see the same people day after day.  I used to think that if I went over to one of these families and tried to explain how bad this crud was that they would start telling me that  I had no business commenting on what their kids ate, and that their kids were doing fine with it because they hadn't gotten sick yet.   I feel the same about the people in these discussion that try to defend the garbage foods, with the same excuses that don't really make any sense.  If you want to do the research and feed your dog something that is good for it to eat, there are plenty of foods to select from that are affordable. If you want to continue feeding your dog food that I bet you wouldn't want for yourself if you were a dog, you can do that too.  It's just a shame that the dog has no choice in asking for the more healthy diet.  

Ummm....I have no idea where you are looking, but here a 40lb bag of Purina Dog Chow is $19.99 at the grocery store (Harris Teeter to be exact)......

I stated where I was looking, pretty clearly I thought.. "shop.com"

But let's use your price for the Purina.....


50cents a pound for junk  (Dog Chow)
70 cents a pound for something really good  ( Canidae) . 

If you fed your dog 10 pounds a week, that would be a whopping   $2 a week more.....

Is your dog's health worth that much?  Mine is...

I agree Bobsk8, but the Canidae shouldn't even be more expensive since you have to feed less of it. The thing is, the average pet owner doesn't do ANY research on dog food. They don't realize that the food they're feeding is probably not healthy or that there are better foods in the same price range. [8|]

ORIGINAL: Luvntzus

I agree Bobsk8, but the Canidae shouldn't even be more expensive since you have to feed less of it. The thing is, the average pet owner doesn't do ANY research on dog food. They don't realize that the food they're feeding is probably not healthy or that there are better foods in the same price range. [8|]

You are right, and it bothers me when I see people loading up their shopping carts with the cheapest food they can find at stores like Petsmart and Petco,  and wheeling the cart out to their $30,000 car.  It makes you want to say something to them, but you really can't.