[Anonymous]

Yes, talk to the store managers, one chain store in my area marks the dog food down when it is approaching the expiration date.
However, if it doesn’t sell right away, they donate it to a local shelter as a tax write-off. Stores cannot sell or donate food (including dog food) if it is beyond the expiration date (even though it is probably fine for a few months more).
So, maybe you could negotiate an arrangement. Offer to deliver the food to the shelter…or something.

Otherwise they have to throw it away/discard it.

[Anonymous]

Check with your local Petco, Petsmart, Especially for Pets and other pet supply stores.
Often they will mark down or donate foods that are approaching their expiration dates.

Also, check your local supermarket, reduced price section, sometimes you can find good things there.

[Bobby dog]

Hi C4D:
Pet expos are beyond the best. I try to make it to dog, cat, horse, and livestock expos whenever possible. I also take my computer briefcase on wheels for all the samples they give away. lol

I am going to look at Canidae again, but to be honest I thought you had another trick up your sleeve to make it easy to figure out which recipes were made by Diamond and which were made at Ethos. You know, like the Evanger’s tip you shared with me!

Thanks for checking out their site and how they specifically mention Brownsville on the Pure, another clue.

I am always looking for low fat recipes to add to Bobby’s summer/fall rotation and always cat food.

There is a difference in the bags and the location of expiration dates with the 4Health recipes made by Diamond and Ainsworth. I am going to check out the inventories at my pet stores to see what I find within the Canidae kibbles.

[Bobby dog]

C4D:
Do you have any secrets for identifying the Diamond manufactured Canidae kibble? Someone had posted something about the placement of the expiration date stamp before and I can’t find where I saved that info on my computer for the life of me!
Here’s info on Dave’s:
http://truthaboutpetfood.com/petsumer-report-review-of-the-month-51/

AGT:
Here’s the last info I have on Solid Gold; I updated my manufacturer list about a year ago:
Crosswind Industries – Holistique Blendz, Hundchen Flocken, Barking at the Moon, Millennia, Sun Dancer, Katz ‘n Flocken, and Indigo Moon
Diamond – Wolf Cub, Hund-n-Flocken, Wolf King, and Just a Wee Bit

[Dog_Obsessed]

Wait, is there one available at all right now with a later expiration date?

[Akari_32]

Guys. I was looking back through the thread, and it’s been a year since I brought Kitty home!! :O this calls for celebration! I think I’ll get him lamb for his next raw meal :3

Speaking of raw, I’ve got an order of 8oz Reditainers on the way from Amazon! Right now, he’s getting 6oz of canned and 6oz of raw, rotating days. He’ll get either Fancy Feast, Wellness Duos or Wellness Sliced/Minced/Cubed (2x 3oz cans) one day, a 5.5oz can of Friskies Special Diet (randomly replaced with Newmans Own, and a couple other brands) another day, 6oz of balanced raw the next, and then another 5.5oz can the next day, and then it starts all over again. I opted to pull the better brands (Halo Vigor, Halo Impulse, and Natures Variety) out and save them for if I ever go away and whoever watches him cannot do raw. There’s probably 8 cans, none of them expiring until sometime in 2016 (I wrote all the expiration dates down on the tops of the cans). Once the rest of the canned is gone, he will be on 100% raw! I’ve got something like 50 days of canned left, so it’ll be a while, but I’m very happy with his coat and teeth improvements with raw only being a few times a week 🙂 Can’t wait till I’ve used all the canned up 😀

[Dori]

Oh, okay Akari. I’m glad you’ve got a system in place also to keep track of expiration dates. Very organized.

[Akari_32]

I don’t mind IAMS so much any more, now that they’ve strighten themselves out after that huge crazy thing several years ago, but only the Healthy Natural’s varieties. I just like to be safe with IAMS, because you never know. Now that they are Mars owned, I’ll not buy them any more. This is actually the first bag of it I’ve ever bought! Lol If it’s not something I’m 100% ok with, I don’t buy it.

I keep all my dog food in order of their expiration dates. The bag I bought must have just been put out on the shelf not too long before I got it because it doesn’t expire until sometime in 2016 lol

[Dori]

So long as you keep track of their expiration dates I guess you can hold on to them and feed before that. I know that you get some of these foods dirt cheap with all your coupon knowledge but you may want to avoid foods from companies that you feel are questionable because though you spent little for the foods, you did spend some money and now you’re afraid to feed them to your dogs. Better to just pass up the deals from the really questionable brands. 🙂

[theBCnut]

Yes, they are, especially since they are processed immediately and frozen or cooked, depending on which type of food they are going into. The sell by date is still giving the consumer time to take it home, leave it in the fridge for a couple days, then prepare it. It’s not an expiration date.

