WARNING. Natural Balance Dog Food Duck/Sweet Potato Small Breed

[xultar]

My dogs were sick for six weeks with the bionic squirts. After eliminating everything I discovered it was the food.

Be careful, if your dogs have soft stools, return the remaining product. And file complaints. This is critical! Warn friends and family to watch for signs of illness.

Anyone here notice problems with Natural Balance foods and treats in the last 6 months?

Mods please don't move to pets forum or lounge, this is important. I'm trying together info for a larger complaint. My pups almost died.

[babylonsister]

1. Rec'd for more eyes. nt

[xultar]

9. Thanks.

[bertman]

2. Recced for wider viewing. My dog eat's Nature's Best. nt

[xultar]

11. Thanks

[MissB]

3. My dog eats the regular version (normal bite size).

I haven't noticed anything affecting her. She's on the food because she is so allergic to so much.

[xultar]

7. Mine need limited ingredient diets as well. I switched to Pinnacle by breeders choice

Duck and potato.

They are eating and solid. A 3lb dog has no leeway when they get sick I was in crisis with 6 of them.

[Michigan-Arizona]

4. I feed mine Chicken Soup For the Soul

I've used Chicken Soup for the Soul for many year's & have never had any problem's, it's the only thing mine will eat. This crap with the animal feed is gotten very scary. I hope your pup's are okay & thanks for posting this for others to see xultar.

[OwnedByFerrets]

5. We use Blue Buffalo for all our pets. Thanks for the info on NB

[woodsprite]

31. We feed ours a mix of Blue Buffalo and Science Diet

Noelle still needs a bit of the SD high fiber to help bulk up her stools. She also has pancreatic enzyme disorder, so she takes 3 pills of pancrezyme with each of her 3 smaller meals a day and the turnaround has been great. She's back up to 80 lbs. Before the vet diagnosed her, she had gotten down to 57 lbs.

We had tried the NB Duck/Potato formula. It worked for awhile, but then seemed to have problems coinciding with a formulation change back almost a year ago. I think the change was noted on their web site at the time. That was when we started Noelle on the Blue Buffalo.

Thanks for posting this. I'll pass the info along to our friends who have 2 dogs (a mix breed and a sheep dog) who solely use NB Duck/Potato.

Hope your pups are fine now.

[annabanana]

6. THAT explains her "intestinal difficulties". .thanks. . n/t

[xultar]

8. PM or let's discuss here. Do you smell a smoke flavor from her food?

When did u notice? Where did you buy? Do you still have the bag? What state do you live in?

How long has her tummy been upset? What size bag? When did you buy the bag or can?

[pacalo]

10. Kick.

[sixmile]

12. kick

thanks for the heads up

[bullwinkle428]

13. Natural Balance had major problems as part of that huge recall

with the Chinese-sourced materials a couple of years ago, which made me write them off at that point.

Not shocked to hear, after finding out what a major Repuke Dick Van Patten is!

K&R.

[xultar]

19. How can you love animals and be a republican. I didn't know that about DVP.

For that alone I shouldn't have bought his product.

[bullwinkle428]

24. I actually knew nothing of his political leanings until it was discussed

in a thread on DU, after he apparently made some anti-Obama comments!

[tomm2thumbs]

14. rec to keep on home page

nothing is worse... poor pups

[LiberalEsto]

15. We avoid dog foods with corn or canola oil

It turned out that those ingredients were causing diarrhea. I can't remember what brands.
We switched to Nature's Recipe. Problem solved.
We're now feeding them Nature's Recipe grain-free.

Nature's Recipe, BTW is not related to Natural Balance. It's completely different as far as I know.

[xultar]

29. I was totally ignorant on that fact. Thanks for the info.

[mikelgb]

16. ugh I just got through a whole case of the canned cat food

for my two kittehs

I noticed some of the cans they just would not eat and I had noticed it with this brand before, but figured it was my picky cats and it being a 'healthier' alternative. I did have some runny stools recently too. Will definitely avoid this brand from now on.

Thanks for the heads up.

[xultar]

17. I have had issues and had to return 2 bags earlier in the year. My pups

Wouldnt eat it. They sent me a coupon for free bags. Things werefine for a while then again....

Also my dogs were hit and miss on the treats as well.

[KurtNYC]

18. After Iams pulled "ProActive Smart Puppy" with NO explanation

I started making my own food. It averages about $1 / pound (just like the Iams). My dogs love it and I must admit that I have had quite a few "samples" in the past few months.

3 pounds of ground turkey, browned
2 cups of jasmine rice
3 cups of water
2 large carrots, in thin, half slices
handful of dried cranberries
handful of spinach, torn up
teaspoon of thyme

Brown the turkey while you prep the carrot. Add the carrot, then the rice and water. Bring to a boil then turn down and let stand for 10 minutes on very low heat. Add spinach, thyme and cranberries, mix well.

Working on variations. They love this but it makes them a little sleepy I think. My dogs feet smell like jasmine rice (they use to smell like corn oil/chips).

I feel fortunate that my dogs can eat almost anything without stomach problems.

