check the avoderm thread

The breeder choice line was bought out by Central Garden and pet.

Just like nutro was bought out by Bain.

Anytime you see those buyouts, the product goes down in quality the marketing and packagaing gets nicer and the product being cheapened happened.  I am just leery of the breeders choice line like avoderm with that buy out.

That is what hacks me off about buying dog food.  Unless you google the name of the company and then the word acquisition it is hard to keep track of.  We think we are buying the same old nutro or avoderm and I see the label changes already.  Althought they did a pretty job on the new avoderm packaging.  These bigger companies put the money there and cheapen the product it seems.

http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2007/04/23/story2.html?page=2

There you go from their own interview.

Natura Pet Products (verified with company 3/24/07, 5/11/07)

Brands include Innova, Evo, California Natural, Healthwise, Mother Nature, Karma Organic
Manufacture their own dry food, using their own formulas
They use only US suppliers - no ingredients come from China or other foreign countries.
They use no corn or wheat products (including wheat gluten)
Wet foods made by Menu Foods (S. Dakota plant) but not involved in the recall.
All Natura products have been tested for melamine contamination and all tests confirmed no melamine in our foods. (from website 5/11/07)

this is from this site, another place on it, thepetfoodlist.com where you can see who makes what - its a good company and worth checking into - for canned people like them to buy local and evangers if they order canned food online - but these are smaller companies who aren't part of the greed stuff  - something like over 85% ?? of the pet food sold in america is from only like four or five companies - the rest is smaller places like natura, wellness, smaller places that are more mom and pop and  I've heard evangers is like sending out cases of canned food as samples might check that

doesn't take a phd or knowing about nutrition to know who the big companies are - I just cast my vote for the smaller companies like Innova or Natures Variety that are more the small guys doing business - I still believe part of this whole recall mess started with corporate greed and if we keep feeding them they just grow bigger - both Innova and Natures Variety have great product lines and have better supplementation overall for dogs or cats - supporting Pet Promise is supporting Purina = big company = greed

iIf the posts I'm reading have anything to do with what is happening across the country, we are doomed.  Pet Promise is known to be Purina.  You can find other alternatives that may cost more money, but is it here we are again?  Wanting the best for 'less money'.  Support Purina and keep those pockets full.  All the ya ya about boycotts and voting with wallets, yeah right.  Back to usual I guess?

On Itchmo.com on the homepage you will see an ad for Accutrace Testing.  They are doing tests on pet food samples for near their cost and testing for melamine, heavy metals, they know their stuff.  There is a 1-800 number to call.

Sometimes it feels like a big cat box and I just want to scoop a lot of litter over all of the cr@p and make it go away, but I am hoping that things settle down.  It may get worse before it gets better.  At least there was not a new recall this weekend of anything major yet.  The only good thing is that maybe pets who were eating the bad stuff will be eating better and live longer lives    That is my happy thought anyways.

Tracy

Thank you for all of this information and the poster that can be printed.  I think that the media will start paying more attention when people start dying.  I don't know if it is money that is talking to them or what.  But grassroots is a great way to go!

Tracy

Dear Willyagogo ~

I am very sorry.  I never want to do anything to make anyone mad.  I just thought because Mike said he was from a company that I could post here too.  I did not mean anything wrong and when you get to know Evy it is hard not to sound like a commercial.  Oooops, I will stop now.  Again, I am sorry, I do not want to do anything for you to not like her.

Tracy

Now that it is mentioned that is true.  I am so used to seeing so many more pet commercials and maybe it is here in Colorado, but national shows too, it seems that there are not so many.

And it seems like you do not see so many commercials with dogs and cats in them either.  I thought maybe it was me because I just do not watch that much television.

I guess the big companys are stuck if they say something like we are sorry and then people who do not know about this will think, sorry for what?  And then people who are angry.  Well, maybe they need their money now for other things.   

Tracy

My name is Tracy and I work for Evy at Kumpi pet foods.  I do not have your background and cannot talk chemistry at all, but I know Evy and watch her.  You talk about the Whole Dog Journal and I have been getting it for a long time since I like dogs.  They are like politcally correct or something and too many of the foods that they promote have the watery meat listed first.  Now that I know more about pet food I am surprised at what they recommend.

Evy really cares and anyone can call her at 303.699.8562 and talk with her and ask her questions.  She knows a lot and what she does not know, she calls her nutritionist and asks him.  I get lost sometimes when I get on the phone and listen to the two of them talk!!

But I can tell you that she is not into this for the money and she is not an all fancy kind of person.  She is down to earth and cried the other day when she remembered about losing her dog and how her company got started and everything.  It is fun for me now when I watch news on tv and sometimes I know I am seeing Kumpi dogs working and it is a very satisfying feeling for me.

The Whole Dog Journal thing.  I want to start telling people not to trust it so much.  It is better to go to websites and read and call the companys and talk with the people.  Do not trust everything you read, but it is still good to see what a company has to say.

You talked too about the 'whole' thing and that is a lot of why Evy feels so safe and good about her foods.  They are pure and whole and she uses all the right words she is supposed to use on her label.  What do you think about the dried beet pulp and then saying sugar removed after it?  I know it is wrong for companys to do that.

Tracy

Mike -

I know what you mean about the small company thing.  I work for Evy at Kumpi and there are so many things that go on in the industry that I never knew about.  Many things are unfair and I watch her just keep on plowing through.  Back in January I was looking for a job and now I have a purpose or that is what it feels like anyways.  It has been disillusioning sometimes to learn about pet food and how crooked some of the companys are.  I do not like the Whole Dog Journal any more and I am suspicious of it, I really am.  It started out one thing, but now it is getting so political it seems and like everyone should live and die by the Whole Dog Journal.  They recommend a lot of foods that have a lot of grain in them.  I don't trust it any more.

I can tell everyone that Evy really cares a lot and she is always telling people about how she was not trying to start a pet food company and that is true.  We work in the spare bedroom of her house and I did a lot of work at the warehouse last week. 

Anybody who has any questions about pet food, she has been on the phone for hours talking to people.  Call her and find out yourself.  And since she does the money buy back guarantee she teases people into buying larger bags of food to save money, like not buying just the four pound bag, but buy the twenty or larger since she gives you back your money anyways so why not just go for it.  She is funny.  And it feels good to me to work for someone like her.

Call Evy, check out Kumpi.com and kumpikat.com and it is great food.  I have a viszla female and she shines!!!  I also have a couple of cats and their coats are really soft and shiny.

I started out, mostly because I can relate to you about working for a company that cares.  But the Whole Dog Journal does not know what they are talking about I think.  One year they even said that by products were okay and then they changed their minds. 

I hope everyone is having a good Sunday 

Tracy

Therese, I am talking about all of the original information you had posted about Natural Balance and their answers to you about the production of their food.  I remember that at first they said something about them making the food themselves and then having it trucked to Diamond and them bagging the food, but not making the food.  This information from Itchmo is easily verified by any Petco and the news they got from Natural Balance.

I just want to see ALL of the answers Natural Balance had you post on your site, starting with their first "official" response to you.  Not just the pablum last one - people deserve to read everything that was on your site per what they told you to post about their company.

Also, if anyone calls a Petco they will find out that Petco got an email today to pull the food.  I have been calling Petco's and surprised that many 'did not check their email' today yet.  But there are plenty of Petco's out there that will say this is true.