[crazy4cats]

I understand being hesitant about ordering food online. I was very leery myself until I gave it a try. Now I order about half of my crew’s food online. I was worried about damage and expiration dates. But so far so good. I Order from Chewy, Pet flow, Amazon, Petco, Pet Smart and Wag. I’ve never had an issue. Many of them have great specials. I get emails pretty much everyday from all of them offering deals. In fact I just ordered a bag of Merrick from Petco for $10 off with an order of at least $50 with free shipping. How are all of your pups doing? Good luck with your decision!

[Naturella]

@Oleanderz, I will answer a couple of the questions you had to Dori, if both of you don’t mind – dogs can eat plain yoghurt, plain Greek yoghurt, and plain kefir. None of the fruity stuff – just too much sugar and other additives. Pumpkin doesn’t necessarily help with digestion per se, but it provides a lot of fiber, which helps calm the tummy, balance the stool and the bowel movements, and is overall a pretty good tummy additive when switching foods if problems occur. We tend to use canned plain pumpkin from the grocery store as it is already conveniently cooked and pureed in a can, but if you want to go through the trouble of peeling pumpkin, boiling/baking it, and pureeing/mushing it up, you also can. At the grocery store make sure you get plain (100%) pumpkin (and not pumpkin pie filling) cans.

Ok, now to my questions, lol:
When my roommate’s dog had her spaying surgery, he also lived in an apartment and his dog (Casey) was already pretty big, but for the day of the surgery he carried her up and down 3 floors for her to go potty. He didn’t want her stretching and pulling stitches and what not. I don’t know how feasible that will be with Lucille… Or if it’s even necessary, that’s just what he did. You may want to talk to the vet about that and see if she can stay overnight at least for the first day so that she doesn’t have to go up and down steps so much. We also carried Bruno on his surgery day, but he was small (still is), and by the next day he just ran out the door, perky and happy like he didn’t just lose his balls, lol. But talk to the vet about that, or maybe some of the pros will be able to answer. When she is healed, you can exercise her as normal, but not while healing.

Hm, I will look at chewy.com for small Dr. Tim’s – I have fed Kinesis GF, but I really wanted to try Momentum, Pursuit, and RPM… Haven’t seen them in small bags though.

Lucille is a German Shepherd, right? I would probably rotate her every large (not medium) bag for now, just to let her tummy get used to switching slowly, i.e. – you do the rotation, then she has a good amount of time to get used to the new food, then you rotate again, time of “rest” from the switch. If in a few bags all rotations go well, just rotate as you prefer – you can start rotating every medium bag, or just keep it at every large bag. It really is up to you how often you want to rotate, and how she’s taking it. I like to switch up every month or so, and luckily, a small bag lasts us just the right amount of time for that. I have, however, used larger bags even for Bruno (yes, that’s him in the picture, my cutie patootie) – 15 lb Dr. Tim’s Kinesis GF and 3 14-lb bags of Earthborn Holistic GF (Coastal Catch, Great Plains Feast, Primitive Natural), but after Coastal Catch, which lasted like 3 months, I decided to half them and put a different food in between them, as you can see from Bruno’s menu list, lol. Your rotation plan sounds good, I would also switch up the protein with every bag, for example:

EB CC – Dr. Tim’s Momentum – Nulo FS Lamb – Victor High Pro GF –
EB PN – Dr. Tim’s RPM GF – Nulo FS Turkey – Victor Yukon Salmon GF –
EB GPF – Dr. Tim’s Pursuit – Nulo FS Trim Cod – Victor Joint Health –
EB MF – Dr. Tim’s Kinesis GF – Nulo FS Salmon – Victor Ultra Pro – repeat!

*** EDIT *** – Don’t forget that Dr. Tim’s formulas Momentum and Pursuit are not GF! Everything else is. So you can switch between RPM and Kinesis GF to keep it all GF. Does Lucille have a grain allergy, or do you just like the idea of a food being GF? I used to think GF was better until I learned that dogs/wolves in the wild do consume a bit of the stomach content of the prey they kill, which is, often times, grains, fruits, vegetables, and greens, hence those foods contain those ingredients as well. But it is the meat content that matters most, so I still think that Dr. Tim’s grain-inclusive foods are a really good choice. The grain-inclusive Kinesis is the the only one rated 4 stars, all the rest are 5 stars. But you can use the GF Kinesis instead of the GI one. 🙂

This schedule provides diverse recipes and protein sources and if you choose to use bags that last Lucille about a month each, she will be set for about 16 months before a single recipe is repeated! Or 12 months, if you don’t use Victor. Feel free to use the above “meal plan” if you want, I hope it helps in giving you an idea of meal rotation and protein diversification. Or, you can switch the list up, or not use it at all, whatever works for your dog. 🙂

As for my lists, lol, thank you! Feel free to use them as templates anytime, lol, they are NOT proprietary information, lol! I made them for hubby’s ease in feeding Bru when/if I’m gone. And it did take me about an hour to look at all my foods, their expiration dates, and sort them out by dates and also by protein variety, which warranted the freezing of some foods and refrigeration of others… I did scrap some papers in the process, lol, but eventually made it work! So yeah. The toppers were easier to figure out as I only put a bit of each, and they are things I normally have around the house, except for the THK stuff – I mean, I do have it in the house, but it’s not like people-food. Eggs, yoghurt, coconut oil, sardines, and RMBs are though, so yeah.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 10 months ago by Naturella.

