Updated Recall Information

mcemily said:
We currently have both Lerwick and our cat, Majo, on TOTW. Ugh. Neither one has shown any signs of illness (and neither have we, but then we've always used measuring scoops and washed our hands after handling pet food). It's really too bad. It took us a long time to find a food we were comfortable feeding Lerwick, and I have been really happy with TOTW, but of course we won't be feeding ANY Diamond-produced food after this! Like everyone's been saying, it isn't even this particular recall that has me concerned. It's the pattern. And, like others, I suspect there's more going on here that Diamond either hasn't discovered yet, or hasn't divulged to the public. So, sorry TOTW... but it's over between us. I'm looking to start the transition this weekend, when I can get out to the store to buy new food, but I'm running into some trouble picking a new food!

:gaah

It's really frustrating and challenging, because I've got a lot of factors to consider. I want it to be grain-free. I don't want it to have ever seen the inside of a Diamond plant. :lol: I need it to be affordable. And where I am running into the most trouble, is that it cannot contain any kind of poultry/fowl ingredients, as Lerwick cannot tolerate that. :ick

I know TOTW was about the most affordable grain-free food out there, so I am prepared to pay more for another food... but there's "more" and then there's "twice as much," or even more than that. Unfortunately, the only foods that I feel are at all comparable in price are also full of poultry/fowl, and therefore cannot be considered.

So far, the only dry, grain-free kibble I've come up with that do not have some chicken/turkey/duck/etc. (at least, according to their websites) are the Acana Ranchlands and Pacifica formulas, Fromm 4-star Beef Frittata Veg, Orijen 6 Fish, and Wellness Core Ocean Formula. Orijen and Wellness definitely don't fit in the "affordable" category for me, though. They're firmly in "costs twice as much" territory, and I really don't want to be there.

There is one other brand/formula I'm considering, too. Based on another post I saw in the commercial food section of the forum, I looked up Hi-Tek Naturals Grain Free kibble. One of their formulas, the Alaskan fish, doesn't have any poultry/fowl. This one is actually a few cents cheaper than TOTW, and it would definitely be my first choice... but to be honest, I'm not sure the Alaskan Fish variety actually exists! Even the page on their website that lists the ingredients and shows the bag, says "Chicken Meal and Sweet Potato Formula" as the title on the webpage. And although PetFoodDirect.com offers the other two Hi-Tek grain-free formulas, they don't seem to have the Alaskan Fish.

Guess I'm in for an adventure (and possibly a wild goose chase) at the pet supply store tomorrow! Fortunately there is one pet supply store in town that carries all the brands I'm considering, so I will be leaving there with new food for the pets, no matter what!
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I feed my guys Fromm. I have use all the grain free varieties as my limitation is cereal grains with Justice. The Beef Frittata and Veg is well liked here. I have been very happy with the results with my dogs. If it is in your budget I highly recommend it.
 
mcemily said:
We currently have both Lerwick and our cat, Majo, on TOTW. Ugh. Neither one has shown any signs of illness (and neither have we, but then we've always used measuring scoops and washed our hands after handling pet food). It's really too bad. It took us a long time to find a food we were comfortable feeding Lerwick, and I have been really happy with TOTW, but of course we won't be feeding ANY Diamond-produced food after this! Like everyone's been saying, it isn't even this particular recall that has me concerned. It's the pattern. And, like others, I suspect there's more going on here that Diamond either hasn't discovered yet, or hasn't divulged to the public. So, sorry TOTW... but it's over between us. I'm looking to start the transition this weekend, when I can get out to the store to buy new food, but I'm running into some trouble picking a new food!

:gaah

It's really frustrating and challenging, because I've got a lot of factors to consider. I want it to be grain-free. I don't want it to have ever seen the inside of a Diamond plant. :lol: I need it to be affordable. And where I am running into the most trouble, is that it cannot contain any kind of poultry/fowl ingredients, as Lerwick cannot tolerate that. :ick

I know TOTW was about the most affordable grain-free food out there, so I am prepared to pay more for another food... but there's "more" and then there's "twice as much," or even more than that. Unfortunately, the only foods that I feel are at all comparable in price are also full of poultry/fowl, and therefore cannot be considered.

So far, the only dry, grain-free kibble I've come up with that do not have some chicken/turkey/duck/etc. (at least, according to their websites) are the Acana Ranchlands and Pacifica formulas, Fromm 4-star Beef Frittata Veg, Orijen 6 Fish, and Wellness Core Ocean Formula. Orijen and Wellness definitely don't fit in the "affordable" category for me, though. They're firmly in "costs twice as much" territory, and I really don't want to be there.

