Nutro Dog Food Reviews

I am very sorry to see that so many dogs have been having problems. While everyone is paying more attention to what they feed their dog, I would like to point out a few things. Nutro Max and Nutro Natural Choice are both sub-par foods to start with. They both are loaded with corn, wheat, soy, and by-products. These 4 ingredients can all cause these issues that many of the complaints have listed whether it be Nutro or another brand. These ingredients are literally the cheapest ingredient that a food maker can use and still have the FDA approve the food. They provide absolutely no nutritional value to your pet. The cheap fillers are used simply to keep the cost down.

Bloating, vomit, drinking copious amounts of water and overall - acting sick. Animals were sick while on this diet. Of course it took some trial and error, as well as the recall to figure out what was happening to the animals.

I was absolutely ready to ignore these stories as paranoia until I read the symptoms 'frequent urination, unexplained accidents, and crystals in urine' complaints. This was our big clue that something wasn't right. From a lifetime user of Nutro: a 9-year old Lab and 6-year old Rottie, both on Nutro (various) since birth and never any problems. Suddenly (last year), both dogs developed excessive flatulence with extremely bad smell and yellow bile vomit, and in the rottie, frequent urination with unexplained 'accidents' in the house. We noticed the upset stomach to be associated with Lamb and Rice.

I was shocked to hear about this on the news. I have been feeding my 13-year-old Catahoula Nutro Venison and Brown Rice formula for several years. I had recently purchased a new 50-pound bag of food and began giving it to her. She started having explosive diarrhea and vomiting. I took her to the vet who prescribed antibiotics and a canned dog food to slowly start weaning her back to food. Several days later, she seemed like she was getting better. So we went back to our normal routine.

Wow. Someone just forwarded me the FDA confirmation. I read through the article and by the end, I was curious what kind of dog food we served our little Boston terrier. I was pretty sure it wasn't Nutro, but he did just vomit an incredibly brilliant neon puddle onto our couch, so this got me thinking. And as I finished the story, I realized that since we got Bailey from a rescue shelter in November, he's vomited about 2 to 3 times weekly and we kept feeding him whatever food the shelter had given us. So, I got up and went into the pantry to see what kind of food we have - Natural Choice. Phew, not this stuff. But I noticed a little symbol above those words and because it's dark, can't make it out so I turned on the light. It was straight out of a horror movie. Cue the piercing violins and extreme panning. Nutro.

My Labrador, Bayley, has eaten Nutro Dog Food her entire life. She became ill in Dec. '08 and died in Jan. '09 The vet diagnosed kidney failure. It happened so sudden. I never thought it could be from her food. We had no knowledge that Nutro was having problems with quality. I spent $1,000 trying to save my dog, but the damage was too severe and she couldn't be saved. I don't know if her food was the cause for her kidneys failing, but she was only 7 years old. Bayley's general health was great, so this was a complete mystery to us. If this company is in anyway responsible for my beautiful dog's untimely death, I hope that they are held accountable.

I sent pictures (of a dead dog and vomit under the pens) and information to Nutro, talked with them and sent samples of the food. I had 11 pens of dogs that threw up severely after eating Nutro Puppy (little reddish colored O shapes). All had loose stools and vomit. I took extensive pictures and my vet was involved also. One dog threw up, aspirated and died from the food. The company said that they were sorry, but that there was nothing wrong with their food. It was because I had changed the dogs over to their food so quickly. But the food was mixed with other food for 1 week and they chose the other food over the Nutro food.

I have a Saint Bernard puppy. She is around 8 months old. She was on Nutro Natural Choice puppy food until she was seven and a half months old. She used to be okay for some time and would all of a sudden have motion as well as vomiting bouts (yellow bile). I suspected the food initially but I was not sure. Last couple of weeks, she has been pissing blood and I had to do a urinary test. The vet suspects kidney stone. I now feed her Iams and she seems to be doing okay now. Just a thought, Nutro Natural Choice puppy food I feel is the culprit. I am really disappointed and would like to ask the FDA to close them out to avoid other pets from going through this. A stiff class action suit is what needs to be done.

I have been feeding NutroMax Indoor Senior dry cat food to my 4 indoor cats for years, never had any problems. The last 2 bags that I bought, which was the first couple of months of this year, started a vomiting issue and I also noticed they were not eating much of it like they used to. Every morning, I would find vomit and then one of my cats became very ill, lethargic, not eating or drinking, and had problems swallowing. I immediately switched brands and everything got better. My ill cat was back to himself in 2 days and no more vomiting from any of them.