[Dog_Obsessed]

Does anyone know if it’s okay to mix shampoos together? My Vet’s Best has arrived, and I was thinking about mixing it with the Earthbath to get the benefits of both.

Also, do shampoos expire? I’ve had the Earthbath for over a year, and there is no expiration date that I can see. The Vet’s best has no expiration date either but a manufacturing date of 8/19/14.

[aquariangt]

As far as THK goes-they do offer an employee incentive program of sorts for retail as well. At the shop, when we first started carrying THK, we had to take a little mini online course which explained the process THK uses for making their food, and then they give you vouchers to turn into your distributor for 3 free boxes of the honest kitchen (just 3, and they have an expiration date) so that you can try it on your animals to see how they do, and explain firsthand their benefits. While I did take advantage of this, I had already fed it, so I didn’t need much encouragement on that end. And 3 boxes lasts me a looong time since I use it as a topper, and not as their sole meal. I can only assume they do similar programs for vet offices.

However, that is not the same deal as I understand (also firsthand information) about Hills and the vet clinic my cousin works at. That is a certain rebate percentage off the direct order from hills based on how much of it has sold, which results in higher profits for the clinic, as they aren’t lowering the cost of the food because of this. Not unlike what happens with food purveyors and my company in the food world. The difference is, I order all kinds of food from these purveyors, not just hills 🙂 Vets, like almost any business, still have a certain amount of sales within their position that is asked of them

[Hater and Molly’s Mom]

Hi Mom2Cavs, I had that issue with Chewy as well. I ordered a bag of the NVI Lamb&Salmon and the expiration date was only 3 months out. I knew i wouldn’t use it in time as i have quite the stash of dog food. I called them and told them that. They were so nice about it! They told me to keep the bag, donate it if i wanted to, and they would send out a bag with a longer expiration date. I had the new bag in two days and the expiration date was 8 months out. I would give them a call and explain it. I love their customer service.

[Naturella]

Dog_Obsessed, thanks! I did the food list so I can keep track of my big stash and its expiration dates, so that I know what expires when and what I need to keep frozen so it doesn’t spoil before I feed it. Also to keep track of spending. I did the topper chart to help hubs cause he’s so lost without me as I’m the one who usually feeds Bruno and he would just use the same THK for breakfast and dinner till it’s out if it were up to him, lol. As for BDN, I put “NEVER” as an expiration date jokingly, cause there is no date on the package… But I think it will be fine till whenever I’m done with it. I actually put 2tsp in Bruno’s kibble when I use it as a topper, and it’s only a 1-lb baggie. He does only get it once a week though.

Dori, thanks! 🙂

I have also used Fruitables, Bruno loved them! 🙂

• This reply was modified 10 years, 12 months ago by Naturella.

[DogFoodie]

My Golden had x-rays when he was a super wiggly, very high strung pup of less than one year without sedation, on two separate occasions. If you think the x-rays would be valuable, ask the very to reconsider taking them without sedation. A skilled tech can get it done.

I saw you mentioned having chatted with Mercola about the expiration date on the Natural Flea and Tick Defense. I’m glad you did. I would never order from them again without confirming the expiration date of the lots on hand first again after having not one, but two, experiences receiving old product from them. You’d think ordering from them, you’d be getting the freshest products available, but that’s obviously not always the case.

[Dog_Obsessed]

Thanks, I’ll probably just email the company and ask for the expiration date. The stuff is safe for dogs to lick off themselves right?

[DogFoodie]

I would ask them what the specific expiration date is for the product to be sure. They typically print the manufacture date (rather than the expiration date) on the product now and the expiration date is generally 18 months or two years depending on the type of product. I would think the Natural Flea & Tick Defense might have an 18 month expiration date since it’s a liquid. But that’s just a guess. I tried to find it quickly on their website (Healthypets.Mercola.com), but couldn’t.

Edit: Here’s a link to the product page in case you haven’t seen it yet: http://products.mercola.com/healthypets/natural-flea-and-tick-control/

• This reply was modified 11 years ago by DogFoodie. Reason: Added product link

[Dog_Obsessed]

Thanks DogFoodie! How long would the expiration date be after the manufacturing date?

