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has anyone experienced any problems feeding the Purina One Smart Blend?
I was feeding the Purina One Large Breed adult....then switched about
8 mths or so....the dogs seem to like it fine....but, and this is only what
is not happening with my dogs since I switched....I have bred 8 females during this time no pregnancies.....?? most by Artificial Insemination...
I am trying to find what is going wrong and what I have done different lately and switching dog food is the only thing I can come up with....My Vet has examined the dogs and they cannot find anything wrong....any info or input anyone has will be most helpful...
 
December 18, 2010

Purina One Smart Blend Lamb and Rice Dog Food. My dog, George (As in George and Gracie), thrived on Purina One products from six months of age ( 1996) until Purina One Smart Blend Lamb and Rice replaced the " original formula " in late Spring, 2010. Upon his first bowl of the "Smart Blend ", he refused the "Meaty Chunks ". Within days he began to be lethargic, anorexic and had neurologic changes. I attributed his condition to the record breaking hot weather, both directly and indirectly (the necessary indoor house-bound requirement to avoid the heat) and his age. In August he began to eat and prefer the "meaty chunks" and ate very little kibble. By mid-August he was eating very little of anything including prescription food and plain boiled chicken and rice, sometimes with boulion.

George was examined and treated by five veterinarians, including his primary doctor (and trustee) of almost fourteen years who referred to the other doctors and worked closely with them. Money was never a constraint and everyone understood that. Despite extraordinary efforts, George's condition was that of an unrelenting deterioration that included acute pancreatitis, muscle mass wasting, 10% weight loss, anorexia, vomiting, dehydration, diarhea, partial heart block (abnormal ventricular rate with sinus rhthym), other signs including an acute upper GI hemmorhage as evidenced by melena (dark tarry stool). On November 18, 2010, the day of the hemmorhage, George died in my arms after injection of a humane euthanistic.

On one occasion ( September 5, 2010 ) George excreted approximately one-third cup of reddish brown very stickey substance the like of which I have never seen in my years of medicine, hospital business, law practice and other experiences. I am sixty-five years of age. George's doctors could not identify the substance. After reading the stories on this web site and others, I have concluded that the substance was most likely a mass of the apparently undigestable "meaty chunks" found in Purina One Smart Blend Dog "food".

I am not looking for a civil law suit to prosecute, although I hope someone else will begin one if the evidence reasonably justifies it. I am very interested in a criminal prosecution of anyone and everyone who the authorities find probable cause to arrest and sufficient evidence upon which to prosecute.

Thank you for directing your concerns and anger appropriately. At my direction, someone today has alerted local, state, and national animal interest groups of our reported concerns. Hopefully, if we communicate our concerns and stay concerned, we will get some acceptable answers and results.

Folks, your efforts have helped me with my grief. May all our efforts help to make this a better place for "animals".
 
My niece fed her toy poodle Purina One, and she thrived on it and lived 14 years. Purina One Smartblend, small bites, Beef and Rice formula is my toy poodles favorite dog food. It's the only kibble she'll eat dry. Any other dog food I get I have to add warm water so she will eat it. I tried several 5 star rated dog food and she would always go back to Purina One. She is very active and healthy. I'll keep offering her other choices but for now her choice is Purina One Smartblend, Small Bites, Beef and Rice. I'm pleased with this product and will continue to purchase it.
 
I'd been feeding my dog with this cereal for months and haven't had problems until recently. My dog now has constant diarrhea (some streak of blood) and shedding hair like crazy. This begin just last month. However after reading comments such as Gene Rich's story and many others from the dogfoodadvisor.com site, I decided to pull the plug on this cereal. I called Petco (where I bought the food), and they told that they haven't heard anything from other customers and advise me to call Purina. I don't know how to proceed. As far as Capuccino (my dog's name), we are cooking his meal. A healthy dose of white rice, chicken, and sweet potato.. so far he is doing a lot better.
 
Have been using Purina One Smartblend (lamb & rice) for 3 months with good results on our 3 dogs. Have used all the super high-end foods and found the Purina is preferred by all 3 dogs (1 older lab & 2 Scotties - 1 9 & diabetid and the other 4). Noticed no problems with stools (actually the 4 yr old scottie's improved markedly), Other High enders (I tried nearly all) seemed to have one or more of the 3 having some problems with skin (itching, hair lose, etc). None showed with Purina. Amount fed per dog has remained the same as with high-ends.

