OK! So my IBD dog can only eat Cal Natural Lamb/Rice... it took a year to find a food he could eat and he was on large doses of pred when he was changed over... It has been years and experience has shown that he cannot tolerate other foods... Ie: a dropped piece of another kibble here and there.... As of today, prior to an hour ago, none of his food had been recalled. Now I found out ALL dry foods are being recalled made by Natura, with expiration dates of March 24, 2014 and prior... I have 2 bags open and have not had any issues,, thank GOD so far.
I cannot just change him over.... It's not possible... Been there , tried that... groan So I called around to all stores in Ma I could find tos ee if they have any non recalled bags.. Of course NOT..... They are not even sure any has been produced... I spoke with an upscale pet shoppe in Westboro a few minutes ago... The woman said the issue is that the FDA has changed regulations and the amount of acceptable salmonella in dog foods has changed... The regulations are tougher and ALL dog foods will, within this year have to be recalled. Natura had the bad luck of having an issue recently so the spotlight was on them. They attempted to do the recalls batch by batch but found it easier to just recall of them together and start production according to the FDA new regs.... She said they have spoken to 4 vets who the owner knows and each said they did not feel it is an issue to feed the food to the dogs... There has been no reports of human or pet related illnesses from any Natura product..... I was wondering if any of you have any in's with the dog food industry ( I seem to think someone did) and if this is a bunch of BS or is it truthful.... I surely don't want my family or my Labs ill.... I have changed all the Labs over to Solid Gold when the recall started.... But Dude cannot flip flop... "if' there are going to be widespread recalls,,,, then it won't matter what formula they are on, correct? THOUGHTS please..... My baby boy suffered enough when he was diagnosed. HELP? Cry

Thanks for the information.

If he is that sensitive, try cooking for him: roast or ground lamb and some rice and brown rice, with supplements and oil, as that food has very few ingredients. You could try their canned with a little more very cooked brown rice. (Put the rice in with at least half again as much water as is called for: for him I'd do two to four times as much water and make more of a congee.) Truly, for one Lab, even a refrigerator freezer can hold a week's worth. It's when we consider cooking for them all that we need a separate freezer. I advocate the canned food with caution, having lost one Cavalier and had a Lab thrown into kidney failure during the 2006-07 melamine recalls. I wonder if we can buy a pressure cooker without a federal license now--but I digress.

I feel your pain. My friends' replacement bags are now recalled. I want a refund, so did not accept a replacement bag. I added more home cooking for my Evo dog and am trying other foods to have as emergency backups. Cooking works the best so far, as I don't feed raw poultry or ground meat. Lamb roast I might feed raw or at least very rare.

I have had 2 one-year old dogs on CN Chicken & Rice for Puppies for the last year, and I have a couple bags left that I will continue feeding them until it is gone. No problems so far, and if it ain't broke....

I am caring for an 11-year-old bitch for one of my families, and she has been eating CN Lamb & Rice all her life. No problems. I intend to continue feeding her the bag that was sent with her when she came to me about a week ago. She is not having any problems. I will, however, advise the family about the recall so that they can switch foods if they want.

I fed CN for about 10 years, and it was a great food. However, during the past couple of years one of my dogs developed an intolerance to CN (bloody diarrhea, hot spots, and wild scratching) and another developed perianal fistulas while eating CN. I switched to Earthborn Grain Free about a year ago for all my dogs, except puppies because EB did not have a specific puppy food at that time. I have been cautious about CN since it was sold to a larger company about two years ago.

I can recommend Earthborn Coastal Catch Grain Free so far. The old dog that developed very painful perianal fistulas on CN has had no further symptoms on Earthborn, and the dog who developed an intolerance to CN Lamb & Rice has had no symptoms since switching to Earthborn.

Why are they being recalled? Sometimes recalls happen because of mistakes in the labeling, etc., and have nothing to do with the safety of the food. Or, perhaps they put a bit more of one ingredient in, or something like that. If that is it, just feed the food.

