Who regulates TO??

It really makes a good product better when your treated so well, doesn't it? I have noticed alot of difference in the dogs that have started on it since we have carried it. Several cockers (with typical cocker skin, yuck) have been switch to it and the issues are slowly resolving. The dogs are looking (and smelling) better and the owners are alot happier as well.

I'm confused, what companies DON'T use that AAFCO label??  Don't they almost all have it?
 
And if they don't how do you know the food has enough nutrients, etc. for daily feeding? 
 
I really want to know because I always was told to look for that label so I know she's getting what she needs.

     "   ANYWAYS, the AAFCO DOES REGULATE FOOD! Here at NCSU we have an extension specialist who works for the AAFCO and regularly travels to these manufacturing plants and gathers samples to take back to our lab and test the food, then sends the reports to the AAFCO.  If the gauranteed analysis is within a certain range of what is claimed, they don't do anything...if it is not in this range, the company is investigated.  So far our extension specialist said he had never even heard of TO or been asked to go there, which led my curiosity to ask here, AND because on my bag of TO, it didn't say anything about it, which most foods do."

  That's from a post by papillon806 on this thread on page 2. So, it seems that they do regulate companies, and I have never seen a dog food that doesn't say they meet the AAFCO standards.

AAFCO requirements for feeding trials are really a joke. The trial is conducted for 26 weeks with 8 dogs (2 of which can be pulled out or die). They must maintain at least 85% of their original body weight when fed only the food being tested and live. So, to me, this really doesn't say alot about the "feeding trial protocol" of AAFCO. Even if two of the dogs died from malnourishment or lost more than 15% of their weight, while the other did ok, then the food can be considered as meeting the requirements for "passing" the feeding trials.
 
As far as dog foods having this listed on their products, this is not required unless it is on the label as being "complete and balanced" nutrition. It's all in the wording! LOOPHOLES!

I'm going to continue to purchase TO mainly because my pup is doing awesome on it (loves the taste, which is rare), and I don't have to deal with the customer service b/c there is a pet store nearby that sells it....so for me, TO hasn't done anything wrong.

I really don't know of any dog foods that don't AAFCO test?

There are two types of AAFCO "tests" that are used on labels. The feeding trials and the chemical analysis. Some companies only use the chemical analysis, but they must list that as such. I can't remeber at the time, the ones that I have seen that list the anaylisis test, but I have seen quite a few of the lesser quality foods that use it.

Yes, I did receive the TO, Janice.  It came exactly 3 weeks after I ordered it.  None of my emails or calls were ever answered.  On the other hand, TO sent me 40 lbs rather than 36, and didn't charge me any extra.  All were in nice new foil bags with 4/07 expiration dates.  I can't wait to try it out, but I've got another 2 weeks or so worth of Cal Nat to use up first.

I can't wait to try it out, but I've got another 2 weeks or so worth of Cal Nat to use up first.

Trackman you must have some patience [] Arent ya just dying to rip open that bag of TO and give it to your dogs? Why dont you try mixing it in with the CN,like a slow change over type thing?

Papillion is your dog a fussy eater? As you said it's rare if your pup "loves the taste".

Yes, he is very finicky, and he loves the taste of the TO (he likes EVO too, but I can tell he likes the TO better).

I read Innova's website and they describe their own testing facilities as the best thing this side of the Rainbow Bridge. The subjects get all kinds of attention and when trials are over the dogs are offered for adoption, with some of them being adopted by the employees that are there.
 
Innova has customer service, Eagle Pack has customer service, and you can call Nutro and talk to a live human being, too. Nutro even put up a page in their site about the toxin scare for Diamond and just wanted to re-assure that Nutro's ingredients are not affected and the controls they go through in accepting ingredients from suppliers. Part of customer service is infinite patience with worried customers. My wife is excellent at it, so she works in retail. I work in the trades. There are times when I interact with the client/customer and then, it is my job to answer their concerns, in non-technical terms if I can. My boss is excellent at talking to people and that's why he owns the company, even though I have the bigger license and more experience. In fact, we prefer it when he sticks to the people part of the job and leaves the actual work to us. He could be a salesman because he will bend over backward to bow to a customer.

ORIGINAL: papillon806


gathers samples to take back to our lab and test the food, then sends the reports to the AAFCO. 

 
Just curious.  Would it be possible or practical for YOU to test a sample of the food you have?

ORIGINAL: ron2

I read Innova's website and they describe their own testing facilities as the best thing this side of the Rainbow Bridge.

 
LMAO.  Ron, you crack me up.

Yes, I am curious about the TO but I am just so glad it showed up I don't mind being patient.   []   lus, Jackson's ears still have some lesions from a few weeks back when I inadvertently gave him Reggie's canned EVO, so keeping him on the Cal Nat until he's all healed up is probably wise, esp. since I'm out of doxycycline and really don't want to pump another prescription  into him if I don't have to.

probe...yes I can test the food if I want, it's just a matter of getting the lab and the equipment to myself.  There is a sheet on the outside of the lab where every grad student (and researcher) can sign up to hold the lab for a day to do their doc. research, personal use, etc.  So far I haven't been able to get it for a day that I have free.  I will look next week and see what I can do....I will def. report the results back! (Also, the process is tidious and takes about 6 hours to complete if you did it back-to-back, so I guess you can call me lazy []).

[8D]