Perfectly satisfied with results of Purina One Smartblend & will continue to use it.
 
We switched to Purina One Lamb & Rice because we ran out of Exclusive Chicken & Rice on a Friday when the store had closed...my dog has huge allergies so it's always been hard to find him food that won't make him itch and make his hair fall out.

Anyway, he's actually done quite well on this food. His hair isn't falling out and he doesn't have an itchy butt. I haven't done any cost comparisons regarding this and other foods but it comes in a huge bag which is convenient.

I have kittens that I feed Purina One Kitten food to and they are thriving...so I'm not sure Purina is poison per say.

Our puppy eats Hills Science because she's a giant breed dog and has different nutritional requirements.

I just want to feed them the best I can within my budget, like any other person would.
 
Do you really think you can trust a company who has been busted for putting plastic in their dog food. Just read the ingredient list, it is poison. After you look at the list then match each ingredient here.

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=badingredients

Here are some decent dog foods for a good price

1. Taste of the Wild - About 43 bucks for 30 lbs.*****
2. Kirkland (Costco) - About 25 bucks for 40 lbs.*****
3. Whole Earth Farms - About 35 bucks for 30 lbs.
4. 4Heath - About 30 bucks for 30 lbs.
5. Natures Domain(Costco) - About 35 bucks for 30 lbs.
6. By-Natural – About 40 bucks for 30 lbs.
7. Nutri Source - About 45 bucks for 30 lbs.
8. Healthwise – About 39 bucks for 30 lbs.
9. Diamonds Premium Edge/Naturals – About 35 bucks for 35 lbs.
10. Eagle pack
11. Chicken soup
12. Fromm
I want to point out that I do not like the Diamond Brand product and so it must be one of these two. The last 3 are here because they seem to go on sale quite often.
 
I have been feeding my dog (Scooby Doo) Purina lamb and rice for the last 5 years just about - we have kept him on this brand due to his ongoing allergies (this food seemed to give him no problems at all) Just recently we HAD to start feeding him the Purina One Smart Blend Lamb and Rice Dog Food because Purina had changed it. We started feeding him the new food that has the chuncks in it right around Christimas 2010 i guess (whenever it was introduced) In February 2011 Scooby Doo (eight years old) has been experiencing weekly seizures. We brought him to the vet and got blood work done to rule out any poisoning etc. His test came back clear. scared and confused-We did a lot of research on Canine seizures, i had asked the vet if the change in food could be bringing on these seizure as hes a healthy active dog and that is the only thing in his life that has changed, the vet said NO. I have since them purchased Potassium Bromide form the vet to treat Scoobys seizures, this will be his first week on the meds. The more and more research i do, the more i think the change in food could have something to do with it. I'm definetly going to take him off this new formula and try another brand or even make Scooby his meals myself so that i know what hes eating. If anyone else has a dog that has started to have seizure since changing to the smart blend - PLEASE let me know. Thanks.
 
Alysa - until the new formula came out, my dog didn't have any problems. About a month after feeding him the new formula, he started acting odd. Walking with his head down, couldn't go outside without my help, tripping up the stairs and running into walls. The vet thought he was having seizures and we did the "watch" method to see how he would do. He had 2 bads days and then would have a great day. One day I watched him have what I called an "attack" he started staring off into space, flopped down and started panting and twitching. Sadly a day or so after that happened, he passed away. He had other symptoms to and the vet didn't know what was going on. He was vomiting, pooping orange and sometimes wouldn't eat. I really believe he had a blockage. Koolie died in October and I am STILL fighting with Purina over it.

For everyone else, I found out that Purina will do NOTHING unless people call in and start a "claim". When you file a claim, it puts a flag on the dog food. After 3 flags, then they supposedly will pull the food. The Smart Blend Lamb & Rice currently has 2 flags on it. One from me and one from someone else. It isn't about the money that supposedly I will get back (not holding my breath) BUT if claims aren't filed, this product will NOT get pulled. Please call them and file a claim.

I am sorry for everyone's heartache due to this food. If nobody speaks up to Purina, nothing will get done. My vet has also filed a complaint against them after reading all the information and complaints on line. Sadly, I still see this posion on the store shelves.

