Weruva Human Style (Canned)

Thank you Melissaandcrew! That makes complete sense. I am going to follow your lead on this! Thank you again. I hope I can turn to you for advice if needed later. Have a great weekend! Jill

Hi I have been feeding my schnauzer dry, but, have been considering canned. My fear is the high protein. I was told to keep the protein below 25% and fat below 15%. Is it ok to fee double the protein? Please help!

Weruva suggests one ounce per pound of dog weight. However, at 248 kcal per 14oz can, that would be significantly fewer calories than I calculate for my 18 pound mini schnauzer. What gives?

Hi Sweetness_j81 –

So you’re concerned about BPA in canned foods and looking for something better than Freshpet. I would recommend homemade or commercial raw, homecooked or a dehydrated food such as The Honest Kitchen or Grandma Lucy’s.

Wow….. mine says best by Oct 2012 and it has a blurb on the front that states “made with whole grains”.  Looks like I got an old one…. My pet store usually has a good turnover of their products but this must have been pushed to the back.  No worries… I only have one can left.

They changed the funky chunky recipe for dogs. I bought a can this week and when opened it had rice in it. The outside of the can was not marked grain free. I thought I grabbed the cat one at first, but it clearly said dog food.

Just be careful when grabbing them. I love the product- and will continue to use. Just using grain free.

As this is for adult maintenance, is it appropriate to feed to a puppy if mixed with puppy kibble or ALS kibble?

Hi all!  I’ve been using canned foods forever to top my dogs’ kibble.  I’ve narrowed the brands down to about 2-3 now that I’m gonna use.  Weruva Human style is at the top of the list!  What’s not to like lol.  Meat is first, no carageenan (at least in the flavors I’m choosing), non BPA cans and easy to mix with kibble.  My local Pet People store carries 3 flavors and I bought all 3 to mix.  Paw Licken’ Chicken, Steak Frites and Cirque de la Mer.  It is pricey, but I don’t use alot (tblsp. each dog per meal) so it’s great.  I also like Fromm Gold cans, Mulligan Stew and Simply Nourish.  But, I may cut out Mulligan Stew (hard to get) and Simply Nourish (love Weruva so much better and Weruva actually costs similar).  We have finally found our new kibble….Pinnacle!  They love it and no rumblies at all.  Oh, and with the new grandbaby….life is good!! 

They aren’t but if they’re given cattle wate, treated with hormones… They’re in there. It’s a lot like the other labeling was. Loop holes are exploited.

Thanks Toxed!!  I thought it was arsenic but I knew you would know ..  I thought chickens couldn’t be given supplemental hormones? 

Toxed ~ I can honestly taste the difference between different brands of chicken.  It’s got to be what they are feeding them.  I can’t stomach some brands.  : )

Arsenic. They also get a soy based grow mash laced with hormones and antibiotics. It probably,contains “waste material.” (poop) which I was reading yesterday is legal in animal feed. It certainly smells like it. I once tried to raise meat chickens on that stuff. The meat smelled like the feed: didn’t eat a one of them. And that was before TI.

Shawna ~ I know YOU know that was for you ~ forgot to hit reply.  : )

Hi sweetie!!

Tuna ~ no way!!  : )   I personally love tuna, but the thought of giving it to Dupree makes me cringe.  I give him salmon out of a foil pack, or from my dinner plate.  ; )  I bought a can of sardines, probably 6 months ago, and I cannot bring myself to give it to him.  Might make me gag.

Funny you should ask if he is back to himself.  NO ~ his separation anxiety is worse than ever,  I can’t even go to the bathroom without him at the door.  Haha!  Now he has started this yapping when I come home.  Hubby informed me today that “I” need to do something about that.  hee hee  How do you retrain an almost six year old??

That’s great news about Gizmo!!  I didn’t know they grew that large until I saw a pic online reading something the other day.  So……NO chicken it is.

I did break down and give Dupree a little Nutrisca Salmon last night because I wanted him to have an egg.  That didn’t bother him at all.  I have read that it may not be the chicken as much as what the chicken ate??  I am beginning to think there is a lot of truth to that. 

Hi my dear friend

Mr. Dupree back to himself after having to live without mommy?

I’ve decided to quit feeding any chicken too (at least to Gizmo)..  I’ve noticed that her lipoma has shrunk to pea size (and stayed there) after inadvertantly eliminating chicken for a week.  The lipoma has been as large as marble sized before.

