Dismiss Notice
Hello Guest, Welcome to the new version of Sheltieforums.com. If you have any questions regarding the new software, please post in the following section: Forum Upgrade

DCM FDA Update

Discussion in 'Commercial Food' started by corbinam, Jun 27, 2019.

  1. Caro

    Caro Moderator

    8,459
    8,585
    585
    Jan 14, 2009
    This is a great read https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2019/07/grain-free-dog-food-fda-warning/593167/

    As Tully's IMS (internal medicine specialist) said, the boutique brands don't do recalls, not because they don't have any issues but because they don't have the quality control. They just quietly reformulate or do nothing. He doesn't treat dogs where the owners continue using boutique brands because he sees far too many dogs getting sick on it.

    At the moment there are only 5 brands who bother doing research, my hope is that companies will now make a bigger effort to research their products in light of what has happened. In the meantime the tax payers are now forking out for research that the companies should have done in the first place.

    For me the WSAVA guidelines is the basic I expect a dog food company to follow - it's been a real eye-opener to discover most companies don't! In Australia in the last couple of years there's been so many poorly formulated products causing deaths in cats and dogs that my trust is very low.

    Cheryl there are other sites on DCM. The one I read has over 80k member - it must be a nightmare to moderate. They present the research they find, I'm not sure what else people expect. Thousands of new members get on and ask what to feed their dogs or want to argue, and all the mods can do is refer to the 5 WSAVA compliant brands, you just cannot individually answer 80k people. If people want further information they should ask these questions of their own vets or a nutritionist (and not the high school student at the local pet store).

    I'd suggest to anyone not wanting to feed from the WSAVA compliant brands contact the company that produces the food you want to use and ask the WSAVA guideline questions that matter to you - things like where do you source your ingredients, where do you manufacture - is it in-house or out-sourced manufacture, how did you research and test your product, do you have a nutritionist on staff that formulates your product? Be pro-active.

    As for the continued comments about it being a very small number - very sad for the owners who's dogs have died. Remember these are only the proven cases - tip of the iceberg because most people will not be spending all the time and money to get an echo or necropsy. Think of a Venn diagram, the reported cases are a subset of a subset of a subset... If 100 people were known to have died (and hundreds of others made sick) by eating 'product X' would you still keep eating 'product X'?
     
    Last edited: Jul 3, 2019
    Sharon7, Sunflower77 and KarenCurtis like this.
  2. KarenCurtis

    KarenCurtis Premium Member

    4,281
    8,914
    540
    Jan 30, 2010
    Massachusetts
    Not all Purina is crap. There are good ProPlan foods, which I am feeding and will continue to feed, based on what Sandstorm's cardiologist recommended. This food is far different from Purina Dog Chow. I liked feeding SS Blue Buffalo, but now after seeing the cardiologist and reading ingredients on both the BLue Buffalo and the ProPlan, I don't think BB is a better food. I'll feed corn over peas, no problem. I don't care if it's a small number of dogs who were affected, one of them could be mine.
     
    Chris, Sharon7 and Sunflower77 like this.
  3. Sharon7

    Sharon7 Moderator

    7,147
    21,252
    710
    Oct 31, 2009
    Amen, Karen. I have done my research too and now feel OK about switching to ProPlan, I found one with very similar ingredients to what I was feeding, minus peas and things like blueberries. You can drive yourself crazy trying to manage every aspect of this but unless you are willing to make your own dog food, you have to just make the best informed choice you can.
     
    KarenCurtis and Chris like this.
  4. Chris

    Chris Forums Celebrity

    10,839
    10,225
    885
    Feb 25, 2008
    5B9D7C6D-974B-419A-B3A6-0ECA0A50C9B6.jpeg E0AE53F4-45D2-42E6-840A-B078F7BDF81D.jpeg 9F5738AA-DA3A-4A2E-9266-5C64EA320022.jpeg Here is the ingredient list for Stella and Chewy Raw Coated Kibble in chicken. We switched to match what Toshiro and Kiyomi eat back in October after careful research. I travel with the freeze-dried chicken for Layla and Penny. Everyone here is good with it, and Bitsy especially likes it.
     
