Beneful question....

We had a bit of a food emergency (didn't realize we were out in time to get to the pet store) and grabbed a bag of Beneful for Max. Thing is, he LOVES it. Comes running over at full speed and goes to town on that kibble, even dry, and usually he's picky about dry kibble. Plus, the bowl is clean moments later, which is how he usually reacts to wet food being in his kibble.

He has been eating Merrick dry (some wet mixed in occasionally), which he will eat, but won't run to get to...usually he'll sniff at it a few times, wander around hoping you'll put something better in, then eventually eat over time. Prior to that had been on Natural Balance (he didn't like it and it didn't give him very consistant stools). He's tried samples of Nutro and Wellness and didn't care for either.

I don't really want to feed him Beneful, because there's so much junk in it, but he really loves it, which is nice and would make it easier to feed him. I'm wondering if there's something in the middle of the spectrum that he might like better than what he's been eating, but isn't quite as unhealthy as Beneful.

Any suggestions??

I recently switched to Orijen. It's a Canadian product with no grains or fillers. Our local pet store has small sample sized bags. You won't be able to get it at just any pet store though. I don't believe PetValu carry it. It is a quality food though and our 2 love it.

Of course he loves it, it's kitty junk food. It's the equivalent of, say, potato chips and cupcakes for people. It's not good for him, it's simply flavored in a way that he finds very appealing. It's one of the tricks that many cat food companies use in order to trick people into thinking that the foods are good for the cats.

After all, if it's sprayed to smell just like chicken, it should be chicken, right? Nevermind what's actually in it.

So no, switch back to a higher quality food, and keep the Beneful around as treat food. As in, give him a piece of kibble as a treat, instead of other cat treats.

I have a *super* picky GSD and I spent the better part of his first 2 years of life groveling at his food bowl for him to eat. I tried many many brands, but the one your dog will like just depends on his individual tastes. I ended up switching him to raw (which he initially didn't enjoy), but it wasn't until the gluttonous cats came along that his zest for food peaked.

Go to all the pet stores in your area and grab as many samples of quality foods as you can find. There are also plenty of things you can add to dry food that will not only make it more palatable, but more healthful. (Canned meats, real meat, fish oil, yogurt, etc)

It's easy for dogs (and cats) to love sugar laden foods. Please, don't let your pups eagerness to eat be your only guide. If it were up to my dog, he'd exist on cat turds.

I would suggest looking at multiple meat and multiple grain / or no grain options...

what Nutro and Wellness did you try ... see both make MANY PROTEIN( ie flavors in high end ) ....

MY suggestion ..lol..pm me .. i need more info ...

one that I often pull is Solid gold ... very grainy but works for dogs nothing else does