You need to add another tragic and unexpected death to your tally in your excellent article about Nutro on April 20th. You wrote that "Six dogs unexpectedly died or were euthanized in 2008 after eating Nutro pet food." I wrote in July of 2008 that our Elkhound, Ali, died on July 13th after eating Nutro. Nutro is directly responsible for her death, and I'm sure the FDA will find them culpable for all the suffering posted on this site.

We own a 9-year-old GSP and she has never eaten any food but Nutro High Energy. She is as healthy and active as one could expect a 9-y/o to be. We have just started weaning her onto Nutro Senior Max by slowly mixing it in with the High Energy and have experienced no problems at all. I think it's extremely dangerous and irresponsible for people to throw accusations about a particular product when they have no definitive proof. There are so many environmental hazards to pets today that I would suggest that rather than maligning a great product like Nutro, people would be better served checking the fertilizers they put on their lawns and the chemical cleaners they use in their homes.

I have two dogs - an 11-year-old male Golden Retriever and a 3-year-old female Greyhound. I had been feeding the dogs Nutro Lamb and Rice Small Bites when both of them started getting ill, vomiting bile, diarrhea, listlessness, and then the Golden started pooping black liquid. He seemed like he was dying. I brought him in to the vet and the vet said he had pancreatitis, and that he was dying! He was there for a week. We almost lost him prematurely. I took them both off the food when he came home and they both recovered. They both were so sick! I'm frustrated that this food could be hurting other dogs and almost killed ours!

I just read your article about Nutro pet foods. I feed 16 dogs a day NutroMax Adult or NutroMax Puppy food. I have experienced some of my dogs having bouts of unexplained diarrhea for about two years. Of course, dogs can get diarrhea for many reasons and having a large number of dogs, I would see more of it than someone who has one or two dogs. So, I tried not to jump to conclusions about the cause. I have found that specific dogs seem to be more susceptible to when I open a new bag of NutroMax - and curiously it is a mother and her two daughters that seem to be very quick to show symptoms. The other dogs do so well on Nutro, that I didn't want to find a new food for all of them if I did not have to.

I had a puppy that I fed the Nutro Natural Rice and Lamb dog food. It was taken off the market for a while. I called the company and they said it was because of a shortage of rice. She had severe vomiting so the vet put her on a Prescription Hill's brand. Still going downhill, blood was taken and we found out she was in renal failure. She received round the clock care for several weeks but did not pull through.

I bought a bag of this for my 5-year-old French Mastiff on Thursday night. By Saturday night, she was unable to control bowel or bladder function. She is in horrible pain and discomfort. She has been in the hospital for the past two days and the Vet was told about the report on this site and is doing blood work. She has never ever had any stomach upsets. She has a stomach like an iron kettle. She can eat shoes, carpet, logs, cheese, etc., literally everything and has never had any bowel/diarrhea issues.

My 6-year-old Chihuahua frequently vomited yellow bile and developed cancer and died. Her gums were pale and she began bruising. The vomiting began after she started eating Nutro. The treatment cost me between $2700 and $3000. She died April 3, 2009, 9 days after becoming acutely ill with symptoms of a blood disorder that was actually pancreatic cancer.

About a month or so ago, my chocolate lab continued to vomit. This dog has never vomited like this. It was 4-6 times a day, very phlegmy, and had a yellow/brown color to it. I was worried and took her into the vet and they couldn't find any reason for the illness. That night, same thing happened. During the night, she got sick 2 more times. I called the vet the next day and they prescribed an anti-nausea medicine and I started feeding her turkey and rice. Once I started that, there were no additional episodes.

I just read the article regarding Nutro pet food. I purchased the Dry Nutro Natural Choice Venison and Brown Rice upon the recommendation of the clerk in the store. They did not have my usual Natural Balance Venison. Since that time, my dogs have been sick. I took them to the Vet who gave them antibiotics. I have small portion left. Who should I contact and what should I do to determine if this food is contaminated?