There is one other brand/formula I'm considering, too. Based on another post I saw in the commercial food section of the forum, I looked up Hi-Tek Naturals Grain Free kibble. One of their formulas, the Alaskan fish, doesn't have any poultry/fowl. This one is actually a few cents cheaper than TOTW, and it would definitely be my first choice... but to be honest, I'm not sure the Alaskan Fish variety actually exists! Even the page on their website that lists the ingredients and shows the bag, says "Chicken Meal and Sweet Potato Formula" as the title on the webpage. And although PetFoodDirect.com offers the other two Hi-Tek grain-free formulas, they don't seem to have the Alaskan Fish.

Guess I'm in for an adventure (and possibly a wild goose chase) at the pet supply store tomorrow! Fortunately there is one pet supply store in town that carries all the brands I'm considering, so I will be leaving there with new food for the pets, no matter what!
Click to expand...
I
I don't know this Hi-Tek food at all, but I can speak positively about the Petcurean Go! and Now! products. My dogs have been on Now! for a couple of years. Canadian company that does it own manufacturing. I highly recommend it and I believe its a little cheaper than Acana and Horizen Legacy (both also Cdn and doing their own manufacturing).
 
Justicemom said:
I feed my guys Fromm. I have use all the grain free varieties as my limitation is cereal grains with Justice. The Beef Frittata and Veg is well liked here. I have been very happy with the results with my dogs. If it is in your budget I highly recommend it.
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The Fromm food is pretty high on my list. It's pretty reasonably priced online. Not sure what sort of prices this place will have, though. Also not sure if they'll have the formula we need.

BarbV said:
I
I don't know this Hi-Tek food at all, but I can speak positively about the Petcurean Go! and Now! products. My dogs have been on Now! for a couple of years. Canadian company that does it own manufacturing. I highly recommend it and I believe its a little cheaper than Acana and Horizen Legacy (both also Cdn and doing their own manufacturing).
Click to expand...

Go! and Now! were some of the first foods I looked up, as I know they are well liked here, and produced in their own factories from fresh, local ingredients. Unfortunately, they won't work for us. The Now! food has turkey and duck, and the only Go! formula that doesn't have poultry (the Sensitivity and Shine Salmon recipe) has grains in it.

I believe the Hi-Tek brand is only available here in the US at present, and only in select stores. I only found out about it myself from LadyMcBeth's post from yesterday. I've never seen it in any of the stores I've been in. According to the Hi-Tek website, there's only one store in a 25-mile radius around me that carries it. Online retailers offer it (though not the flavor I'm looking for, apparently), and it seems to cost about the same as Taste of the Wild.
 
Charlotte and Michael,

I would call the Hi-Tek company listed on the web-site in my other post and see if you can order direct from them, or find out what exactly is the status of the flavor you need. I, too, am switching to this brand.
 
mcemily said:
So far, the only dry, grain-free kibble I've come up with that do not have some chicken/turkey/duck/etc. (at least, according to their websites) are the Acana Ranchlands and Pacifica formulas, Fromm 4-star Beef Frittata Veg, Orijen 6 Fish, and Wellness Core Ocean Formula. Orijen and Wellness definitely don't fit in the "affordable" category for me, though. They're firmly in "costs twice as much" territory, and I really don't want to be there.

There is one other brand/formula I'm considering, too. Based on another post I saw in the commercial food section of the forum, I looked up Hi-Tek Naturals Grain Free kibble. One of their formulas, the Alaskan fish, doesn't have any poultry/fowl. This one is actually a few cents cheaper than TOTW, and it would definitely be my first choice... but to be honest, I'm not sure the Alaskan Fish variety actually exists! Even the page on their website that lists the ingredients and shows the bag, says "Chicken Meal and Sweet Potato Formula" as the title on the webpage. And although PetFoodDirect.com offers the other two Hi-Tek grain-free formulas, they don't seem to have the Alaskan Fish.
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Charlotte, all of those food that you mentioned are good foods. I think you'll be happy with any of them. I know first hand how frustrating it is when your dog has a poultry allergy. When Lexi was younger she couldn't eat kibble with chicken, either. We went from California Naturals, to TOTW to Acana. Now we're on Acana and I really like it. The dogs poop a lot less than they did on TOTW. (And for what it's worth, Lexi's chicken sensitivity has disappeared and we ca rotate through all the "flavors).

Good luck to you!
 
