Worst Food

[turnerlvv]

So in your opinion what is the worst dog food on the market? Lol Why do you think that food is so bad?

[ClarkFarm]

The very worst dog food to me is anything that has corn as its first ingredient since corn is just a filler without any nutritional value.

[SmoothCollieluver]

Ol' Roy-need i say more

[ClarkFarm]

lol, 'Ol Roy makes excellent additive to turkey feed. Fattens em up in no time. My 3 turkeys are pets and safe (and not eating 'Ol Roy!) but I know a turkey breeder that butchers them and says he has used 'Ol Roy mixed in their feed for years, has won at the fair every year.

[turnerlvv]

Clarkfarm- Why do you think foods like Beneful main ingredient is corn (I think)? Lol maybe Ol' Roy should switch to turkey feed :D

[Rottweilerlvr]

Here's a list of dog food not recommended that was given to me where I get my dogs food at.

- Beneful(Nestle Purina Petcare)
- Cycle Adult Dog Food
- Dad's Bite Size Meal
- Diamond Orginal Formula
- Excel Lamb Meal and Rice Dog Food
- Gravy Train Dog Food
- Happy Tails complete Nutrition for Adult Dogs (made by Albertsons)
- HiPro Dog Food ( made by Purina)
- Iams Lamb Meal and Rice Formula
- Kibbles 'n Bits Homestyle Chicken and Vegetable Flavor
- Max Adult( made by Nutro)
- Maxximum Nutrition ( made by Walmart)
- Natural Choice Adult Lamb and Rice ( made by Nutro)
- Nature's Recipe " Breed Specific" Formulas
- Nutra Nuggets Adult Maintenance ( made by Nutra Nuggets Pet Foods)
- Ol' Roy ( made by Walmart)
- Pedigree
- Purina Dog Chow
- Purina One Total Nutrition Lamb and Rice Formula
- Science Diet Adult Original
- Science Diet's "Nature's Best with Real Beef Adult Dog Food"

* Learn something new everyday... I didn't know Walmart made Ol' Roy or Maxximum Nutrition...

[Patch O' Pits]

Clarkfarm- Why do you think foods like Beneful main ingredient is corn (I think)? Lol maybe Ol' Roy should switch to turkey feed :D

I know it wasn't directed at me but I'll answer. Corn is cheap and easy to get

Have you all see the whole dog Journals list of Top and worst foods??? That pretty much sums it up for me

[BelovedJuggernaut]

McDonalds....


Well, I am sure it is just horrid for dogs!

Anyway, this website (http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=main) is very informative, take a look!

I personally never buy brands like Purina/Science Diet/Pedigree/etc.., and I stick to using Nutro Ultra - it works for my current dogs so well!

I think the best and worst foods depends on the individual dog, but I do believe there are higher quality ingredients being used in some dog foods.

[Tori's mom]

Kibbles and bits!
INGREDIENTS: Corn, soybean meal, ground wheat flour, beef & bone meal, animal fat (BHA used as preservatives), corn syrup, wheat middlings, water sufficient for processing, animal digest (source of chicken flavor), propylene glycol, salt, hydrochloric acid, potassium chloride, caramel color, sorbic acid (used as a preservative), sodium carbonate, choline chloride, minerals (ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, manganous oxide, copper sulfate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), vitamins (vitamin E supplement, niacin supplement, vitamin A supplement, d-calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement), calcium sulfate, titanium dioxide, yellow 5, red 40, yellow 6, BHA (used as a preservative), dl-methionine.

lots of sugar, non human grade, fillers for the first 3 ingredients, nasty preservatives, artificial colors, sounds like a recipe for trouble to me.
And as my old vet said "its nothing but dog candy, and nasty dog candy at that!"

[DoggyMom]

I think it's funny how many people will say that Purina Beneful is the worst dog food. I've been feeding Lily the Beneful for close to 2 years now, and I have never had a problem. She eats it, a bowl in the morning and a bowl in the evening. I thought, after reading several posts on this forum about the food that it would be bad for her to continue on it, but we have yet to have any problems regarding the food. Lily is healthy, her weight is good, and her stomach problems no longer seem to exist.
I've gotten many replies before, saying that it like feeding my dog McDonald's by feeding her this food. Well, okay, that is your opinion, you are entitled to it :p

[turnerlvv]

So what ingredients make high or low quality food?

