Check your Diamond brand dog food

[cute fuzzy bunny]

http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/diamond12_05.html
http://tinyurl.com/bn22d

Saw this about a couple of weeks ago, and figured everybody had heard about it, but apparently the word hasnt gotten out very well.

If you feed your dog Diamond brand dog food, the corn used in some of the varieties was tainted and can cause liver damage along with other problems, potentially leading to death.

This is mostly on the east coast and in the southeast from food made in Galveston and only with certain varieties. Check the date and manufacture codes on any bags of food you own or buy over the next few months.

Costco dog food, which is made by diamond, is not affected by the recall. Diamond also makes a large number of other foods under different names, so if you have a dog, check the articles.


EDIT: Shortened URL because a certain unnamed () with a 32' monitor is not considerate of others. Wonder if his mom would be proud of him if she knew how he behaves on this forum?

 

[Outtahere]

Thanks for the info

I stopped feeding commercial dog food in an attempt to figure out what was causing my Labs seizures, it wasn't the food unfortunately but we did see a remarkable improvement in his skin and coat, all his allergy symptoms disappeared, even the vet said what ever we were doing to keep doing it. Up to that point this poor dog would turn his nose up at dog food even when laced with table scraps, he would eventually eat but half the time it would come back up for us to dispose of. After cooking for him for a couple of months we both said to each other, gee I can't remember the last time he lost his dinner, even though it didn't stop the seizures we have stayed with that menu. We've also realized that it's no more expensive than a good commercial dog foog.

 

[ladelfina]

Dogs are not meant to eat corn in the first place. Or rice, or grains of any kind. Or veggies.


Outtahere is on the right track. If you care about your dog, you should look into a raw diet of meat, bones, and organs. Doesn't cost any more than "premium" dog food, and in many cases people see their vet bills go down. No more teeth cleaning/anesthesia, either. There is a good group on Yahoo (rawfeeding).. they can go off the deep end a bit but the basic theory is as follows:

1.) Feed whole prey if possible.

2.) If you can't get whole prey, cobble together a subsitute.."frankenprey" as they call it; in other words, you can't usually get a whole pig, but you can get pork shoulder, liver, chicken legs, etc. in the right proportions and it comes out to the same thing).

3.) Sit back and watch the fun.

Tips: Feed as big of pieces as possible, bone-in.. Size of a meal depends on your dog. Rough feeding target of 2-3% adult body weight per day. Puppies get the same.. 2-3% percent of adult weight for that breed. My dog is 50 kilos and he gets about 1 kilo/day. We're talking meaty raw bones, meat, and organs only. No cooked anything, especially not cooked bones since they will splinter after begin cooked, N.B.  Don't feed "naked" bones, just ones with lotsa meat on them; that way the dog gets a workout getting the meat off the bone.

To start out, go cold turkey on the kibble. Mixing the two is harder on the poor dog's digestion than kibble alone. Start out with one animal (usually chicken) only and see how it goes for a week or two. Then gradually add a new protein source, one at a time, then get into organs (which if you feed too much of, could have explosive results). Your dog might have some diarrhea as his system adjusts (ours did), but don't be alarmed (of course, do watch out for the obvious "bad" diarrhea signs and any changes in the dog's behavior). A lot of people report no problems in switching at all, though.

Your ultimate goal is as much variety as you can obtain, and a target of about 10% organs, 10% or more of edible bone, and the rest meat (this being the 'normal' ratio present in a rabbit/goat/sheep prey animal). Don't worry about this percentage having to be perfect in every meal, just so that it evens out over time. Some people even advocate skipping a day here and there, since dogs/wolves never exactly knew when their next meal was coming anyway. Don't worry about germs 'n' stuff; the dog's digestive track is a lot shorter than ours, and a lot more acidic. He will make quick work of that green steak or that slimy chicken you forgot in the back of the fridge (not that I recommend a diet of solely rotten meat, mind you, just that the odd bit won't hurt, nor will the odd bit of human leftovers).

Your dog will thank you. You will be pleased at the firm, non-smelly poop that's 1/2 the volume and easy to scoop. [[caution: gross:  I also used to wonder why my puppy would sometimes eat poop! If you look at the huge volume of filler that comes out the back end undigested when you feed kibble (remember, dogs can't digest grains) then, no wonder... ]]

I could go into it further if anyone is interested, but the Yahoo group has it all, and more. If you like reading about people who will drive hours to get fresh green tripe, and then sit down and regale you with detailed descriptions of the smell and the texture, that's your lot there..!

