Any experiences with Nutro DRY DOG products to share?

[Perseus]

Many more new posts on Consumer Affairs website with tremendous problems with Nutro:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/nutro.html

Jullie of Paso Robles CA (11/24/08)
We used to feed our 2 boxers Nutro Natural Choice dog food for years and about a year or so ago we switched there food. Out of old habit, which turned out to be a huge mistake, I went into Petco and picked up a bag of Nutro Natural Choice Lamb Meal & Rice Dog food. We started feeding this food to our two dogs on 11/8/08. On 11/15/08 we noticed our male dog having an extreme case of diareahia. A few days later we noticed our female dog having diareahia as well, but not nearly as bad as our male dog.

By 11/19/08 our male dog was so sick he had completely stopped eating and drinking. Our female dog was vomiting and not keeping any food down. She also wasn't drinking anything. We took both dogs to the vet first thing on 11/20/08 and our male dog was admitted to the vet for an overnight stay. They ran some blood tests and he was diagnosed with dehydration and he had developed Pancreatitis from the infection.

At this time we took our female dog home but she quickly worsened as the night went on. We took her back to the vet first thing on 11/21/08 and they hooked her to IV of fluids as well. Both dogs were given antibiotics, pain medication and raglan to stop the vomiting. We are positive that it was this bag of Nutro Natural Choice Lamb Meal & Rice dog food that made our dogs sick. As of now our dogs are home and are doing better but we are keeping an extremely close on them. We will never feed our dogs anything made by this horrible company and I hope that this story can help anyone else who is experiencing these problems.

[Perseus]

Here's a concerning post about Nutro cat food.  I think I'll check out the local pet food stores in my area over the weekend and see if it was pulled here in No. California too:

"Cheryl of Ogden UT (12/24/08)
Why did the Nutro sales staff pull every bag of Natural Choice cat food off of the shelves in Utah Petco stores the past couple of days? Is there something wrong with the food?"

All Nutro complaints at Consumer Affairs:

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/nutro.html

[Perseus]

There are a couple dozen new reports on the Consumer Affairs website just from the first of this (short) year.  This is very alarming, and if you know of anyone feeding Nutro please direct them to the CA website.

All Nutro complaints at Consumer Affairs:

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/nutro.html

Also, there is a recent post by an attorney on the PetSitUSA blog stating she is investigating consumer concerns about Nutro, full post here:

http://petsitusa.com/blog/?p=1239#comment-240632

[Bonkers]

  How long is it going to be before something is done about this? I cannot believe this is still going on and that Nutro is brushing it all off by telling people that all the complaints are "just random blog entries" . 

[Perseus]

And in my never ending war waged against Nutro products, there are a lot of additional posts on the Consumer Affairs site since I last posted in this topic.  One in particular is most alarming and I'll post it in it's entirety here.  I do realize that these are posts from unknown people on the Internet that can't be substantiated, but the fact that there are numerous posts and they continue needs to be taken into consideration as well:

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/nutro.html

Ralph of Bowling Green KY (02/06/09)
This is well overdue but I just stumbled on to your site. My beloved Bullmastiff Ben passed away on 1/15/08. An autopsy revealed brodifacoum poisoning. He was 6 1/2 yrs. old and in top notch health, having just had a thorough annual physical just 2 months prior. Ben was raised on Nutro pet food from puppy food, to adult and a month before he passed we had just switched him to Nutro Sr. I find this switch important because we have two dogs and the younger Bullmastiff was still eating Nutro adult and she was/is fine.

The vet told us brodifacoum is a common rat poison and assumed Ben got into some but with 3 children under age 3, we do not use any poisons around the house or in the yard. Our dogs have always been indoor dogs and only go out to use the bathroom or play with the family. At the time of his death, I too checked out all the recall lists and was told none of Nutro's dry dog food was effected.

I would like to add my voice to the growing chorus that believes something is not right with these products and would hope Nutro would take a look at their quality assurance process. I did have my vet send a sample of our food for testing - same lab that tested our boy Ben - and they did not find any brodifacoum in the food but that does not preclude dry poison from being mixed in the bag.

My boy Ben died and I believe his death prompted panic and anxiety attacks in me which began 2 weeks after his passing and have persisted for the past year.

[Perseus]

Wow, so many more posts on Consumer Affairs website since my last post here on the Nutro poisonings.  An excerpt from the last post on the CA site:

"Wow,ok. Where do I start? I guess I will start by saying that I am shocked, literally shocked that the pet food I praised and recommended is responsible for so many things. But now its making perfect sense. I had 3 dogs. 1 now as of last thursday night."

