WARNING REGARDING RECALLED PET FOODS!

[monik7]

After reading the thread under "Itchy Dogs" I decided to consult the website listed in a post. I wanted to get my 2 dogs on better food. I bought EVO Turkey and Chicken Small Bites dry food. I started out putting a little of the new food with their current food. After 2 days they both developed diarrhea and one has thrown up twice. Today I took the food back to the store to get a refund. At that time I was informed of a recall that came out today stating that salmonella had been found in the Natura company plant that produces the brands Innovo, EVO, California Natural, Healthwise, Karma and Mother Nature.

Here's a link to the recall notice on the dog food website: http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food- ... june-2013/

Sandi

[avalen]

hope your pooches feel better soon

[OregonLuvr]

Since I changed my dog to grain free and chicken free she has been way less itchy. It didnt cure everything but she is doing so much better this past year. I feed Nutri Source and the biggest problem is finding it. I have a local pet store ran by 2 fellas who are very knowledgeable and they recommended this and so far so good.

karen

[Redetotry]

Sandi I hope your dogs are better soon. I posted the link and I'm sorry the recall notice isn't noted on the specific food but over to the side under recalls. Unfortunately Natura sold out to Proctor and Gamble a few years ago. P & G has a bad reputation for buying out good companies and then changing the ingredients. Several dog food brands have had recalls after being bought by them. Most Natura products have been off the shelves where I buy dog food but I noticed Monday a few items were back.

This link tells the recent recalls of all brands and has a link to sign up to receive recall notices.
http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-recalls/

[carolb]

Thanks for passing on the word. Hope your poopers feel better soon!

[bfandlw]

Thanks so much for your post!!! After weeks of (3) sick dogs I was advised there was a recall for INNOVA by the pet store. (Only after returning to buy another bag) Purchased a small bag of INNOVA which was not in the recall. The dogs continued with sick stomachs and diarrhea. The same day I read your post I had been back to the pet store and purchased more INNOVA small bites dry food. I checked the web site out of curiosity, low and behold INNOVA had again been recalled that day by the FDA! So all these weeks I was feeding my sick babies food that was making them sick again and again! If I had not read your post, my babies would still be sick. Changed their food and everyone is back to normal now. THANKS AGAIN!

[monik7]

Thanks so much for your post!!! After weeks of (3) sick dogs I was advised there was a recall for INNOVA by the pet store. (Only after returning to buy another bag) Purchased a small bag of INNOVA which was not in the recall. The dogs continued with sick stomachs and diarrhea. The same day I read your post I had been back to the pet store and purchased more INNOVA small bites dry food. I checked the web site out of curiosity, low and behold INNOVA had again been recalled that day by the FDA! So all these weeks I was feeding my sick babies food that was making them sick again and again! If I had not read your post, my babies would still be sick. Changed their food and everyone is back to normal now. THANKS AGAIN!

I'm glad the post helped Becky. My younger dog is pretty much back to normal, but my older one still has some diarrhea. BJ suggested giving them yogurt to help their stomachs get back to normal. She also suggested pure pumpkin although my dogs won't eat it. They did like the yogurt though.
Sandi

[Cougarfan]

Thanks for posting this Sandi.

My Mom currently has 2 cats that have salmonella poisoning from Innova food. She lost another one this past winter who had the same symptoms but there's no way to know since she was an older cat (17yrs old I think) and my Mom thought it was just old age (didn't make it any easier to take that last trip to the vet). So far, one of the cats seems to be recovering fine although it is a slow, slow process. The second cat is starting to eat again but barely enough to survive at this point. She is on a second type of antibiotic to see if that will help.

Angry doesn't even begin to describe what my Mom is feeling right now. All the food gets put into airtight containers right from the store so she doesn't have the original bags to return them or pursue other avenues to recoup the $$$ she has spent at the vet in the last month.

I hope everyone's affected animals recover quickly and completely.

Laura

[Bethers]

Oh Laura, that's terrible. So sorry to read this.

Sandi, I've always given my dogs rice when they had diarrhea. Yogurt gave one of my dogs worse diarrhea (milk products can do that) so never used it again - although I know lots say it works well. Peaches has the constitution of a horse (to use that old-time phrase) and hopefully always will.

So sad to hear so many pets have been effected by these foods.

