Just found out that some good dog foods were bought out by P&G

[TorchTheWitch]

P&G being Proctor & Gamble that ruined Iams.

This occurred back in June, 2010, but I just found out about it now and some dog food sites are still rating these dog foods as top ones.

Proctor & Gamble bought out Nutura that makes Innova, Evo, California Natural, HealthWise, and Karma Organic Dog Food back in June of 2010. Same company that ruined Iams when it bought them and several other dog foods, deceptively switched ingredients, lied about it and didn't change the ingredients information on the bags which it was sued for (replaced chicken with chicken by-products, rice with barley, etc.). Been through this crap with Iams before, so no more Innova for Yoshi. I was wondering why his tummy seemed to not take to it very well and started giving him half Innova and half Newman's Own which has improved things but not good enough...

http://www.dogfoodscoop.com/natura-dog-food.html

[Curmudgeoness]

1. I am glad that you posted this

as a separate post. This information is too important to be lost in another post. Some of these brands are very respected, and it is important to know that the reputation may be all that is left.....for now.

[NRaleighLiberal]

2. Wellness is a great brand - our dogs thrive on it.

[TorchTheWitch]

5. Wellness is still rated very highly

Do you know if they make a wheat free dry puppy food? I've always had good luck with Blue Buffalo but Yoshi just doesn't like it very much though I suppose we could try a different flavor. He's been on Innova for awhile and now I don't want to feed it to him anymore. Aside from having not very well formed poops that are quite stinky he's been fine on it, but since switching him to half Innova and half Newman's Own that problem half cleared up, so I definitely think there's some kind of issue with the Innova. Now that I find out that P&G bought out Innova I don't trust it. But Newman's Own is for adult dogs and it isn't wheat free. Yoshi really should still be on puppy food for another few months and I'd really like him to be off the wheat and most other grains (rice and oats are probably ok though I'd prefer no grains at all as long as he's doing properly formed poops).

Well, I checked their website and they don't make a grain free dry puppy food and they don't tell you on the website what grains are in it. I'll have to read the bags I guess.

[tpsbmam]

11. TTW, call Wellness. They've always been very responsive & forthright when I call them.

I can't remember why I have in the past (aside from checking on where they get their ingredients, posted below), but I have a couple of times. They'll definitely tell you exactly what all their ingredients are.

1-800-225-0904

[tpsbmam]

9. That's what my little ones eat, including a westie with chronic pancreatitis & GI issues

Ashie (the westie) had been on Hills prescription food since puppyhood. She was a rescue when she was 5-months-old. A family had bought her from a local pet store that doesn't buy from puppy mills but does buy from backyard breeders, which is where I suspect Ashie came from. The family ostensibly gave her up because they decided they just couldn't handle having a dog at that point. Poor little thing had been kept in a crate most of the time.

Not too long after I got her, her pancreatitis flared. I suspect this is the true reason the family gave her up. She's had maybe 5 flare ups during the course of her life with me -- she's now 11 and hasn't had a flare up for about 6 years now. I'm incredibly careful & persnickety about everything that goes in her mouth. She also has inflammatory bowel, which she developed about 2-3 years ago. I woke up one morning to discover Ashie covered with blood & incredibly weak. I raced her to the vet and by god I got her back the next day looking considerably better. The vet said it was rare that they saw a dog come in as sick as she was and not only survive but bounce back the way she did. (She also had a bout last year with paralysis of her back legs....embolism in her spine....damned if she didn't bounce back from that too and she's walking pretty normally today!) She was put on Hills early on and I kept her on it until about a year+ ago. She again started having problems -- not her pancreatitis but other GI problems that the vet thought might be food allergies. Monty ate Wellness so we switched her to that. She's been thriving on it! She eats Wellness core mixed with canned (usually the duck & sweet potato). I've only stayed away from the chicken due to the possibility of a food allergy -- that's what's in Hills. (I frankly doubt that the food allergy was accurate. Though Hills has a lot of crap in their food, so it may well have been the crappy ingredients her system didn't like. They still eat baked Hills for treats and she does fine with that.) She can eat most of the canned Wellness because the fat content is low for most -- as low or lower than the Hills.