[Naturella]

I used to mix brands of food with no issue for about 8 months or so, but then I realized that I am reducing variety for my dog rather than increasing it. For example, I had mixed Blue Buffalo Wilderness with Holistic Health Extension (both chicken/turkey based), then I had mixed Dr. Tim’s Kinesis with Nutrisca Chicken and Holistic Health Extension GF (all chicken-based), then I fed some other mix I don’t remember, and then I fed Earthborn Coastal Catch mixed with Victor Yukon Salmon and Holistic Health Extension. The thing is, with my small dog, the mixes were lasting forever, so storing them properly was a mild concern (I would keep the mixes sealed in the bags they came from), but I also wasn’t giving much flavor and variety as Bruno would eat the same mix (which he saw as his one type of food, even if it were 2-3 mixed together – he didn’t taste or know that) for a long time. So I just feed one bag at a time for variety and easier storage of the food.

I do, however, have a friend who also mixes, and she does it kind of for the same reason – she would get a 3-ish star-rated food and mix with a higher-quality kibble. Her dogs have no issues and burn through foods pretty quickly seen as she has 5 of them. She is also pretty good with watching expiration dates and remembering what she’s mixed and storing the leftovers properly. So you COULD technically do it if you need to.

[DogFoodie]

I ordered it from Mercola. I received it this week. This isn’t the first time I’ve received old products from them either. I ordered a three pack of krill oil that was old when I got it and I wasn’t going to be able to use it before it expired so I gave one away. I still ended up throwing some away. The krill is in a pump so you don’t smell it until you dispense it, but I don’t gamble when it comes to expiration dates on oils so I didn’t use it for very long past the expiration date.

[DogFoodie]

Boy was I ticked when I got my Mercola Bladder Support this week. It has a manufacture date of February, 2013. There’s no expiration date on the package and I can’t find any information about it on their site. I originally figured the three containers would last me a year, but they’re already almost two years old now. Very annoyed…

[Naturella]

@Akari_32, thank you so much for the words of wisdom and encouragement!

Your words actually made me think, though… I wish I had animalS, but I only have AN animal. And a small one at that. I really don’t NEED to be stocking up like I am, when there are people with much more limited resources, with more animalS, who they also need to feed. I could say the same thing you did, that “I have animalS” to a rude associate or manager and they may never even know the truth, but then it would not be the truth… And I do try to donate some food and spread the savings by giving others coupons, so I do try to give back… I guess I just wanted to be sure Bruno has plenty of good food, variety, etc, and there is a note of just being excited to score a deal (apparently it could become addictive). But for me to not end up on Hoarders (cause I fail at couponing, lol, so no Extreme Couponing for me), I need to stop shopping (and dog food is really the only thing I stock up on). But dog food has expiration dates, and if I want my little guy to be healthy, he won’t possibly be going through food that fast. One day we will have another dog with Bruno, just not yet. And that’s okay. And Bruno will be fine with the food we have for a long time.

I am happy to learn how to do it and I keep trying to let others know, and have prepared stacks of coupons (same as I had and same as the ones I used for Snowy) for some friends with multiple pets, so I will give them those to try their luck at their local stores, and I hope they score like I did for Snowy. One of them has one large dog and 2 cats, and another – 5 dogs, so THEY do need the savings. I did too, but for now, I truly am good. 🙂 I will keep looking for deals for my friends AND Snowy though, so as long as I am NOT shopping for myself (Bruno), I will be fine. In a few months I can do another big trip for Snowy, so that’s something. 🙂

As for reporting the manager, meh… What can I say? “They were rude to me because I was trying to “cheat” the system and get away with a great deal”? Corporate would probably promote them! LoL. But like you said, karma will get them, and plus, I am sure they are just also looking out for themselves, wanting to do things right, and keep the job that allows them to feed their animals (possibly, if they have any). So yeah. No hard feelings… Well, maybe just a tiny bit, but it’s okay… 🙂

[Dori]

Just read an article on line that Petsmart acquired Pet360 which owns PetMD.com as well as Pet Food Direct. Apparently Petsmart hadn’t decided yet what to do with it all or how to maximize potential for its stockholders. I believe Pet360 has other pet companies under its umbrella also.

I’m not crazy about Petco buying Foster and Smith.

Well, two or more companies that I will no longer give my money to. I do not shop in any stores that sell animals. I also try to frequent local smaller stores in my area. I like to keep the smaller stores in business so I try to do my small part for them. They also have such smaller stores that their inventory moves quickly. Nothing every old and rancid. Nothing even close to expiration dates. I recently convinced them to start carrying Natures Logic Raw which I’m thrilled about. They say I spear headed the movement (actually meaning I badgered them into it) lol. They also said that they well knew that I’m a long time raw feeder with really high standards and knew the only kibble I ever purchased was Natures Logic so they started ordering whichever proteins I would ask for so that there must be something to Natures Logic. I then started bugging them for the raw. Voila! They installed a third freezer to house it. They now carry the entire line. I’m now starting to bug them about Answers Detailed Raw. Those are things that can be accomplished with local small businesses that you could never in a million years do with a Petco or Petsmart.