[ClarkFarm]

Clarkfarm- Why do you think foods like Beneful main ingredient is corn (I think)?

Corn is cheap.
It's not just Beneful. I think Science Diet's first ingredient is corn as well and that dog food is not only "endorsed" by vet offices nearly everywhere, but its price is quite high for what its quality actually is.

[d'tails]

I think it's funny how many people will say that Purina Beneful is the worst dog food. I've been feeding Lily the Beneful for close to 2 years now, and I have never had a problem. She eats it, a bowl in the morning and a bowl in the evening. I thought, after reading several posts on this forum about the food that it would be bad for her to continue on it, but we have yet to have any problems regarding the food. Lily is healthy, her weight is good, and her stomach problems no longer seem to exist.
I've gotten many replies before, saying that it like feeding my dog McDonald's by feeding her this food. Well, okay, that is your opinion, you are entitled to it :p
JMO... I feed my son McDonalds and he is fine. I would hate to think what he would be like if he ate that and only that for a lifetime. MAny dogs are doing fine on lower quality food, but what does it do to them over a lifetime???...again JMO

[DoggyMom]

Still, it's funny how Beneful is the only dog food I am seeing compared to McDonalds. Certainly other dog foods can be compared to McDonalds or Burger King as well? I certainly don't plan on keeping my dog on Beneful for the rest of her life. Although I still give Lily Beneful, I have switched her out (half and half) to a cooked version of the BARF raw diet, she gets chicken, turkey, beef, sometimes pork. She gets eggs, rice, and carrots too. All cooked.
Again, what exactly makes a low quality or "worst" dog food? Just because corn happens to be an ingredient makes it a low quality food? That's the thought that crosses my mind reading these posts.

[StarfishSaving]

YES, corn in any form in a dog food makes it low quality. ALL low quality- Ol' Roy, Kibbles 'n Bits, Dads, Pedigree, Gravy Train, etc etc- dog foods are like feeding your dog McDonald's, or like Tori's vet said, "nasty dog candy."

When choosing a pet food, you have to look at the ingredients, not just the pretty packaging. Here's what makes Beneful bad (ingredients listed in order on package):

Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour, beef tallow preserved with mixed-tocopherols (source of Vitamin E), rice flour, beef, soy flour, sugar, sorbitol, tricalcium phosphate, water, animal digest, salt, phosphoric acid, potassium chloride, dicalcium phosphate, sorbic acid (a preservative), L-Lysine monohydrochloride, dried peas, dried carrots, calcium carbonate, calcium propionate (a preservative), choline chloride, vitamin supplements (E, A, B-12, D-3), added color (Yellow 5, Red 40, Yellow 6, Blue 2), DL-Methionine, zinc sulfate, glyceryl monostearate, ferrous sulfate, niacin, manganese sulfate, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, biotin, thiamine mononitrate, garlic oil, copper sulfate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), calcium iodate, sodium selenite.
F-4090


Six of the top 8 Ingredients are fillers. And different ones, at that, a bizarre mixture of flours and other pulps. The corn is complete waste- that's why a dog fed a corn based food poops much more than if fed a better quality, single digestible filler based food. Your main source of protein is "chicken by-products", and by-products are one of the things you should always avoid. This can include any part of the animal and is often just the carcass remains of animals slaughtered for human consumption. Not very nutritional or rather, the nutrition is a wild card because you don't know what's in there. According to some people, by-products can even mean the garbage bags or grocery store containers that the meat is packaged in. Makes sense, it's technically a by-product! Let's see- it's got sugar AND salt, two ingredients your dog shouldn't have. Beef is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down on the list and you can be sure that what's going in there doesn't look like those pretty pieces of sirloin on the bag's picture.

Artificial coloring- some of it is unsafe for dogs and it's adding extra chemical components that just don't make sense- in fact, there are a lot of things like that in this food.

It's best to have meat protein in at least the first two of the top three ingredients (unless it's a limited ingredient diet that only has one filler source) but definitely the first spot Real chicken or chicken meal, not by products, and definitely nothing that just says "meat". Find a corn, wheat and soy free food for the best digestion.