 

[Outtahere]

I don't feed a raw diet. We buy stew beef or chicken at Sams, cook that like a stew and freeze it up in single servings. He gets that with either a can of diced potatoes or some brown rice and a small can of a vegetable, btw he LOVES carrots. We use cheese to make his med taking painless and he loves it.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

We've kicked around some thoughts on pet foods before. We tend to range from the folks who feed homemade to the "hey, they're just dogs, so why should I bother?". Apparently some folks like the idea of feeding twice as much half-price food to their pets, then picking up 2x the poop, and they enjoy the frequent vet trips due to the long term results of poor diet.

Diamond actually makes some decent corn-free foods. The version they sell through Costco as a 'kirkland' brand is actually not a bad food at all, and the last time I saw it the price was about $16 for 40lbs. Not too shabby.

I'm not a huge fan of white rice byproducts in the food either but a little brown rice and other grains like barley and quinoa are ok with me. Actually I believe dogs "in the wild" do get some small amounts of grains and vegetables from the stomach contents of their prey, so it may not be entirely silly for those to be included. Hard to say if they do anything beneficial.

Folks doing the 'barf' diet mentioned above might want to take a quick look at natura's innova EVO dry food, its made to help convenience raw food "unconventional" pet diets.

When I have time (hasnt happened lately...) I cook up a 5lb "chub" of ground turkey, throw in some oats and mashed potatoes, carrots and peas, a couple of eggs, shells included, and a few handfuls of brown rice, cover with water and simmer about a half hour, then puree with an immersion blender. Bagged and frozen this makes a decent food treat for them for a few days here and there. Can be pretty inexpensive to make when the turkey is selling for 65c/lb. Just have to remember to tell my dad when he visits that i'm making dog food so he doesnt try it, like last time...

 

[Outtahere]

LOL when dh is making the "stew" using the beef he tests it by eating a piece now and then. I keep telling him if he keep that up I'll put his dish on the floor too.

Since we don't have kids I don't mind spending a little extra time and money on this little guy and it makes our life easier in the long run, cuts down on vet visits and the cleaning up of dog vomit. Also dh pampers him because he was so badly abused as a puppy.

 

[ladelfina]

().. yes, eggs are great. (Not a whole meal of eggs, though.. or you could have "unintended consequences")


But you say you do this "when you have time"...  Me throwing a chicken on the floor takes no time at all. The convenience is built in.

Once every couple weeks we get a big bag from the butcher of all the stuff he can't sell (never saw an actual spleen before this, BTW). We bag it in roughly 1 kilo portions and that's it.

The BARF routine with all the blending and veggies is pointless. It's not going to hurt the dog to eat carrots and whatnot, but I really believe they do not digest them. The whole "stomach contents" thing is bogus.. they go into it no end on the Yahoo group and wolf experts have observed that in the wild carnivores will shake out the nasty stomach contents before chowing down.

Back on convenience, I know friends of ours whose dog has digestive problems when he doesn't get That Exact Brand of kibble. Well, for me, as long as any supermarket's open, Oscar eats. If, heaven forbid, we run out.. he can wait a day or two. It won't kill him.. he doesn't seem to mind at all.

Serving ground meat is a step in the right direction, but you're not going to get the dental-cleaning benefits of meat 'n' bones. I know as a puppy, Oscar would inhale the special 'breeder-recommended' kibble in under 10 seconds. I kept putting down these brown pellets, and he'd hoover them (p.s., then ya gotta worry about "bloat"). Then I thought to myself, "repeat this twice a day until the dog is dead." It made me sad. Brown pellets. I knew I could offer him better. When he chomped on that first chicken leg and I saw the gleam in his eye, I knew I would never go back to kibble no matter what.

The whole prepared pet food thing is only a few decades old in the US. What did pets eat before? If "real" food is better for people, then isn't it better for pets? (she says, Jonesing for a Pringle... ).

 

[Nords]

just that the odd bit won't hurt, nor will the odd bit of human leftovers

Wouldn't the police & prosecution lawyers have a problem with the habeas corpus aspect of that?