[glinda]

39. Oatmeal is better than rice for dogs.

[stuntcat]

20. rec for critters

...............

[NorthCarolina]

21. Haven't used Natural Balance, but our vet did warn us about Beneful

She told us that she has noted a higher incidence of canine diabetes from pets whose main diet consisted of Beneful brand pet food. We have been using Nutro brand for the past couple of years, but I am always a bit leery of any brand.

[xultar]

22. If a pet food manf uses color it is shit...instantly. That is the first rule on my list

Dogs are colourblind.

[ehrnst]

23. There was a Natural Balance Chix/Sweet potato recall in June

http://www.pawnation.com/2010/06/21/pet-food-recall-natural-balance-sweet-potato-and-chicken-dry-dog/

[pipi_k]

25. Our mom feeds us...

Taste Of The Wild

salmon flavor

Thanks for the warning about that other stuff, though... :)

[xultar]

28. What cutie- pies they are. You have beautiful kids there.

[glinda]

40. Stunning kids you have there!

[Enthusiast]

46. How cute! nt

[hedgehog]

26. kick to keep this posted, and also to ask - 6 dogs ? I thought

you lived in a city apartment! (If that's not too personal)

I live in the country, but am limited by family consensus to 2 dogs and 4 cats. (No one can count the chickens though, so no limit there!)



I was thinking about how making home made dog food seems like a good idea, but also a lot of work. Then I realized that my dogs get a lot of eggs (did I mention the chickens ?) plus a lot of left overs - home made bread, vegetables, potatoes, etc, not sweets. My dogs are mutts - a German Shepherd/beagle and a spitz without papers (his original owner was told he was a Pomeranian/Chihuhua, but he looks like pure spitz to me!) So, both dogs are pretty much old farm dog types and seem to get along fine on a balance of table scraps and dry cat food. Also, the occasional mouse.

[xultar]

27. Nope I have a house. They are small Chihuahuas and one is a foster.

[tandot]

30. K & R so more people see it :)

My dog is on IAMS Healthy Naturals kibbles which I mix with a little wet Mighty Dog.

[eShirl]

32. so THAT'S why Natural Balance is slightly lower-priced

smart kitty didn't want to finish the test-can

[Donnachaidh]

33. My dog would probably die if I put her on it

DUCK? Are you kidding me?

I have a chi-poodle cross, with the typical chihuahua tummy that cannot handle anything rich. And as she gets older, I'm having to be real watchful over what she eats.

But that combination of duck and sweet potato? Was this formulated for the owners taste buds or the dogs? Combining a fatty fowl with sweet potato?

Hope your pups are feeling better.

[InvisibleTouch]

34. Hope your little guys are doing well again.

I don't trust any of the commercial pet foods anymore. My pack eats raw (right now they are out in the yard munching down on fresh pig's feet), though I have also cooked for them in the past. If you have a good source of raw food, it's actually simpler, less time-consuming, and even cheaper (when compared to the premium-brand foods as opposed to the junk brands that are mostly corn) to feed a fresh natural diet. The main thing I have to keep on top of is putting the meat out early enough for it to thaw by feeding time.

[TBF]

35. That explains alot - my dog has had intestinal problems this

fall and finally ended up with some kidney issues. We switched him to the vet renal food (hill's) and he has improved remarkably fast. He had been losing protein somewhere, but at his last check up his protein level is up. We were sure he was on the decline because he had heartworm in the past (before we got him from rescue), and just assumed this was a related issue from having that. What if it was just the food? We had been feeding him dry food from Natural Balance since we got him in June.

[snagglepuss]

36. k & r nt

[GSLevel9]

37. unfortunately... dog food makers are chasing the mighty buck

and I'm nervous feeding commercial kibble. I don't trust any of these companies. I currently feed Taste of the Wild... but constantly hope that it's good food.

[NoPasaran]

38. A K and an R

I don't have dogs, but xultar is one of my favorite posters here.

[glinda]

41. Go to "thetruthaboutpetfood.com site. Lots of info there.

[Dappleganger]

42. Oh Jesus, not again!

Where are they getting their raw materials for production? I'm so sorry about your doggie, this happened to a friend of mine a little while ago and her dog went into kidney failure and died earlier this year. It was an American dog food manufacturer but they got materials from China--she is pursuing litigation w/them to cover all her vet costs, and she's not the only one.

What a nightmare!

[Dappleganger]

43. BTW, we use Flint River Ranch most of the time.

It's pricy but all the materials and production equipment are human grade and completely here in the US. GREAT company!

[mrdmk]

44. My dog has been eating DVP Natural Balance with simular results including the dreaded doggie gas

My dog has chushings disease, so his system tends fluctuate depending on how he feels that day.

This is a real bummer, thank-you for the heads-up!!! x(

[Raine]

45. K & R

:kick: :thumbsup:

[The Straight Story]

47. I just feed my dogs the corpses of my victims

:evilgrin: and a kick

[okieinpain]

48. funny, I feed my dogs alpo which is probably about the same. n/t.

[TwilightGardener]

49. Hope your doggies get better. I feed my dogs Purina One. Solid poops, seem to be

doing fine--my older one is almost 14 and still going strong.