I cannot find another pet food with the amount of complaints posted all over the Internet as Nutro has.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/nutro.html

[Bonkers]

  FDA Confirms Probe of NUTRO Pet Food Deaths, Illnesses
  "The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has confirmed that the agency is investigating NUTRO pet food, following a series of unexplained illnesses and deaths. Consumers have been complaining for more than two years that their pets have become ill after eating NUTRO products; many have recovered when they were switched to other foods. The company has steadfastly denied that its food is to blame."
 "Until now, the FDA has been mum about whether it was actively investigating the company. Today, the FDA’s Division of Freedom of Information confirmed the agency has an ongoing investigation into NUTRO — and said that investigation could be criminal or civil in nature. The office did not elaborate on the nature or focus of that investigation."  http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/04/nutro_foia.html

[Bonkers]

NUTRO Bites Back; Denies Probe of Pet Deaths, Illnesses
"NUTRO Products Inc. denies it's under investigation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) — even though an official of that agency told ConsumerAffairs.com on Monday that the pet food maker is the focus of a probe.
NUTRO has repeatedly defended its products, saying they are 100 percent safe, and also denies that it is being investigated." http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/04/nutro_foia02.html

FDA: 'No Investigation into NUTRO Pet Food'
     "There has been a lot of web buzz about an article posted on Consumer Affairs' web site regarding the safety of Nutro Pet Food. Action News has talked with the Food and Drug Administration and they insist there is no "investigation" underway.

An FDA spokesperson says, "Normally, we do not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation. In this situation, though, it's unfair to the company to leave the implication out there, so I want to state that there is NO INVESTIGATION currently underway into NUTRO products."  http://www.wxyz.com/news/local/story/FDA-No-Investigation-into-NUTRO-Pet-Food/hOoE48nKOkORqDNodwN3EQ.cspx        

[Bonkers]

  Many more complaints about both the cat and dog Nutro dry foods can be found at ConsumerAffairs.com. If all these people are complaining to the FDA then why isn't Nutro being investigated?   http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/nutro.html

[Bonkers]

   The document that was received by ConsumerAffairs from the FDA can now be viewed on their website. http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/04/nutro_foia02.html

[Bonkers]

Feds Deny NUTRO Investigation; Witnesses Say Otherwise
  "A division of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has denied that it is investigating NUTRO Products Inc., whose pet foods are the subject of more than 700 complaints from consumers who say their dogs and cats became ill and, in some cases, died after eating NUTRO products. But consumers who fed their dogs NUTRO have confirmed that FDA inspectors came to their homes investigating their pets' deaths. And the FDA is still refusing to release information about NUTRO, saying that to do so could hamper law enforcement efforts."             

       "Despite the backtracking of the FDA and the denials of NUTRO's publicists, ConsumerAffairs.com has confirmed that FDA agents in Indiana have investigated the deaths of three dogs in that state. All three of those dogs ate NUTRO."

      "Earlier this week, a consumer in Evansville, Ind., said that the FDA came to his home last August after the death of his healthy 11-year-old dog, Ali, a Norwegian Elkhound, who died on July 13, 2008."

     "An FDA agent came out to my house and took down all the information," said the pet owner, Mark D. "The agent said they'd (his FDA office) gotten a number of complaints about NUTRO. He said he was aware of the problems nationally and the problems included on your (ConsumerAffairs.com) Web site." Mark said he talked to the agent several times after the agent visited his home."

  The complete article by Lisa Wade McCormick can be viewed at consumeraffairs.  http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/04/nutro_foia03.html

[Therese]

I have no idea who we're supposed to believe anymore!

[Perseus]

I have no idea who we're supposed to believe anymore!

I believe the sick and dead pets.  I don't know of another pet food that has so much bad publicity that is easily obtainable.  Something is wrong with the food. Period.

[Bonkers]

Consumer Site Appeals FDA's Refusal to Release NUTRO Records

 "ConsumerAffairs.com has appealed the refusal of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to release lab results, citizen complaints and other documents related to NUTRO pet food."

"The consumer Web site has received more than 800 reports from consumers who say their pets became ill and, in some cases, died after eating NUTRO products. ConsumerAffairs.com first requested the FDA documents under the Freedom of Information Action (FOIA) last spring, but the FDA denied the request, saying that granting it could interfere with law enforcement proceedings."

  "Questioned by ConsumerAffairs.com reporter Lisa Wade McCormick, an FDA official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that the request was denied because the agency was investigating NUTRO. But the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) then issued a press release claiming that NUTRO was not being investigated."

"The CVM is not the FDA division that handles complaints about pet food and is not the division to which the FDA employee who confirmed the investigation is assigned."

"Though the reports on whether the FDA is investigating Nutro have been conflicting, the FDA’s official position is that there is no pending investigation of Nutro. Therefore, the FDA may not rely on the 'law enforcement' exemption of FOIA because, according to the FDA, there is no pending enforcement proceeding against Nutro," said Cameron Stracher, a New York attorney who represents ConsumerAffairs.com."

"Despite the FDA's denial that it is investigating NUTRO, consumers have confirmed that FDA inspectors came to their homes investigating their pets' deaths."




Click here to read the full article. http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/05/nutro_foia04.html

[Bonkers]

  Hmmmm....  I am wondering if the refusal has anything to do with the recent Nutro cat food recall.