• This reply was modified 11 years ago by Dori.

[Akari_32]

I did find a shop near by-ish that has it, according to the website. Can’t wait to get it!

So heres a deal I’m hoping to try out soon. Naturella sent me a ton of $10 off $25 a purchase coupons for PetLand. PetCo should take these. I also have a $10 Natural Balance PetSupermarket coupon, which PetCo takes. Then I have two $3 off any size bag 4.5lbs or larger of Natural Balance Ultra manufacturer coupons (one from Naturella!). PetCo has the Small Bites formula for $29.99.

Should this work, I will have a 12.5 lb bag of Natural Balance Ultra for $9.09. Not bad! I would like to see if they’ll price match Pet Supermarket for me, since they have it for $28.99, which would make it $8.02, and me *very* happy. The sale price online for PetCo does say $26.99, but I’m not sure if thats in-store, too, since PetCo is freaking stupid and can’t just have the same sale price in-store and online. That would just be too easy.

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/D60C9619-BD1A-4BC1-B22F-D2808FAD9238_zps2be9yufo.jpg

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/7D268BB6-EFA0-4965-945E-1CEF3EF6CF90_zpsnszbungi.jpg

I also scored a 4 lb bag of Wellness Simple Small Breed Salmon and Potato (didn’t even know that was a thing!!) and a 4 lb bag of Wellness CORE Puppy for $2.46 and $2.48 respectively at Pet Supermarket the other day! The Simple was on clearance for $11.97 (they say it was in the wrong spot, because it rang up at $17-something, but the tag on shelf was right– I don’t think it was in their system properly, but they gave it to me anyways), and the CORE was marked down 20% for an upcoming expiration date. Used a $5 off PetSmart coupon and $5 off Wellness Coupon for each of them. The CORE I’m using now, using it to spread out Haley and Dweezle’s other food (also Wellness, but its the Toy Breed kind lol), since the expiration date is in a few weeks. I’ve used it twice, and its half gone already, so no worries there! The Simple I’ll try out for Ginger, since its small kibbles. Yay!

*edit*

So I just looked through PetCo’s flier and the Natural Balance IS on sale for $26.99. That means I could very well get it for $5.88 a bag!!!!!!! Holy geez! I know where I’ll be going in the morning!

• This reply was modified 11 years, 1 month ago by Akari_32.

[Kristin C]

I’ve only tried THK samples. I like the SSLL better, it’s a powder versus chunky and it doesn’t need water, just mix into meat. I only bought 1 lb the first time about 6 weeks ago. I haven’t been using it much with my 2 dogs but it will probably be gone by the end of the month because I’ll use it more on vacation. I don’t see an expiration date on the package tho. The production date is May 2014. I would imagine it has 6-12 month shelf life.

[USA]

Hi Peter,

Brother’s Complete has sold old dog food more than once! When their fish formula (discontinued) was getting near it’s expiration date they let people know it was old and they sold it at a discount, when their beef formula (discontinued) turned a year old they didn’t give a discount or let anyone know how old the food was.

It was the “trolls” who forced Brother’s to list the expiration date on their website because the “trolls” let people know that Brother’s was selling old dog food. Even then Brother’s did not offer a discount and sold every last bag of the beef formula at full price! By the time the last bag was sold it was one year and two months old.

[Dori]

aimee, they haven’t taken down their FB page. I didn’t realize they ever did even temporarily. There could have been a perfectly good explanation for the temporary pause of their FB page. I also think the comments on their FB page were from the same troll that has harassed them for the longest time on DFA due to personal issues, having nothing to do with their food or company. If all their formulas did not contain poultry of some sort or something that Katie is intolerant to, I’d still have them in rotation.

By the way, Peter S. Most dog food stores and/or companies will offer foods at discounted rates if the expiration dates are coming up and they are restocking the shelves.

[aimee]

Hi Peter S,

I considered using their food but ultimately decided not to. The labeling of their products violates labeling laws which in my mind is never a good thing.

In regards to freshness, if that is important to you, I’d recommend you call and ask for the manufacture date before purchasing. The company has in the past offered discounts on their food as it was near expiration date, which is usually 12-18 months post manufacturing, indicating that sometimes their products are stored for a prolonged period before sale.

The company closed its chat room and temporarily removed their facebook page when posters started asking question regarding the dates of manufacture.

[Hater and Molly’s Mom]

I went in my local pet boutique to order Annamaet as they no longer carry it. The owner knows that i rotate that with NVI and told me they will no longer be carrying the line and she had 10 small bags of it she was going to clearance out and asked if i would be interested. I told her yes as long as the expiration dates were into next year. I checked the bags and they were June of 2015 and August 2015. So far so good! I asked her how much and she said $5.00 a bag! Woo hoo! I was so excited! I bought all 10 bags. I was also able to use my $5.00 off coupon. Can’t beat 10 bags of NVI for just $45.00!

