Has anyone had any problems with the Costco Kirtland brand adult dog food, chicken and rice, or the Blue Buffalo, adult chicken and rice?  I was feeding Nutro and need help finding a new food that is easy on my 2 yr old lab's belly.

THANKS!

I have left a couple messages on consumeraffairs.com.  I lost my chi/papillon to pancreatitis and mitral valve prolapse, a pom to mitral valve, both in June, another lh chi in July to mitral valve prolapse and adrenal insufficiency.  My last pom is losing the battle to mitral valve and bladder crystals.  Just last week, my 2 year old yellow lab was also diagnosed with heart problems and pancreatitis.  I took him to a specialist, who hadn't seen the other 4 dogs, and sure enough, the lab results and tests came back positive for the exact same thing the others had.  He is 2, has lost 25 lbs, the pigment in his ears and belly has turned black and the vet says he "looks like an old man".  He is dying.

I was feeding him Nutro Max large breed puppy and large breed adult (purple) bag, Nutro cans, treats and biscuits.  The others were eating Nutro Natural Choice Senior, (silver bag), cans, treats and biscuits. 

My husband, daughter, grandson and I have all had physicals and we are fine.  We have had the cats checked and they are fine.  We have also had our birds checked and they are fine.  We have had our home checked for mold, bacteria, carbon monoxide and it has all come back ok. 

The only common denominator was Nutro.

Interesting enough, zinc poisoning can cause mitral valve prolapse, pancreatitis and pancreas valve necrosis, weight loss, adrenal insufficiency and bladder crystals.

Also, Lisa McCormick's latest story, M&M Mars products; Snickers and M&M's from China tested positive for melamine.   HHHMMM?

Babs is improving thanks to all of your suggestions.  I did get her wormed and her 2nd set of shots.  I took her off of the premium food and put her on kitten chow and she is eating much better and the diarhea is getting better too.  She is still very thin, so I started using some Nutri-cal and that seems to kick-start her appetite. 

Wish people would spay/neuter their pets.  This poor little gal would be dead by now if I hadn't taken her and the others in.  Once I get them fat/happy and fixed, they'll get a good home.

Thanks everyone! 

I've taken in a 6 - 8 week old female siamese kitten from the shelter.  They don't want to euthanize her.  She is very skinny!  She has had constant diarhea since I got her 1 week ago and it's foul!!  The premium foods are too much for her, so I switched to Purina Kitten Chow and she is somewhat better.  Any words of wisdom?

Four of my dogs were eating Nutro, Natural Choice Senior/(silver bag), biscuits,treats and canned food.  In Feb/2008, they were all diagnosed with Mitral Valve Prolapse.  One was also diagnosed with adrenal insufficiency.  I lost my chi/papillon due to Mitral Valve and pancreatitis in June, my male pom to Mitral Valve in June and my lh chi to Mitral Valve and adrenal insufficiency in July.  The remaining female pom has Mitral Valve, liver insufficiency and bladder crystals.  (All four dogs had a clean bill of health last year when I had them checked due to the recall).

The FDA and 5 vets said it was impossible for all four of them to have the same heart problem at the same time without there being an outside influence.

After reading Don's report on copper and zinc toxicity in Nutro food, I took the report to several of those same vets. 

Our regular vet said to stop feeding commercial dog food and to make my own.  He said "people" food is going to be better than what they are selling in those packages.  He is convinced my dogs' health problems are a result of commercial dog food/treats.

I am feeding Blue, Indoor Chicken, dry, along with Halo, salmon, dry and Nature's Recipe wet. 

After feeding Nutro and losing 3 dogs, will not put all of my eggs in one basket again!

