Thanks a lot Therese for the new post/link (and for your diligence w/everything else!)

I've been trying to follow any new developments with Nutro's dry because I was convinced early on something isn't right with their dry products (my prev post below). I'll google elsewhere for anything else related.

What I find disturbing from that Itchmo link (one of the later comments) is about the Mars aquisition and how it affects liability:

"...What’s going on here is that Nutro is in the process of being sold to Mars. When that sale goes through - ALL LIABILITY IS GONE. They have been evading so that they can get the sale through and not lose a dime. There were some venture capitalists who bought the company several years ago and are now bailing out. As it was explained to me, Mars will purchase only the assets of the company, so the shell that is left of Nutro will have no assets - therefore, no liability..."

If that indeed is true, what is our recourse? It makes sense why they would suddenly sell - and lay low about additional product problems despite a growing number of consumer reports.

Just wanted to report I've had no problems with Innova dry (adult - green bag).

I switched to Innova Dry a month or so ago for my 2 young dogs (1.5 yrs old & 11 mos. old) I was using Nutro's dry but became convinced there's something wrong with after some vomiting and thirst issues (see Nutro's thread if interested).

They do poop a lot, but less than with the Nutro's. They were a bit gassy the first week, but not now. I'm not sure if they poop too much or if it's just because they eat a little more than average (because of their high activity levels) and because they're still young dogs. Otherwise no problems to report.

I've been thinking about switching them, or supplementing with a real/whole/raw type food... I would bet their stools would be different than now (less quantity and firmer) and probably an adjustment period. I don't know if either is better or worse, maybe just different.

- Who makes their own food?... There's quite a few dry dog choices as covered in other lists and forums... however, a small-independent pet store owner told me that there are NO companies that are a "quaint - simple - natural - holistic - mom & pop" type operation, because dry kibble is suprisingly complex to manufacture... so they're all high-tech factories, despite how "natural or holistic" they appear to be.

- So, who can you trust?...  I really don't know yet, but for immediate damage control and convenience, I've picked the "lesser of evils" by going to a more premium product: Innova dry dog (one of the Natura brands) for now.
- BUT... I'm looking into other, better options

[but this confirms for me something's not right with the Nutro Dry too.]

update: I switched to Innova Dry from the Nutro Dry last week (as suggested by small pet store that only carries a few select non-mainstream premium brands*). They loved it (they love anything though). Unfortunately I ran out of the Innova (busy w/family crisis), so I fed some leftover Nutro... sure enough, my smaller puppy (35 lbs) who on occasion vomited bile, threw up all of it undigested just a 1/2 hour later. She drank tons of water all day, but luckily acted fine. I should've known better - but this confirms for me something's not right with the Nutro Dry too.

*a little off this topic, but the pet store owner said that none of the smaller/premium/natural dry food brands are as "quaint" or "simple" as we'd like to think or hope, because manufacturing dry kibble is a surprisingly complex process that just can't be/isn't done in a small "mom & pop" type way.

[Nutro Max Puppy dry]

I've been so busy reading other forums to figure out what to swith to, that I didn't realize no one had posted experiences with the dry brand I've been using... specifically Nutro Max Puppy dry. I was also using the canned Lamb & Rice to stuff bones/toys, but stopped after 1st recall (even though it wasn't listed). I also stopped using the Puppy Chop biscuits because occassionaly one puppy would vomit a little bile... I thought it was just puppy "par for the course" because both puppies are acting fine (tons of energy, ferocious appetites, etc)... but I suspect something could be wrong with those biscuits.
SO, I'm not going to use any Nutro products anymore to be safe, and after learning they're just as crappy as any other mainstream brand.

Thanks EVERYONE for taking the time to investigate and share their findings.
I'm trying to figure out what dry dog food to switch to (possibly Canidae) and it's enourmously helpful.
The "pet industry" is clearly quite a profitable racket, regardless of how "healthy - natural - caring" they claim or appear to be.
I've been inspired by all of the diligence from the hundreds of contributers and will do my part to investigate and "hound" these businesses for the truth, lest they lose all of our business!

I too was very surprised that a seemingly high-end/natural brand like Innova (Natura and others) used Menu Foods as a supplier.

--Garypen-- How do you know there's a Natura employee on site at Menu Foods?

I work for a major human food manufacturing company (that has it's own plants, and uses many co-packers), and it's not typical to have a full-time/on-site employee at a co-packer, nor do we necessarily dictate their specific ingredient suppliers.

thanks