LadyMcBeth said:
Charlotte and Michael,

I would call the Hi-Tek company listed on the web-site in my other post and see if you can order direct from them, or find out what exactly is the status of the flavor you need. I, too, am switching to this brand.
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That is a good idea. I should have done that. :lol: Instead, I went to the store and talked to the manager (awesome guy) and learned from him that the fish flavor isn't being sold yet, but is coming soon. You'll have to let me know how you like the Hi-Tek, as we could switch to it later, once the flavor we need is available!

corbinam said:
Charlotte, all of those food that you mentioned are good foods. I think you'll be happy with any of them. I know first hand how frustrating it is when your dog has a poultry allergy. When Lexi was younger she couldn't eat kibble with chicken, either. We went from California Naturals, to TOTW to Acana. Now we're on Acana and I really like it. The dogs poop a lot less than they did on TOTW. (And for what it's worth, Lexi's chicken sensitivity has disappeared and we ca rotate through all the "flavors).

Good luck to you!
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I figured any food we chose on my list would be just fine. In the end, we also went with Acana for Lerwick (their Pacifica recipe). After my research into the various brands, it was my top choice. Mike agreed that it was worth the few extra dollars, too. The good thing is, we can actually feed Lerwick a little less Acana than we were feeding TOTW, so that will help stretch our dollar a bit. Acana also offers the buy 12, get one free, which TOTW doesn't do, so in about a year we'll see a nice savings from that. :smile2: I am also hoping for less poop with the Acana. There was a lot with TOTW. Of course, since we'll be feeding him a bit less, there will at least be that much less poop. I sure hope he eventually grows out of the poultry sensitivity. It's just in EVERYTHING.

We got Earthborn Holistics for Majo (our kitty)... but we may have to switch to Acana for her too. She's a pretty picky eater, and when we opened the bag of Pacifica for Lerwick, she started meowing her head off and actually jumped up on the table to investigate the bag! :lol: That is about the highest praise a pet food can get around here!

Now all that's left to do is monitor the pets for digestive upset due to the sudden switch (didn't see the point in prolonging their exposure to the TOTW, so opted not to do the gradual shift). I've got some canned pumpkin to add to Lerwick's food if necessary. I don't expect Majo will need any help. The new food is rather similar to the old, and she seems to have an iron stomach anyway.

Ha... "iron stomach," I say as she throws up her breakfast. :ick Well, she must like the new food ok. It's been a long time since she gobbled her food so fast it made her puke. :rolleyes2:

Well, looks like I have a mess to clean up, so I better post this and get out the carpet scrubber!
 
I put Tinsel onto Fromm Salmon and Tunalini as he is used to both ingredients and I wanted him off TOTW immediately. Once this bag is finished I will probably put him on Acana so that I can feed him and Phoebe the same thing. I was trying to move her onto a lower fat and protein while maintaining a yeast free, no grain, fish based food that doesn't have poultry products included - yikers! So far, it's day 2 and there is no sign of diareahha in Tinsel. I yanked him off the TOTW and straight to Fromm. Guess the puppymill gave him a strong constitution!
 
I just switched my one dog to Natural Balance because they have the limited ingredient diets which are also grain free. Luckily his bag isn't on the recall list, but I was still concerned so I contacted the company and they said in 2007 when there was a recall they wanted to assure their customer's their product was safe so they put in place their own testing (in house) so even though diamond says they test it Natural Balance has their own labs test each batch before it is even bagged and distributed to stores to sell and they post the results for every batch before it's actually on the shelves for sale. Not sure if I should stick with them b/c of the recall but so far I've seen great results with my dog who has had a lot of issues with being sick in Feb and again in April ( we've had to spend over 2,000 dollars on vet bills) and the only thing that seems to be is he has IBD so the vet has him on probiotics (Forta flora) and wanted us to switch to a limited ingredient food. I know Fromm has grain free but not sure how well he would do on it. We feed our other dog Fromm Adult Gold (and the dog with stomach issues was on the same until we switched). Hmmmm......what to do? :gaah
 
This is a tough call.

The recall seems to have died down, and we are now in the process of cleaning up and shipping back the recalled stock. And about ready to put back the non-recalled stock on the shelf. I have to admit that I'm hesitant about it.

I would like to believe the scare is over as we really have had no further updates for the last few days.

I'm going to give it a couple more days before I restock my shelves.

For those of you needing to transition quickly.....pumpkin and yoguort are your friends. There are also supplements you can buy to sprinkle on the food to assist in transition. And if you transition, look for a product that has mostly the same ingredients, in the same order and the same protein/fat levels. If you can transition within the same brand, that makes it even easier.

This has been a horrible period for pet owners and pet suppliers. And it will undoubtedly redefine the pet food industry entirely. Stay tuned for the fallout!

Hugs to all of you dealing with this.
 
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