I find this really weird...TOTW

Sorry. But I find that not weird, but typical of the parent company Diamond.

Can a Leopard ever change it's spots ?

How much R and D did they do before this line was introduced into the market place?

I see that it was never feed trialed...  So your dog was the Guinea pig.

this is probably just coincidental but my cattle dog mix developed crystals at a young age while eating Chicken soup dog food (diamond product)--i thought that was weird for a 2 year old.  She was probably prone to them, however

 Urinary problems is a highly individual thing.  When any particular dog has problems, it's not a good predictor for the food's general application.  I don't believe food trials especially test for UT issues, since it's just a six week, maximum, trial.  It takes eight to twelve weeks, or more, for the Ph to affect a dog to the extent that one can say for sure it was the food (many things affect UT health, including changes in drinking water, allergies, and other food items like treats).

You can have the Ph of a food tested yourself.  Just contact your agricultural extension agent, if your vet doesn't know, and ask for the name of a lab.  The state may even be able to do it at a vet school, if they have a nutrition department big enough, and may even do it for practically nothing.  In fact, you can get the nutritional makeup of any food tested, though testing for micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) is very expensive.  The Ph should be reasonable.  If I had a dog prone to UT or kidney troubles I would certainly not take a food company's word for it - I would have this done myself. 

brookcove

  I don't believe food trials especially test for UT issues, since it's just a six week, maximum,

  Feed trials last for 26 weeks, but I agree that just because one dog has problems doesn't mean other dogs will. It is really strange that Diamond doesn't know the target ph; makes you wonder what else they don't know about this food.
 

jessies_mom

brookcove

  I don't believe food trials especially test for UT issues, since it's just a six week, maximum,

 

  Feed trials last for 26 weeks, but I agree that just because one dog has problems doesn't mean other dogs will. It is really strange that Diamond doesn't know the target ph; makes you wonder what else they don't know about this food.
 

This is a prime example of a completely new food line being a formulation and never trialed. 

TOTW was a Marketing tool for Diamond to get a new name .

Granted not all issues can be found during these trials but this company had no way of knowing if it would keep one dog healthy for 6 months.

The federal government needs to put these companies out of business.The hands off approach is not working.

At least the Feds should require all feeds undergo trials. Our dogs and cats should not be the Guinea Pigs. And when you contact a company they should have the PH and N/A available . PH testing is no big expense to them . Perhaps they don't even know the N/A of TOTW

 I threw out that bag....I'm not trusting Diamond anymore. Well, actually I never trusted them to begin with, but I figured maybe with TOTW they would step it up a bit. But I guess they won't.

fish n dog

At least the Feds should require all feeds undergo trials. Our dogs and cats should not be the Guinea

  Most of the foods I've tried for Jessie haven't been through feeding trials. She's allergic to chicken so the majority of the foods she can have are produced by holistic companies. She has always seemed to do well on them, but I tend to use foods that have been in production for many years and have a good track record, such as Eagle Holistic formulas.  I would like to try some of the newer  foods with moderate protein like Wellness Core, TOTW, or Nature's Variety Instinct, but Jessie's allergic to some of the ingredients in all those foods. 

feeding a handful of dogs for six months isn't long enough to detect nutritional problems. I don't see why demanding a feed trial is such a wonderful thing. Maybe people should just stop believing the dog food companies when they go around claiming a dog can achieve life-long health eating nothing but this one product.

mudpuppy

feeding a handful of dogs for six months isn't long enough to detect nutritional problems. I don't see why demanding a feed trial is such a wonderful thing

  Perhaps, but when a company is willing to take the time and spend the money to do feeding trials I think it gives their products more credibility. Also, I think it's incumbent upon them to develop a product that will meet a dog's nutritional needs for life because that's what the average  consumer expects.
    
 

fish n dog

Our dogs and cats should not be the Guinea Pigs.

But i don't want anyones dog or cats to be the guinea pigs for our pets food. I don't want to see any animals in a Laboratory setting,no matter what the circumstances are,for any reason!

Edie

But i don't want anyones dog or cats to be the guinea pigs for our pets food. I don't want to see any animals in a Laboratory setting,no matter what the circumstances are,for any reason!

Thats a great point--I never thought about feeding trials as being the equivalent of "animal testing", but I guess it really is.

jettababy

Thats a great point--I never thought about feeding trials as being the equivalent of "animal testing", but I guess it really is.

    That is a good point, and I wish companies that do feed trials would follow Natura's example;

http://www.naturapet.com/tools/faqs.asp?view=ingredients;

jessies_mom

The Natura Pet Products Animal Testing Policy

"Natura Pet Products believes strongly in the importance of nutritional testing to validate our products and to support the development of new, innovative and healthful diets. However, we have never been comfortable with the care and treatment of animals at most independent facilities. As a result, we realized that the only way to reconcile both issues was to build our own facility and manage the care and treatment of the test animals ourselves.

The Belfield Pet Food Research & Development Center is a humane, non-invasive testing facility which was built near our manufacturing plant in Nebraska. The Belfield Center sits on 8.5 acres. The building itself is 11,500 square feet under roof and is climate controlled year-round with 3 large HVAC units. There are 19 spacious outdoor pens for long term dog feeding studies, 56 indoor runs with full access to their outdoor runs, and 2 x 3000 square foot dog exercise yards. There is a cat play room and Natura's "Dog of the Week" room, which is a fully decorated home living room which is being utilized by a different canine resident each week. All residents of the Belfield Center have regular play time and frequent interaction with the staff. Toys of all kinds, cat scratching posts and cat furniture is available for all residents. Animals living at the Belfield Center come to us from a variety of sources, including rescue groups, breeders and private homes.

All animals in the facility are cared for humanely and it is important for our customers to know that all living and test spaces far exceed the minimum requirements set by the USDA. It is also important for everyone to know that all work done at the Belfield Center is non-invasive; the dog and cat residents serve us to eat pet food. Period. A practicing local veterinarian has been contracted to provide regular health care to all animals. The facility is managed by Becky Lynn, Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science. The animals are cared for by a conscientious staff of 4 full time staff members, including one staff member with veterinary technician experience."

  They also find homes for the animals too;

" Resident animals will be adopted-out to private homes following their retirement from the Belfield Center. The adoption process will begin while the animals are still well within their productive and active years."

I really love this about Natura.  I've been to, and have worked at, animal testing facilities where they use dogs for both human and pet research, and let me tell you it is heartbreaking.  Besides the fact that the standards of care are far less than optimal, a lot of stuff is allowed to go on "under the radar".