Long-time WDJ contributor Mary Straus and I are working on some articles about the cases of canine dilated cardiomyopathy that have been discussed in every dog-related setting for many months now. One of the next issues of WDJ will contain the first of the pieces that we have been collaborating on. But I just thought I would share something interesting that I noticed in the process of gathering information from various pet food companies.
We wanted to see what sort of response a consumer might get from writing to pet food companies about a problem with their foods. We went to the websites of 39 pet food companies and looked for email addresses to send a note to, and found, to our surprise, that only seven listed any kind of email address. Instead, the majority of companies offer a web form for consumers to fill out – you know, the kind of thing where you fill in your name, email address, perhaps phone number, and then a comment/question, and then hit “submit.”
Why did I find this interesting? Because it leaves the consumer with no way to prove they had ever sent a letter or question to the company! Or provide them with a dated copy of the letter or question they sent!
My letter to pet food companies
This is the letter I sent to the 39 companies:
“Hello, I am trying to gather information about the response of pet food companies to the FDA’s announcements/updates about the apparent increase in cases of canine DCM, especially in dogs who have been fed diets containing peas and other legumes, potatoes, and sweet potatoes.
Your company was among those whose products were named in reports to the FDA by consumers as being potentially implicated in their dogs’ disease.
Would you please tell me if or how your company has chosen to respond to the news of this issue? Have you made any changes to any of your formulas? If so, what were those changes, and to which/how many of your products?
If you have not made any changes to your formulas, could you explain your justification for this?
If you have already released a pertinent response, could you please direct me to or send me a copy of that statement?”
Responses to my inqueries
I received responses from 25 of the 39 companies. Now, take this with a grain of salt, because I made a custom email address for the companies to respond to, and it’s possible that at least some of the companies wrote back because the email address clearly identified the inquiry I sent them as being from Whole Dog Journal (InquiryFromWholeDogJournal@gmail.com). Also, within a few days, five companies sent me personalized responses, based on the fact that my inquiry had been forwarded to someone at the company that knew me, either from manufacturing site tours or meetings at pet product trade shows or something.
Also, I received phone calls from representatives of three companies, each of whom I had met personally at some point in the past. My cell phone number was present in the letter I sent to each company, but only people with whom I had spoken in years past actually called me to discuss the letter I sent.
I received what appeared to be automatically generated responses from 24 companies – the kind of email that says, “We got your note, we’ll get back to you within 48 hours (or some such).” And like I said, one company’s representative called me right away, and two more called me within a few days, and about five more responded within days with a personalized response. But two weeks later, six of the companies who responded with these automatic responses still have not gotten back to me. At least (most of them) provided toll-free phone numbers to call if I was interested in getting a quicker response.
Of the 19 companies whose responses I have not yet described, a few were so generic as to be completely useless, or suggested that I call the company instead. For example:
“We would be happy to speak to you about this matter… Our Customer Care Specialists may be reached at 888-XXX-XXXX.”
How about this one? It sounds like the company is addressing my inquiry, because it uses some of the same words in my inquiry, but it doesn’t answer anything I asked! “We appreciate you bringing your concern regarding the canine Dilated Cardiomyopathy and we are happy to answer your inquiry. Please know that as a leader in pet nutrition, we stand behind the safety and quality of all our foods and meet or exceed every major food quality and safety standard including those issued by the FDA, USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) and AAFCO. We also have not been contacted by the FDA regarding any cases involving our products.” (The response was longer, but didn’t address any of the questions that I asked.)
By the way, of the three companies whose representatives (including two company owners) who called me in response to my inquiry, none had spoken with anyone from the FDA regarding the cases of DCM that had reportedly implicated or mentioned their products. The two company owners I spoke with told me that they had tried to reach someone at the FDA, but had zero success.
I’m happy to report that a few companies did respond directly to my questions. The rest tended to refer me to statements on the company websites that they had already prepared in response to the issue well ahead of my inquiry. Those statements, of course, don’t necessarily answer my questions directly.
Try It Yourself
I’ll be trying to reach the companies again via their toll-free numbers and will report on whether that effort is more or less successful.
