Who Feeds Go Natural to their Danes-Opinions?

[PhoebesMom]

I went in and sat down with a nutritionalist today for Phoebe. We went over her weight, size and the fact that she may have a sensitive stomach. The nutritionalist recommended 'Go Natural' Salmon & Oatmeal Formula, so we've purchased a small bag to slowly convert her. While it's higher then the 8% fat then our vet recommended (it's 12%), the nutritionalist said that because it's not a kibble based mainly on grains, corn ect. that the proteins balance out to equal good energy and that it will help her stomach, give her a much nicer coat, smaller poops since most of the food gets absorbed, less gas, and will help balance out and reduce the acidity in her urine which in effect will help our grass. There was more too but I can't recall it all. She said if this kibble doesn't agree then I might want to try Phoebe on a raw diet of which she would help me get Phoebe started on it. The benefits of raw sound really impressive, for my smaller dog and cat as well. I'll have to see what the future holds but for now we'll see how 'Go Natural' works for Phoebe. Any thoughts on this food?

[lshelley21]

never heard of it in MA, but tell me how it works for ya

[lshelley21]

hey i just found a recall on that food.....
Go! Natural Pet Foods Recall
From Franny Syufy,
Your Guide to Cats.
FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now!
Oct 26 2003
Canadian company recalls all products manufactured in Texas
Petcurean, Inc., the Canadian manufacturer of Go! Natural pet foods, announced on 10-22-03 the voluntary recall of all pet foods manufactured by their plant in Texas. The recalls followed reports in Southern California of 14 illnesses and 7 deaths in dogs and cats fed Go! Natural. Since the recall, a number of other illnesses have been reported.
Go! Natural has only recently been available in the United States, and the Texas plant, which had limited production between June and September of 2003 has had production suspended. The manufacturer's press release does not state the length of suspension of the Texas plant's operation, but states that all future production of Go! Natural will take place in their Canadian plant. They also stress that no Canadian-produced foods have been affected by the recall. Petcurean officials are exploring the possibility of one tainted production batch (approximately 1,590 pounds) being involved, although they have stated that preliminary investigation has found no evidence of contamination. Petcurean has also notified the FDA, according to an article by Canada.com.

Recently, Go! Natural has been available in California (Sacramento, the Bay Area, and San Diego), as well as metropolitan Seattle and Denver. So far, the larger number of cases seem to have been reported in California

Liver dysfunction is reported as the most serious symptom, along with rash and/or vomiting, jaundice and reduced appetite, and initial reports seemed to involve more dogs than cats. If your cat has been on a diet of Go! Natural, and has been exhibiting any untoward symptoms, it is strongly suggested that you take him to your veterinarian for tests, including a liver panel, if indicated.

Petcurean and Pet Food Express, the retailer of Go! Natural in California, have requested that consumers return the product to the store for a refund or substitute replacement. A representative of Pet Food Express told the San Francisco Chronicle that of 3,000 bags of Go! Natural in stock, 1,500 had been sold, and to date only 150 returned.

I personally tested Go! Natural with my GuideCats in December of 2002, and was impressed with the ingredients. The cats also approved, and my review rating was 5 stars. I have temporarily updated my review with this new information, and will stay on top of this situation until a permanent resolution is found.

[Kiahpyr]

Do you have the ingredients or the website? My friend feeds her cats the Go food. I think it's fairly new on the market.

[PhoebesMom]

Here's the website http://www.petcurean.com/products.html

[lshelley21]

FDA is against it..as is the USDA...
http://www.fda.gov/cvm/Documents/HHEGoNatural.pdf#search=%22go%20natural%20dog%20food%22

health hazard
please be careful

[PhoebesMom]

I called the Toll-Free number and was told that there have been no Cases in Canada of pets dying from eating Go-Natural. He said that the cases were reported in the US where there was a bad batch, so basically what is stated above.
Thanks for posting though. I always worry about recalls and foods so I'm a stickler for checking expiration dates and asking about companies.

[Kiahpyr]

To be fair that happened in 2003. I would be interested to see if they changed since then.

[lshelley21]

pphheeeeeewww. ...good that is always a good thing. I would go raw with Jaz, but it is too expencive from what i am told, I wish there was just a menu of items you can choose one from.. like a list of main meat, list of orfal for that day, list of bones, rather than a pintch of this and a pinch of that.. i just don't get it, so i guess until i do i am sticking with solid gold/praire... the other thing i was told (which is prob. not true) that dogs have been bred for so long and have been eating kibble for so long that they don't hav the enzymes to digest the food..although i don't really believe that..but i thought i would throw it out there..

[PhoebesMom]

I couldn't find it either so I'll just type out what ingredients are listed.
 
Ingredients: Salmon meal, Salmon, Oatmeal, Whole Oats, Canola Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols [Vitamin E], citric acid [Vitamin C], and Rosemary Extract), Oat Fiber, Inulin (FOS), Mannanoligosac charides (MOS), Yucca Schidigera, Yeast Culture, Vitamin A Acetate, Cholecalcifero l (Vitamin D3), dl Alpha Tocopherol Acetate (Vitamin E), Ferrous Sulfate, **Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Oxide, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Copper Sulfate, **Copper Proteinate, Manganous Oxide, **Manganese Proteinate, Riboflavin, Calcium Iodate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Folic Acid, Biotin, Sodium Selenite, Cobalt Carbonate, Menadione Sodium Bisulphite Complex (source of vitamin K activity), Vitamin B12 **these are chelated minerals.

Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein min 22%
Crude Fat min 12%
Crude Fibre max 3.8%
Moisture max 10%
*Omega 6 Fatty Acids 2.75%
*Omega 3 Fatty Acids 0.3%
Vit. E min 200IU/kg

[PhoebesMom]

Hi Holly,
Phoebe does not to our knowledge have any food allergies per say but does have a sensitive stomach. My gf that we got Phoebe from said that she would have huge poops, gas and runny poops on so many brands. She had found one that seemed to work okay for Phoebe but it was 19% fat and she was gaining weight pretty fast. The vet we saw said to put her on Purina Pro Plan weight Management but she has been so gassy with loose poops, and huge at that.
After going over all that I knew about Phoebe the Go Natural Salmon was what the nutritionalist recommended. She even mentioned possibly adding some raw to the diet in moderation, but to start with the Salmon and we could even then give Phoebe some other flavors of Go Natural after we have her stomach settled and on a better diet over all.

[PhoebesMom]

Thanks for the info. A friend of mine did suggest Innova Evo for Phoebe, however today the nutritionalist said that it may be too rich for Phoebe and while she said the Innova is an excellent food, one to which she was considering for Phoebe she said she thought the Go Natural would likely better suit Phoebe. Second choice was raw and third was the Innova. She was going to send samples of the Innova home for Phoebe to try but did not have any. We'll see how the Go Natural works. I'm getting so much great advice diet wise it's really helping me out.

[PhoebesMom]

I will be after Phoebe goes in to be spayed and have her ankle fixed. She wanted Phoebe to settle on a good brand/food before the stress of surgery. After the surgery and Phoebe has recovered we're going to sit down and talk about how she's doing on the food and possibly trying some other flavors or if we should move to raw or the Innova.