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Laura's Babies
07-05-2008, 10:13 AM
June 23, 2008


A series of mysterious illness and death dogs Nutro pet food. Scores of pet owners report their animals became ill while eating Nutro products, then recovered when they were switched to another brand.

At least six dogs have died in the past two months, according to an analysis of complaints to ConsumerAffairs.com. The company discounts the reports, saying they are isolated and unconfirmed; at least one Nutro employee, sickened by the company's response, told us she resigned.

In related developments, ConsumerAffairs.com has learned:

• The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently investigated the April deaths of two dogs in Indiana. The FDA tested samples of the Nutro food those dogs ate, but did not find any toxins. No one, however, has tested the Nutro food the other dogs ate before they died;

• A pet nutrition specialist for Nutro confirmed she's heard complaints about the company's food making dogs and cats sick. She reported those concerns to her supervisor, but said they were ignored. She recently resigned;

• There is a shortage of some varieties of Nutro dog food. The company says this is a supply problem – not a safety or quality issue;

• Some consumers have sent their pets' food to Nutro for testing. They have not received any results. Other pet owners plan to hire private labs to test their food and report their concerns to the FDA and the Animal Poison Control Center run by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).

The six dogs that recently died include two Italian Greyhounds in Indiana, a Beagle/Whippet mix in Pennsylvania, two German Shepherd puppies in North Carolina, and a Doberman Pinscher in Texas.

The dogs' owners all say their pets were in good health and they're convinced that Nutro's food is somehow connected to their animals' deaths. Those concerns are echoed by pet owners whose dogs and cats have recently become sick after eating the company's food.

Nutro, however, defends its products and says the food is 100 percent safe.

But scores of pet owners across the country -- including longtime Nutro customers -- no longer feel safe feeding this brand of food to their dogs and cats

Read the full article here
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/06/pet_food_recalls98.html

slleipnir
07-05-2008, 11:29 AM
Nice to know. I've been feeding mine nutro until a few months ago when they stopped making the food they ate (harring). Although, Zeke was doing quite well on it...

mugsy
07-05-2008, 12:45 PM
Yet another reason not to like Nutro...

Oh well, we found out last year that unless the company makes the stuff themselves, anything can happen.

I hope they figure it out quickly and fix the problem!

*LabLoverKEB*
07-05-2008, 01:30 PM
Oh, this is just great...:mad: My dad just recently bought 2 big bags of Nutro, Senior formula, and Lamb & Rice formula.:mad::mad: Anyone have any good reccomendations for a GOOD dog food that makes a senior formula, for my Sadie??

mugsy
07-05-2008, 01:39 PM
I would try Canidae Platinum (for older and overweight dogs). It has glucosomine and chondrotin in it. It also has a buying program (but you have to ask) where you buy 12 bags and the 13th is free.

I use Breeder's Choice Active Care (also the same buying program, but, you have to ask) Lamb and Rice (they have a Chicken and Rice as well) that has twice the glucosomine and chondrotin as any other food on the market. It's also lower in calories. It is an all life stage food.

www.canidae.com

www.breederschoice.com

lizbud
07-05-2008, 05:30 PM
The company denies the food is the cause of any sickness in these
particular cases.

http://www.nutroproducts.com/press7-2-08.shtml

catnapper
07-05-2008, 05:37 PM
Oh good god..... Nicki was vomiting all morning yesterday and died last night. Callie vomited this afternoon too (but not like Nicki did) and guess what they were eating????

I gotta go get another bag of food tonight :( :( :( :(

krazyaboutkatz
07-05-2008, 06:00 PM
This is horrible.:( I used to feed all of my cats the Nutro Complete formula a long time ago before Storm started having urinary tract issues. I also seem to remember that a few PT'ers were commenting on how their cats seemed to be throwing up more or acting sick while on Nutro so they were going to change foods.

Kim, I sure hope that the Nutro didn't cause Nicki's death.:( I also hope that Callie will be okay.:( I'd take the food back to the store where you bought it and complain and get my money back. You might also want to save some of it so it can be tested.

Now I feed all of my cats Innova Evo which is almost like feeding them a raw diet. I sure hope that more animals won't die from this food.:(

Craftlady
07-05-2008, 06:30 PM
Kim,
I'd save the bag the food came in from Nutro. It will have lot numbers etc.
So sorry to read about Nicki.

lizbud
07-05-2008, 07:50 PM
This CA article seems to be a rehash of an older article from last April.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/04/pet_food_recalls93.html

catnapper
07-05-2008, 08:49 PM
Kim,
I'd save the bag the food came in from Nutro. It will have lot numbers etc.
So sorry to read about Nicki.

The bag is long gone and I went to see how much was left in the storage tub..... maybe 2 cups worth of food, so they ate it all. What scares me is the listing of Pennsylvania and NEw Jersey dogs getting sick. It IS possible I have a bad lot too just because I'm in that region.

I have a bag of Eukanuba to replace the Nutro (didn't realize I HAD a different food because was prepared to take a 40 pound bag of un-opened Nutro back to the store tonight.) and I'm SO GLAD I didn't realize I had different food because then I'd have to throw out a ton of Eukanuba too because it would have been mixed.... thats what you get when you ask the hubby to pick up dog food - you get the wrong food which turns out to be a good thing.

Callie seems just fine. I did a bad job of trimming the fur on her legs and she's zooming around the house like a nut right now. She had oodles of treats in the process so I'll keep an eye to see if they come back up. She very well might have a hundred hairballs in her tonight because she ate half the fur I clipped off.:rolleyes:

Laura's Babies
07-06-2008, 10:10 AM
Drats catnapper, I am so sorry you lost Nicki! What a shame! (Wish I had found that sooner, it might have saved your baby.)

I think ANY food in question should be pulled from the shelves immediately until it is proven it is safe. They do not know what they are looking for in the Nutro so they can not test for it. They just need to test every ingredient they use to make it for any unknown substance that is not suppose to be there... More ingredients from China maybe? Who knows.

dukedogsmom
07-06-2008, 11:08 AM
I would try Canidae Platinum (for older and overweight dogs). It has glucosomine and chondrotin in it. It also has a buying program (but you have to ask) where you buy 12 bags and the 13th is free.

I use Breeder's Choice Active Care (also the same buying program, but, you have to ask) Lamb and Rice (they have a Chicken and Rice as well) that has twice the glucosomine and chondrotin as any other food on the market. It's also lower in calories. It is an all life stage food.

www.canidae.com

www.breederschoice.com
There's another problem and one that I'm facing. Canidae is outsourcing to Diamond :( I'm looking for another food option, now. Any ideas?

MoonandBean
07-06-2008, 01:39 PM
Ugh! I use Science diet puppy as Sunny's crunchies but I mix a large forkful of Nutro Max Canned puppy in with it. I also use the Nutro max puppy treats. I didn't have a dog last year with all the dog food scare but I think I remember that canned and treats were involved too.

dukedogsmom
07-06-2008, 01:42 PM
I'm going to try Blue Buffalo. I saw it on our ad page here. Sounds like a really good food. I'll have to drive about 45 minutes to Petsmart to get it but it will be worth it. I just hope Dasher likes it. I had looked into shipping but the charges were just too much.

zippy-kat
07-06-2008, 04:42 PM
Our cats eat Solid Gold and the dogs get Blue Buffalo. Sara's turned into a picky eater but so far so good on the Blue Buffalo.