[xxxxdogdragoness]

Fiancee thinks im crazy when i told him that i think the food i bought (NV Prairie venison/millet) might have something off with it. It doesnt have a rancid smell but the smell is kind of 'off' not the normal dog food smell. I tested it on my folks shepherd mix that eats ANYTHING & she didnt even finish it, Josefina is not really eating it very well either but she has always been a little wishy washy on eating kibble. Buddy is still eating it tho, but he is a garbage disposal & will eat poo if i put it in his bowl so he isnt really a good way to test dog food :/.



the batch of the same food before this they ate with NP, at first i thought it was the venison raw (which actually had mostly lamb in it) but after Yumi wouldnt eat it, i am beginning to think there is something up with the food. I got it from a store in Houston, but i dont live there anymore & it would be impossible to get back there since i now live about 150 mi from houston now.

so what should i do with it? should i keep feeding it? should i donate it? What?

 

[Abbylynn]

IMHO .... if it smells "off" I wouldn't feed it to any dog. I had some left over BB last week that I had around a bit too long I think ... I pitched it because it smelled "off" ...I checked it twice after Abbylynn had the runs all day once she ate it. :/

 

[boxerlover876]

They just had a recall about an off smell on one of their formulas, but on another forum someone else found this off smell in an Instincy salmon bag. I'd be wary of them right now.

 

[xxxxdogdragoness]

That's what I was afraid of, I don't think it's their food itself, tho something is wrong with the packaging I think any ideas on what I can switch to now :/ I would love to do homemade raw (watched a great vid with this lady that used the premade raw 'rolls' to do hers ... But fiancée won't go for it )

I would donate it, but I don't want to if it's bad... I just hate to throw out a bunch of food :/

 

[boxerlover876]

That's what I was afraid of, I don't think it's their food itself, tho something is wrong with the packaging I think any ideas on what I can switch to now :/ I would love to do homemade raw (watched a great vid with this lady that used the premade raw 'rolls' to do hers ... But fiancée won't go for it )

I would donate it, but I don't want to if it's bad... I just hate to throw out a bunch of food :/

Would he go for premade? Plus homemadr is way cheaper. That's always a good card to play.

 

[xxxxdogdragoness]

I have been trying to get him on the wagon :/ lol, with all the dog foods going to pot, I think it would be best ... But which premade Rae's Re the best? I am feeding Stella & chewy's patties but all the recipes I have seen call for the rolls, which is the best premade raw to use & do they still get the vitamins & such they need?

 

[boxerlover876]

Balance is fine with the raw diet. Just aim for around 80% meat, 10% bone, and eventually 10% organs. I found a few links I'll post in a minute. Are you near Houston? And what recipes?

 

[xxxxdogdragoness]

No I'm not in Houston anymore, I recently moved back to San Antonio after I was laid off. I think the lady in thr video on you tube I was watching was using primal, the big rolls. She jeut made a bunch & froze it til it was time to feed it.

I like the idea of using premade raw but my local HEB also sells beef tripe, liver, chicken hearts & gizzards & such, I guess I could grind them up but I would rather not distroyed my blender LOL & get the premade raw

 

[boxerlover876]

Depending on how many dogs you have and the price of that meat it would probably be cheaper in the long run to buy a grinder and grind your own. I believe most get an actual meat grinder though. Although if you're looking for a premade like Primal that's understandable too.

 

[InkedMarie]

Stop feeding it, see if you can take it back to the store.
You say it smells off, your dog won't eat it, neither will your folks dog....why would you think about donating it? Do you want another dog to possibly get sick?

 

[domika]

See if you can find out if your bag is one of the recalled bags. Although, even if its not, try contacting NV anyways and see if they will do anything for you regarding your situation. At least they would know another flavor could be affected if its not one of them recalled.

I'm in the same position as you with your fiancee not crazy about raw, so I'm looking at pre mades. So far Primal looks like one of the best I can get around here. We also have Bravo! and I've heard decent things about them as well.

 

[InkedMarie]

See if you can find out if your bag is one of the recalled bags. Although, even if its not, try contacting NV anyways and see if they will do anything for you regarding your situation. At least they would know another flavor could be affected if its not one of them recalled.

I'm in the same position as you with your fiancee not crazy about raw, so I'm looking at pre mades. So far Primal looks like one of the best I can get around here. We also have Bravo! and I've heard decent things about them as well.

You may want to check out Darwins www.Darwinspet.com You cannot get it at a store, it is shipped to you from them. They are in WA, I am in NH and it arrives to me two days after they ship it, frozen solid as a rock. For me, I would have to drive 40min to get any other pre made raw. Even with the shipping prices to me, Darwins is cheaper than the Stella & Cheweys I tried. We can only get Bravo complete in chicken, which one of my dogs can't have and Nature's Variety, which mine didn't like. If you are interested in the Darwins, order their 10lb introductory package. They will want you to sign up, if you do not like it or can't feed it, you just call them and they cancel the order. They have fantastic customer service.

 

[xxxxdogdragoness]

Thanks for all the help, guys. I really don't want to switch brands but it seems as though I will have to since I have heard on other forums of ppl taking other formulas back with the same 'off' smell.

So far the only one that is eating it is buddy, but I have noticed that he isn't as gung ho as he once was.

 

[oldhounddog]

I could not find any recall that covered you product. If it just smells off and Josefina is not interested it could be nothing more than batch to batch inconsistency with that particular lot of food. You could call NV if it makes you feel better about feeding to Buddy. It could also be that Josefina may be tired of that flavor food and is ready for a change.

If it were me and there was nothing more that an off smell , I would feed the rest of that flavor to Buddy as he seems to like it and has no problem eating it.

oldhounddog

 

[xxxxdogdragoness]

Well i emailed NV & this is what they said:

Dear Norma,
*
Thank you for e-mailing and sorry for your recent experience with our food. Feedback like this is very important to us and we can assure you that we have not changed the formula.*Do you have*the "best if used by” date from the product in question?* Also, what size bag are you feeding?* This information will help us better report this issue to our Quality Assurance Department for further research. We have a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee that covers all of our foods if you are not satisfied with your Nature's Variety purchase for ANY reason. Were you able to exchange or return this product for a full refund at the store? If not, we can send you a free product coupon to try another bag. Just respond to this e-mail with your physical mailing address and we'll send that coupon out to you right away. Again, sorry for your experience.
*
Sincerely,
Shannon

 

[oldhounddog]

Well , that is good service and it gives you a free bag of food for Buddy if Josefina is still not interested.

My dogs always give free food 2 paws up...

oldhounddog

 

[boxerlover876]

I wouldn't get the free food. They're having some kind of problem apparently and I wouldn't want to find out the extent of it with my dogs.

 

[oldhounddog]

I wouldn't get the free food. They're having some kind of problem apparently and I wouldn't want to find out the extent of it with my dogs.

The only recall information I can find has to do with Beef flavor having an off odor.

Of course , you could be very correct and Josefina's flavor may be next on recall...


oldhounddog

 

[boxerlover876]

The only recall information I can find has to do with Beef flavor having an off odor.

Of course , you could be very correct and Josefina's flavor may be next on recall...


oldhounddog

And another had the same problem with the Instinct Salmon. Something's definitely wrong there

 

[Gally]

That's what I was afraid of, I don't think it's their food itself, tho something is wrong with the packaging I think any ideas on what I can switch to now :/ I would love to do homemade raw (watched a great vid with this lady that used the premade raw 'rolls' to do hers ... But fiancée won't go for it )

I would donate it, but I don't want to if it's bad... I just hate to throw out a bunch of food :/

Why not return it to the store and tell them your concerns?