Beneful Problems

The price you gave for Canidae is quite low.  I pay 30ish for a 40 lb bag.  30 and change per bag.
 
I think a lot of folks look at the prices on the better foods and go into sticker shock.  I know that I did when I first switched.  Had it not been for the education I'd gotten HERE I wouldn't have known I needed to feed less therefore it was actually more cost effective to give them a better food.  JQP doesn't "get" that.

Yeah, that was my point.  The average person who doesn't know any better isn't thinking "Hmm....well I'm sure that since the more expensive food has more kcals per cup I'll be feeding less anyways."  You can't blame them for not knowing...

ORIGINAL: papillon806

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.

 
My point was, if someone can afford a 30,40 $50,000 car, they can afford a couple extra bucks a month for better food for their dog.  And if they are in a bad financial position and they are spending all their money on luxury vehicles, that tells you a lot about them in more ways than how they care for their dog!
 

  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.  

 
I agree completely.  I seriously wonder how many people would want to eat a diet of grain fractions, "mystery" meats and chemical preservatives for every meal themselves.
 
I think also part if it comes from the fact that many people think of dogs as scavengers and assume that optimal nutrition doesn't apply to dogs, and so many people feed brand x or y it must be fine.

My point was, if someone can afford a 30,40 $50,000 car, they can afford a couple extra bucks a month for better food for their dog. And if they are in a bad financial position and they are spending all their money on luxury vehicles, that tells you a lot about them in more ways than how they care for their dog!

 
IMO that's a very unfair assumption.  Many people don't know any better.  I didn't know better until I had some free time on vacation from 100/week job and was surfing the web.  Hell, my cat's been on science diet for years and I look back and wish I he'd been on something different.  I know lots of loving, wonderful people who could feed their dog gold if they wanted to and feed iams or whatever is readily available.  You also need to realize that although we all think these expensive foods are "better" for our pets, me included. but there is NO good studies comparing the two (just anecdotal evidence which is a low level of evidence in the research world), some people don't agree with the reasoning that "higher quality" ingredients mean better food.  I know a lot of very educated, wonderful people who just don't agree with that reasoning and refuse to "waste" money.  That doesn't make them bad people, that doesn't make them bad pet parents, that definately doesn't mean that they treat their pets any worse then you do.  You know what they say about people who make assumptions.....

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.

Boy, you got THAT right!  I know several people that drive expensive cars,,,that don't have much more than that car.  A couple of them lease the car for a price they couldnt' afford to buy a cheap one.
But Glenda is right,,, there are very few of us on these message boards compared to the millions of pet owners out there.... the majority of the pet owners feed what they think is good, and yes, they think "good" is what is advertised.  Even if companies like Purina didn't advertise as much as they did....it wouldn't help the small companies out that much because they don't advertise at all. 

 

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.

This is really not true at all. I eat at McDonalds a lot...or my favorite,,,,Taco Bell.  I eat lunches there.   But I cook good square meals a day,,,always did. My kids always had a home cooked meal at supper time, most of the time we do now also, but enjoy the McDonalds junk food. 
Most people DON'T KNOW  what is good pet food or bad,,,but most have healthy dogs in spite of what we think is bad food.   I believe that, I see it every day at work.     
 
Also wanted to say, that in my neck of the woods..Canidea is very expensive...I haven't priced it for some time,,, but we used to feel Ollie Canidea..but he refused it after about 2 bags of it, so we switched him to Eagle Pack.

Some people feed the "lesser" brands because their dogs do better on them.  I could afford the premium, but my dogs do great on their Purina One.   Oh, I forgot, I have only owned a a couple of dozen dogs over the past 50 years, plus been around my dad's hunting dogs, so there is no way i can know  that my dogs have clean ears, beautiful coats, lots of energy,  And my vet only went to animal medical school for several years, not nutirtional school, so there is no way he can tell my dogs are healthy. 
 
i have often wondered about the statments that my/others dogs  can't be healthy no matter what my/others vet  says because I/others  feed them purina (or Iams, Euk, etc), and that vets (most) know zilch about nutirtion, why do you take your dog to a vet?  If you can't trust that when your vet says your dog is healthy it IS healthy, knows nothing of nutrition, pushes SD because he gets a kickback, how can you possibily trust him/her to make a correct diagnosis? But then of course, dogs fed top of the line food NEVER need to see a vet because they are never ill, never have any problems, they just keel over dead when they reach twice their life expectancy and sudden realize they better die of old age.  These dogs are not like Buck who in his 12 years (as of Thursday)  has  had the lesser food diseases of thyroid (even tho many, many goldesn despite type of food have it) and he has had one kidney infection and that was at age 11 1/2.  And he does have "lesser food brought"  on arthritis, even tho i understand any dog can get it at any time, many well fed dogs much younger than Buck.  My poor disease ridden golden retriever all because he has been on purina all his life.