I will admit a bias toward companies that have phone numbers on their labels and websites and email addresses on at least their websites, to make it as easy as possible for consumers to reach them in case of a dog food-related health issue. And of course, my bias is even stronger toward companies who are staffed with knowledgeable people who can respond appropriately and directly to inquiries in a timely manner. Don’t assume for a second that this rules out all the so-called boutique pet food companies, or qualifies all the giant pet food stalwarts.
Try it yourself! Write to or call your favorite dog food company and ask something simple, such as “Have you always included taurine as a supplement in your dog diets? Do you do so now?” or “Can you tell me how much taurine, or cysteine and methionine, is in (name of food you feed your dog)?”
If you ask the latter question – and they have an answer! – make sure you ask also whether the amount is expressed “as fed” or on a “dry matter basis.”
Let us know how it goes!
So far all the discussion on DCM seems to be focused on kibble. I try to feed at least 25% or more of wet food along with the kibble but many of the wet foods also contain one or more of the ingredients in question. I really like to use a wet food that is human grade (using Truth About Pet Food’s list). Caru Daily Dish has been very affordable for two large dogs and is 100% human grade certified with the majority of protein coming from meat. I loved using this because it is in Tetra Paks (canned foods usually have all those gums in them) but since the DCM issue, I have stopped using it because it has peas and chick peas. The owner of the company has been very responsive every time I have contacted her, explaining how her company is addressing the issue by adding taurine. My dogs love this food and it is one of the human grade foods I can actually afford to feed them so that they are not eating only feed grade, but I am still concerned about the peas and chick peas. I know wet foods are processed very differently than kibble. Have there been any articles about wet foods using peas, legumes, and potatoes? This company, as mentioned earlier is always very responsive to any inquiries, both written or on the phone. They are also very transparent about their ingredients.
Has anyone looked into Earthborn Venture Alaska Pollock Meal and Pumpkin?
No peas, does have Taurine and is grain free? Haven’t seen the list so don’t know
if Earthborn is on it..
This is a very complex situation. One of my concerns about dog foods is that few companies do feeding trials. Another is when and how they evaluate the nutritional content of their foods. Do they send every variety to labs for testing? Earthborn has some limited ingredient foods that are grain-free. One variety gets 70% of its protein from an animal source; another only 35% (the rest from legume or vegetable). Legumes have incomplete proteins; they need to be combined with grains to provide complete proteins. Corn and wheat are mostly GMO and are avoided for good reason but why avoid all grains without some evidence that they are bad for dogs as a species or for an individual dog? It is clear from some of the other comments in this thread that some dogs with problems have been fed one food exclusively all their lives. No wonder there is a health problem. The advice of nutritionists to people – eat a wide variety of foods, especially fruits and vegetables – seems to make sense for dogs as well, although the dogs can tolerate more meat in their diets as long as they are sufficiently active to burn the calories. WDJ has long advocated variety in a dog’s diet. Why do some vets persist in telling owners not to feed their dogs “human” food? They evolved from wolves eating human leftovers and scrap. Most of us who feed our dogs “human” food give them the same stuff we eat. I fed two terriers exclusively grain-free kibble with snacks of the foods I eat; one lived to age 16.5 and the other to 13? (age guessed; he was a stray). One had an echo because he had cardio symptoms but his were due to valve disease, not DCM. Some grains, especially GMO varieties, may be bad; doesn’t mean they all are. Educate yourself; read package labeling; don’t feed your dog (or yourself!) any food with ingredients that you don’t recognize; if your dog’s attitude or behavior change, see your vet first thing. No matter what the FDA and other researchers determine from this situation, we will still need to be proactive with our dogs’ nutrition.
I have 2 Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, this is important because the breed is known for heart problems. Buddy was 6 months old when I got him. He had a heart mummer already and my veterinary said he would not live past 10 years. I started him on raw and vary the proteins. I also use Honest kitchen base. The treats vary from boiled eggs, vegetables, cooked meets and some treats from pet food suppliers that have good natural ingredients and I make sure the ingredients are up to my standards. Buddy is 13 years old and still enjoys Scent work, walks and play. Riley is 3 and seems to be very healthy and no sign of heart issues. I also have a 1 yr old mix same diet very healthy. I wonder about the processed food dogs eat. How good can it be for dogs to eat the same thing day after day? If I ate processed food every day how healthy would I be??
