Dog food ratings: Iams Chunks® vs. Purina Beneful® Original

Dog food ratings are subjective.  Let me say that right up front.  This is my opinion, not a scientific study or analysis of all the ingredients.  I've chosen to compare Iams Chunks® and Purina Beneful® Original - two popular commercial brands.  These dog food ratings will focus on the relative overall pet health benefits of the Iams and Purina varieties.

When conducting simple dog food ratings, I always use health pros and cons as the main criteria.  Iams Chunks® offers dogs an emphasis on chicken and fish.  Purina Beneful® Original emphasizes vegetables (corn, wheat, rice), plus chicken and beef secondarily.

My conclusion in the dog food ratings when comparing their main ingredients is that Iams wins.  While the Purina brand is also healthy, the heavy emphasis on carbohydrates and vegetable matter presents more questions than a simpler meat foundation.  Dogs did not evolve eating vegetables often in the wild; only rarely, as partially digested stomach contents of prey or scavenged animals.

The dog food ratings in terms of other important ingredients are basically a wash.  Iams Chunks® and Purina Beneful® Original both include many important vitamins and essential omega fatty acids, in good mixtures.

Good dog food ratings also take into account the use of known pet health hazards, like BHT and Ethoxyquin.  Neither the Iams nor the Purina brands being compared here contain either substance.  So they both get high marks.

Overall, my dog food ratings preference comes down on the side of Iams Chunks® - mostly based on the ingredient emphasis on meats vs. vegetables.  But it's not a slam-dunk by any stretch!  Purina Beneful® Original is also a very good choice.

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