You can feed whatever you like and your dog may be doing ok on it but if you just try a high quality of food for a while, I'm sure you'll see a difference in skin, coat, and waste, activity and overall health, too.

Here are some pages with some more opinions:
http://www.thelittlefoxes.net/html/pet_food.html
http://www.dogaware.com/dogfeeding.html
http://www.get-articles-free.info/Doggy-Dinner-Choosing-A-Quality-Dog-Food.html

[DiggityDogs]

You beat me to it starfish. There is a difference between doing 'fine' on a dog food and thriving. No one's bashing you for your choice of dog food- I don't think that there's any packaged dog food on the market that's going to poison your dog, and they would probably be able to sustain him alright, but you've got to decide what's best ultimately. Purina came up with a great marketing plan. I've looked at those bags and it cracks me up. Corn, wheat and soy, on top of being difficult for a carnivore's stomach to digest, are also leading causes of skin problems like dryness, itchiness, redness (especially noticeable on white dogs) and chronic ear infections. Your dog may not now and may not ever have any of these problems. I can just tell you my experience- my dog changed a lot when I put him on solid gold. For one, he ate better. I always had problems with him getting to eat a full meal. So he put on weight, his stools firmed up, he'd had chronic gas and soft stools and all of that went away, and his coat also took on a rich deep red color and became very shiny. For me, seeing his reaction to the food alone was enough to change my mind. He literally used to be afraid to eat because his stomach would almost instantly start churning and making noises you could hear across the room. That hasn't happened to him in a good three years now. I was feeding nutro before and will never go back. If you are comfortable with feeding beneful, that's great- but think about this- compare the ingredients to kibbles and bits and other ''mcdonalds'' dog foods, and then ask yourself why beneful is better than those. I think you'll find that other than the package and some dried peas and carrots, they're actually very similar.

[BelovedJuggernaut]

Still, it's funny how Beneful is the only dog food I am seeing compared to McDonalds. Certainly other dog foods can be compared to McDonalds or Burger King as well? Again, what exactly makes a low quality or "worst" dog food? Just because corn happens to be an ingredient makes it a low quality food? That's the thought that crosses my mind reading these posts.


I never compared beneful to McDonalds at all! I was saying "McDonalds" as a joke!

Also, the website I put up previously is a great tool to use when choosing dog food.

When I break down the dog food I use:
Chicken Meal, Whole Brown Rice, Ground Rice, Lamb Meal, Rice Bran, Sunflower Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Poultry Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Salmon Meal, Flaxseed, Natural Flavors, Oatmeal, Suncured Alfalfa Meal, Dried Plain Beet Pulp, Tomato Pomace, Cranberry Powder, Fish Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Potassium Chloride, Dried Egg Product, L-Lysine, Dried Kelp Meal, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, Choline Chloride, Taurine, Dried Bacillus licheniformis Fermentation Extract, Dried Bacillus subtilis Fermentation Extract, Zinc Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Biotin, L-Carnitine, Ascorbic Acid (source of Vitamin C), Manganese Proteinate, Manganous Oxide, Niacin, Garlic, Calcium Iodate, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement (source of Vitamin B2), Vitamin A Supplement, Copper Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of Vitamin B1), Copper Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Beta-Carotene, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of Vitamin K activity), Folic Acid.

Out of all the ingredients, the only one that I had concerns about were the poultry fat & Menadione Sodium Bisulfate. There is NO corn in this product.

Really, take a look at this list of ingredients to avoid in dog food (http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=badingredients)...

Beneful has 4 ingredients to avoid in the first 7 listed! Now, going through the entire product, the count is 16.

I think what people, including myself at first, misunderstand is that your dog may be doing fine on any dog food... but over a lifetime, what effects does it have on your dog? Like someone said earlier, it is like feeding your kid McDonalds all the time... once and a while, nothing wrong, all the time, HUGE long-term effects.

[SmoothCollieluver]

I feed my dog canidea. But my old girls did just fine on science diet before I knew any better. And my dh's aunt feeds hers old roy and they are both pretty healthy old dogs, fat but healthy. At the ages of 16 and 12 their blood work looks great. So go figure. We all just do what is best for us $$ wise and for our 4 legged friends.

