Natural Balance Potato and Duck

[Sumac3890]

I do not use that food, I believe I did at one time. But they really should of made a notification on the bag that it was changed- would of saved a lot of upset tummy's. Dani I hope youre dad hears from them and good for him for writing them and sending copies of the vet bills.

 

[Ann]

Actually, now I'm looking at the NB website... they say:

"We have recently improved our Potato & Duck Formula by adding more fresh duck and potato protein...This change was made because we have found it increasingly difficult to obtain the quality and quantity of duck meal that our rigorous standards require, therefore we have elected to remove this ingredient. "

The current ingredients list is:
Potatoes, Duck, Potato Protein, Canola Oil (preserved with natural mixed tocopherols), Potato Fiber, Natural Flavor, [various supplements]

So it appears that, instead of meaning "duck protein and potato protein", they do mean "duck" and "potato protein". If the ingredient is actually "duck", that implies a whole-meat ingredient... but I wanted to be sure.

So I called Natural Balance. Customer Service informs me that "duck" does just mean "duck meat". I even asked if there were any beaks, feathers, or feet involved - and the answer was no.

Of course, the company absolutely SHOULD have alerted consumers to the formulation-change; even an improvement in a formula can cause major digestive upset. But in this case, in having gone from a meat meal (which has all kinds of duck-bits in it) to a whole meat, the food has been improved.

A duck, is a duck, is a duck.

This may be true, but if it is it doesn't explain why so many dogs are getting sick on the new formula, or why the company is recommending that the "new formula" be introduced slowly even if you are feeding the old formula. If the change were duck to duck, or apples to apples, it wouldn't cause such digestive upset to so many dogs.

I also seem to recall that this is one of the few "premium food" companies that was named in the big recalls two years ago that made so many dogs sick. Two strikes is enough for me....I'm out.

 

[BarbV]

This may be true, but if it is it doesn't explain why so many dogs are getting sick on the new formula, or why the company is recommending that the "new formula" be introduced slowly even if you are feeding the old formula. If the change were duck to duck, or apples to apples, it wouldn't cause such digestive upset to so many dogs.

I also seem to recall that this is one of the few "premium food" companies that was named in the big recalls two years ago that made so many dogs sick. Two strikes is enough for me....I'm out.

Ah, that's too bad! It's a pain when you settle on something that seems to be working and are forced to change.....with no warning. What are you going to do?

 

[tofu pup]

I also seem to recall that this is one of the few "premium food" companies that was named in the big recalls two years ago that made so many dogs sick. Two strikes is enough for me....I'm out.

That's 100% right. They were using rice protein from China in their venison formulas, and the protein got "bulked" with melamine before export. Yikes. (That's why they now have the test results for every batch up on their website.)

This situation really underscores just how much trust we place in the companies that make our dog food: when their food is day-to-day foundation of what our dogs eat, we need it to be wholesome and of course, of consistent quality.

 

[danisgoat]

Actually, now I'm looking at the NB website... they say:

"We have recently improved our Potato & Duck Formula by adding more fresh duck and potato protein...This change was made because we have found it increasingly difficult to obtain the quality and quantity of duck meal that our rigorous standards require, therefore we have elected to remove this ingredient. "

The current ingredients list is:
Potatoes, Duck, Potato Protein, Canola Oil (preserved with natural mixed tocopherols), Potato Fiber, Natural Flavor, [various supplements]

So it appears that, instead of meaning "duck protein and potato protein", they do mean "duck" and "potato protein". If the ingredient is actually "duck", that implies a whole-meat ingredient... but I wanted to be sure.

So I called Natural Balance. Customer Service informs me that "duck" does just mean "duck meat". I even asked if there were any beaks, feathers, or feet involved - and the answer was no.

Of course, the company absolutely SHOULD have alerted consumers to the formulation-change; even an improvement in a formula can cause major digestive upset. But in this case, in having gone from a meat meal (which has all kinds of duck-bits in it) to a whole meat, the food has been improved.

A duck, is a duck, is a duck.

So.....they are limiting the duck, by adding duck meat (not dehydrated yet so that it is why it is the first ingedient) and increasing potato protein. The duck meal has already been dehydrated....so it contains more duck.

The problem lies with the fact that the dogs main protein source is now from Potatoes, not meat. They admit that they are using less duck, because they state that they are having "trouble" finding duck in the US, so they needed to come up with an alternative. The more you dig....the more crap you find about this change.

This is not an improvement, but a cost saving measure for the company.

No matter what the deal is. Our dogs were SICK. Like REALLY SICK. We are not the only ones with this problem. Just search the product and type sick dog and there are LOTS of discussions coming up on it. I assume that in time, this will become public knowledge. You can't make this many dogs ill, and have not bad effects.

 

[Ann]

Ah, that's too bad! It's a pain when you settle on something that seems to be working and are forced to change.....with no warning. What are you going to do?

Well, for now I'm feeding her Eagle Pack Holistic Duck and Oatmeal which is a wonderful food, but she really does better with grain free. So I've ordered Pinnacle Duck and Potato which really is even better than what the Natural Balance was supposed to be. Not sure how I missed that one in my research, but it does look like a better food overall. The ultimate test is if she remains seizure free. Stay tuned....

 

[danisgoat]

Well, for now I'm feeding her Eagle Pack Holistic Duck and Oatmeal which is a wonderful food, but she really does better with grain free. So I've ordered Pinnacle Duck and Potato which really is even better than what the Natural Balance was supposed to be. Not sure how I missed that one in my research, but it does look like a better food overall. The ultimate test is if she remains seizure free. Stay tuned....

I hope that this works out for you. Please keep us posted.