[Bobby dog]

Hi Kathleen:
I don’t think I could drink plain kefir either, lol, I would have to make a smoothie out of it with fruit. The plain kefir is just for the cat and dog.

I normally freeze half of the bottle because I don’t use it up before the expiration date. I shake it well, pour some in ice cube trays, then store the kefir cubes in a zip lock bag and thaw them out as needed. This month I really didn’t need to freeze any of it since I upped Bobby’s amount from 3x/wk to daily, oh well.

Glad your dog liked it and hope it works out for the two of you. 😉

[Dog_Obsessed]

How long is dry food good after opening, if kept in its original package an sealed? I have heard up to 6 weeks. It takes Lily 4-6 weeks to finish a small bag, and I assume it would take her up to 8 weeks when mixed with wet food. I usually keep wet food for about 3 days in the fridge, does anyone know if it can be frozen? Also treats, I have heard it is just until the expiration date for dry treats, but what about moist ones? Thanks to all that reply.

[Akari_32]

Wow, Wellness CORE is $13.99 for the Original and $16.99 for the Wild Game (and in between for the others) here. TOTW is $12.99 as well. Orijen isn’t really a thing here, either. Only a few stores around here have it, and I don’t shop at them.

Just a note on recalled dog foods, its done by lots. They will post the UPC, lot numbers and expiration dates of all recalled products. There is also a Recall section on the review side of the forum that is kept up to date. I’ve bought food online several times from PetFlow and couldn’t be happier. I was a bit worried about the heat, myself, living in Florida, but I didn’t notice any problems. I often had a cooler set out for canned foods on the day it was set to come and I wouldn’t be home.

[Naturella]

Dori, thank you for the response! The pill was one of 4 possible options that could have caused his major tummy upset.
Option 2- a bad can of sardines (he gets those Saturday morning with breakfast – expiration date was fine, plus I had the other half of the can and was fine too);
Option 3 is him digging up something at the park and eating that (we were there around 7-8pm Saturday night, problems started 4.30am the following morning);
Option 4 is a reaction to him being transitioned to NVI Rabbit – I began the transition on October 1st or 2nd – that was his 3rd day of getting 3/4 old food and 1/4 new food, and Sunday we would have given 1/2 old and 1/2 new. Between October 1st and 4th his stool was fine, maybe a tad softer than usual, but formed and all. Color was a tiny bit different those days – probably due to the new food.
So it could have been any of those three other things besides Sentinel… I really have no idea what it is. I have stopped the food transition (and all kibble actually – he won’t have it). He ate 1/2 can of the old food (same recipe as the kibble but canned on Monday after a 22-hour fast), and it didn’t work out completely well for him either (was expelled last night from both ends), so now he’s on a “boiled chicken and brown rice with canned pumpkin mush (pureed together until mushy)”. So far so good, has not had a BM since morning, when he cleared his whole system from both ends… Poor boy… But seems to be feeling a lot better, with lots of energy. Downside? TERRIBLE, and I mean HORRENDOUS gas… Gas that I can’t imagine a dog his size producing… It is BAD (smell-wise), and pretty frequent. I wonder if it’s all the rice… He’s usually on grain-free foods…
Either way, I have some more chicken and brown rice to feed, plus, I am equipped with plain pumpkin, plain yoghurt, THK Perfect Form, and THK Instant Goat’s Milk. So I’m ready to tackle this the natural way, hope it works for him (P.S. I did try bread soaked in yoghurt on Sunday – he had it readily, but then expelled that too… both ways… It was bad, I feel like I have a newborn that I need to clean up after every 2-3 hours every night. But I just hope he gets better soon.

Dori, I think you are talking about his shots – they were the week before, and he did stay home all weekend, resting. Could that be from the shots, about 10 days later?

[Bobby dog]

You can print multiple copies when your printer asks how you many copies you want, however that’s only beneficial if you plan to use them prior to the expiration dates.

I believe they reset them monthly and you can only access it once or twice from the same computer. Hopefully Akari will stop by for confirmation. 🙂

[arwyru24]

I have heard of so many cats getting themselves stuck in trees recently. Jeez. That is a scary proposition.

Great deals Bobby’s Mom, I am a little jealous.

My cats don’t care much for Nature’s Logic either. My cats have actually been not wanting to finish most of the canned food in their rotation right now. So I went to petco, and got 15 cans of a few different kinds of pro-plan, they had a sale that they worked out to be about 70cents a can which is more then I would like to pay but whatever, and then later on I used some peelies I have been hanging on to forever, that miraculously had an expiration dater of over a year out from when I got them for Purina One cans, that are about to expire in early November, so I used two of them and got 12 cans of the purina one for about 40 cents each. The cats gobble those down and lick the bowl sparkling clean. I don’t like feeding all the artificial colors and flavors per se, and the bigger concern is that I have one cat that is prone to heaving up his dinner all over my apartment, but so far that hasn’t happened, and they are happier to eat their regular food when I add a bit of variety to their rotation. So I plan to use these sporadically, and begrudgingly, unless puking becomes and issue.