Mine all LOVE the Steak Frites as well and also the one with tuna (mercury ughhh and a few others..  They do look good enough to eat!!

I highly recommend too..

You can use the store locator on their site to see if anywhere nearby sells it: 
http://www.weruva.com/stores.php. If you can’t find a seller though, they also have a list of online retailers on their site. They even list coupon codes for some of the sites, so you can receive a percentage off your order.

Hi Ed,

Because of its weak hormone like effects, Bisphenol-A (BPA) has become a controversial chemical in can liners and other uses (even in some dental fillings).

So, it could be a long term problem for both human and pet foods.

However, the topic itself deserves more attention. So, BPA is now on my list for a future report.

Thanks for your timely question.

That is what my dog does with campfire trout feast ! She ate all the chunks but none of her orijen !

Right now my dog , a 4 and a half month old husky . Right now I am feeding her merrick canned food . Is this better in general ? I know every dog reacts differently to a food . But is weruva better than merrick ?

Yes Sandy thanks for the info! Its for my schnauzers, I like everything I’ve read about weruva but with practically no knowledge of nutrition for my dogs just wanted to clarify that, that makes sense that it would be better. Actually when we got our first schnauzer as a puppy (the one who passed away) we bought merrick turduckin from someone who raved about it at a dog bakery. Then after a few months my boy schnauzer started having stomach problems (gas, vomitting,etc) and our vet reccomended the purina en which is how i ended up using that for both. Maybe the turduckin fat content was too much for him but either way i was too scared after that to try anything other than the EN. Now im reassessing bc my girl is healthy and after researching I feel there are low fat options that are better than what we have. It’s just scary and overwhelming for me because I am not an expert and I feel like vets only want to sell what they carry (again at least in my experience). Thanks for all the info, going to keep reading!

The protein content in the bed and breakfast is about double what our current dog food contains. Does that pose any issues for a healthy adult dog?

I honestly think standards for pet food are shamefully poor internationally! AAFCO standards in the US are based on the bare minimum, and is not far dissimilar in Australia either. I think to those companies setting their own standards to far exceed such minimal standards, such as most of the raw food manufacturers and many of the high end canned versions like this one, are at least much better options, barring ones own home prepared raw formulas or even cooked preparations using fresh ingredients.

Hi Mike and Gordon,

Weruva’s president responded our vet’s questions about nutrition and I am personally satisfied that Weruva is an outstanding product. I am proud to associate with Weruva and feed it to my dog. I am also very pleased that the president of the company took the time to write the following to my vet:

AAFCO Feeding Trials – We conduct thorough feeding trials, however, we do not utilize AAFCO’s parameters. For our cat food, for instance, approximately 60 rescued cats are fed products from our brand as well as others produced by our manufacturing partner on a daily basis. They are fed a rotation of the ingredients used in our products. The feeding is ongoing, and the cats are monitored under veterinary supervision. I believe the AAFCO feeding trials only require a sampling of 8 cats (where 25% are allowed to drop out), and the requirement is that the cats eat the same food for every meal for six months. As a company, we do not believe feeding cats or dogs the same meal for every meal, every day, over the course of 6 months is healthy. We therefore do not conduct AAFCO feeding trials.

Veterinary Nutritionist – We hire veterinarians on a consulting basis to help us develop formulas. There are also the aforementioned veterinarians at the place of manufacture as well as nutritionists. We do not, however, have a veterinary nutritionist on staff.

Dry matter information – We do not have this information on hand, but I have attached information on our guaranteed analysis as well as actual analysis for cat. We do not believe too much in dry matter numbers. The inclusion of any filler can skew the data. For instance, in some of our chicken formulas, the dry matter of phosphorus is around 0.65%. If we added in 10% filler to the formulas (in the form of carbs, bones, etc.), we could slash this number to 0.43%. While we could achieve such a low number, we believe it is best to keep the fillers out. We instead urge a focus on actual numbers.

I hope this is helpful. Please let us know if you have further questions or comments.

