Lucky for us, Purina has set up a website so we can follow along with the lawsuit.
Pet Food Honesty

I agree. The majority of synthetic vitamins are produced by China, so any dog food that uses them usually sources them from China. Fromm insists that they do not use any ingredients from China.

Reply from Dr. Remillard...
 

Dr. Remillard replied to my question about the quality of generic meat and bone meal vs. named meat sources:

"Our Response:

The real problem with "meat and bone" meal or “by-product” meal is the quality (nutrient profile) is entirely left up to purchaser (pet food company). There is meat and bone that contains little bone and high quality (organ) meats, etc and then there is meat and bone meal with a greater quantity of bone and less meat/more connective tissue.

Huge companies like Purina require such enormous volumes of all ingredients, they have legally binding contractual arrangements with suppliers for certain quality which includes specific nutrient profiles and then they affirm that nutrient profile in their own laboratories before it is included in a food. I am more concerned about the quality of the ingredients used by those companies that do not own their manufacturing plant, a co-packer is buying the ingredients and that company has lost control over product quality which is how unwanted ingredients end up in your product.


Respectfully,
R Remillard, PhD, DVM, DACVN"

This co-packing issue is of huge concern to me. A friend of mine one time got a bag of a holistic food and the food inside was different. She called the company and the representative just argued with her about it. They obviously lost a customer. I am in the process of picking a new food for Winston who seems to have an intolerance to chicken and cannot continue on his RC food. My top choice so far is Purina One beef and rice.

That would be me. It was Castor & Pollux, before they sold to Merrick. I had purchased the food for some time and I got a bag that had the wrong food in it....I knew exactly what the food looked like! The lady argued with me and never ONCE suggested I send it in to be checked. She told me they had changed the size of their kibble. She refused to hear me when I said the vegetable pieces were not there. At the time, I thought perhaps it was me....so when the bad was done (yes, I am an idiot and kept feeding it), I purchased another bag that was exactly what the original looked like! My antenna were up for sure then, and I spoke with my vet and wrote to a vet nutritionist who explained some things to look for to find a reputable company. In the middle of it all I also wrote to C&P and asked them who their "team of experts" they referred to on their website were. They did not respond to me. No more of that food! Now, I choose company first.

Co-packing is a big reason I have always had a distrust for Blue Buffalo. They are literally made in like 5 or 6 different plants. No one is going to tell me that they know exactly what is going into their foods.

Have you looked into Purina Sensitive Skin & Stomach? Purina Pro Plan Select Adult Sensitive Skin & Stomach Formula Dry Dog Food I have heard of a LOT of dogs who do very well on this food, especially those who cannot do chicken.

No I haven't because he does so well on beef. I have to spend more time looking but I emailed my vet and hoping she just tells me which one to use.

Maybe you should check it out. They are veterinary nutritionists. There is no such thing as a DOG nutrition degree. Veternarians study nutrition on hundreds of animals and while they may personally specialize in one particular animal's nutrition by working for a pet food company they did not earn a degree in DOG nutrition.

You keep saying the same thing and seriously what are you talking about. Someone who has a PhD in ANIMAL nutrition and a vet degree and is board certified by the ACVN is a DOG nutrition specialist. They don't all work for pet food companies.

There is a huge difference in studying and getting a degree in animal nutrition than having a non existing degree in DOG nutrition. A dog is one species of animal out of thousands of species. When a vet studies to get a degree in animal nutrition they learn about many species and not just one. It is not a specialization in dogs. A dog's nutrition is different than a cat's or a hamster's or a billy goat or a cow's. There is no specialization in dog nutrition that earns anyone a degree in dog nutrition.
The only specialization is when a vet nutritionist gets hired by a pet food company or a zoo or some other organization to work on their formulation of food. They do not earn any specialized degree. They just work for a company.
There are human nutritionists but how many humans ever go to one to learn how to prepare meals for themselves? Very few and usually only when they have come down with a disease caused by eating too much processed food!
My original statement was that there is no such thing as a degree in dog nutrition which is true. At least a human nutritionist only studies one species and knows the nutritional needs of the human body.

You're so sadly misinformed. But, good luck anyway.

Well let me know when you find a vet with that degree in dog nutrition.

OK so who do you think I should ask about my dog's diets? A human dentist? You? Some unknown lay person on the internet? Or perhaps Joe Blow on the street corner?
Seriously? Splitting hairs over dog and/or animal. I will stick with my vet nutritionist thank you. She is a vet and has studied animal nutrition. She has never worked for a pet food company. Works for me...and certainly works for my Cookie who has lymphangectasia. Her diet was formulated in 2011 by the vet nutritionist and she has done very well and is maintained now by that diet alone. NO meds.

Linda Cookie is doing amazing. I feel the same way about our vet nutritionist who has saved Daisy's life. Daisy was first diagnosed with liver disease, IBD and kidney disease at age 6 after many years of illness and frustration due to her terrible breeding. Our vet nutritionist not only had the degrees after her name but 20+ years of clinical experience working at one of the country's best and oldest veterinary hospitals where nearly 60,000 patients a year are seen. Clearly, her credentials set her at the top of her profession but all I cared about was that she could find a way for my dog to eat and have a quality of life. It was the best $95 consult fee and $50 diet I ever bought. More recently, we received another blow when I learned that her kidney disease was now a protein-losing disease with a poor one year prognosis. That was in August 2011. We are going on 3 years and because a slight modification was made to Daisy's diet by this wonderful DOG nutritionist, she is improving. At her last internal med visit, I asked when I should prepare for Daisy's end...when would the time come for fluids and dog hospice..and her internist shrugged, said she outlived his prognoses and she could develop some random new problem that might kill her first. He sent her on her way, told her to enjoy the spring and to keep feeding her the chick pea diet.

There ARE dog nutritionists. My dog is almost 14 now. Without her nutritionist, she would've been dead by 10. Instead, she's youthful, strong and happy. She eats soy nuggets and vegan food. If I fed her like a "dog" she would've blown a kidney and bled out from a stroke. There is no Internet fool that could have done what this vet did for my dog. Anyone attacking her or her colleagues is just not worthy of my time or interest. There will always be those who feed their dogs out of a garbage can. It's kind of like how hoarders don't think they are filthy pigs.

So you are saying it's not reasonable to ask a human dentist what dog food to feed or hop on over to the Merola site and ask the human doctor that's got the FDA breathing down his back how to vaccinate your dog or get his opinion of HW prevention. I think I'll stick with that former Playmate that insists MMR vaccines give kids autism. How about this guy...... I'm planning on getting ALL my advice from him because he's famous!