Purina Beneful Originals Real Beef Dry Dog Food Review

Our Recommendation

Like all of the regular Beneful formulas, I cannot recommend this dog food to any dog parent. If your dog likes Beneful then go with the grain-free version that is free of artificial ingredients.

• Contains artificial colors and flavors.
• Corn, wheat, and soy contribute a lot of fillers and GMO grains to your dog’s diet. This is something that should be avoided.
• Costs as much as brands that offer a more holistic approach to nutrition.
• Beef is the first ingredient but the array of cheap grains and other ingredients makes this formula not a good choice for dogs with allergies or sensitivities.
• Poultry and pork digest are by-products of meat processing that are often of the lowest quality. It is best to avoid dog foods that contain these ingredients.

Some Purina products are pretty good and I am glad that Purina has started to offer a grain-free version of this food. I tried the grain-free and my dogs loved it! I just hope that Purina will take a stand and stop using any artificial ingredients in their foods. While I know people are on budgets, many of these formulas have these no so great ingredients and cheap grains but they cost as much or more than brands like Adirondack, Diamond Naturals dog food, or Victor. I don’t like that Purina leaves probiotics out. These are inexpensive to add and they increase digestibility a lot for dogs.

Ingredients

Beef, Whole Grain Corn, Barley, Rice, Whole Grain Wheat, Chicken
By-Product Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Beef Fat Naturally Preserved with
Mixed-Tocopherols, Soybean Meal, Oat Meal, Poultry By-Product Meal,
Glycerin, Egg and Chicken Flavor, Mono and Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium
Carbonate, Salt, Poultry and Pork Digest, Potassium Chloride, Dried
Spinach, Dried Peas, Dried Carrots, Iron Oxide (Color), Minerals [Zinc
Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Calcium
Iodate, Sodium Selenite], Vitamins [Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin
(Vitamin B-3), Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B-5),
Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B-6), Vitamin B-12 Supplement,
Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B-1), Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Riboflavin
Supplement (Vitamin B-2), Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Vitamin
K), Folic Acid (Vitamin B-9), Biotin (Vitamin B-7)], Choline Chloride,
L-Lysine Monohydrochloride. O-4090

Nutritional Analysis

Pet food ingredients, nutritional values, and the way they are labeled for consumers are monitored by several organizations in the United States including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the NGO, Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO).

Each year the AAFCO publishes two sets of nutritional minimum standards for dog food intended to help specify if a food is suitable for:

1. Dogs in the growth & reproduction phases of life
2. Adult dogs maintaining a healthy weight and activity level

Caloric Content

3,558 kcal/kg, 347 kcal/cup

Guaranteed Analysis

Transition Instructions

Replace your current kibble with Beneful over 5-10 days. Dogs with sensitive stomachs may need the longer transition time while other dogs can be switched in just five days.

* – indicates not yet analyzed

Feeding Amounts

Depending on your dog’s size and activity level, they may need more or less food in their daily feeding amounts.

The Bottom Line

Purina Beneful Original Beef is not the quality dog food that it pretends to be. This brand is full of cheap ingredients, by-products, and artificial colors and flavors. When it comes to this brand you are paying a lot for fancy advertising and claims that don’t hold water. If you want a quality dog food that is budget friendly, go with Diamond Naturals or Adirondack. Even the Victor Premium formulations are less expensive than Beneful when purchasing in a large bag. I have bought this original formula for my dogs before– and they liked it– but when I looked close at the ingredients and compared the cost I never bought the regular Beneful again.