Dog/Cat food recall

I'm very sorry for what happened. I do think that I was overly sensitive and realize that Ullr was just trying to be helpful. We've been able to work things out through pm and she's actually ended up helping me a lot. So the give people a break can go both ways..I also need to give other posters a break and realize that not all are criticizing me some are trying to help.

I wouldn't worry about it too much.  The thing is, there are plenty of great (human) mothers in third world countries that don't have access to the best of the best for their children - does that make them irresponsible mothers who love their kids less?  No!  No one knows our animals but us.  We know how active they are, what special conditions they have, what tastes they prefer etc and as long as we make sure to do our research and consult our vets before making the decisions on food, no one should say anyone else is irresponsible or loves their pet less.  Pet ownership is not something only select people are entitled to; everyone deserves to love their animals in the best ways they know how.  I've had people in cat forums criticize my cat food choice, but in the end my cats are mine and only my vet and myself can speak for what they need to stay happy and healthy.  As far as I know, none of the people who criticize my food choices (which were recommended to me by THREE seperate cat vets) have ever donated any of their special foods to shelters that simply cannot be allocating money towards super premium foods.  I'm not talking about anyone here b/c I don't post here much.  You guys have been more welcoming and far less "uppity". [sm=wink2.gif]


Anyway, as for this recall, my mom is worried that her friend's dog was affected.  Their dog is not young, but went to the vet recently and was given a clean bill of health.  Just days later, it died of kidney failure.  We're wondering if this food recall might be to blame...

So far I have not seen any posting that are too strong or bullyish.

Me either.

Ullr not everyone thinks you have said anything offensive.I for one,know where you're coming from and pretty much agree with everything you have said.

DPU-

Lucy is doing wonderfully on Canidae. I tried Healthwise (made by the Innova people) to save a few $ and although we didn't have a problems with it, her coat wasn't quite as nice. So when the place I was ordering it from raised their prices it was no longer worth it and switched back to Canidae.

My sister has tried TONS of foods and was really surprised to find that in the end, her Danes have done best on Eukanuba Large Breed. Yup. That evil, awful "garbage." Everything from their coats to their digestion just "clicks" on that stuff. Eagle pack gave them the runs, Nutro Ultra made them shed, and they wouldn't touch Innova.

ORIGINAL: glenmar

Bue is NOT a Petsmart brand.  Authority is, and it is affected by the recall.  Blue is not. 

 
How come I can't find Blue at any independent  or local shops? Even when I look on their website and enter my zip code, it only lists PetSmart stores? I also found their information on a business directory, and it lists them as manufacturers of dog & cat supplements and wholesalers of pet food. I am in the wholesale business as well, so I'm very familiar with what wholesale means: I buy my products from a manufacturer and then sell it to my dealers.
 
Can you find out exactly where the food comes from? It would be interesting to see what other foods come out of the factory where blue gets their food from.
 
[linkhttp://www.macraesbluebook.com/Search/company.cfm?company=757073]http://www.macraesbluebook.com/Search/company.cfm?company=757073[/link]

Wasn't it you who said dogs can't read ingredient lists and so they don't know what brand is "good" for them.  I agree with that.  My dogs can't read thie ingredients on their food and they do great on it.  They don't know it is "garbage" or "crap" as it has been called.  They just know they LOVE it, they are healthy and active.
 
And as someone else put it, we each KNOW our dogs, we see, touch, smell them every day and we know what works for them. I would never presume to say someone's dog is unhealthy (if I had never seen it) based on the brand food it eats. 

ORIGINAL: Ullr

How come I can't find Blue at any independent  or local shops?

Maybe your shops haven't looked into carrying it. There's a link on their website where retaliers and distributors can sign up.

http://www.bluebuff.com/products/retdist.shtml

ORIGINAL: DPU

Now I was told by this forum that Merrick is number one so I went with it.  Give me your next choice and only one choice..

Wow, with the exception of maybe one or two people who like it, I've never seen Merrick recommended here. It usually gets slammed. The company is questionable and the food is overpriced and grain-heavy.

I agree with the Canidae recommendation.