"Why are they being recalled? Sometimes recalls happen because of mistakes in the labeling, etc., and have nothing to do with the safety of the food. Or, perhaps they put a bit more of one ingredient in, or something like that. If that is it, just feed the food."

The extra ingredient is Salmonella, indicating perhaps impropercooking or new enforcement.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts... Yes I was told by Natura that there are new regulations and instead of doing the recalls batch by batch it was easier to recall all products.... She said there have been no reports of illness in people or dogs.... And that because it is voluntary its our choice to use the product or not... If a bag has been opened , there should be issues within 12 -72 hrs if there were going to be any. She said new product is being shipped next week and they hope stores will be stocked 2-4 weeks depending upon where in the country one lives. I have 2 bags opened and have been using them for a couple of days... PRAYING we continue to have no issues... Most of my dogs have been changed to Solid Gold Millenium... My IBD dog will stay on the C/N as long as he is OK since changing could cause a major flair..... Now let's all pray that this is the entire truth, the better standards are adhered to, and product is in the stores SOON! Thank you again... Praying for all our furfamily to stay safe...

I totally hear you, Cindy. My dog has sensitivities and has been doing very well on CN Grain Free Salmon and Pea.
Off to check out Kate's Earthborn suggestion. Thank you, Kate!
Anyone have any feedback on Honest Kitchen?

FWIW it is back in production and suppose to be available to retailers. We just placed an order today for my store. Now how much we will get shipped out of this order will remain to be seen.

Thanks Kim... The rep told me it was being shipped this week... We shall see. I have several retailers on alert to save me some as I REALLY need it...
Where are you located? Maybe I can put you on my list! : )

Michigan. I don't think we are close :)

LOL! Nope I don't think so! Massachusetts.....
But I tell you I would pay to have it shipped if you were the only who could get it...... That's how desperate I am....

Pete, I've fed Honest Kitchen and I love it, but it is expensive - and I mean really expensive if you feed only that. I use HK as a top dressing to kibble. I use 1/4 HK mixed with water and rehydrated and 3/4 kibble. I did try feeding it full time to my IBD dog, and while she loved it and did really well on it it cost quite a bit to feed it full time - a 10 pound box lasted about 20 days while feeding it at the rate of 2 cups per day. Costs for a 10 pound box are running from $65.00 to $100.00, depending on the formula.

Thanks, Susan. I'm looking at all options....I could get the Preference and add our own meat. That's what I am looking at right now. My guy has allergies and it's tough to find a food that will work for him. CN Grain Free Salmon and Pea isn't cheap, either.

Found Pure Vita made by Nutri Source that might work....gosh I hate this. I never heard of this company. Anyone?

Pete, I sympathize, I have 15 mouths to feed . I am more than P'O ed that I spend $ 53.00 for a 28# bag of food and it's been recalled......
I have looked at many of the recipes and won't feed certain things so I can avoid health issues.... But I feel like I am hitting my head up against a freaking brick wall.... My DH is always saying feed them Big Red,,, well no, because it's unhealthy and crap food.... So what do I tell him lately? Damn it's frustrating.. esp when you have one you cannot flip flop with without making him horribly sick... I can't even cook for my IBD dog, tried that before....I so hate this.... I look into their eyes and their wagging tails as I feed them and they are so excited... My stomach is in knots every day now..... Labs should be able to love their food and we should be able to feed them without having a nervous breakdown about the worry! GRRRRR!

I don't feed this food, but it did make The Whole Dog Journal list in 2012. If you have heard of/care about what The Great Dane Lady has to say, the foods made by this company do make her list of better/recommended foods as well:
http://www.greatdanelady.com/articles/back_up_dog_food.htm

Best of luck for you and your boy :-)

Best of luck for you and your boy :-)

I appreciate your kindness and the info..Thank you!

HAVE YOU TRIED VERUS? IT HAS A LAMB AND BROWN RICE FORMULA. HAVE A DOG WTIH A SIMILAR PROBLEM AND HE HAS DONE REAL WELL ON THIS FOOD. GOOD LUCK!