OMG lol I hadn't seen that! Haven't been watching SNL much lately. Even that blue triangle logo!

Thanks for reading this to me. It was a good bedtime story. lol

Hoping BB has to pay up. Simple arithmetic tells me that brands claiming no by-products need to be charging around $2+ a pound because good meat is not cheap. After losing moisture and volume during processing it would take a lot of meat to make pet food.

This reminds me of Champion and their very borderline marketing campaigns. Not paying for food from these types of companies when they don't even have vet nutritionists on staff.

Just a brief update. I haven't heard back from Dr. Remillard (yet) about named vs. unnamed meat sources in dog foods, but I did receive an acknowledgment of receipt of my email from another vet nutritionist at her company. I'll post again as soon as I hear back, or if I haven't heard back from them in a week or two.

I read through it, and there was very little factual information in it. They did not disclose the name of the testing company, or how the tests were done. They also apparently tested only a few bags of food, and some of them didn't contain undisclosed ingredients. So it's too early to tell whether this suit, or Blue Buffalo's countersuit, will prosper. Now I've got to make myself a bowl of popcorn while Bella eats her bowl of BLUE BUFFALO dog food :D.

The complaint is just a framework for what they must prove at trial. It will be interesting but I'm guessing it won't even get beyond some pre-trial motions and then there will be some settlement. So we may never really know. But they said they NEVER use those ingredients. So if even one life bit or kibble has those ingredients then they aren't keeping their promise.

It does not surprise me to know that a corn geneticist will snack on popcorn. :)

:p (for the popcorn comment :))

If the case doesn't go to trial, then Blue Buffalo will either have to improve its quality control on production lines, or change their advertising policies. It's all good.

It looks to me like they already had to change some of their advertising policies after the issue with Hill's. They said they would comply with the NAD recommendation although they are appealing the part about by products.

If you recall, Hills had a slight issue with mislabeling as well a year or two ago. Not as big of a deal IMO as the BB thing. But again, I hope this all means we keep getting a *little* bit closer to better pet food regulations.

Hill's Pet Nutrition Inc 11/23/11

Well, I can say this,
 

Bella was losing weight on BB. After watching her spit out the "Life source bits" for so long, we did a little research, and discovered that many, many dogs leaves these black bits all over the house.
That is where a HUGE part of the nutrition is in BB. We switched her to Royal Canin, Yorky, and she started to blossom all over again. She literally flips the bowl over when she is done, looking for more, lol...
I also read that BB gets it's vitamins for the life bits from China. I was not pleased to hear that one. Nothing against China, but If you advertise that your food is American made, then it should all come from here. That's just my humble opinion...

I guess my point was that Phil said that BB might have to change their advertising as if that were a new thing and it is not.

I am not trying to say that one is better than the other even though I have made my decision about which one I believe is best for my pups and it is based upon the trust that I have in that company. Just answering the comments as they come.

But, I must say that what you have posted is something far removed from what Blue Buffalo has been doing to compete in this industry.

Oh I agree with you. I guess I just did not understand where Hills was coming from in regards to BB. I admittely did not read the whole lawsuit though so did not see what Hills had to do with anything.

I don't like 95% of the SD formulas but I'd for sure feed a Hills food over BB. And of course that wasn't always my opinion.

I briefly worked for BB a few years back as a sales rep and hated the company. WAY too much focus on marketing vs. actual nutrition.

And their commercials are seriously ridiculous.

I'm just taken aback that they have spent $50 million to promote their "promise" and haven't spent a tiny fraction of that to hire a vet nutritionist or do feeding trials.

:yelrotflm Right?! That's what I don't understand....

I think I do.... the almighty dollar ranks higher than the well being of the animals they are making that "promise" to.

Go back to the link that Cathy posted and scroll down to line 66 and read about the challenge Hill's made. You can scan it, and then go down to the NAD decision. Speaks volumes to me.

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!