ORIGINAL: dyan

...but posting like that right out of the box is not good...in any way. 

 
Posting like what? Please elaborate.

Blue is actually now manufactured in a HUMAN bakery.
 
DPU, I don't think you would have gotten a unanimous "merrick is number one" from THIS group....I don't think you'd get agreement on any of the super premiums.  I do agree that Canidae is a good food for a very reasonable price.  I really like Innova as well.  From what I've seen so far of Blue, my dogs are doing well on it, but they've not been on it long enough to make a real judgement.  I can say that on TWO, on EP Holistic and something else that I've forgotten, they did ok, but I did not care for the stools....and in my house, that makes a BIG difference in my opinion of a food.  BUT, because a food gives MY crew large, soft stools, doesn't mean it will for your, so you can't judge a pile by its size always....if that makes any sense.
 
I do not totally disagree with what Ullr has to say.  I do disagree with the manner in which she feels necessary to SAY it.

Now, it appears dogs and cats died weeks before the recall, according to my local source.
 
[linkhttp://www.thedenverchannel.com/nationalnews/11295196/detail.html]http://www.thedenverchannel.com/nationalnews/11295196/detail.html[/link]
 
 
 

ORIGINAL: sooner

ORIGINAL: Ullr

How come I can't find Blue at any independent  or local shops?

Maybe your shops haven't looked into carrying it. There's a link on their website where retaliers and distributors can sign up.

[linkhttp://www.bluebuff.com/products/retdist.shtml]http://www.bluebuff.com/products/retdist.shtml[/link]

 
I live in Boulder, CO. There are more holistic and natural feed stores here than you can shake a stick at. Not one carries the brand or recommends it. Who knows? [sm=rolleyes.gif]

Posting like what? Please elaborate.

 
I think she meant posting in an arrogant, accusatory manner in  someone's first few posts when they don't even know their audience.  I'm not sure if anyone PM'd you yet, but you should probably know that there are several vets, vet techs, and animal nutritionists who you are arguing with in addition to many other extremely knowledgeable owners in various other fields (medical, animal behavior, rescue, etc.).  If someone takes even five seconds to search the most recent posts in this area of the foum, they would see quickly that most people feed super premium that are regular posters.  The main issue it seems comes up with arrogant/aggressive/rude posting is that the message is lost in the ridiculous manner it's posted.  In general, education via kind and respectful manner is more likely encourage change. 
 
My advice would be to lurk for awhile before posting in that manner to make sure one knows their audience, in addition, there is a thread in general chat that has a great summary at the end of how to effectively post in a discussion with varying points of view.

ORIGINAL: ottoluv

Posting like what? Please elaborate.

I think she meant posting in an arrogant, accusatory manner in  someone's first few posts when they don't even know their audience.  I'm not sure if anyone PM'd you yet, but you should probably know that there are several vets, vet techs, and animal nutritionists who you are arguing with in addition to many other extremely knowledgeable owners in various other fields (medical, animal behavior, rescue, etc.).  If someone takes even five seconds to search the most recent posts in this area of the foum, they would see quickly that most people feed super premium that are regular posters.  The main issue it seems comes up with arrogant/aggressive/rude posting is that the message is lost in the ridiculous manner it's posted.  In general, education via kind and respectful manner is more likely encourage change. 

My advice would be to lurk for awhile before posting in that manner to make sure one knows their audience, in addition, there is a thread in general chat that has a great summary at the end of how to effectively post in a discussion with varying points of view.

Arrogant? Accusatory? What in my text is arrogant and accusatory and rude? Can you please quote my original text in it's rediculous manner?  Please provide examples. I am not arguing with anybody.

ORIGINAL: sooner

Wow, with the exception of maybe one or two people who like it, I've never seen Merrick recommended here. It usually gets slammed. The company is questionable and the food is overpriced and grain-heavy.

I agree with the Canidae recommendation.

The recommendation came from this thread, page 7  [linkhttp://forum.dog.com/asp/tm.asp?m=217912&mpage=7&key=DPU]http://forum.dog.com/asp/tm.asp?m=217912&mpage=7&key=DPU[/link]  There seem to be no objections other than Glenmar advising about the quality control issues at the factory.  Also I think there was no big debate on this ranking that was also in the thread.  I took the list to the feed store and started with the #1 rank on the list.  The store had all the brands.

