Oh yes, if there there is a recall even from a small company I have every confidence that I will know about it because the store I buy from puts updates on their facebook and they also boldly post it on their website too...there are definitely ways to find out.
:)

I admit, I am woefully uninformed about various companies and their animal testing or possible animal cruelty.

I'm sorry Tubby is suffering gas and I hope you can find just the right food for him. It is tough making choices and reading all of the info out there is enough to make anyone's head spin. There is no perfect product or company, but homecooking is not an option for me. My dogs are much safer eating kibble.

Oh I have never seen that there was gastro problems when eating it. I have only heard great things too. It's so hard to know what to believe as fact and what is here-say....this has been a wild ride for me!

Let me try to explain this better, a larger company sells more, so they have more consumers. They will find out if there is a problem sooner than if a company only sells to 1000 people.

Well to be honest Tubby has a strong stomach and has never had any issues from anything I have fed him (other than gas) but the concern I would have with homemade for him is weight-I would have a hard time keeping everything straight and making sure I am making the right food so I am just more comfortable buying a good dry food for him.

My concern with what I buy for him is to make sure he is getting the nutrition he needs so he lives a healthy long life!! :)
Everyone that meets him wants to take him home because he is such a sweet dog and I want to give him the same love and care that he gives us! :love:

On a side note-Lucy loves the L/D and is doing really well! :

Let me explain as well...that particular site is not the only one that has bad things to say about P&G...there are many.

IMO I don't have anything against a larger company or P&G-unless there have been issues and if you read about what they did with Iams again it is just my opinion that they just don't have the best interest of our furbabies in mind.

I am in no way telling anyone what to do but I trust the people at the pet supply that I go to and I thought maybe others would like to know and then they can research if they want to and come to their own conclusion.

I long ago rejected using dog food in favor of cooking for my dogs. However, convenience foods are sometimes needed -- both for me :) and for my doggies. So, I have tried many brands over the years. I remember the brand new BB and the reps in the store talking it up, so I bought it, and it was a matter of a day or two before my dogs had gastric distress and diarrhea. Recently, I put my dog Teddy on RC at the suggestion of my veterinarians, including one who is ACVN and I would trust over any employee of any store or rep of any company or internet armchair nutritionist. I have been so impressed with the food that I have been very lazy about cooking.

I just don't trust companies who don't do feeding trials. And I do believe larger companies with more at stake in international markets are going to do it all better than the little guy, sorry to say. I stand by my home cooking as my #1 choice to feed my dogs. Second to that, I will go with the large companies who have ACVN vets on staff who conduct feeding trials and perform research to better the field of canine nutrition, health and disease. None of the little guys are doing anything to better canine nutrition, why not?

I have seen too many threads here and other dog forums where a person says my dog is sick and has these symptoms...and when asked what food the dog eats, it is often BB. That is what put me off.

I would agree with this most of the time, but the case of Orijen cat food in Australia doesn't fit. Orijen cat food represented a tiny, almost immeasurable part of the market, and the deadly problem was identified almost instantly when the cats became sick (took time for the toxic, vitamin-deficient food to have its effect).

This recall was due to irradiation upon import into Australia. It should be noted that Australia only irradiated Orijen cat food because, according to the RSPCA position statement, irradiation is only required when "...the manufacturer’s processing is deemed insufficient and importers are offered further heat treatment or gamma irradiation as a treatment option."

What is RSPCA Australia's position on the irradiation of imported pet food products? - RSPCA Australia knowledgebase

It is unforgivable that Champion did not test what the irradiation did to their food before they allowed it to be sold.

Very happy to hear this. :)

It seems like Champion didn't even KNOW until AFTER what the levels of irradiation were in Australia for pet food. :thumbdown:thumbdown

"Champion Petfoods Ltd, was unaware of the irradiation process for imported cat foods with fresh ingredients"

http://www.championpetfoods.com/Aust...ease_Nov28.pdf

Yes, I read about that, good for the vets for reporting it right away. Sometimes I wonder how many cases have to be reported before a company does something?

I was told about RC from Lea's PP. I had heard some good and some bad about RC....but maybe that will be another possibility for me too. I did get some samples from them so maybe I will try that! :)

I don't think it is many. When a batch of Petcurean's Go! produced at the plant that makes Merrick killed 12-13 dogs, the company pulled the food. Info on that case is hard to find, so I'm not sure over what period of time that took place. It is still a somewhat mysterious case. Maybe Crystal has found better info. Petcurean now produces all of their products in one place. (this took place in 2003, I believe)