[Patch O' Pits]

Not every dog does great on every food. However sometimes when switching to a higher quality food or even RAW feeding the dog's body will actually go through a kind of detox so to speak will getting rid of all the toxins.

Food is just one variable in a dog's life as well as environent including vaccines, and of course genetics which play a role in how long the dog will live.

I say why not give the dog the best shot it has with a variable we can control which is the nutrition

As for Sciene diet being sold at vets ... well, think about it. Don't you think the vets are getting a profit????? Also vet's are not required to take hardly any curses in nutrition let alone canine nutrition on it's own. So unless you have a dog with a specific nutritional need or go to a holistic vet or vet nutritionist, I wouldn't be taking food advice or buying food from the vet's office. But that is just my feelings on it

[DoggyMom]

Ok, after my posts, and reading through some of the old food posts on the forums here, I sat down and had a chat with my hubby. We did some research and walked through the pet store this morning, looking at the various types of dog food. Ingredient wise, we are looking at Nature's Recipe or Natural Balance. Anyone use those?
Money-wise, we may be a little out of bounds on this (we are both college students, working on paying loans) but we are going to try. I put in a call to my vet also, to see what she says. Reading through the posts, the line "long-term effects" really got me thinking.

[StarfishSaving]

DoggyMom, that's wonderful!

I will warn you ahead of time that most vets are schooled by the major food companies- Hills (Science Diet), Purina, Eukanuba- so they get one-sided education.

I like most of the foods on the 5 star and 6 star lists here. I don't like high protein foods for my dogs which most of the 6 star are but if you pick from the 5 star you'll be pretty safe.
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/

Natural Balance is higher quality than Nature's Recipe and better ingredients but 1) my dogs hated it, 2) I couldn't get it to absorb water and I always soak my setters' food since they're prone to bloat, and 3) both my dogs and cats had horrible smelling stool on NB. Most of their formulas have filler first on the ingredients list and I don't like that much.

If money is a big factor, try finding Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul. Both my cats and dogs do well on Chicken Soup, which we switch them to occasionally for an alternate protein source (they usually get either bison or fish based foods) and to cut back on price whenever we're struggling since we have 8 dogs here right now. It's about $10 cheaper than Natural Balance and in my opinion, it looks and tastes better (yup, I tried it) and seems to be healthier.

I like Merrick, Pinnacle, Nature's Variety, FROMM, CA Natural, and Solid Gold foods.

[BelovedJuggernaut]

Ok, after my posts, and reading through some of the old food posts on the forums here, I sat down and had a chat with my hubby. We did some research and walked through the pet store this morning, looking at the various types of dog food. Ingredient wise, we are looking at Nature's Recipe or Natural Balance. Anyone use those?
Money-wise, we may be a little out of bounds on this (we are both college students, working on paying loans) but we are going to try. I put in a call to my vet also, to see what she says. Reading through the posts, the line "long-term effects" really got me thinking.


I hear you on the college life! My husband and I are both young, he is just finishing school, I am starting a business... we are tight on money. But when we switched to a higher quality dog food, we found we used less of the food (even though it was more expensive) and it lasted longer that way. We figured it out, and we actually save like 3.57 a month on dog food.. lol. It isn't much, but considering our dogs look/feel better, it is so awesome!

I have never used the dog foods you are talking about, but from the looks of the ingredient list... it seems like w=ether one would be a great choice!

I hope everything works out!

[ClarkFarm]

Unless one is able and willing to make an appointment with an actual canine nutritionist for their specific dog, all we can do is independent research and formulate our own viewpoint using what we learned as well as keeing in mind the influence of other opinions.

There will probably never be a food that everyone here will agree on. I don't like using corn in dog feed, I don't like using the RAW diet exclusively either. That's my perogative. We all need to find what works best for us based on our beliefs and budgets.

If you are interested in a kibble dog feed that does not use corn or by-products but is still affordable, then maybe try Diamond Naturals (lamb and rice or chicken and rice). It is just under $20 for a 40 lb bag.