Best Regards,

David Forman
President and co-founder
Weruva Because Weluvya!
646-201-9404
Fax: 646-688-6865
http://www.weruva.com

Mike, I appreciate your constructive comments. I certainly will never choose Hills or Purina. And, I understand that field testing is rare. I love Weruva because my dog attacks it, consumes a 14 ounce can in under a minute and begs for more. She’s the apple of my eye and just like my human children, I want the very best. Vets apparently see the field testing as the end-all-be-all and maybe that’s because they receive so many freebies from the corporate pet food manufacturers or maybe it’s because they are scientists and trained to believe that scientific testing of a product is best. Field testing may be expensive but so is Weruva. I don’t know of many average families in America who can afford to spend $300+ on dog food. Many of those lower-to-middle class American families barely have that to spend on feeding themselves. I commend Weruva for its high quality ingredients and its high rating on dogfoodadvisor.com and my husband and I will most likely continue to purchase it. I still think an expensive brand of dog food that sells for $3+ a can should consider field testing. I realize that food of lesser quality meet the field testing requirements. What I’d like to see is the difference between meeting the basic field testing requirements (say a 2 or 3 on your rating scale) and exceeding those requirements (getting a 4 or 5 on your rating scale). Field testing by AAFCO would be more credible and meaningful if it were able to differentiate in this way. I’m not convinced that Weruva doesn’t have now or will not have (in the future) enough deep pockets to do the testing and to blow away the competition. It would be interesting to see the comparisons.

Mike, standards are good and meeting them means something. However, in scientific inquiry, testing is also good and if Weruva actually tested its products on dogs, I think this would be a higher indication of quality and would also remove any doubts about whether the product meets the strictest nutritional guidelines.

It would be reassuring to know whether the good is easily digestible, it has a balance among or between the main nutrients (ex: between calcium and phosphorus), and it meets the upper food limits for some minerals and vitamins. Trial tests on actual dogs would be most useful in determining whether all the AAFCO criteria are met. Wouldn’t actual testing on real dogs be more accurate than simply analyzing the ingredients in a can of food?

My question is: has Weruva met the AAFCO field test requirements specified below? My husband and I recently took our sheltie to a new vet and she raised questions about whether Weruva met the field test standards. She also warned that the Weruva may be using excellent marketing but the product itself may not be nutritionally sound. I read the AAFCO standards below and do not see the AAFCO label on Weruva. This concerns me greatly as my dog loves the food. I love junk food but I wouldn’t feed it to my dog. Please advise on Weruva’s status.

The AAFCO as we all know gives practical guidelines to pet food manufacturers. They consider the following about pet food ingredients:
• the digestibility of the ingredients;
• the balance among or between the main nutrients (ex: between calcium and phosphorus),
• upper limits food should meet for some minerals and vitamins.
If a manufacturer that sells a pet food formulated by reference to the “AAFCO Nutrient Profile” for a designated life stage, it may mention this on the packaging. However, the the “AAFCO label ” is the best evidence of quality. This label is obtained by conducting appropriate feeding trials to corroborate nutritional adequacy. AAFCO has elaborated different protocols, corresponding to different life stages: maintenance, growth or reproduction. By submitting a food to these long-term protocols, a manufacturer can verify that the product really upholds its claims. Examples of AAFCO feeding protocols include:
(1) AAFCO requires a minimum testing protocol for proving an adult maintenance claim for a dog/cat food.
(2) The manufacturer must test a minimum of eight healthy adult dogs/cats (at least 1 year old) who are exclusively fed with the test diet. The test runs for a minimum of 26 weeks.
(3) An individual physical examination takes place before and after the test. Each animal is evaluated to ascertain general health, body weight, and some blood parameters (including taurine in cats). Only small changes in these features are tolerated. The diet fails if any animal shows clinical or pathological signs of nutritional deficiency or excess.
(4) AAFCO requires a minimum testing protocol for proving a growth claim for a dog/cat food.
(5) Eight weaned puppies/kittens from three different bitches or queents are required to start the test. They must not be older than eight weeks of age, and an equal sex distribution is recommended. They are exclusively fed with the tested diet during ten weeks minimum. At the same time, eight puppies/kittens are selected according the same criteria to form a concurrent control group. This last group receives a diet that already demonstrated that it meets the growth requirements as determined by AAFCO protocols. The same observations that in the first example are recorded. The average body weight gain is compared to the growth of the control group.
(6) AAFCO requires a minimum testing protocol for proving a gestation/lactation claim for a dog/cat food. A minimum of eight pregnant bitches/queens over one year old are required to start the test. (For dog breeding, the male must belong to the same breed as the female). A concurrent control group of eight pregnant females receives a diet that already passed successfully this specific AAFCO protocol. The feeding of the test diet starts at or before estrus, and is completed when the puppies are four weeks old, six weeks for kittens. For larger litters, puppies/kittens may be transferred to females with smaller litters. For example, a bitch under 13 kg should not suckle more than five puppies, and five kittens should be a maximum for a queen.
- Observations concerning females: general health, food consumption, body weight evolution, blood parameters ;
- Observations concerning the litters: litter size, stillbirths and congenital abnormalities, body weight gain and general health. Data are recorded for the control group are used as references to interpret the results of the test.
(7) A manufacturer desiring to prove an unqualified claim for nutritional adequacy must use the litters obtained from performing the gestation/lactation protocol for the growth protocol. If both tests are positive, the diet is qualified as “complete and balanced for all stages of life”.