Lisa
 
Does anyone know the changes in content between the original formula and the smart blends formula and when this change occurred?

We've had our golden retriever on purina one because we finally found a dog food he wasn't allergic to, that was reasonably priced and he actually enjoyed eating. But in the last few months, (Probably since at least January) he has had an insatiable appetite. We can't fill him up! He used to just be a free feeder, but now, he gobbles up his food and begs for more! He's figured out how to open the closet doors and help himself into the plastic container the food is in! We haven't decreased the amount of food (if anything we've increased it at this point), nor has his activity level increased. Overall he's just aged considerably in the last few months. He's more achey, and his hind legs twitch when he stands or lays sometimes. I know he's getting older in general, but it all just came on so fast.

We brought him to the vet last week and turns out he has an enlarged liver. All the bloodwork came back normal for Cushing's Disease and Diabetis so the only other option is cancer, which is hard to detect in the liver.

Now I'm starting to think it's the purina one smart blends formula. If there are bad things in it, it would cause his liver to work overtime. Maybe it's causing his constant starvation too. Anyone else experience something similar to this?
 
I too, went with the Smart Blend, since we had utilized the original without problems. Our dog, at the time of food change, was just over 11 years old. She was a Golden Retriever/ Chocolate Lab Mix... never ill, not one day in her life. Except for allergies...excessive shedding, foot licking, etc... no problems what so ever.
Her we are with out her. Yes, April 1st... not a day to enjoy, I came home from a trip to the mall to find my dog not greeting me at the door and in the same spot as when I had left. Knowing something was certainly odd, however realizing she wasn't a pup anymore chalked it up to the arthritis... getting older.
It was worse. She staggered, wavered, didn't get up to eat nor drink, let alone move much at all. She could barely get up and would stumble when attempted. I could tell she was in pain of some sort. Her eyes began to have a thick colorless mucus.
Never having a problem with her health wise, we were in between vets when this happened. We'd only gone to our current vet for vaccinations, pick up a couple heartguard/ frontline a year, and on we'd go. We never had a problem.
My husband had decided we should switch vets when a friend had to have their pet "put down" and he was so impressed with their overall care, from the referral.
Actually feeling frantic about this situation, we contacted the new vet and had to wait unfortunately until a late afternoon opening. When we arrived, after examination, blood work and x-ray, they noted an in crease in her BUN levels. Presenting to us the possibility of chronic kidney failure, I was shocked due to her not having any other symptom. She didn't have excess urination, increased thirst, lack of luster in her coat, she wouldn't eat the dry food we had only offered he,r the smart blend, never considering the food could be an issue... she had eaten this brand for years. She would drink when coaxed.
The vet insisted on keeping her overnight, to provide fluids, and to touch base in the morning. We were devastated. This dog, truly a child to us, now 11 1/2 had never been ill. Everything was happening so quickly.
The next morning the vet contacted us, informed us that with the BUN levels and her age, that a chronic kidney failure assumption was our best bet and untreatable. To take her home, enjoy our time and we'd know what to do when the time came.
She came home, all of us and the other pets were ecstatic to see her. She progressed, she was eating the GE food, home made food, water... smiling and tail waging... then it went down hill. She had again eaten the Smart Blend dog food, which I thought was a good sign.

OH MY WORD!!!! I can't believe the food could've been the culprit. I'm sick. I mentioned that however they stated there weren't any alerts.

How sad. Be careful everyone. I guess we are what we eat. :(
 
I'm concerned about feeding the smartblend to my dogs I have Chihuahuas & Mastiff. They all loved the old stuff. But the Mastiffs wouldn't eat the new stuff.then the Chi's got picky with it.Now they act like they're starving& some of em have put on weight .... w/o qty.increase. what's up I'm seriously thinking about switching brands all together.
 