  5. KarenCurtis

    KarenCurtis Premium Member

    4,281
    8,914
    540
    Jan 30, 2010
    Massachusetts
    Yep! I like the sensitive stomach ProPlan formulas, just as good as the BB I was feeding, and no corn. I am not unwilling to get a formula with corn, better than peas! I think I will stick to the salmon sensitive stomach and the lamb primarily though. Heck, my son has special needs, he ate one carrot when he was living with us, ONE, no vegetables. I picked my battles, lol.
     
    Calliesmom likes this.
  6. Shelby's mom

    Shelby's mom Forums Enthusiast

    1,308
    1,632
    205
    Jan 4, 2012
    I have been following all your replies. We have also decided to also switch to Proplan. Shelby gets itchy from chicken so this made it a little more difficult. I figure we can switch the protiens between the lamb, the beef, and the salmon. We were feeding her PureVita and Zignature before this. I hope the switch goes smoothly.
     
    Sharon7 and KarenCurtis like this.
  7. Sharon7

    Sharon7 Moderator

    7,147
    21,252
    710
    Oct 31, 2009
    Chris - with peas and lentils # 3 and #4, aren't you concerned? Seems like that's what they want us to steer away from... just asking. :hide
     
    Ann, Sandy in CT and KarenCurtis like this.
  8. k9kreationz

    k9kreationz Forums Celebrity

    5,295
    118
    195
    Oct 24, 2008
    The Big 4 are the only WSAVA approved lines, probably because they are the only ones who can afford to staff a vet nutritionist and do actual feed studies. LOL. But seriously, I want more answers. I want to know why they are saying "exotic" proteins when the one with the most hits is chicken - no one seems worried about that, especially that's the biggest things dogs seem to have sensitivities to; I find that truly interesting. Lots of peole are using lamb, but that's one of the proteins that have the lowest taurine. I want to know if rotation makes any difference between flavors, lines, and/or brands. I've read through the FDA spreadsheet, most of it was grain-free and very few rotated (most fed one brand/line/flavor for years, then changed).

    Also, I'm on that FB group. I realize they have to draw the line somewhere, also becuase I'm sure they could be sued since they are vets and stuff if they give out specific foods beyond the WSAVA guidelines. It's mainly info I've already seen, but it's great that they make people read through it; I just dislike the way some of the admins talk about those that don't conform (like myself - I'm still feeding Fromm and rotating between all flavors and even different brands).

    I've been talking with some people off the board (but from the board) who ask more questions than the Admin's and most of the group refuse to discuss or can answer and it's been really great! The conversations we have are intelligent and about what we know, not what we assume. That's what I wish that huge board was, but I understand, with over 80k people, you basically get what you do with anything else going on in this country right now (extremists). Not all, but again, the majority, including the Admins. I'm so disappointed about that.

    I am going to look into Nature's Logic based on some feedback I received. Maybe look into others like Eukanuba or ProPlan, but we'll see. I know corn bothers Maddie, so I need to stay away from that if possible. Except for treats, and maybe not even that, I don't think Koji has ever eaten corn. lol.

    Not really looking for answers here as I know no one has it. For me, this is hard...mainly because I go through 30lbs in about 2-2.5 weeks. :(
     
  9. Caro

    Caro Moderator

    8,459
    8,585
    585
    Jan 14, 2009
    Holy cow - is that 30lbs of dog food? That's heaps! I know on the IBD groups I feel sorry for all the people with big dogs that are feeding the vet diets, I'm struggling keeping Tully in her tins of Royal Canin GI and she's a tiny Sheltie!

    With the lamb, I believe there was a problem with lamb decades ago and they did a lot of research to work out how to formulate diets with lamb to ensure adequate Taurine levels, but I don't know if it's that complicated whether I would trust lamb from a small company - mind you, lamb is so expensive over here who could afford it!. Now you mention it, I wonder if that's the problem with 'exotic' meats - it's in the formulation. Being from Australia, Kangaroo doesn't seem an exotic meat, but maybe if it has never been researched as a source of commercial food then it could have the same problem as lamb once did?
     
    KarenCurtis, Ann and Wendy C like this.
  10. MissyGallant

    MissyGallant Forums Enthusiast

    1,104
    1,435
    205
    Dec 20, 2011
    Aaannnddd to add to the confusion- Hill's Science Diet just changed their formula and now yellow peas are ingredient #3. What is a yellow pea?
     

Share This Page