From the thread:  Here are some foods that have already been scored. If you don't see your dog's food here, ask and someone will score it for you.
Dog Food scores:

Merrick Wilderness Blend / Score 127 A+
Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Ultra Premium / Score 122 A+
Innova Large Breed Puppy / Score 122 A+
Nature's Variety Raw Instinct / Score 122 A+
Timberwolf Organics Wild & Natural Dry / Score 120 A+
Authority Harvest Baked / Score 116 A+
Nature's Recipe Healthy Skin Venison and Rice / Score 116 A+
Chicken Soup Senior / Score 115 A+
Artemis Large/Medium Breed Puppy / Score 114 A+
Innova Dog / Score 114 A+
Innova Evo / Score 114 A+
Canidae / Score 112 A+
Kirkland Signature Chicken, Rice, and Vegetables / Score 110 A+
Wellness Super5 Mix Chicken / Score 110 A+
Premium Edge Chicken, Rice and Vegetables Adult Dry / Score 109 A+
Burns Chicken and Brown Rice / Score 107 A+
Blue Buffalo Chicken and Rice / Score 106 A+
Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Venison and Brown Rice / Score 106 A+
Dick Van Patten's Duck and Potato / Score 106 A+
Foundations / Score 106 A+
Royal Canin Natural Blend Adult / Score 106 A+
Nutro Ultra Adult / Score 104 A+
Royal Canin Boxer / Score 103 A+
EaglePack Holistic / Score 102 A+
Beowulf Back to Basics / Score 101 A+
Flint River Senior / Score 101 A+
Nutrience Junior Medium Breed Puppy / Score 101 A+
Nature's Recipe / Score 100 A
Royal Canin Bulldog / Score 100 A+
Diamond Large Breed 60+ Formula / Score 99 A
Solid Gold / Score 99 A
Summit / Score 99 A
Nutro Natural Choice Lamb and Rice / Score 98 A
Sensible Choice Chicken and Rice / Score 97 A
Wolfking Adult Dog (bison) by Solid Gold / Score 97 A
Nutro Natural Choice Senior / Score 95 A
Pro Plan Sensitive Stomach / Score 94 A
Authority Harvest Baked Less Active / Score 93 B
Hund-n-Flocken Adult Dog (lamb) by Solid Gold / Score 93 B
Nutro Max Adult / Score 93 B
Diamond Lamb Meal & Rice / Score 92 B
Nutrisource Lamb and Rice / Score 87 B
Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy / Score 87 B
Nutro Natural Choice Puppy Wheat Free / Score 86 B
Diamond Performance / Score 85 C
Member's Mark Chicken and Rice / Score 84 C
Blackwood 3000 Lamb and Rice / Score 83 C
Alpo Prime Cuts / Score 81 C
Eukanuba Adult / Score 81 C
Nutra Nuggets Super Premium Lamb Meal and Rice / Score 81 C
Pro Nature Puppy / Score 80 C
Eukanuba Puppy / Score 79 C
Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Premium / Score 73 D
Science Diet for Large Breed Puppies / Score 69 F
Bil-Jac Select / Score 68 F
Diamond Maintenance / Score 64 F
Science Diet Advanced Protein Senior 7+ / Score 63 F
Purina Dog / Score 62 F
Purina One Large Breed Puppy / Score 62 F
Pet Gold Adult with Lamb & Rice / Score 23 F
Purina Benful / Score 17 F
Purina Come-n-Get It / Score 16 F

Folks we are getting perilously close to personal attacks here.  Myself included.[]
 
I fully understand the passion for proper nutrition and it took me some time as well to learn how to say things in a kinder and gentler manner.
 
Glad to know DPU that I did at least toss in SOME objection to Merrick.  I have nothing bad to say about the food itself, but I have some red flags due to the company issues and those of course DO affect the food quality.
 
I actually see a number of foods there that I would take a very hard look at.....