I have two cats that are 9 months old. I have been feeding them Nutro kitten food since they were babies. Recently, one of them began to lose weight and was vomiting on average of twice per day. I took him to the vet, and they ran numerous tests (and a big vet bill), put him on an IV drip to rehydrate him, and prescribed numerous (and costly) medications, but could not really determine the problem. After seeing the news reports about other animals getting sick after eating this food, I intend to go to a different brand. Hopefully this will alleviate the problem. Thanks for reporting on this issue, at least now I know something to try (switching brands).

I had been feeding my two 70-lb. dogs Nutro Max Lamb and Rice dry dog food. As they are now 11 and 10 years old, I switched to the Nutro Max Senior food with Chondroitin and Glucosamine figuring it would be good for my dogs' stiffness and joint issues. Within the time of using 1 large bag, about 1 month, both my dogs had massive problems with vomiting and diarrhea, became lethargic and basically not their usual happy selves. I thought maybe the additives, Chondroitin and Glucosamine were in too large of a quantity for them to handle and was affecting their systems, but I wanted to get more information. Now that I have read the other people's experience with this, I, too, have to be concerned about their food's ability to supply my dogs with the proper nutrients and safety. I will be switching foods to see how their systems react. Please keep me informed.

I am responding to the article you published - FDA Confirms Probe of Nutro Pet Food Deaths, Illnesses. My Brittney has been ill for the past two to three years with intermittent vomiting of bilious material mixed with food. The veterinarians and I (I am a physician) have done numerous tests and have not been able to find a definitive cause. When I read your article I was stunned. I had considered it might be the food (Natural Choice Lamb and Rice Small Bites) and switched to the Venison formulation. I started buying the Sensitive Stomach formulation of treats from Natural Choice thinking perhaps the dog just has a sensitive stomach. She continues to decline and has lost weight. She is constantly thirsty but is not diabetic.

My dog became very ill with GI disease (primarily chronic bloating and vomiting) in March '07 after eating Nutro brand food (canned and dry). It occurred same time as melamine contamination but wasn't considered to be related due to not having kidney failure; though my dog was just as ill (needing emergency treatment after vomiting for 2 days)! Gut instinct tells me it was due to the Nutro food as it has started happening again, or maybe never ended?! My dog has been having serious GI distress again (past 3 months) which started after switching to Canidae, a high level/premium brand (plus expensive), one of the brands under current investigation for toxin in their feed. Aagghh! Now what do I do?! I would use people food but that's not much better, for humans too! Consequences: ~$1,500 in vet bills, medicine and prescription food.

I have 2 collies and have been feeding them Nutro food for over a year. Both have been experiencing the vomiting that you describe in your article.

I switched my 9-month-old Boston Terrier to Nutro rice and lamb formula, as well as the Nutro canned rice and lamb formula. Within a couple of days, she had diarrhea. The first episode was so bad the poor dog climbed out of her own puppy play pen. This continued for a week until I talked to my breeder, who informed me about the risks of Nutro. Immediately I went back to the PetSmart where I bought the product from and let the assistant manager know the problem. He informed me that only the canned food had been recalled, but all the quirks were worked out, but never mentioned anything else about the Nutro problems (i.e. deaths). I bought a large bag of Science Diet and am in the process of switching my dog back. Thanks to my breeder's knowledge of Nutro, my dog is safe. Hopefully, somebody will be held accountable for this mess.

I fed my dog the Nutro Natural Choice Lamb & Rice Formula for small breeds. She was sick, losing weight and became lethargic. Her vet said she was having many bladder infections and then her liver tests were high in enzymes. She had diarrhea and digestive problems. Abbie, my dachshund, lost her life one year ago. I lost my best friend due to some dog food that had I known, I would have switched her immediately.

Around Christmas time and for a few weeks after my dog's tail hung down, he vomited a few times that I knew about. He seemed generally down. A friend mentioned something about Nutro foods. I immediately stopped feeding him Nutro, even though I had several full, unopened, expensive bags left. He now eats Pet Promise and immediately became his old self again. I feel certain it was the Nutro food that was making him sick. Other than feeling bad for a few weeks and the cost of at least 3 big bags of rice and chicken small bites dried food, my boy seems to be fine now.

