More Pet Food Problems

PS. if your pet was on vets choice, for even one day, I ask you to please just take the time and get them blood tests.

Our female showed zero signs at all and many of the dogs here as well, only until blood tests were taken, the real shock set in.
 
ziglet said:
Wow Syndyre, that statement is actually mind blowing.

The thing that they overlook is that pet owners who were feeding there dogs, Vets Choice, etc...

Are the ones who really care for their pets and are able to afford that little bit extra, so we are not going to just go silently into the night.

Updates on Royal canin: We have spoken to them on the phone and they said they will pay for both dogs blood tests and vet fees. But our female dog seems to have pulled through ok but may need to stay on the special kidney diet which is quite a price shocker.

We then queried Royal Canin whether they will then pay for the new special diets of our pets and they said this would be done on a case by case basis depending on the severity of the kidney problems.

Our larger male dog is actually doing a lot better, well he has his days. We have managed to find a kidney dietary product which he seems to enjoy. Though he is not eating his normal amount, it is still great just to get food down.

The kidney diet is able to trap the toxins in the body before they reach the kidney thus putting less strain on it. Our vet, and my uncle a vet in the UK both say the best that people can do is get their dogs to eat this kidney diet ASAP, drink water with bicarb(spelling) in.

We took the male for more blood tests yesterday, though the vet says he will be happy if the results havent gone up too much, we are praying that they will come down. Though seeing as the kidney damage is irreparable, chances are slim.

The female has around 60-75% kidney damage which the male has 75% upwards, this shown by their symptoms and blood tests.

There have been several other dogs in the area affected as well. A 2 year of Alsatian unfortunately went straight onto the Saline drip as the owners had not heard of the Vets choice recall and had been feeding him up till now. There is also a german shepard puppy and others.

We have called in on Carte Blanche for them to investigate into the matter as we feel, Royal Canin took an extremely long time to disclose what was in their product as it became unsafe from the March the 8th and was only pulled off the shelves on April 11th. Its shocking that some of the other companies still do not know what contaminated their products and how!

Think these pet food companies don't realise that, people willing to pay the extra price for the more expensive products, really care for their pets, want the extra quality they pay for AND WILL NOT GO SILENTLY INTO THE NIGHT!
Click to expand...

Its really shocking especially as you say considering the price of these products and the fact that you then expect more from them, these are premium brands and they should therefore be proactively testing all their products etc. Glad your dogs seem to be doing ok, or as well as can be expected anyway. What are the long term effects of kidney damage if they're on the proper diet etc?

The callous attitude of the SPCA is really disturbing though.
 
I was thinking that I'd give Dogmore a try because my mutt is scratching like crazy and I think a change of food might help since medication has failed to help him. I originally changed to Purina because of this and it seemed to help but the problem has now returned.
 
That's a good point Aphrael - I didn't notice that. In light of the "ag - only a few kicked the bucket" SPCA statement.
 
alanf85 said:
I was thinking that I'd give Dogmore a try because my mutt is scratching like crazy and I think a change of food might help since medication has failed to help him. I originally changed to Purina because of this and it seemed to help but the problem has now returned.
Click to expand...

The problem could very well be corn or maize in the food. There isnt really a food available in this country that doesnt list one of these as the primary ingredient. Look on the pack, the ingredients are listed in order of prominence in the food. If corn or maize is listed first then it occurs most. Corn or maize account for a large percentage of dog allergies and illnesses. Ive spent many hours researching dog foods and am totally despondent. In north America there are brand available with human grade products, no corn/maize fillers ets. Even Hills/Eukanuba/Royal Canin are considered to be poor choices by lots of dog enthusiasts while here we are brainwashed into thinking they are the best foods money can buy!

When this Vets Choice contamination story broke i had just opened a new bag and stopped feeding immediately. I thought that they has only had a few days worth of it but have been keeping a eye on the dogs. Today I checked the empty bag that I had used before and it is also part of the contaminate batch. I have a 9am appointment for blood and urine tests......
 
Thanks, Im really worried after today.

Just saw this on News24 now: http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_2102299,00.html

Third company recalls pet food
20/04/2007 21:16 - (SA)

Washington - A third US company recalled on Friday pet foods made with an imported Chinese ingredient recently found to have been contaminated by an industrial chemical.

The pet food ingredient, rice protein concentrate, is the second found in the US to be contaminated by melamine. Previously, testing revealed that wheat gluten also had been contaminated.

