New food -- Pure Vita

M

Mom2Melli

Forums Enthusiast
Here we go again. I was a TOTW fan but there are problems -- the biggest being being made by Diamond and having less quality control than I like. After the ingredients from China part, the couple recalls, and the stories of people getting rancid and entirely wrong food in the bag, bye TOTW.

I switched to Acana Ranchlands because my shepherd is intolerant of anything but bison, lamb, and beef, perhaps some fish but the waters of the world are tainted and that is not my preference. I like Acana but at $83 a bag that lasts 3-4 weeks for the three dogs, yikes! I also really don't like the 31% protein. We aren't that active. I found that straight Acana also appears somewhat constipating to all 3. Since we have been on Acana, Melli has had yeast infections of the ear twice and a urinary infection that I didn't get rid of the first time and required repeat treatment. I am thinking the pH of Acana is not working for her, though the shepherd has done quite well with NO grumbly tummy business.

I was poking around and Pure Vita Bison Entree by Nutrisource showed up online. Single source protein, bison, 26% protein, 8.5% fiber (wow). It has cranberry and it looks like 4 strains of probiotics/digestive enzymes. Smells good. Melli is switched 100%. The boys are still 50/50 with Acana. The switch was easy and caused no problems.

Anyone use this food? Any dealings with Nutrisource? The customer service says they DO buy minerals from Europe with vitamin C from Asia but that there are 2 separate lab testings before it is used and then 2 separate lab testings of the product before distribution. Says they have never had a recall in 50 years in business. Brand new facility just constructed. Not that I truly believe anyone but it was worth asking. Oh, and they are American bison from Montana and Wyoming.

Input? Anyone? At $20 a bag cheaper (Chewy delivery) that will certainly add up.
 
Mom2Melli said:
After the ingredients from China part, the couple recalls, and the stories of people getting rancid and entirely wrong food in the bag, bye TOTW.
Click to expand...

Gulp. I think I had that happen to me- I think we got the wrong food in the bag. I suspected was something was wrong, but it was the first bag of TOTW I had bought in a year or so. The kibbles were smaller than I expected, and had a lot of crumbs in the bag. When I opened a new bag a month later, they were the size I remembered and smoother in texture. I kept checking the first bag to see if maybe I grabbed the puppy version, nope- the bags matched. Now I'm mad at myself for not acting on my instinct. I was trying not to overreact because I was giving TOTW a second chance. Luckily there weren't any consequences.. Missy didn't get sick. It might be back to the drawing boards for us. Can't give Missy beef or bison, she seems to be allergic to it. No problems with lamb, chicken, fish, or duck.
 
I haven't used Pure Vita but we carry it in the holistic pet food store I work in and it's become quite popular. Dogs do well on it and it has a good reputation. More and more people are steering away from TOTW for a variety of reasons, from dogs that don't tolerate it well to the recalls.

Our store owner is very knowledgeable about pet food and is very picky about what she stocks, so I'd say Pure Vita is probably a good choice.
 
Check out the whole Pure Vita and the other nutrisource lines. They have a variety of meat sources and formulas with a variety of protein levels and types of ingredients. We are just the bison clan and I liked the whole package of the Pure Vita line. Melli is doing well so far. We shall see when the shepherd is 100%.

I did give TOTW another try. I used it, I stopped with the recall a few years ago and tried other stuff, I tried it again and found it not up to snuff and my shepherd having trouble tolerating it without the grumbly tummy.

I do really really like Acana but $83 a bag is just harsh. That and I really prefer a more moderate protein level as we are not performance dogs.

Anyway, check them out. Maybe it will suit some people's needs. Thank you to Ann pointing out it has been chosen to be carried by a descriminating shop.
 
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