Current thoughts on Natura?

I continued feeding it for a while after P&G buy out.  Then after a while, I started to notice that the kibble was more crumbly.  That might have been an issue with the shipping/storage but I decided to switch foods.  I can't say I noticed any difference in the dogs' coat, skin or stools (after P&G buy out) but didn't want to keep getting bag after bag of pulverized looking kibble.  I spoke to the small pet store I bought it from and they said they had not had any changes in shippers and had no complaints from customers, other than me. 

I've been feeding all my dogs California Natural Lamb and Rice (sometimes rotate the other LIDs) for over three years now an have not noticed any differences other than small price increases (but I've noticed this with kibble regardless of brand).  At this point I'll continue to feed it unless there's a major formula or price change.  Pan started eating it at 7 weeks.

I've been avoiding it for fear that the food would be lowered in quality.   My sister feeds it, has fed it with great results to her 2 westies for 6 years now.  Just last week, after trying food after food, even prey model raw with my yeasty bichon, Darby, I put her on Cal Nat's Salmon/pea formula and the results have been amazing.  Left yeasty painful ear .. pink and normal after only a week, yeasty toes- she stopped chewing, they are not red, gooey and swollen.   So I am going to stick with what works and just keep an eye on the ingredients I guess.

I never noticed any difference in the ingredients listed on the bag and only stopped feeding it because of the kibble being so crumbly.  I was feeding Evo. 

Was the crumbly really noticeable?  I go through a bag every 2 weeks and haven't noticed crumbly kibble but I haven't inspected closely.

I was worried about the P&G sellout but my friend sells dog food and is very into nutrition and told me she'd inform me the second the formulas change (b/c she'd quit carrying it).

I really don't want to change because all my dogs love this kibble, I find that it's not stinky, gas is minimal (no gas when on the Lamb and Rice), poops are small, hard, not stinky, everyone's shiny and healthy.

Liesje

Was the crumbly really noticeable? 

Yes, it was very noticeable.  The place I buy it from offered to replace it but after about 6 bags with the same result I didn't bother.  A bag lasts me about two weeks.  I think it's a good food but wondered if they had changed something in the drying process with the Evo.  The dogs never cared if it was crumbly, it was only me that was bothered.

JackieG

I never noticed any difference in the ingredients listed on the bag and only stopped feeding it because of the kibble being so crumbly.  I was feeding Evo. 

I've been feeding EVO for about nine years. Happy to say I haven't noticed any change.

I read something in a cat care book written by a veterinarian who also worked for Hill's for 10 years before going into practice. She said that it is impossible to make a kibble without some kind of starch as a binder. It just does not hold together. I wonder if the kibble became more crumbly when they went to peas instead of potatoes as their source of starch?  Perhaps EVO is manufactured at the very edge of the lowest amount of starch they can use without the food turning into crumbs.

A year or two ago we switched to the EVO Weight Control formula, just because of the lower level of fat in the food. I did notice that there were lot more crumbs at the bottom of the bin than with the regular EVO. So I wonder if having less fat made it more crumbly.

Anyway, the crumbs really don't bother me.