They are all grain free now.

My dog has been eating the paw lickin chicken canned food for a couple months. I noticed that there was a black substance in the food. It does not look like mold but I have emailed a picture to Weruva for further information. I was wondering if you ever came across this and know what it is. I am very concerned and hope it does not make my sensitive dog sick!

I also noticed in the video that Dr. Karen Becker was reading the ingredients from a can of Weruva Jammin Salmon yet she was talking about how important it was to buy a food that was made in the USA. I don’t understand this contradiction? Can you explain?

I don’t understand why they don’t have the calories listed on the website. I need to know how many calories are in each can as my dog has a weight problem.

I just introduced my 6 month old toy poodle to Bed and Breakfast and she LOVES it! She gets fed twice a day but is always looking for more. I do keep a handful of her holistic dry food out during the day but would it be better to feed her smaller portions of the Weruva 3 times a day? Being a novice at puppy owership, I’d like to know if there are certain flavors I should avoid feeding her? Are there some that are preferable or should I just go by what she likes?

Thanks.

Here is some information David Forman, President of Weruva had written to me – perhaps of interest -

At Weruva, we produce our pet food in a state of the art human food facility in Thailand, using the precise quality raw materials that are used to produce the human food. We also utilize the same production processes as that of the human side, including a system of quality control that exceeds the standards demanded by international markets. The end result– our pet food is not only human grade and safe for pets, it is fit and safe for humans just the same.

The process begins with our rigorous quality control standards that include keeping the factory in a condition where it can pass approximately twenty annual inspections performed by international governmental agencies and third party auditors, each under the scrutiny of human consumption standards. Such inspections ensure that we abide by Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) regulations and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) systems, meeting the demands promulgated by the United States, European Union, Australia, the United Kingdom and Japan. Under the strict British Retail Consortium (BRC) Global standard, the factory earned an A-Grade European Food Safety Inspection Service (EFSIS) certificate.

The factory also has certificates of accreditation by the International Organization For Standardization (ISO), HALAL and Orthodox Kosher. Additionally, under similar guidelines, several third party inspectors, including the leading provider of human food safety services, Cook and Thurber, examine the plant regularly throughout the year. And the factory, which is FDA approved and USDA registered, performs an internal audit every two months. The inspections cover everything from top to bottom, including examinations of pest control, food safety and heavy metal and histamine testing procedures. The audits also ensure environmental control, including such detailed assurances that all work stations are cleaned every four hours and that each employee’s hygiene meets the requisite standards.

After ensuring quality control procedures within the factory, the process continues with a thorough examination of our suppliers, which includes outside audits of their facilities as well as an inspection of each arriving container of raw material. The incoming food is tested for pathogens and contaminants, the inspections including an antibiotic, heavy metal and pesticide analysis. Upon passing inspection, the food is then produced according to an internal Specific Quality Control Procedure HACCP system. After production, in order to import the food, we must notify the Thailand Department of Livestock Development (DLD) and meet their exportation requirements.

During this entire process, the factory operates according to a Social Accountability International management system (SAI), SA8000, as per the Ethical Trading Initiative. Designed for independent third party certification, SA8000 is promoted as a voluntary, universal standard for companies interested in auditing and certifying labor practices in their facilities and those of their suppliers and vendors.

Marking the final point of our quality control and safety procedures, our factory features a “cat house,” a place where dozens of rescued cats are fed and examined under veterinary supervision. This ensures the utmost safety for our pets, not to mention, unparalleled palatability.