The other thing that really bothered me about Hills is their refusal to divulge anything about the origin of their ingredients. When the whole Chinese pet food poison issue came up, I called Hills to ask the origin of their ingredients -- they refused to tell me, setting off alarm bells in my head. I called Wellness and they were absolutely forthright. (Nothing comes from China....the only imports were things like beef from New Zealand.)

Monty also loves Wellness. He's the only picky eater I've ever had, which is ironic given his humble beginnings! His only health issues have been dental. His little mouth was full of rotten teeth & infection when I got him, necessitating major dental work & pulling 8 teeth. He had one more of those about 6 months ago -- it appears by this point that his dental problems are chronic. They again pulled a bunch more teeth -- they had to. Little guy's gums are rotting away, poor baby. He had such a rotten beginning, they speculate this has to do with being part poodle (apparently dentation is a problem with the breed.....I've never had a poodle so I dunno) and probably malnourished from the start up until I got him. He eats Wellness small breed dry mixed with one of the canned foods -- he likes them all, including the new(ish) stews. One day I suspect he'll have to eat 100% canned as his dental woes progress. Good thing he loves all of the canned! Oh, one note -- before this last dental disaster, I tried him on Ashie's Core. He didn't like it. It may well have been because of his teeth -- Core is bigger than the small breed food. But that's the only Wellness food he rejected.

I heartily endorse Wellness. They're also an awesome company to deal with.

[Stinky The Clown]

3. What do you know about Costco's Kirkland brand?

We switched ours from Iams to that a year or so ago. The big one has a sensitive stomach and she seems to be much happier with the Kirkland than she was with Iams.

[TorchTheWitch]

6. four out of five stars

according to this review site which is a pretty good site...

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/kirkland-signature-dog-food/

Just for chuckles, check out the photo on this review site's worst of the worst page...

http://www.dogfoodscoop.com/bad-dog-food-list.html

[Stinky The Clown]

7. That's a funny picture

Our cats like to drink from that bowl!

Diamond is on the worst list. Diamond (I think) is who makes the Costco food.

[PotatoChip]

10. Oh wow. I wish I had seen this site years ago.

At a dollar a lb, I would have thought Eukanuba would have done better then 3 stars. Grr!!!

Pic in 2nd link cracked me up! Thanks for this, and your OP TTW.

[Texasgal]

14. Yup. Eukanuba

was what we WERE feeding the brood.

I'm kinda surprised myself.

[PotatoChip]

15. Well the good news is that

there seems to be plenty of other highly rated brands that may be less expensive, and of course, better for your brood.

Good to find out sooner than later. Plus, they may like the change!

[roody]

4. My dogs and cats do well on Avoderm.

[phylny]

8. Well, this is very interesting news.

A few months ago, I shared our struggle with Abby, our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, who was very sick, losing weight fast, and had no spark to her at all. She had always had Innova Adult Dry dog food/small bites and never had a problem (other than being a picky eater, but that's a Cavalier for you). She started to cough up and puke up mucous and saliva in the morning, her poop looked like runny peanut butter, and she was lethargic and listless. We ended up bringing her to Virginia Tech's small animal hospital, where she was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. What was funny is that she's gotten better by changing her diet alone, and doesn't need steriods to keep her stool solid. Her vet trips cost us over $1,500 and ended up costing her her coat, which was previously pretty and ended up brittle, dry, and she has about 1/4 of the coat she previously had.

She's currently on Purina HA, what I call a crap dog food (the vet got pissed off at me, but it is) because it's all she could digest. She's gotten better on it, but we're having to supplement her to get her coat and skin normalized again. I'm waiting about another month until I think her belly is healed, and then I'm going with Dr. Harvey's for both of our dogs. It's going to be more expensive (because you add meat) but we can swing it, and I don't want to see her go through that again.

http://www.drharveys.com/

I will check on the AvoDerm, thanks for that info.

[get the red out]

12. Taste of the Wild is good

Layla does great on Taste of the Wild. I had her on Wellness as a puppy but she seems to prefer grain-free. Both those brands were recommended to me by people who had dogs when we got her.

[Texasgal]

13. Since becoming a new mother

we started using wellness brand under the advice of our vet. Beaulah had giardia when we got her and was extremely ill. She barfed and barfed and couldn't keep much down.

Throughout her treatment the vet suggested the wellness brand. We started with her and now the other dog and my cat eat it. They eat much less and poop less too. Their coats are shiny and eyes very clear.

It's more expensive but I highly recommend it!