ORIGINAL: ottoluv

My point was, if someone can afford a 30,40 $50,000 car, they can afford a couple extra bucks a month for better food for their dog. And if they are in a bad financial position and they are spending all their money on luxury vehicles, that tells you a lot about them in more ways than how they care for their dog!

IMO that's a very unfair assumption.  Many people don't know any better.  I didn't know better until I had some free time on vacation from 100/week job and was surfing the web.  Hell, my cat's been on science diet for years and I look back and wish I he'd been on something different.  I know lots of loving, wonderful people who could feed their dog gold if they wanted to and feed iams or whatever is readily available.  You also need to realize that although we all think these expensive foods are "better" for our pets, me included. but there is NO good studies comparing the two (just anecdotal evidence which is a low level of evidence in the research world), some people don't agree with the reasoning that "higher quality" ingredients mean better food.  I know a lot of very educated, wonderful people who just don't agree with that reasoning and refuse to "waste" money.  That doesn't make them bad people, that doesn't make them bad pet parents, that definately doesn't mean that they treat their pets any worse then you do.  You know what they say about people who make assumptions.....

 
 My original point was (and apparently I'm not doing a good job of getting it across!)  to point out that most of the people buying Beneful aren't doing so because it's all they can afford.  There are just as many wealthy people out there buying cheap dog food as people without financial means, and for whatever reason they may be buying it, whether it is because they don't know any better, don't care etc....  Besides, there is no doubt in my mind that the people I saw in the supermarket parking lot loading the bag of Fit 'N Trim in their vehicle had money - besides the fancy car they live in a one of the most affluent neighborhoods on the east coast and were wearing expensive looking clothes.  I mean, I suppose there is the off chance that they are just really good at fooling everybody, but I think I'll stick with my "assumption" thank you very much. [&:]

Besides, there is no doubt in my mind that the people I saw in the supermarket parking lot loading the bag of Fit 'N Trim in their vehicle had money - besides the fancy car they live in a one of the most affluent neighborhoods on the east coast and were wearing expensive looking clothes.  I mean, I suppose there is the off chance that they are just really good at fooling everybody, but I think I'll stick with my "assumption" thank you very much

 
Lets face it,,, some of these people are buying the best in that store,,, if they don't even know there is what we call "premium dog food" in other stores,,,why would they not just buy what they think is the best in the store that they shop?  Not everyone in the world spends half of their life on dog forums talking about dog food...such as us  (yes,,me included!)    And lets face it... there are a lot of people like me, who are even on these dog forums because of our dogs health,,,or lack of it. Such as Ollie,,,had he not had allergies,,,I probably would not have ventured on to Idog....and who knows what Ollie or Bubblegum would be eating.  Bubblegum came to me on Diamond...her breeder made me sign a paper saying that I had to keep her on it or I could not have her...most of you guys would probably barf before feeding your dog Diamond..but she (breeder) has nothing but good luck on it.  And I honestly don't think for a second that Ollie had his allergy problems because of the food he was on (either Iams, or Euk)  because when we switched him, he did not get better. He had to have allergy shots and he now doesn't get chemicals in his body anymore, and I believe that is what keeps him healthy.  He does eat Eagle Pack but not the holistic...something else which would make many of you barf!
But many of those people in the grocery stores are buying what they consider the best food for their dog. And their dogs may very well be just as healthy as ours. Who are we to judge?

I'm not really sure I want to go thru all five pages of this thread....so can someone fill me in?

Were there bags of Beneful dols that were moldy, and poisened the dogs who ate it? Or is it just beceause it's crappy food?

It's not only price, it's convenience and palatability, and the owners are probably happy with the results that they get so they don't feel a need to change. After all most people have the attitude that it is only dog food, and don't give it a second thought.

ORIGINAL: Dulce Pit Bull

I'm not really sure I want to go thru all five pages of this thread....so can someone fill me in?

Were there bags of Beneful dols that were moldy, and poisened the dogs who ate it? Or is it just beceause it's crappy food?

Apparently both....

ORIGINAL: Bobsk8

ORIGINAL: Dulce Pit Bull

I'm not really sure I want to go thru all five pages of this thread....so can someone fill me in?

Were there bags of Beneful dols that were moldy, and poisened the dogs who ate it? Or is it just beceause it's crappy food?

Possibly both

Isn't it stupid that someone would feed their dog food that they see mold on????

Yeah, SERIOUSLY Dyan. What are people thinking?

I won't even LOOK at dog food at the grocery store, or at Target...

I just don't get it, and I feel so bad for the people who are just uninformed