are u aware of expansion of dog food recalls into DRY foods and extentions of recall lot dates?

Question

Royal Canin had a number of expanded recalls incl dry foods and now other pet foods have as well incl. some dry dr's Foster and Smith, and other Chenango Valley pet foods.
http://www.itchmo.com/read/new-recalls-more-recalls-from-chenango-valley-pet-foods_20070518

Hate to say it, but Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance was one of the blends that was involved in a recall when many of the premium blends were recalled. Until the melamine crisis is confirmed by the FDA to be cleaned up and no longer a threat at all, their guarantee, I wouldn't buy it, but that is just me.

To Postalbb: So sorry to hear about your losses! I am glad my dogs food was not recalled but I considered and am still considering a homemade diet. They did good on it before and also did good on a raw diet.
Glad your pets are doing good now.

To Kate: I'd err on the side of caution. Those wet foods were "voluntary recalls" and considering how hard pet food co's were hit, they would not be quick to recall their dry foods. Until the FDA comes out and says there is no longer contamination, it isn't worth waiting for a recall. Remember, food was on the shelves for mos that was suspected of contamination before it got removed. Also, pet deaths were severely under-reported or under acknowledged by FDA.
I have a feeling money is standing in the way of corporate complete honesty, but that is just my gut feeling on this.

Answer 1

Yes, the first dry food was put on the recall list about a month ago.

Make your own chow for the time being. You can use better ingredients at a reasonable cost. Cow pieces and parts are sold in bulk at warehouse stores and mixed with cheaper meats, you can cook a whole batch at once because it freezes beautifully. I add a smidge of butter to each meal (so my dog doesn't turn into a dandruff ball) some kosher salt (to retain water) and a dog mineral/vitamin supplement.

Answer 2

Thank you for the information. I lost two dogs to the canned food recall, one on March 5 and one on March 15, just before they released the recall information. We were feeding our oldest dogs canned Nutro. Our younger dogs were throwing up and showing signs too, but they were only getting a little (one piece of meat split between 2 dogs) canned food and it was not enough to do permanent damage.

We still have the dry Nutro we stopped feeding them (lamb & rice) because they were throwing up even after we stopped the canned food. We switched them to Precise and they have been doing well ever since. We had blood work run on 3 of the little ones that showed they were okay. The others we didn't have tested because they were not as bad as the ones we had tested. I am just waiting for the Nutro dry to be recalled. I know it will be sooner or later.

Thanks again for the information...it was horrible losing two dogs, I hope no one else has to lose any pets because of the negligence of the pet food companies and greed of Menu Foods.

Answer 3

When dog food is recalled for Salmonella it's more for the protection of the humans handling the food that for the safety of the dog. Dogs can safely ingest salmonella....it's when humans handle the food and then don't immediately wash their hands that there can be a problem. I also feed Raw so I'm sure my dogs ingest salmonella regularly, which makes this recall not all that alarming since you should always wash your hands after handling dog food whether you are feeding kibble or raw.

Answer 4

Two brands I have used that have not been affected in either wet or dry form are:

1. Verus (www.veruspetfoods.com)
2. Eagle Pack (www.eaglepack.com)

Another excellent food that you can get online is Honest Kitchen. (www.honestkitchen.com)

For myself, I've gone back to cooking real food for my dogs. I was leaning this way before all the recalls, but that pushed me over the edge. Now they eat better than me! :-)

As Benjamin Franklin said, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." or to put it more succinctly . "Better safe than sorry!"

Answer 5

I switched to Dick Van Patton's Ultra Premium dog food and will never again return to a big name dog food. If I ever hear about Van Patton's being recalled or any product from the company that owns it I will start buying food from a local place that makes it fresh from local ingredients. It will be expenjsive but I am tired of this sh*t.

Answer 6

thanks for the info i couldn't find a place to list the dog foods that were recalled this helped alot.

i was wondering if any iams dry food was effected i am still feeding my mini pin iams mini chunks dry food and he seems fine. ???

Answer 7

Yes - it seems that it is becoming a good idea to learn to make your own.
http://www.i-love-dogs.com/dog-food-recipes.html
Good luck and I hope your pup stays healthy!

Answer 8

Yes I have been staying informed but thanks for trying to keep everyone informed.

Answer 9

thanks for the update

Answer 10

Thanks for the info!