furious
It may be intended as comedy but it feels too fucking close to the truth right now.
For their entire lives, our dogs have been fed on premium dog food. We pay a cost premium for food that doesn’t have fillers and is made primarily with actual meat. They had shiny, glossy, coats and clear eyes, no skin problems and great energy. During the seemingly never-ending pet food recall in 2007, we stayed vigilant but ultimately didn’t have to change dog food brands. Our dogs stayed healthy. We were loyal customers to our brand: Canidae.
Suddenly in 2008, food prices started spiking. Several dog food manufacturers changed their packaging, taking that time to shrink their bags down from 45-50 lb bags to 30-35 lb bags. Canidae didn’t change their packaging. The cost went up. We accepted that. A few months later, our dogs started getting sick. They were lethargic. They had diarrhea. They avoided their food. They had to be coaxed into eating. Vet visits followed. Expensive tests. Medication. We moved them to a bland diet of rice and chicken, standard operating procedure for intestinal issues. They got better. We slowly moved them back to their regular food. They got sick again. We finally exchanged the bag of food. They got better. Until that bag ran out. And then the intestinal issues started up again. Rocky needed to go out every half hour. He was miserable. We were miserable. We took the bag of food back. Our pet store exchanged it for a bag dated from an earlier batch. They got better.
Spot a pattern yet? At the time, no one on the various pet forums mentioned having a problem. I seemed to be the only one at the pet store with finicky dogs. After the third bag that summer, we gave up. Something had definitely changed in the dog food formulation. We switched to Innova brand dog food. Their stomach problems cleared up in 24 hours.
Several months later, the pet store owner said that the Canidae representatives who had previously denied a formulation changed admitted that there was an “issue” with the flax oil. We continued to feed Innova, another premium dog food brand that uses human grade ingredients, all produced in the US, all tested for contamination.
Can you guess what happened? In April of this year, both dogs mysteriously started getting sick. The same cycle. Vet visits. Bland diet. We assumed it was some canine stomach bug. It didn’t go away. We exchanged the bag of dog food as a last resort. The problem went away. Two months go by. The problem started again. We do the bland diet dance. We checked again for environmental factors. We finally exchanged the bag of food. The problem went away. Worried that it might be a problem with the pet store improperly storing the food, we switched to another store. We get a bad bag from there. The cashier mentions when I bring the bag back that someone else had brought in a bag of Innova earlier that day for the exact same reason. Then it seemed as if whatever problem Innova was having with quality control went away. The dogs were healthy for several months.
Guess what happened Saturday when we opened a new bag of food? Intestinal problems for both dogs, and food bowls left half full of food, even when both dogs were clearly hungry. They want nothing to do with the kibble we’re pouring, when they usually scarf it down within a minute. Strangely, when I exchanged the Innova for a different brand of food, they scarfed it down eagerly.
As I was googling for a brand of dog food that understands what quality control is, I discovered that there is now a class action lawsuit against Canidae for a formulation change in 2008 that caused dogs severe intestinal distress. I found page after page of posts by people whose dogs experienced the exact same symptoms Rocky and Arthur did. Diarrhea. Vomiting. Lethargy. Loss of appetite. Some dogs got so sick they died. Apparently I wasn’t the only one after all. I wasn’t just a crazy dog owner. Other dogs were getting sick too. Lots of other dogs. And Canidae never issued a recall, never warned owners there was an ingredient change. Never admitted anything. As dogs were getting sick, vet bills racked up, and dogs died.
I signed up for the class action. From time to time I have gotten a gift card or a small check from a class action lawsuit that I didn’t realize I was a part of and didn’t do anything to join. I generally thought they were a waste of time and resources. This is the first time I actively joined one. And I am PISSED.
Now I’m just waiting for enough people to report their dogs getting sick on Innova so I can join that one too. Every time you read about switching your dogs on a brand of food, you are advised to do a gradual change so they can adjust. Yet more than one premium dog food manufacturer has seen fit to alter their ingredients without warning, and with complete disregard for the health of their customer base. These are expensive brands who bill themselves as the safe choice. The smart choice.