Sadly yesturday I had to make the tough choice of euthanizing my beautiful bully Dora.
After reading some of your comments I am shocked to learn that my gut was right. My dog has been eating Purina One for five years and she thrived on it. A coulple months ago she became extremely itchy and had a few sores which I attributed to scratching. She quickly became very tired and refused to play with her toys. It wasn't until she began vomitting that I rushed her in to our vet. Unsatisfied with her response I went somewhere else for a second opinion. At this point my dog was extremely thirsty and was having bloody diarhea. Here is a list of things that combined was believed to be affecting my dog:
Parvo
Worms
Giardia
Pyometra
Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (similar to pancreatitis)
Infection
Obstruction
After most of the test came back normal it was time to do the xrays and see what was inside.
The xrays showed some sort of blockage and we decided to go ahead with surgery. Unfortunately when the doctor opened her up they only found an inflammed stomach and severe kidney damage. They said her red blood cell count was so low it couldn't even register. The explanation to my question "what would cause a 6year old dog to have kidney failure" was....something TOXIC.
Her symptoms began after the new smartblend formula came out....as a former longtime purina customer I am saddened that my sweet dog had to leave this earth suffering and I am even more disgusted that this company wont come forward and take responsibility!
 
Trista,

It's unfortunate about your bully, with all the tests that were run on your dog, did any of it show directly or indirectly that it was related to the food being fed? I've used Purina in the past, but no currently as I feel it's overpriced for what you actually get, but if you are 100% sure that the food caused the problem to your dog and you have the actual tests results from the specialists that ran all these tests on your dog then it's likely you can file a lawsuit against the company. I know that's very little reward for the loss of a pet, but at least you should be entitled to some retribution if in fact the dog food is what caused the kidney damage.
 
Our mastiff Rocky is 8 years old and has always enjoyed remarkable health. Six months ago at Christmas, he suffered his first grand mal seizure. Our vet has had us "observe" him for some months and has now diagnosed him with epilepsy but did not think the seizures could be related to a change in diet, i.e., a switch to the Purina Smart Blends lamb dog food. It was only after he had two seizures today that I thought to google any relationship between the two. Needless to say, the remainder of the bag has gone to the trash. Here's praying that he will recover.
 
We have a rescue dog and she had dem. mange really bad and was starved when we got her.....the bet told us that if we didn't want to buy the real expensive dog food, that he recommended Purina Lamb/Rice for her condition with the reocurring mange as the best food store dog food you could buy, She has thrived, had no mange come back....I hesitate to keep feeding her this now after reading all these stories...are there some good stories out there too.....she really looks great and her fur is shiny and healthy...she is an
Aussie Blue Heeler....
 
I too have had success with Purina One Lamb and Rice. I felt guilty that I was feeding our two large dogs a "grocery store" brand and switched to a very expensive brand that is highly recommended. After two months my dogs developed skin problems and had constant loose stools. I've gone back to Purina Lamb and Rice and all their problems went away. Plus - they really like it. We do supplement with some good canned food, pet vitamins, and quality bisquits.
 
I too have always fed Purina One, from Puppy to adult! I used Purina One Lamb & Rice for years but our 4 Boxers were getting too heavy so we switched to Healthy Weight managment a couple years ago. In the spring the days got hotter and our dogs started eating less and less so we decided to put them back on Lamb & Rice. BIG MISTAKE!!! They had changed the formula but we didn't think too much of it and our dogs loved it. On May 4th our oldest dog Hudson came out of his pen and was acting normal and started eating, during his meal his left leg curled up and went under him. He made his way back to the pen and sat by the door of the dog house. The next morning he was in the same spot except now both rear legs would not work. We rushed him to our vet of 11 yrs and we were told it was neurological and without a lot of trial and error to figure it out he still would probably never walk again. Sadly that was the last day of his life. Now in August our indoor female started having Grand Mal Seizures and we were going to have her put down due to a suspected brain tumor. I got to thinking that the only change we had made was the dog food. Surely that could not be it! While walking her before work this morning I heard that familar sound of a dog seizing and I ran over to the pen, our 9 yr old male was in his house having a GRAND MAL SEIZURE, I gave him an anti-seizure drug that I had for my female. I then decided to google Purina One Lamb & Rice and seizures, I was shocked to see all the people who have been through the same things and most of the pets mentioned have died. I called Purina and they took the numbers off the bag and that was it. I asked would there be any follow up and was told no. When I told the girl I was talking to that I was going to have the food checked at LSU and call the media she offered to send a sample kit for me to send some of the food in for them to test but that I would have to call them back 14 days later, needless to say please don't feed your dogs this food. They may love it but you will hate it when you see your precious pet thrashing around in a seizure and falling and foaming at the mouth!!! We have new dog food and we will take the wait and see road to find out if the food change helps or if too much damage has already been done. These dogs are like our children but Purina does not care, they are in it for the money!
 
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