Guest mbfilby Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 Myka has a history of food allergies that include explosive diarrhea and hair loss. When she first came home, we experimented with different foods and found one that worked for her. Through a local specialty store we found Nutri-source which is a small regional super premium food producer. You can find info on them here http://www.nutrisourcedogfood.com/ . Because we are affiliated with an adoption group, we also get a deep discount. We have been feeding all the hounds the grain free chicken formula and the results are amazing. We can feed less amounts, great regular stools, and healthy shiny coats on all the pups. A couple of weeks ago DW opened a new bag of food, and all the dogs got the runs. Because we have never had issues with this food, she assumed they all had a virus and fed them from this bag for a few days. When the runs continued she opened a different bag and they all recovered. Thinking this all might be a coincidence, she went back to the first bag when the replacement was finished and all the dogs got the runs again. So, here it is; we trusted this food. The results are so good that I have recommended this company to other grey owners. I had previously spoken to the area rep, and they are quite proud of the quality control that goes into their products. We have been with this food for two years and have never had an issue. The store replaced the bag, but that is not the point. I was quite comfortable thinking that being small and regional, this company would be immune to recalls and potential risks from tainted ingredients, but now I am worried. Does anyone have advice? Something was obviously wrong with this bag. Had it only been Myka that got sick, I would be less concerned, but Cy and Loki have iron stomachs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Time4ANap Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 Since they are a small company it's important that you let them know about this incident. They will also want the production codes from the bag if you have them. Small companies take this kind of thing seriously. The bag could have been improperly stored along the way and spoiled, or there could be a much larger issue. Either way, they will want to check into it. Due to all of the recalls that were happening for a while, I now cut out the production codes on the bag when I empty it and staple the receipt to it. If there is a recall well after the bag is gone, I have a record of it in case we have related medical issues. Quote Camp Broodie. The current home of Mark Kay Mark Jack and Gracie Kiowa Safe Joan. Always missing my boy Rocket Hi Noon Rocket, Allie Phoenix Dynamite, Kate Miss Kate, Starz Under Da Starz, Petunia MW Neptunia, Diva Astar Dashindiva, and LaVida I've Got Life Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnF Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 How worrying... there have been several red flags going up recently from customers complaining about different pet food brands, sometimes they result in recalls, sometimes not. (I recently became concerned again over reports about Iams ...posted something a couple of days back... concerned enough to take it off my list until I see good reason to allow it back on). It's a nightmare finding something that works against a background of potential change; something you can actually trust. I think you need to know how all those different ingredients are sourced and mixed together, sometimes in the same factory for different brands. It's kind of like making concrete, just get it a little bit wrong and you end up with a load of trouble. How old are the basic ingredients, did they come from somewhere where there was a problem? How can they practically monitor quality control when product is coming in from a range of different suupliers? Some of them may not even know there is a problem with their food ingredient (mold just under sweet potato skin is very hard to detect), let alone cost-cutting changes to the overall analysis. If they operate a 'mushroom management' system then everyone will be kept in the dark until the poop hits the proverbial fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XTRAWLD Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 My Kasey has run the gammut with food allergies and honestly after years of food trials, we moved to raw. What an improvement. Only one ingredient source, eliminating any gluten, by products or meals of any sort. Add the scares of the manufacturing process that gets into kibble, I'm happy we made the switch. It really was night and day of a difference and how interested he is now for food at meal time. The dog that would be picky, suddenly starts barking and is impatient while we are making up his brekkie and dinner. Also, very "reliable" stools....every day the same thing, very routine, same consistency, and very healthy. That would honestly be my suggestion for you for a history of allergies. It was something that took me a very long time to make the jump to but I'm so happy I did. To see the change in Kasey (all around) is unbelievable. Good luck. Quote Proudly owned by:10 year old "Ryder" CR Redman Gotcha May 201012.5 year old Angel "Kasey" Goodbye Kasey Gotcha July 2005-Aug 1, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remolacha Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 Fletcher has been on 100% raw for years because of his IBD, but in an attempt to save some money and time, I have been feeding the girls half raw/half kibble for a few years. Never had any problems until recently, when I opened a new bag and Sallie immediately got the runs. I didn't connect it with the food right away, because Molly was fine, but after a couple of days the penny dropped, and I took Sallie off the kibble and she improved immediately. I know big companies "tweak" their formulas all the time, depending on available resources, maybe your company changed something as well? It doesn't necessarily mean they are a bad company, but I am sure they would want to know about what happened. I would take the girls off kibble if Molly didn't like hers so much I may still do it, haven't decided. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleptogrey Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 i always call the kibble manufacturer before i call my vet. usually it's a change in their recipe or rarely it's a bad batch. they will refund your cost or ask you to bring the bag back if it's a fluke incident. try another- just check the #s on the label. get a different batch.i would cook up some rice and let him eat something soothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedHead Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 I don't know if it is possible, but I would try to find out if the bag gave you problems due to an ingredient or formula change versus tainted ingredients. I wouldn't be so concerned if it was an ingredient change, but it would be hard for me to trust a company if it was an additive or chemical in the ingredients. Unfortunately, with a large portion of dog food ingredients outsourced from China, it is really hard to know who or what to trust If you really like this company and your dogs do well on it, I would try to contact the company for info before you switch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest june Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 I wonder too if a bag or bags get exposed to something if that might cause a problem? I had a friend who bought a pair of jeans (don't remember the brand) and didn't wash them before wearing them. She broke out really bad on her legs. Found out later that the jeans had been accidentally sprayed with bug spray. Just a thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryJane Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 While small vendors might sound like they have better control over their products, in many cases the opposite is true. Many of these vendors outsource making the actual product to processing plants which take ingredients and turn them into the kibble. Most of these processing plants also provide the final vendor a choice of the ingredients to put into the food - so in effect, they get the ingredients (guess where they come from) and they usually look for the cheapest source. The processing plant usually also does the QA, not the final vendor. I discovered this when I tracked down data for a top-rated food that I was mixing in with one of my dog's diet. Turns out they picked the food they wanted from the processing plant's options. This seems to be the reason that once a particular dog food brand has a recall, it could affect many other brands because the problem was at the processing plant. I also hate to mention that if they do not clean out the machines well after each batch, different foods could get mixed together. With this information, I shifted my thinking to move towards the larger dog food brands that had their own processing plants like Iams and so on ... These companies tend to control the sourcing of the ingredients, the making into kibble, and the QA - in effect, they control the product from start to finish. If there is a problem with their product - they can't push the responsibility someplace else and most of these companies have shareholders who do not like bad publicity. Sorry, this is probably not what you want to hear ..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a_daerr Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 With this information, I shifted my thinking to move towards the larger dog food brands that had their own processing plants like Iams and so on ... These companies tend to control the sourcing of the ingredients, the making into kibble, and the QA - in effect, they control the product from start to finish. If there is a problem with their product - they can't push the responsibility someplace else and most of these companies have shareholders who do not like bad publicity. Agree 100%. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJNg Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 I also tend to trust the larger companies more for the reasons MaryJane stated. However, I'm sure there are some small companies who do produce their own food and have excellent quality control. IMO, a bad batch or a spoiled bag of food can happen in any company, and it doesn't mean their protocols or quality control is bad. Sometimes things just happen. Quote Jennifer & Willow (Wilma Waggle), Wiki (Wiki Hard Ten), Carter (Let's Get It On), Ollie (whippet), Gracie (whippet x), & Terra (whippet) + Just Saying + Just Alice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeofNE Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 I also tend to trust the larger companies more for the reasons MaryJane stated. However, I'm sure there are some small companies who do produce their own food and have excellent quality control. IMO, a bad batch or a spoiled bag of food can happen in any company, and it doesn't mean their protocols or quality control is bad. Sometimes things just happen. I agree. I'm sure even the best chef at a gourmet restaurant screws up from time to time. Quote Susan, Hamish, Mister Bigglesworth and Nikita Stanislav. Missing Ming, George, and Buck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FreeholdHound Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 I just ordered my 1st bag og Nutrisource, hopefully just a fluke occurrence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mbfilby Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 I just ordered my 1st bag og Nutrisource, hopefully just a fluke occurrence Honestly, we really like this food. The dogs all do great on it, and it cured Myka's long term tummy issues. When DW opened the new bag to replace the one that was making the dogs sick, it had the same lot number. So it would seem that there was something wrong with that one bag only. We travel almost two hours one way to get this food, so we generally purchase multiple bags and combine other errands when making the journey to the city. I have contacted the company through the web site contact us page, but have not yet heard back from them. We continue to use the same formula and have had no other issues so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FreeholdHound Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Great to hear you've had success with this kibble. Harry doesn't have the best "output" lets say - we'll see if he improves on this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cwholsin Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Like other people have said, it was probably just a fluke. It wouldn't hurt to find out if they outsource or not, but I don't think one bad bag is enough to switch to a new food. It could've been anything! I didn't know about the outsourcing issue, but I'm glad I have that bit of information now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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