Hi, I have a situation I need some input on and I hope this is the right place to post this.

I have two dogs that have been on Chicken Soup for about 2 month’s now and up until last week loved it, about that time I purchased a new bag of food, now both dogs seem to snub there noses at there bowls, they are to the point that they will go without eating for two consecutive meal periods or more (I feed in the morning and evening). I have made up my mind that I am no longer going to feed from that bag, but my dilemma is do I pick up another bag of Chicken Soup or should I try something else like Canidae.

I will admit I am a little paranoid because of the Diamond recall issue and am not ready for raw yet. Both dogs seem energetic, there eyes are clear and white so I am not freaking out to bad, but seeing that one of my dogs always thought it was a race to the bottom of the bowl now barely eats I do not want to take any chances with the remaining food I have. Am I being over paranoid and should give Chicken Soup another chance (different bag) or should I make the switch, and how bad is it for the dogs to swap foods mid stream if I go that way.

Thank you in advance,
Derek

 Quote:

.....now both dogs seem to snub there noses at there bowls, they are to the point that they will go without eating for two consecutive meal periods or more (I feed in the morning and evening). I have made up my mind that I am no longer going to feed from that bag, but my dilemma is do I pick up another bag of Chicken Soup or should I try something else .....Am I being over paranoid and should give Chicken Soup another chance (different bag) or should I make the switch, and how bad is it for the dogs to swap foods mid stream if I go that way.

That's a toughie, and I can only say what I would do. I'd call my vet and ask if the dogs should come in because they have suddenly stopped eating.

The web site for that food specifically states that it is not affected by the recall (since contains no corn), but in the absense of any illness, I personally would trust the dogs and not feed the product. Again, this is just me.

Then, I'd get a small package of a different food and see whether they eat it eagerly (indicating that they do indeed have appetite but were refusing the other food).

Then I'd research other quality foods and decide which one to get. In my own opinion, a switch from one premium commercial food to another is not something that's bad for the dog. In fact, I personally think that variety (within the foods that are good for them, I mean!) is excellent for them, just as it is for humans.

If this were a top-quality canned food or a homemade food I knew was fresh and good, I'd agree with waiting them out until they agreed to return to eating it (barring any illness, again), but I'd be worried about kibble in a situation where they were *both* refusing it, and suddenly, with a new bag.

Just MHO.

Connie is correct. Chicken Soup has nothing to do with the recall. My dogs eat and are eating Chicken Soup right now with no problems.

Glenn

Connie,
Thank you for your opinion, I was leaning towards trying a small bag to test their appetite. I will pick one up on the way home. As it was, I had planed on changing foods every quarter for variety.

Glenn,
I don’t think Chicken Soup is the problem, I was just thinking this particular bag might be bad. My dogs love Chicken Soup and it has done wonders for them up until this bag.

Thank you both for your input.

I don't think this is a situation where you can be too careful. If you read the Diamond articles, you'll see that many people were having to force their dogs to eat the food, disguising it in some cases. Two dogs refusing suddenly to eat a new bag of food is highly suspicious. I wouldn't take the chance if they were my dogs. Throw out or return the food. Better-return it and call the company and ask if anyone else has reported this. If someone would've called Diamond sooner before, maybe word would've gotten out quicker. I'm not saying that's what's going on here; (don't think Chicken Soup has corn) I'm just saying there's a reason and I'd trust my dogs. JMHO!

I agree with Jenni, dump the food! There were rumors of Chicken Soup being bagged in the same facility as diamond or made by them. I wouldn't take the chance with any of those brands, especially since I think at one point Diamond was using old bags with the old recipe ingredients after they changed to a lower quality one. I wouldn't trust them, I would trust the dogs instincts. The articles were very specific that dogs poisoned were turning their noses up at the food and the owners were mixing gravy in to get the dogs to eat. This ended up killing many dogs. Beware.

They weren't rumors; Chicken Soup is made by Diamond. Supposedly not affected, but how do we really know exactly what's going in these bags? I certainly wouldn't use my dogs to find out!

 Quote:

....I will admit I am a little paranoid because of the Diamond recall issue...... I do not want to take any chances with the remaining food I have. Am I being over paranoid....

QUOTE: I personally would trust the dogs and not feed the product.....I'd be worried about kibble in a situation where they were *both* refusing it

QUOTE: I wouldn't take the chance if they were my dogs. Throw out or return the food.

QUOTE: I wouldn't trust them, I would trust the dogs instincts.

It's obvious that we learned from that recall and the circumstances around it.


Maybe you'll want to hang on to the batch number (printed on the package) and call or email the company.

They have a "contact us" page:
http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com/ChickenSoup/contact.php

I'd agree with all the above advice, but rather than throwing it out, take it back to the store. No point in throwing away your money. If in fact it's a bad batch, that store surely has more of it.

If you're inclined to contact the company, I'd carrty that a step further and notify the manager - not a clerk - at the store where you bought it. They may or may not care, but at least you put them on notice.

Just an update, on the way home today I picked up a 6lb bag of Chicken Soup from a totally different supplier, the dogs lapped it up. This kind of confirmed my suspicions that the bag I had was either old or no good, unfortunately I dump my food into a container so I don’t have the batch number (a mistake I will not make again) so contacting Diamond will not help. This little bag will be enough to get us thru breakfast and dinner tomorrow by then I will have a better idea but it looks like I will be throwing the bad stuff away. I was not trying to give Chicken Soup a bad name, just looking to others for advice.
Thank you all for your wonderful points.