It is really hard to decide what to feed your dogs. I have 3 dogs with varying degrees of issues.
The oldest has developed allergies to food with grains. She has been on grain free most of her life (15-1/2 years old) but as soon as I switched to grains she started sneezing. She is now back on grain free but I do add some grains in moderation and control the allergies.
My next dog has MCT and requires a high protein based food. So here again grain free has been the staple of her life (13 years old, adopted rescue at 10) and so I am having to mix a high protein grain free with just a little grain. Guess it is just a crap shoot what will kill her first, the cancer of DCM.
My next dog is allergic to grain free food. Go figure. Another adopted rescue, grain free foods upsets his stomach every time in which he has loose stools and throws up. Put him back on a bland kibble of chicken and rice and all is well.
It’s a mixed bag of what to feed your dog but I go with whatever works for them.
From what I have researched, even adding things to kibble is not what is necessarily in the kibble. Remember they add this stuff and then bake it at high high temps so that means most things (like vitamins and minerals) die with heat. Has anyone asked the companies if they test what the percentages are in their dog food before or after they bake it at high temps? I feed raw now but when I did feed kibble, I made sure that I added supplements. And when dog food says they have omega 3s in the formula-that is a joke too. Omega 3s cannot make it through the high heat they bake it with. Type in on a search engine how dog food is made and how dog food is falsely advertised and you will be surprised at how much your eyes will open. I have had dogs for 30 years and am constantly learning. I started out with kibble and then found out raw was better but knew that everyone could not afford to do raw or have the time to do it. (I basically feed four big gsds for free because I work with local farmers and hunters to get their scraps and then I supplement with organ meats and other things like eggs and vegetables). I keep myself informed and I have save articles on what kibble is good and what kibble is bad in case someone asks me and does not want to do raw. I will never claim to know it all but will constantly learn as long as I have dogs.
Chris, can you please send me a copy of the foods on kibble? You said, ” I keep myself informed and I have save articles on what kibble is good and what kibble is bad in case someone asks me and does not want to do raw.” I am so so so confused about buying dog food for my 12 pound Shipoo. The debate is endless and no one seems to really know the answer. I cannot afford raw food, but I do supplement my dog’s food with scrambled eggs in the morning, and chicken or sardines in the evening. I would love to hear what you have to say.
I can send it to you if you give me an email address.
I too feed Fromm( Game Bird) and am concerned about the amount of lentils,etc but they do add taurine although it is toward the bottom of the list. i really don’t want to switch as my dog is thriving on this food. He went from not eating (very picky) to happily eating and he was constantly itchy and red eyes and this all disappeared. He has gained some weight and looks amazing . I reached out to the company via chat, and they said that at this time were not changing the ingredients until further investigation is done.
I spoke directly to a person from Pets Global Inc, regarding DCM. They told me that nobody really knows what’s causing it. They did say that they increased the taurine in their dry kibble. They are also coming out with a higher tier kibble in the future. They took the time to listen to me and try to answer all of my questions. DCM for information purposes was being reported in dogs prior to “Grain Free” food coming out. Here’s a little fact, there’s around 89+ million dogs, and they are reporting 500 cases. I should’ve never taken my dog off of Zignature. I think there’s some fishy things going on between FDA and some certain pet companies. Just my .02
To the author of this story:
You are obviously against grain free pet foods. How about you and I have a live debate? I would gladly discuss both sides of the spectrum if you would like, or that is, if your not too scared to. Now let’s see if you get back with me, since your all about call Pet food manufacturers and taking advantage of the fact that they are weighed down with silly emails from trouble makers like yourself. How about tough guy? You and I, live debate, debate topic will be ‘grain free diets vs non grain free diets. I’m sure all your koolaid drinking sheep in this feed are expecting you to accept the challenge. 🙂
Good heavens, Nate!
Why in the world are you so angry about this?
That’s funny. You must not know anything about WDJ. Tough guy??? Lol
Thanks you so much for looking into this problem. I have not heard from Companies in Canada.