[Carol S]

I started using this product a little over a year ago (after I researched it on this site) and liked the product very much. I opened the first can of a new case a few days ago, it was
the color of mud and was watery. The expiration date is July, 2017. Chewy.com replaced
the case. The second case has the same problem and the same expiration date. Obviously this company has a problem with quality control. Chewy.com is great, Petkind
the makers of Tripette, not so much.

Carol S.

• This topic was modified 11 years, 2 months ago by Carol S.

[Bobby dog]

Hi Sharon:
I think the Authority is fine, that’s the advantage of rotating foods! Check out the TSC canned cat food when you get a chance to shop there; they have it on their website now too. It’s a decent food with a great price point.

Akari posted a link to Petsmart for $5 off selected kibbles. “The link is always good, and the expiration date changes every day.”
/forums/topic/coupons/page/15/

C4c:
How’s your kitty?

[Akari_32]

Just so you guys know, the PetSmart coupon is the same one I posted on another thread. The link is always good, and the expiration date changes every day 🙂

http://pages.email-petsmart.com/coupons2014?g=6e33a451-2f8c-401b-b420-888b86bf1199&ab=foodcenter_coupon_dog

• This reply was modified 11 years, 2 months ago by Akari_32.

[Akari_32]

The only thing I don’t like about the cat Authority is that all the formulas appear to have fish in them. Fish over a period of time can cause thyroid issues. I used to use the Authority Flaked Turkey, but they just changed the recipe to have have less protein, and more carbs, which I avoid for my cat because he is prone to UTIs. For normal cats, that drink water (mine doesn’t), the little extra carbs they added shouldn’t matter. The Flaked Turkey is the only canned recipe that does not have fish, and I’m fairly sure all the dry ones have fish. Wouldn’t be bad for a rotation, but it’s not something I’d personally use all the time.

I also like the looks of the Simply Nourish dry, and used it some when I didn’t know about my cats UTI problems. They also have fish, but much lower down. Just check the ingredients, and decide for your self. That far doesn’t shouldn’t cause any problems, but if you’re like me, I’d rather not use it on a regular basis. I’ll admit to being a crazy person LOL

Also, here’s a coupon 🙂 save the link, as it’s good forever 😉 The expiration date changes every day. It’s good for Authority and Simply Nourish dry foods, as well as other brands, and is for cat and dog food.

http://pages.email-petsmart.com/coupons2014?g=6e33a451-2f8c-401b-b420-888b86bf1199&ab=foodcenter_coupon_dog

[Bobby dog]

Hey C4c:
BD, B dog they are all fine with me. Bobby seems okay eating THK once or twice a month which is fine. I should be able to use it by the expiration date. Glad I tried it at that price, now I know.

Bobby’s only a little over 40 lbs and he’s not very active in the summer so he tends to gain a pound or two if I don’t pay attention. He’s just like me except I tend to gain a pound or two all year long. So I increased the length of our walks, scaled back his meals just a little, and have been feeding one egg a week this past month. I am going to resume feeding two eggs when he gets more active in the cooler weather. I just had to tweak a few things for his ABC diet, but I still am very happy with it and will continue to feed it.

With the size of your dogs the amount of eggs you are feeding sounds appropriate. I use Bobby as a pillow all the time. lol

Please let us know how the SSLL mix goes with you and your dogs! 🙂

[Akari_32]

On my walk with Haley today, we had to stop like four times so she could pee. And she only peed for a few seconds. She’s not one to mark, and she didn’t have a marking posture, so it wasn’t that. It was more like she really did have to pee, and settled in for a good long pee brake, but only got out a little bit (probably about a cup each time).

She also knows I’m not one for potty breaks on walks, and knows that pottying is only allowed in “her” yard, unless she really has to go while we’re out (because walking is for exercise, not for potty breaks!). She’s good about going before we start, but she does occasionally have to stop one time for a pee break, and it’s a full ladder sort of deal when she does. Certainly never four stops.

She is an outside dog, along with my other dog (not by my choice), but she’s always been in good health, is on flea and heart worm prevention (Trifexis– bugs me every time I give it to her. I’ll be getting her off it when this box runs out), and sees the vet every year, or as needed. She just turned 11 this January. The only thing different is that I have them on EVO right now, and they’re about 5lb away from finishing their second 28.6lb bag (so they’ve been on it a while, longer than I would have liked, but I bought them on short sale with upcoming expiration dates so I couldn’t rotate another brand in between bags). This is their first time on EVO, and probably their last, once I get rid of whatever is in the freezer at a later date, since Mars now owns them. They also get a can of wet food split between them a few times a week.