Royal Canin USA said it was recalling some of its dry dog and cat foods made with tainted rice protein concentrate.

Also this week, the French company's South African unit recalled a range of dog and cat dry pet foods after they were found to contain a third ingredient, corn gluten, also contaminated with melamine. Those products were sold in South Africa and Namibia.

Wilbur-Ellis Company, a US importer of the tainted rice protein, has recalled the entire ingredient it had distributed to five US pet food manufacturers.

The San Francisco company in turn urged its customers to recall any products that may be on store shelves.

Earlier this week, two other pet food companies, Natural Balance Blue Buffalo, recalled cat and dog foods made with the contaminated rice protein concentrate.
 
Geez, so long as it's not Hills :(
TJ has started biting this patch on his right hind leg. ZA_Medic thought it was because he had a small piece of matted fur there, but he's still annoying it, even after I cut it off last night. And this has not happened before - only since I started mixing Hills pellets with his Husky tinned food.
 
The problem is, what the heck do you feed your dogs? What choice do you really have? I want to give my dogs some raw egg and milk this morning for breakfast. They get frozen bones during the week. What else can I supplement their diet with?
 
if you read up on B.A.R.F diets (Freshy-ZN could probably enlighten us a bit as well), it suggests you buy chicken bits - forget which - to feed your dogs. Thing is, whether you feed them chicken or steak, (1) it's damn expensive, especially if you have a larger dog, (2) it takes time to prepare, depending how you want to feed it to them, (3) you run the risk of salmonella (and other bacterial) poisoning.
 
Aphrael, while some dogs do perfectly fine on commercial foods like Hills etc, to my mind its still not ideal. There are huge arguments between the BARF crowd and the commercial food crowd about who is right. One can only make that decision. My problem is that we arent given enough info to make that decision. The big guys like Royal Canin spend large amounts on 'advertising' (or conning if you like...) making us believe we truly are giving our dogs the best.

One forum I frequent has lots of discussions on BARF and other natural diets. You will also see how they are spoilt for choice when it comes to truly decent commercial food.

I would really rather feed my dogs a BARF diet. I used to in fact but never quite got the hang of doing it economically: time and money wise. BUT some people do and they swear by it. They dont seem to have ulterior motives like I suspect the dog food company's do (money making without killing too many pets too quickly)

BARF does not imply a purely carnivorous diet. The canine needs vegetable matter as well but their digestive system cant break down this veg matter before its passed through. The canine digestive process is a fast and acidic one which is why they can eat old vrot things that would make people die. In the wild canines would eat the whole prey including the contents of the stomach. This would provide them with the partly digested veg matter they require. One must also feed organ meat like heart, live kidney and not just muscle meat like steak or chicken breast. Bones including poultry are eaten in the wild too. The old chicken bone story is not entirely true, its cooking the bones that makes them brittle and dangerous. However some canines will die from internal injuries just like some people die from eating fish or chicken bones. The only way to make 100% sure is to avoid, but bones are great for dogs as its how they perform dental hygiene in the wild! Try large, RAW, meaty bones instead of small ribs etc.

The real trick to feeding a raw natural diet is to find recipes that others have used with success. Then monitor your dogs weight, eyes, teeth, fur etc. You will be able to tell if there is something lacking or if there is too much of something. If the dogs are getting thin, feed more. If they are becoming overweight feed less. A dedicated freezer/fridge and a blender are a must. Spend an hour or two once a week preparing meals for the coming week. Put the meals in the fridge and take out a few hours before feeding to get the food to room temperature. Buying in bulk will make it more affordable.

Once you have a system in place you will probably find its no real hassle. Heck, it might even be a good way to relax. And the dogs will surely appreciate the variety if you vary the ingredients.

I am going to really get myself back into it. I hope I have inspired some people, not necessarily to stop feeding commercial dog food, but to be aware of what it is they are feeding their pets.

Dogs FTW!
 
I agree 100% freshly. I personally dont think you can go wrong if you just add a bob martin to the BARF from time to time. Of course if you are going bald, you can pop a bob or two yourself while no-one is looking... just be careful, I believe they plat your pubes and make your ding dong look like Willy Nelson :D
 
Thanks Freshy, very interesting, I have read a bit about the BARF feeding, but it sounded quite complicated. I am very interested in switching, or at least trying to see if it works for us. Any suggestions on where to start, or some recipe ideas? I have two gentle giants to feed. :eek:
 
 
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