I've been feeding Dog Chow/Puppy Chow & Purina ONE for several months now with no problems. However, after they downsized the bags from 37lbs to 34 lbs, things started to go downhill. I noticed that the food was much darker, so reasonably sure they either changed the formula or supplier.

I have had two cases of "limber tail" with my nursing Beagle bitches! I have NEVER ever had such a problem before. The first one was fed exclusively Puppy Chow. Was giving her 5+ cups daily yet she was loosing weight and muscle mass. When the pups were about 4 weeks her tail drooped down, she lost all use of it. She would cry in pain when you touched her tail or when she tried to raise it while squatting to go to the bathroom. The Vet diagnosed it as limber tail, which is a muscular problem. She was taken off the pups, given a low dose of Rimadyl and started on Purina ONE puppy due to the higher protein, to help rebuild the muscle mass. No change in condition. I also had another [female canine] about to whelp on the Purina ONE. Her labor barely started before it was over. Literally. There was maybe one or two contractions before she just gave up. I have never seen a [female canine] just give up without even trying to pass a pup. The pups were all waaaay oversized, and of course, a c-section was required.

I had the first female and the second one who needed the c-sec on Blackwood 7000 for the 34% protein content. Was running low and hadn't ordered more so let female #2 finish off the Puppy Chow. Within 3-4 days, her tail had gone down as well!!! She could not use it at all. I switched her back to the Blackwood and the problem has almost completely resolved. I could not beleive what I was seeing!

Now, a breeder friend of mine who has fed Pro Plan for years also planned two litters for this summer, that were due a week earlier than mine. She rarely, if ever has needed a c-section in her 6-7 years of breeding, and she does have a few litters per year. BOTH of her girls needed c-sections!

So I am quite convinced that the food is the culprit, because all these things happening simultaneously cannot be mere coincidence. I am cursious if anyone here has experienced any problems with any forumla of Purina since the bad downsizing that were not present before, or just problems with the food in general??? 

ETA: I forgot to mention, the adult hounds are all on Dog Chow. Since I bought the last bag about 2 weeks ago, they have had on/off vomiting yellow bile and loose stools. Their costs have become duller as well.

ChrisX - you should post this on the Consumer Affairs website in the general complaints about pet food.  That gets widely read and others may report similar problems once they read your post. 

Good luck on getting this figured out.  I hope a change in diet will help your beagles get better.

Welcome chrisx. I had trouble with Purina 1 sensitive systems May of 2007,it had Vit E all over it & loose in the bag. I saw the crystals & of course panicked because of the recalls. It was tested at ExperTox & they found Vit E,[normally clear] but this was hard white crystals. They did extra testing to find what would cause it to be hard & white & found exposure to high temps will do it. I did not have the test done for amount,but this was a lot of Vit E. Looks like a whole bag got spilled into or onto the food either before cooking,or it was stored at very high temps.I did contact Purina & sent in samples but never heard back from them,despite multiple calls.It was a 20 lb bag of Adult dog sensitive systems dry. I think the test results are in the food testing threads,I'll look & post the link if I find it.