 

[ladelfina]

well. ya know.. "leftovers"

Who knows what happens to all that "medical waste" anyway? Who wouldn't hesitate to give Fluffy someone's amputated limb; waste not, want not!!

 

[Rich]

What about the bones? My wife is always chewing me out (sorry...) when she sees me giving my dog the end of a chicken leg (I hold the center part so she -my dog- can only bite off the "knuckle"). Anyway, your thoughts on both poultry and other types of meat bones for dogs.

BTW, dogs are simply domesticated grey wolves. Really. I suspect they've inherited pretty tough tummies!

 

[laurence]

Gee, I started reading this thread hungry, strangly that's not the case anymore. I just might print it out and put it on the refrigerator...

 

[ladelfina]

Rich, RAW bones of almost any kind are A-OK.. The only caveats, according to the Yahoo rawfeeding folks, would be big "knuckle" bones or any kind of weight-bearing cow bones.. they are super-super hard and some of their dogs have cracked molars on them.

It's cooked bones across the board that you don't want them to have; these can splinter and possibly perforate something. So if your chicken leg is cooked, you might want to pay heed to your wife.

If you're unsure, just take a raw chicken wing, for example. You can bend it no problem, but after it's cooked it snaps like a twig.

I can give Oscar a rack of raw pork ribs or a whole raw chicken and there will be nothing left. Of a small lamb's head (cut in half) he leaves only the back corner of the jawbone with a couple molars attached. You have to see it to believe it.. It's amazing, and it's 'nature's way.'

Just to correct something I said about feeding ground meat: Not only do you not get the dental cleaning benefits of raw bone, but your dog does not get to ingest all that good calcium and phosphorus he needs. [I never could figure out how a dog biscuit like Milk-Bone was going to actually "clean" a dog's teeth, anyway. I do know people who feed kibble, and then turn around and brush their dogs' teeth (yeah, that's "convenience" for you!! Sorry, but no way am I going to bother brushing the teeth on the damn dog!)]

As far as poop-eating goes, I have never once seen Oscar eat any kind of poop after starting raw feeding. I think they're just desperate for nutrition.

Plus, we don't have that smelly kibble bag around the house. I hated the smell of that stuff even before I got on the rawfeeding bandwagon. Not to mention smelly canned cat food! (Yes, you can raw feed cats.. there's a separate Yahoo group, rawcat(?)..). We don't have cats, but if we did I'd go raw all the way. I know my mom and my sister always had cats with skin problems, problems vomiting up cat food, etc., and I think that would all go away with raw feeding. I think with cats it's a little trickier since they have to eat more frequently.. but do check it out!

This will be my last "soapbox" entry (unless someone has a specific question), but I did just want to throw this thought out there. If you're on a diet, you might eat a Slim-Fast bar. It's got protein, right? It's "balanced", with vitamins and minerals and whatnot.. But I don't think even the president of Slim-Fast would raise his kids giving them a Slim-Fast bar for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the duration of their natural lives. That's what I felt like I was doing to Oscar.

Anyway, folks, please do check it out thoroughly. Keep in mind that many vets are on the dog food companies' "payroll" and are not independently educated in proper canine nutrition. They might throw around scary words like "salmonella," but that's a lot of BS. Just go for it!

Wishing you and your pets long life and happiness.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Anyway, folks, please do check it out thoroughly. Keep in mind that many vets are on the dog food companies' "payroll" and are not independently educated in proper canine nutrition.

What she said. Most people dont know that a lot of vets get their books and a lot of their schooling paid for by pet food companies, who then offer them free pet food for their personal animals and a cut of the food sales if they can put a set of shelves in (that they pay for) stocked with their 'super duper vet food'. Most of the super duper vet food, which will remain nameless because most of it is science diet) is content-wise not much different from Alpo. To be fair, some formulations may be beneficial to some pets under some circumstances, for example a diabetic pet needs to eat a low carb diet and some formulations of science diet are low-carb. But so are a handful of cheap food products with almost the same ingredients at half the cost.

 

[gratefuled]

I just found out that my friend's Siberian Husky fell prey to this stuff...died a few hours after eating a bowl of Diamond kibble. He was a beautiful animal--more wolf than dog--with piercing, ice-blue eyes. RIP, Baxter...We Will Miss Ye...

Ed