Dog Food Warning

Zappit

Staff member
Hey guys, wanted to share this with my fellow dog owners.

Check your dog's food right now. If it's made by Purina or Del Monte, get them off it now! My dog has been sick for days, and the family was very concerned. We did research, and those two manufacturers have problems with poisonous materials in them. This is not just the jerky treats we heard about lately. Purina's Beneful, which my dog was eating, actually contains an ingredient in antifreeze and airplane de-icer. There's also a small amount of arsenic, but not enough of either ingredient to justify FDA intervention. But dogs have experienced renal failure and death from Beneful due to the poisons. Other brands like Caeser's and Science Diet are pretty poor quality.

I changed my dog's food to Blue Buffalo, and she's completely different - so much better today. It's a relief.

So check their food. Get them on something better. Watch out for corn and byproducts in the ingredients list; those are sure signs of poor quality food, which in turn have a higher chance of containing harmful chemicals.
 
We've been feeding the cats almost nothing but Blue thanks to their insistence on leaving out the grains. Many foods (human OR animal) made from grains (especially rice) tend to contain arsenic just because it is leached from the soil when growing the grain.

You (and others) may be interested to know that, as of just a couple of days ago, the FDA has decided to get more interested in pet food. We will see how much of a difference this makes.

--Patrick
 
I'm going to do a bit of a product plug: Natural Balance is the brand my dogs eat and it's done wonders for them. It's more expensive than what you'll find in a grocery store, but worth the price. You can find it at most pet stores or online.
 
I've been using purina my dogs whole life. Both regular and beneful. Starting last month he's been losing his hair. I've been through pretty much everything with my vet, and we're stumped. The last tests have shown his liver values are way out of whack, and looking back they've been slowly getting worse. We're still not sure what it is, but I've moved my dog off of purina and haven't noticed a difference so far. I sure hope it's not from something like this. I can't believe a company would do something like this to something that means so much to people.
 

GasBandit

Staff member
I've been using purina my dogs whole life. Both regular and beneful. Starting last month he's been losing his hair. I've been through pretty much everything with my vet, and we're stumped. The last tests have shown his liver values are way out of whack, and looking back they've been slowly getting worse. We're still not sure what it is, but I've moved my dog off of purina and haven't noticed a difference so far. I sure hope it's not from something like this. I can't believe a company would do something like this to something that means so much to people.
It's not that much of a stretch. Consider how Bobby Kotick feels about whichever game series has meant the most to you over the years. And there are actually a very large number of people who completely lack empathy with animals, such that they would consider killing your dog to be no more serious a crime than breaking something else you own that cost a couple hundred dollars.
 
FWIW, it's unlikely that the pet food companies are actually trying to kill your pet (i.e., that's not their goal), but if standards slip, it's no different than if you were to decide to eat nothing but McCholesterol for dinner and then wonder why your health goes downhill.

A decrease in liver function could be due to age, but constant low-level toxicity can also cause liver failure, though before pointing any fingers I would make sure it is indeed coming from food and not tainted water or other environmental causes.

--Patrick
 
actually contains an ingredient in antifreeze and airplane de-icer
I'm assuming you're referring to propylene glycol. Antifreeze is ethylene glycol. Propylene glycol is "generally recognized as safe" by the FDA, and is in a number of products consumed by humans and animals, including food and medicine. I also smoke the crap out of it in my e-cig.

They probably use it in Beneful to keep the soft bits from getting dried out.
 

Dave

Staff member
Just bought a big new bag of Purena dog chow. Hope it's safe because I can't afford to get anything else for a little bit!
 

GasBandit

Staff member
Just bought a big new bag of Purena dog chow. Hope it's safe because I can't afford to get anything else for a little bit!
Well, it doesn't have rice in it, so it's probably not immediately "dangerous," but purina dog chow is basically cardboard, nutritionally speaking for your dog, since its primary ingredient is corn.
 
FWIW, it's unlikely that the pet food companies are actually trying to kill your pet (i.e., that's not their goal), but if standards slip, it's no different than if you were to decide to eat nothing but McCholesterol for dinner and then wonder why your health goes downhill.

A decrease in liver function could be due to age, but constant low-level toxicity can also cause liver failure, though before pointing any fingers I would make sure it is indeed coming from food and not tainted water or other environmental causes.

--Patrick
Chances are good they don't make the food from raw ingredients they grow themselves anyway. They buy ingredients from many other suppliers, and it wouldn't surprise me if it wasn't something the main company did, but a supplier.

What annoys me is that PETA doesn't care. They'd probably be overjoyed if all the pets in the US died.

Glad to hear the FDA is considering regulating or putting standards in place for per food though. A tiny step forward would be great.

I've moved my dog off of purina and haven't noticed a difference so far.
If the damage has gotten too far, then liver failure can't be reversed and no changes now would make a difference.

However that's a tipping point issue. As long as it hasn't gotten that far, and as long as food is the problem, then it can take quite a while for the liver to heal, and the dog to return to normal. Don't assume that no change in a few weeks means it isn't working.

But you probably shouldn't stop looking for a cause either, just in case it is something else.

Good luck, though, that's just got to be so hard on you right now...
 
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