What makes us the best? Well, we do process our foods in a human food plant according to international human food processing standards. We also use ingredients that are actually and truly used in products for people, such as the aforementioned boneless, skinless chicken breast. The chicken is also free of added hormones and antibiotics. Cats and dogs are part of the carnivora family which means they are meat eaters. Calories for people and pets come from 3 places: protein, fat and carbohydrates. The first 2 are in meat…In that regard, dogs and cats need protein and fat, they do not need carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are not metabolically necessary. All of our foods were formulated with this in mind, meaning carb content is quite low. In our “human style” formulas, we do not blend them into loaf style pate. It is a cliché, but “what you see is what you get”. You can read the ingredient statement, and see and identify everything we put into the can.

We have never been affiliated with any recall.

eruva sent to me – could be of interest.

It seems that all of the Weruva HUMAN STYLE cans are low in fat, according to their website: http://www.weruva.com/
I’d go with the Grandma’s Chicken Soup which is grain-freee and is listed as 1.2% min fat. It looks like all of the HUMAN STYLE are 1.4% min fat or less.
Weruva KOBE/KUROBUTA cans are higher in fat, although still superior quality.
Weruva looks like an all around 5-star!

THANKS, Mike, for looking into this.
I agree the quality is still high. IT is just that Weruva should have informed people, via their website info, what the actual ingredients of the food are and the facts on fats, protein, carbs, calories, etc. I was really researching this and even after emailing back and forth, I was never informed (until I complained about the 2nd order) that the formulas were now different. I am really glad I did not order 10 cases from the supplier I get my dog food! Particularly when you are dealing with any kind of health problem, it is really not good to not know what you are feeding your dogs. I am looking into using TIKI products as I like the ingredients, and if one does not object to a more varied diet with some starches (sweet potatoes) and grains (actually grains are still starches!) like brown rice with possibly a little bit of veges or fruits, they may very well be a super-high quality item.
Here is the problem I am having in choosing TIKI – I emailed them last week via their website http://www.petropics.com and received no answer, so I emailed them again today asking for the actual as-fed and dry matter numbers of the fat & protein content of their foods. I hope to receive an answer. The problem with the minimums quoted on the cans/website is that the percentage could be 2 or 3 percentage points higher (or maybe more?) which could make a big difference.
ANYWAY you could find this INFO from TIKI????
I figured you calculated your dry matter percentages by using the published numbers on the cans/website – or did you contact the company?
Any more info you could provide would be wonderful!
I am hoping they are just on vacation or something & will get back to me.

WELL…another pothole in the road! The first case of Weruva Human Style Funky Chunky I purchased had white rice in it & the can was full of food & chunky as it states. A week later I purchased another case (from same store) – and the formula is WITHOUT rice & nearly half of the can was just liquid! I contacted Weruva and was told that I the first case must have been over a year old because they changed their formula about a year ago. NOW…their website does not reflect this – obviously, the ingredients, calories, and other percentages are not up-to-date and accurate. HOW IS ONE SUPPOSED TO CHOOSE from inaccurate information? Why does it take more than a year to up-date the info? I was also told that the rice and thickening starch had adsorbed the liquid in the can because the food was older – my expire date was October 2011. And that the second newer batch really still had the same amount of liquid!!?????? Yeah, but less actual food???? Am I really that dense that I don’t get it. There was not more chicken meat – the percentage of protein & fat had not changed???? Just very strange. Will have to find yet another food as they supposedly have taken all this line of food to NO GRAIN – have they just left out the additional food (such as rice) & not replaced it????
Going to look into TIKI food – but then again maybe they are going to go all NO GRAIN. I do not believe it is necessary to make all their choices of foods all no grain! Dogs with very high lipids/digestive disorders are often put on a simple chicken/rice diet. Very sad that their food does not have more variety. Will be trying Weruva’s Cirque de la Mer with tuna meat & sweet potatoes (newest version) as soon as I can find it. And hopefully find a TIKI with very low fat and not 1/2 fluid.

My two “picky” shelties have been eating Weruva (usually Paw-lickin’ Chicken or Amazon Liver) mixed with dry food (usually Innova, but recently using Orijen Six Fish) and they LOVE it. It has the best consistency I’ve found for mixing with dry — pretty expensive, though — I sometimes replace it with something a little less expensive like Merrick, but they are always THRILLED when the Weruva returns. An excellent product.