CANINE MUSINGS

CANINE MUSINGS

FOOD:

In the wake of the recent recall of wet type pet food, I'd like to pass
on my experience. There have been other pet food recalls and I think
owners should keep that in mind and be aware of what they are feeding
their animals. It becomes a routine tucked into your day and little
thought it given to that food.

I have always fed dry food to my dogs with a few exceptions when one is
ill and requires a special diet. I must admit I took it pretty much for
granted at first. My first involvement with food problems came some 45
years ago when I had a dog on a special canned food because of health
problems. The food was terribly inconsistent in the can to the point
where I took it into my vet and questioned the quality control and other
problems. Back in those early days I don't think the manufacturers
really cared about quality control. My vet's complaints to the company
seemed to fall on deaf ears. It frustrated me considering how much I had
to pay for it. It was eventually worked out but to this day I refuse to
buy any food product from that company. Mainly because they still seem
to have an attitude that I don't like. If I have a sick dog and am
willing to pay extra for a product that will not make things worse, then
I expect it to be reliable, consistent, and of high quality.

My second experience was with the same company not many years later. At
that time this company was the only one around that had a food product
for an elimination diet. It was supposed to be neutral and used as a
control product. I no more started my dog on the food per her vet's
instructions and she became worse and quite ill. Her problems ballooned
to a point that scared me and I pulled her off of the food and we used a
different approach for her evaluation.

More recently I had two of my dogs on a high quality dry dog food that I
had a great deal of confidence in. I made up my mind years ago that I
wanted a closer relationship with the manufacturer so that I knew what
their standards and objectives were. I also wanted to be able to contact
them personally if I felt there was a problem. Unfortunately I had a
rocky start with this company because of the way I started out but
thanks to a wonderful man that evidentially understood my frustrations
and concerns he had a great deal of patience with me and through the
years he's been there when I had questions and problems.

One day when I opened a new bag of food, an odor poured out and into my
nostrils and caught my attention immediately. I did continue on a fed
the dogs from this bag but the food just didn't smell right or like all
of the past bags. I had learned to smell each bag when I opened it just
to make sure it smelled like "dog food" before I used any of it. I
watched my dogs and they were not happy about eating their meals as they
were in the past. When I put their bowls down they would sniff and then
look up at me.

Fortunately I didn't wait. I called the company the next morning and
talked to the poor soul that became my interface for many years. At the
time I did not realize how high up in the company chain this man was but
he never turned me over to anyone else through all of these years. I
told him what had happened the night before and of my concern. He
immediately asked me to send a sample of the food out to him and
instructed me to locate another small bag with a different code. To make
a long story short, the food turned out to have mold in it. That year
was the start of a large mold problem for dog food manufacturers. The
source of their food supply came from an area that had a huge mold
problem. It affected many companies.

I started looking for the alternate codes and discovered that many local
pet stores where dropping the brand I used. It became necessary to
change brands and I was not a happy camper. I researched, through the
Internet, brand upon brand of dog food. I finally found one quite close
to what I'd been feeding. I contacted the company and had a long
conversation with their marketing director. I explained what had
happened and wanted to know where their suppliers came from. Once I was
assured that their food was not dealing with the mold problem, I had to
find a source where I could purchase it. It was a fairly young company
and while they had a large sales base, none were in my area. I ended up
going to a neighboring state and working out ordering and shipping
details. It was worth it to assure the safety of food for my dogs. They
continued to flourish on the new food.

I don't remember how long after that I reconnected with my trustworthy
company and learned that they had worked to put together a plan to
assure that mold would never become a problem again. That and other
significant products that went into their food would have to go through
inspections and testing before they were accepted. They also built a
brand new facility for their manufacturing so they would not have to
contract out to other processing sources. The gentleman that had been so
gracious to me through the years sent me a detailed message of their new
procedures. My confidence was restored – I knew it would be – and I
returned to them as my source for dog food and treats.

What I'm trying to say is this. You have to be aware. Maybe not on a
daily basis but on a consistent basis. You need to know what your food
looks like, what it smells like, and how your pet reacts to it. Above
all, you need to be ready to challenge anything that doesn't seem right.
Yes, it takes time. But not that much time just to observe and be aware.
You certainly do the same thing for the food you feed your family.
Sometimes there are no outward signs but you can cut your losses and
pretty much stay on top if you just stay aware. Dogs have great
perceptions – more than man and you need to rely on that to help you.
Pet food is a huge market and competition is high. Sometimes excellent
companies end up with serious,unexpected problems. You may end up
traveling a different route but be prepared to do so. You are
responsible for bringing that wonderful companion into your home and
life and they rely on you for their good health and daily needs. Care
about them as you care about your other family members. They deserve it.
They don't ask for as much as they give.