[mitch5252]

..
With all the issues Abby has been having these past months, the vet told me to never give her dairy, including the tiny bit of cheese I used to disguise her heartworm pill. I just went looking online for info before I mentioned the dairy thing.

I found this very interesting slideshow from WebMD - Dangerous Foods Your Dog Should Never Eat (and dairy is on the list).

http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/ss/slideshow-foods-your-dog-should-never-eat

..

[Redetotry]

Mitch there are some dogs who can eat some dairy, think of all the people who take their dogs to the Dairy Queen, of course that may not have any dairy in it. The vet probably doesn't want Abby to have dairy because of her health issue with pancreatitis but small amounts, a rounded teaspoon for little dogs, of yogurt is recommended for dogs with loose stools if it has mucus in it, at least it is by my vet & I give them plain yogurt just because they like it fairly often. Also on that list they included raw food, but many people have put their dogs on a raw diet and swear by especially raw chicken wings. No, I would never feed raw because I don't want to touch raw meat that much! I've seen warnings about avocados but the Avoderm dog food that I mix with Fromn has avocados in it but maybe that's ok because it is cooked . There are several things like chocolate, especially dark chocolate, raisins and grapes that I am careful with but I remember 40 years ago I used M & M as treats, makes me wonder if chocolate has other things in it now because dark chocolate can kill a dog pretty quickly they say.

It is hard to know what to believe because the vets have certainly made plenty of mistakes with treating my dogs over the years, the most recent poor little Winnie which I will write about when I calm down a little more from her last appointment.

[SoCalGalcas]

Thanks Sandi for posting this warning.....this is the SECOND warning to come out about this product in the past several months.

Hope all the dogs and cats affected get better soon. We must watch out for P&G products! What is going on at their factory?

lyn

[Bethers]

When I was a child, my aunt fed her little dog pieces of chocolate to disguise meds, etc. Eventually her dog was on some meds for life. When the vet discovered she was giving all the meds in chocolate and forced her to stop, her poor little dog got well for the first time in years - and off most of the meds. She had been poisoning her dog - so the chocolate back then wasn't any different - just some dogs will be more likely to feel certain things.

When I had Tips, he ate every onion out of the ground he could find. No problems (onions are toxic to dogs) but give him dairy and a dog that could poop like a horse got the worst diarrhea you can imagine. Believe me when I say I quit dairy with him. Peaches does get some (a little) vanilla ice cream on occasion ... again, no reactions from her - but I'm careful about it. Just like with us humans - don't overdo anything and watch your pets with any substance - and if Peaches starts acting like she is itchy - no more dairy for her at all.

Love that link, Mitch - and love this:
"Dogs may enjoy plain white rice or pasta after it's cooked. And, a serving of plain white rice with some boiled chicken can sometimes provide welcome relief from gastrointestinal upset."

That's what I've always done for my dogs. And it's always worked.

[bluepinecones]

Hope all the fur babies are back up to par very soon.
I recently switched Nicky to another (hopefully better) food. It is really getting more difficult to know what to buy in the food line - human or pet.

[ialwaysneedaroadtrip]

This is so frustrating...I've been working in the pet service industry nearly my whole life, and stuff like this is just getting worse. We write and post a lot (among other things) about food on our blog: http://petdailypress.com/category/spotl ... spotlight/. The biggest challenge we have, in fact with our clients is about food.

My daughter and I have been feeding raw for several years now. Brands: Bravo (daughter) Instinct, Stella and Chewy's, and Northwest Naturals (me).
When we travel the kids get fed freeze dried raw. Brand: Stella and Chewy's.

Feeding raw helps put the animals' systems back to where they would be if they lived in the wild...which means that if/when they eat some salmonella (or something else that's "icky")...nothing really happens to them....it just passes through...as it should do.

It's people that they have to worry about. That's why these manufacturers have to put out these recalls...it in case your kid eats some kibble. My daughter use to sample it all the time when she was a toddler.

The problem is exacerbated by the lack of regulation, and the fact that most Vets these days are pushing food (BAD food) at their practices to help make ends meet. Those vets are reluctant to admit there's a problem when they do that.

Also, and unfortunately in the pet food industry all the usual suspects involved are "in bed" with each other. The food manufacturers, the factory farms, and the FDA/USDA. Nothing will ever change...I'm afraid because of the money involved.

I do hope all your animals all make it through OK!