I don’t want coupons. I don’t particularly care about whatever paltry settlement will be eked out of this class action. I want dog food manufacturers to STOP MAKING MY DOGS SICK. Apparently that is too much to ask for. Shame on you, Diamond foods. Shame on you Natura Pet Foods. Your so called commitment to healthy pets is a joke.
Full feed
Arghghg I’m really sorry. I can imagine how pissed you are. I’m sharing this with Beth because IIRC we have used / use Canidae.
Yeah, I think that may be in part because I recommended it! Sigh.
How do you do your research on what “good” pet foods are? After reading online articles, I’ve grown increasingly skeptical of the brands that Petsmart has to offer. There’s too much brown rice, corn, oatmeal, and carbs that dogs aren’t supposed to eat. I’ve always fed my golden Nutro Natural Choice because that’s what his vet recommended, but “chicken meal” and “corn gluten meal” are the first and third ingredients.
Best of luck with your suit against Innova, and I hope your pups get better soon!
Christine, here is where things get complicated. First of all, Canidae and Innova are considered good brands and they clearly have their own problems to sort out. Secondly, this is one of the biggest areas of contention among dog owners online. Some people will not settle for anything less than feeding their dogs a raw diet centered around meat and uncooked bones, some feel that a good quality kibble is fine, and some people feel whatever isn’t causing problems for your dog is fine. In a lot of ways, talking about this topic can be a minefield.
Here are some good places to start:
Dogaware’s guide on dog feeding. There is a lot of information on that page. This link goes to their partial listing of some of the better foods. There is also information about raw food diets, supplements, and lots and lots of links.
Doolittler.com is a vet based in Miami who blogs about various topics. She posted about how vets recommend specific pet foods and how little education they get on canine and feline nutrition, and how a lot of the education they did get was sponsored directly by the big pet food manufacturers. Before the pet food recall she fed her dogs Iams and recommended it to her clients. She doesn’t anymore. How vets recommend pet food 1 2 3.
A chart of common pet foods and their main ingredients with color coding. This is a good visualization with explanation of what ingredients are but I don’t think it has been updated in a little while and some brands have changed their ingredients list around. It’s a good idea of where to start though.
Having talked about this to a lot of people, it’s not uncommon for people when doing research into this topic to decide they only want the best food there is. There is a lot of information out there, and a lot of very passionate people. But just like the vegan/vegetarian/omnivore debates, there are also a lot of people who believe their way is the best and only way. A few friends have done their research and decided on a brand of food only to have their dog not do well on them. There is a lot of support for grain free kibble for dogs and cats, and while it makes a lot of sense on paper, my dogs did not do great on the ones we have tried. There is a lot of overlap between premium brands and holistic brands and for some manufacturers this means adding every extract, herb, and supplement they can think of in the name of health, which ultimately causes problems for some dogs. There are a few highly rated brands of food that are just not right for my dogs for that reason.
Things you want to look for more than anything else are signs of good health in your dog. Good energy, clear eyes, bright eyes, shiny coat, firm stools. No itchy skin. No excess ear wax and eye gunk production (Seriously! Some foods caused both dogs to produce huge quantities of ear and eye gunk that cleared up quickly when we changed). If your dog looks like a cross between a personal trainer and a Pantene ad, whatever you are feeding is probably working.
Sorry this happened to the pups. It makes you wonder sometimes about what food manufactureres do to make a buck. You would think that after dogs were being poisoned by chinese wheat gluten a few years back, these premium dog food companies would get their quality control programs in order.
Sorryto hear about your dogs . My dog was doing fine until they recently reformulated innova senior dry food. She died a few weeks later of kidney failure. I still blame the food she had blood work a few months before and everything was fine. I am curious what brand innova you bought and what state you live in. I will post my email if you have any questions for me.
My best friend has 30 gorgeous poodles that are her family. She bought Lloyal dog food by Nutrena/Cargill, and it had some kind of mold that made her dogs extremely ill, leaving them with damaged organs and huge oozing lesions all over their bodies. Her tiny stud dog died in her arms, a terrible and painful death. When she contacted the manufacturer, well . . . . I guess they are all the same. If you hear of any more incidents of dogs getting ill from Loyall dog food, please let me know.
Thanks,
Marianne 403-722-3544