Joe Z:

I worked as a Pet Nutrition Specialist from 2004-2008.  In February 2008, when my customers started complaining of finding what they thought were "metal shavings" in their large breed lamb and rice food, I immediately took my 4 small dogs, my lab, my son's lab and daughter's chihuahua to the vet.  My son's dog was eating Nutro Max weight control.  The vet said he had gastritis.  My lab was on Nutro Max large breed (beef) and also had gastritis.  My daughter's chihuahua was on Natrual Choice chicken and rice/oatmeal puppy and was ok.  My chihuahua/papillon, lh chihuahua, and 2 poms were all on Natural Choice senior chicken and rice, biscuits and treats.  All 4 of my dogs were diagnosed with Mitral Valve Prolapse!  All 4 dogs were examined last year after the recall and were all ok.

My pap/chi died of pancreatitis and mitral valve prolapse and male pom died of mitral valve prolapse in June, my lh chi died of adrenal insufficiency and mitral valve prolapse in July and my last pom is not expected to survive.  Our vet bills are in the thousands!

5 vets and the FDA said it is impossible for that many unrelated dogs, of different ages and breeds to have the same heart condition at the same time, without there being an outside influence.  (Our vet said he has 10 dogs in his practice with Mitral Valve Prolapse and 4 of them are mine!). 

When I read the latest info on Nutro from 8/23, regarding the Zinc/Copper toxicity (see Pet Food Safety Alliance), I immediately "Googled" copper toxicity and found Mitral Valve Prolapse and Adrenal Insuffiency ranked at the top.  I printed off that report and took it my vet.

These are the facts I do know:

My dogs ate Nutro Natural Choice and Max foods, canned and dry, biscuits and treats.
I have 3 dead dogs and one who is dying.
I do not know if it was the food.
I do not know if there was a bag contamination (Nutro said they were out of food due to a "bag issue"), now they are saying they are having a Lamb shortage, back in February it was a "rice" shortage.  However, no other foods on the market;  Purina, Iams, Eukanuba, Science Diet, Natural Balance, Natures Recipe, etc. are having a "Lamb" or "Rice" shortage.
I have spoken to numerous people in PetsMart and Petco who are having the exact same issues.

Nutro/Mars will not return my phones calls, emails or letters.

I took my 2 year old yellow lab into the vet on Monday for a complete physical because of the copper/zinc toxicity scare, and he told me my lab has "prematurely" aged.  He looks about 5.  (the vet said, he looks "like a little old man").  He does not look or act like a 2 year old lab!  We are now going to see a specialist, who will run an ekg, chest xrays, and full blood work.

I am a former Nutro employee and what I have listed here is the truth.

Please be an informed consumer and make informed decisions about your pet food before you buy.  If you do have problems, please contact the FDA and poison control.

One more thing, I hear Nutro is trying to buy out American Nutrition in Ogden, Utah.  They want to get out of the Victorville plant and move to Utah.  Utahns need to say NO!

I am Trout's contact, the former Nutro "Pet nutrition specialist".  I have lost 2 long-haired chi's and my male pom to mitral-valve prolapse.  Vet says I will lose my female pom in 6-8 weeks to the same thing.  5 vets and the FDA said it was impossible for 4 dogs to be diagnosed with the same heart ailment without outside influence.  I only fed Nutro Natural Choice Senior (silver bag), biscuits and treats.  I had my dogs all checked last year during the recall and they were fine.  This February, after a customer told me they found foreign objects in their food, I took all of my dogs and my kids' dogs in for exams.  My four small dogs were diagnoses with the heart ailments. 

The FDA and 5 different vets told me mitral valve prolapse is caused by a bacteria or mold that damages the heart valve.  These dogs were all different ages and were not related.  The only thing they had in common was; living in my home and Nutro.  My 2 year old lab has reoccuring gastritis along with my son's lab.  My daughter's chihuahua is also ok.

If your dog starts "coughing", throwing up foam or is lethargic, get them to a vet asap.

Nutro will not answer my phone calls, letters or emails and I was an employee at the time this all began.

And, I don't want to hear that the www.consumeraffairs.com website is there just to make Nutro look bad.  My family and I are living the loss of our beloved pets and the huges vet expenses.  This is very real.

Call the FDA, CDC and Poison Control and file complaints!

See consumeraffairs.com regarding Nutro Pet foods

See consumeraffairs.com concerning Nutro pet foods