More Nutro Deaths Reported - Consumer Affairs

[Guest Alysmom]

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/nutro.html?review=671196#review-671196

 

 

For those who are still feeding Nutro -- you might want to take another look today at the Consumer Affairs website. More posts this week from owners who have lost their dogs.

 

My apologies to those who think this is foolishness - you can disregard.

 

 

I just want to get the word out to those who might want to take another look. This is getting serious. Nutro reps were in a "meeting" today according to one poster who tried to call them. A recall is very bad press.... it sure looks like they are holding out rather than issue a recall.... How many dogs will have to die??

 

For me, it just isn't worth the risk. We switched to a holistic brand made by a small company with strict quality control standards. More $$ but worth it.

Edited March 22, 2013 by Alysmom

[OwnedBySummer]

I don't understand why there are so many damn problems. How hard is it to have consistent quality? Gah.

[Feisty49]

I was feeding Annie Nutro mixed with Iams in Green Bag but had been wanting to switch to something better. I decided last week (week before?) when the rumors first came out about Nutro that it was as good a time as any to try the switch. She is now 100% on TOTW High Prairies (with great poos) and she loves it. She didn't always love Nutro/Iams mixture.

 

However, while I have read many of the concerns and complaints on the ConsumerAffairs.com web site, and it had a slight influence on me to switch, I would like to know if anybody knows the credentials of this site. It's a profit-making company, as evidenced by all the advertisements intermingled with letters, and I question how objective it can be. Also, there is a disclaimer at the bottom of their page that states:

 

"ConsumerAffairs.com makes no representation as to the accuracy of the information herein provided and assumes no liability for any damages or loss arising from the use thereof."

 

This is a standard disclaimer but again who or what is this company and why should we believe what they say? Just wonderin'.

 

ETA: I am a person who questions because I tend to want proof. Anybody can put anything on the Internet and some people believe it's all true. Sorta like believing Wikipedia info and using it as a reference.

Edited March 22, 2013 by Feisty49

[Guest mountain4greys]

I wouldn't read consumer affairs. It's crap.

[Guest june]

I don't feed Nutro, but I always am interested in hearing what is going on with various dog foods. With all the recent food recalls I try to monitor how my dogs are eating along with their condition. Not saying I take these reports as gospel, but still nice to know what might be going on.

 

Thanks for posting this information.

june

Edited March 22, 2013 by june

[rschultz]

I feed nutro grain free and haven't heard about any recalls

[Guest Alysmom]

Well, I have been watching their Facebook page -- and they have "cleaned" it up and removed all the posts by people asking what is going on....there were dozens, now there are none to be found. I just wonder why they haven't confronted this head-on with their Facebook page. If it is all baloney, it seems it would be pretty simple to come out and site the safety ratings of their products (testing lab data, actual consumer complaints filed). If there's nothing going on and nothing to hide, it should be pretty easy.

[deboosh]

How frustrating! Should those of us feeding Nutro be concerned or not? Whenever there's a product recall, you hear about it in the media. This is complete news to me, but then again, I'm usually the last to find out about most things.

 

My girl is doing well on Nutro's sensitive skin & stomach variety, so I don't want to change brands if there's no legitimate reason to. What or who are we supposed to believe?

[Hubcitypam]

When this same site "Consumer Affairs" was posted about Iams being the spawn of the devil I did a quick search.

Every food on that site gets bashed and has horror stories. Here are some random foods, number of reviews and complaints and percentage of one star ratings:

 

Nutro - 1,276 reviews and complaints - 79% one star

Purina - 519 reviews and complaints - 80% one star (does not distinguish between varieties and there are many at varying price points (Dog Chow, One, Pro Plan, etc.)

Canidae - 400 reviews and complaint - 67% one star

Iams - 342 reviews and complaints - 77% one star

Blue Buffalo - 166 reviews and complaints - 70% one star

Natural Balance - 164 reviews and complaints - 61% one star

 

Boy, there are a LOT of very dissatisifed dog owners out there. Nutro may have the most complaints but they sell a LOT of food. I'd guess easily far far more than 3X Canidae so percentage of complaints are similar or far less. If I was going to choose a food from the above based on complaints per units sold it would be Purina HANDS DOWN...but Purina users are probably less likely to recruit their friends for internet bashing.

 

Quoting "Consumer Affairs" is like quoting "Pissed Off Customer" - another website that supposedly speaked the truth. If it isn't from the FDA I take it with a grain of salt.

[JJNg]

Instead of using websites like this to 'report' problems, if people really believe their dogs harmed by a dog food, they need to work with their vet to make reports through the proper channels. The information needs to be given to the FDA and the manufacturer so that the claims can be properly investigated. Without looking into these cases further, websites that collect anecdotal reports like this are just unsubstantiated claims that cause mass panic that may or may not be justified.

 

Just because a dog eating a certain food gets sick and/or dies, doesn't mean that the food was the cause. Dogs get sick and die of many other problems all the time. But because of sites like this, whenever any dog eating a particular brand of food gets sick, people immediately blame the food, leading to another report posted to the site, and the cycle continues...

[Guest sirsmom]

I would check and believe the FDA website before I would Consumer Affairs. I think a lot of 'troublemakers' post there. There may be some legitimate complaints, but I think the troublemakers rule.

[4My2Greys]

Julie thank you for posting that, however I have to agree with Jennifer (JJNg) that the only way to substantiate claims that a food was responsible for an illness or death is if a vet was involved in that determination. A recall in itself is not a bad thing, its when they delay a recall until they are forced to do one as was the case of Diamond being forced to when the CDC got involved.

[Burpdog]

By the time a vet is on board with reporting it (just like in medications), a whole lot of dogs will have died or be dying.

 

Off to see if the claims have any substance.

[duncan41]

Try TruthAboutPetFood.com for credible insider information. Susan Thixton tries to provide balanced reporting about what is going on in the pet food arena. She is also a physical presence at AAFCO meetings and others.

[Guest Alysmom]

Linda -- thank you for the link to this infomative site. I will bookmark this and read more when I have time. She produces a safe petfood list (for a donation). I will probably buy one just for my own information.

 

As far as the Nutro - or other food with allegations - she is very clear in her comments to people she has to be very careful regarding potential lawsuits (obviously) -- but she does have an article in regards to the latest complaints. I'd advise that people read between the lines here. No "official" recall doesn't mean the food has no issues.... She clearly states that there are a lot of sick dogs out there who eat these foods..... it is pretty clear. Not very many have made official reports to the FDA -- how many people even know to do that? Many probably feel that if they report to the manufacturer (complain) they've done what they can.

 

I'd say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure..... this just further supported my choice to change foods in my own mind.

[Guest grey_dreams]

By the time a vet is on board with reporting it (just like in medications), a whole lot of dogs will have died or be dying.

 

[Charlies_Dad]

By the time a vet is on board with reporting it (just like in medications), a whole lot of dogs will have died or be dying.

 

Off to see if the claims have any substance.

Agreed. While I don't disagree facts are needed to confirm diagnosis, many dogs die and could be from the food however very few do a necropsy to determine the cause of death. Arguments are for both sides however I tend to lean towards the facts that ALL corporations are in it to make a buck. That means they will cut costs in any capacity they can and sometimes this leads to poor QA and/or product being distributed. It would be nice to know what the QA% is on their product. Edited March 31, 2013 by Charlies_Dad