[DoggyMom]

I went to every dog food/pet store I could get to today, and unfortunately did not find any of the Chicken Soup or the Diamond Natural :(
We decided to try out the Nature's Recipe first, slowly switching Lily off the Beneful starting today. I just hope she likes this new food better!
I'm still going to give her the chicken and turkey cooked and her rice and vegetables. I know she likes that a lot.

[Woof]

Doggy Mom:

The price on the bag is only half of the story. Please also read the recomended feeding guidelines. I did several analysis on price between Innova vs. Pedigree and Evo Vs.Eukanuba. Both Innova and Evo are priced higher per pound than the food against which it was compared but when I considered how much less you feed, it actually came out cheaper to use the better quality food. This comparison was based on normal retail prices so if you buy with coupons or on sale that might upset the comparison.

I just wanted to point this out because it seems nobody reads the feeding guidelines and there is a significant difference and it affects the true cost of feeding. You will alsop pick up less doggy do than you would feeding a dog a corn based diet.

[Rottweilerlvr]

Doggy Mom:

The price on the bag is only half of the story. Please also read the recomended feeding guidelines. I did several analysis on price between Innova vs. Pedigree and Evo Vs.Eukanuba. Both Innova and Evo are priced higher per pound than the food against which it was compared but when I considered how much less you feed, it actually came out cheaper to use the better quality food. This comparison was based on normal retail prices so if you buy with coupons or on sale that might upset the comparison.

I just wanted to point this out because it seems nobody reads the feeding guidelines and there is a significant difference and it affects the true cost of feeding. You will alsop pick up less doggy do than you would feeding a dog a corn based diet.


VERY TRUE!!! I noticed that practically immediately after switching from Pro Plan to Innova, now I've switched again to Solid Gold... Huge difference.. The dog food is lasting close to 1 1/2 months almost 2 for each dog... I'm spending more up front ($90 for 2 bags) but it's lasting SO MUCH LONGER.. I was buying dog food every 2-3 weeks with Pro Plan... I'm still on the same bag after switching...

[d'tails]

I feed Solid gold. I was not happy with the results of any food I tried. I started to rotate the different "flavors" in Solid Gold and the changes have been great. My 2 high allergy dogs are doing so much better with the protein sources being rotated. I recently started adding Innova as well.
I do like Natural Balance as well. I switched when they changed the Potato and Duck tho. My dogs got dry and itchy on it after the change.

[myminpins]

Here's a list of dog food not recommended that was given to me where I get my dogs food at.

- Beneful(Nestle Purina Petcare)
- Cycle Adult Dog Food
- Dad's Bite Size Meal
- Diamond Orginal Formula
- Excel Lamb Meal and Rice Dog Food
- Gravy Train Dog Food
- Happy Tails complete Nutrition for Adult Dogs (made by Albertsons)
- HiPro Dog Food ( made by Purina)
- Iams Lamb Meal and Rice Formula
- Kibbles 'n Bits Homestyle Chicken and Vegetable Flavor
- Max Adult( made by Nutro)
- Maxximum Nutrition ( made by Walmart)
- Natural Choice Adult Lamb and Rice ( made by Nutro)
- Nature's Recipe " Breed Specific" Formulas
- Nutra Nuggets Adult Maintenance ( made by Nutra Nuggets Pet Foods)
- Ol' Roy ( made by Walmart)
- Pedigree
- Purina Dog Chow
- Purina One Total Nutrition Lamb and Rice Formula
- Science Diet Adult Original
- Science Diet's "Nature's Best with Real Beef Adult Dog Food"

* Learn something new everyday... I didn't know Walmart made Ol' Roy or Maxximum Nutrition...

Couldn't agree more!!!!!!!:D

[DoggyMom]

Well, we did change foods. We chose California Naturals though. I read through the ingredients and really liked what I saw. Lily seems to really like it, she gobbled it up each time I gave it to her. I even got my mom to change her dog kibble (she has two mini poodles). She changed from Purina One to California Naturals with me.

[Rottweilerlvr]

Good... I hope that continues to work well for ya'll!!

[myminpins]

Well, we did change foods. We chose California Naturals though. I read through the ingredients and really liked what I saw. Lily seems to really like it, she gobbled it up each time I gave it to her. I even got my mom to change her dog kibble (she has two mini poodles). She changed from Purina One to California Naturals with me.

Sounds great!!!! :)