She’s fine otherwise right now, so I won’t be rushing off to the vet just yet. She doesn’t seem to be in pain, or anything, either. We walked a good mile plus, and she kept up with me the whole way. I walk fast, and keep her at a solid trot. Should I be watching for anything specific, given her age or anything? They both love the food, but could the high protein be bothering her? The highest protein food they’ve been on is Wellness CORE, since I can get it very cheap with coupons here. So this is something very new to my old guys. Any insight would be great 🙂

[Cyndi]

I’m trying to research that, but I think that’s an old recall. There is no date on it, except the expiration dates of the food. I think this is actually from last year…

[arwyru24]

So I used lots of coupons….

$2.00 off any Halo purchase (minimum $5.00) mfc coupon
$3.00 off Worlds Best Cat Litter mfc coupon (from coupons.com)
$1.00 off any can Wellness mfc coupon
$4.00 off Canidae any size dog or cat food petco coupon (from their calendar)
The Canidae dog food was marked down 50% (to $7.49) off because of an expiration date of 7/24

and then the Petco 20% off your entire order coupon.

[esetters2]

Has anyone found mold in any bags of Earthborne Holistic Ocean Fusion? I returned to the store and they gave me full credit and told me that was the 4th bag that contained mold. The expiration date was 2015 and it is not on the shelf at the store very long. The store clerk talked to the manager and they most likely are pulling it off the shelf. I’ve purchased this food before and never had any problems. Just wondering if anyone else in other areas have experienced this.

[Bobby D]

Hi, I’m new to the forum. My 15 year old diabetic male rat terrier (Skeeter) now has pancreatitis. He underwent treatment over the weekend at the vet. The veterinarian sent him home with a case of “Hills prescription diet i/d Canine Gastrointestinal Health”. (No more Alpo Chop Shop!) I understand that a low fat diet is essential, and the new food is indeed low fat. I put Skeeter and my younger female rat terrier (Dixie) both on the new food. Now both dogs have diarrhea. BTW, the Hills is far from it’s expiration date. I’m afraid to give them anymore. What should I feed them? Is it normal for a diet change like this to cause diarrhea?

Bobby Dipole

[Akari_32]

Just came back from a mini shopping trip 🙂 I got 15lbs of Nutro Wholesome Essentials Puppy food, and a 15lb tub of Cats Pride Fresh and Light cat litter for $10.36!

Trip one was Publix for the cat litter.
On sale for $5.99 (regular price $8.99)
Manufacturer coupon for $2 off any Fresh and Light litter
Publix coupon for $2 and Fresh and Light litter (obtained by donating $5 to All Childrends Hospital at check out for the last couple weeks).
Total after tax and before coupons: $6.41
Total after coupons: $2.41

(I also bought clearance Airhead Extremes for $0.45 cents a pack…. Lol I love those things!)

Trio two was next door over to Pet Supermarket. Each bag was a separate transaction.
Nutro Wholesome Essentials Puppy food priced at $12.47 per 5lb bag
PetSmart coupon for $5 any size Natural or Specialty brand (Nutro being one of these brands)
Pet Supermarket coupon for $5 off any size bag of Nutro
Total after tax and coupons (they don’t apply tax until AFTER coupons are used–god that’s awesome!!!!): $2.65 per bag, or $7.95 for all three bags.

For some perspective, a 15lb bag of this food costs $29.97. So that means I saved about 76% on the dog food, and 75% on the cat litter 🙂

I’m going to pick up two 3.5 lb bags of Pedigree (I know, I know!!) for $0.80 when they go BOGO at Publix tomorrow. Maybe a few more if I have the coupons for it. Gotta check my expiration dates….

[Akari_32]

Yes it was! This trip actually should have been about $12 less, because the bags were each an additional 20% off due to nearing expiration dates, but the girl forgot to do that after the first bag. Oh well, after the trouble I caused the other day, I’ll let it go this time lol I figured the coupons made it come out even for the other two bags. I won’t go back and bother them lol

[Akari_32]

The only thing I worry about for the dogs canned is the expiration date. They only get one can split between them every week or so because my supply is running low and I’ve not seen any good deals on canned dog food lately. I do have some decent ones lined up for Pedigree and Purina One (yeah, yeah, I know. But it’s not a large part of their diet and Haley doesn’t like just dry– it’s too hard on her tummy) if I could ever get out to PetSmart to get them.

I don’t mind having a bathroom buddy lol He just freaks out if he can’t be in the same room with me. I dog sat over the weekend and stayed at the peoples house , and the neighbor said he was looking for me all weekend. He doesn’t like to be away from his mommy lol He just laid on my chest for like 15 minutes getting snuggles and scratches because he was playing with a hair tie when I went into my room to get my PJs on and he didn’t come in when I called him, so he had to make sure his mommy have him all her love before she locked him out of the room for the night lol he’s such a baby lol