I've been using the Nutro pet food for my dog since she was a puppy. However, in this last 6 months, she has been vomiting yellow bile, and urinating in the house (which is strange since she has been housebroken). I was concerned because the urine had bright red blood in it. I immediately did all the home remedies (apple cider vinegar, beef broth in her water, etc.). After that didn't work, I began giving her the antibiotics. After the first round didn't work, I got a different kind and while it improved her frequent urination in the house, she occasionally still urinated in the house and was throwing up a yellow bile daily. I assumed the antibiotic was giving her an upset stomach. However, it's been over 3 months now and she still occasionally vomits the yellow bile and has a tinge of blood in her urine. I just saw the recall on the Consumer Affairs website and think it's connected.

I own two male Australian Shepherds, one 11 years old and the other 10. They have never had any other food besides Nutro Rice and Lamb formula. They are both healthy, still act like puppies and I will continue feeding them this food.

I fed my 2 dogs Nutro Natural Lamb and Rice for their entire lives. The Golden Retriever died of stomach and liver cancer at age 11 1/2 and our other dog, a McNab, died of liver failure at age 11. A biopsy was never done to see if it was cancer or not. I think it is just too big of a coincidence that 2 dogs of 2 breeds, eating the same food, die suddenly of liver issues. It was strange for the first dog to go down so suddenly but to have the second one do so also when both dogs had been so healthy all of their lives, was very strange to me. Both of our beloved pets died and we suffered much pain because of this loss. We had thousands of dollars in vet bills and cremation fees in the end and 2 dead dogs to show for it.

I have been feeding my dog Nutro since he was a puppy. I had originally put him on the puppy food and then graduated him to the Nutro Adult food (Chicken and Rice formula). In the beginning of March, I bought a new bag of food and soon after, my dog started having diarrhea (yellowish color). Shortly after his diarrhea started, he began to vomit. I took him to the vet and they treated him for Giardia (parasite) even though the parasite test results were negative. I changed his food to Dick Van Patten's dog food and my dog's stool seemed to harden. My dog does have allergies and he became allergic to the new dog food (broke out in hives).

After reading the Nutro story on the investigation, I had to note my own. I've fed Nutro Natural for several years to my boxers that I breed and show. In the year of the rice gluten problems from China, and before it hit the news, I started having issues with ongoing diarrhea in my dogs. I took stool samples to my vet, had them examine some of the dogs, and they couldn't find anything. We tried medications, but nothing stopped the diarrhea. I contacted Nutro asking if they had made a formula change and telling them what was happening to my dogs, and they denied changing anything in the recipe; in essence, they blew me off. I finally switched my dog to Eagle Holistic and all the dogs quit having bowel issues, even though I ended up doing a sudden switch.

Nutro Lamb & Rice for Puppy Food was purchased at Fleet Farm in Mason City, Iowa for the past 3 months. In the last 2 weeks, our puppy has become sick and has thrown up and has been lethargic and has been very hot/feverish, refusing to eat her food at times. I was alerted to the FDA article released on April 20th by the breeder we purchased our dog from last January. I've called the vet for an appointment and have stopped feeding our puppy the food immediately. Hopefully there is no permanent damage done. The complaints listed in the article are exactly what we've been experiencing. I noticed our food has been lighter in color too. I'm very mad.

A year and a half ago, my dog was eating nothing but Nutro dog food due to the wonderful benefits that my local pet store went on and on about. After eating the food for more than a year, my year and a half old Bichon Frise started experiencing frequent urination, and was unable to go to the restroom when she did try. We took her to the vet only to find out we had to pay over $150 for X-rays and other diagnostic tests. The doctor told me that she had a kidney stone the size of a grape if not bigger! A ten-pound dog with that big of a kidney stone?! She had surgery a week later. We were told that it would be a $600+ surgery, but the doctor discounted it as much as possible to $350. We can barely afford the expensive dog food! We were also told that there were other options such as putting her to sleep. How could we do that when it seemed to be our fault for giving her such a healthy food?

I am totally confused about all the experiences people are having with their dogs and/or cats. I have 4 Dalmatians, one is a puppy and is on Pedigree puppy food. My older 3 have been on Nutro for over 2 years as I changed their food upon the last big recall of dog food. I have not had any problems with my dogs thus far. I am going to mention the fact that dogs love to eat grass. Mine do anyway! That did cause vomiting in most cases. Living in Michigan winters does not leave grass for them to eat. Now that Spring is slowly coming around, there is some grass that grows at the fence line of our yard. It isn't the best looking grass but they eat it! My puppy ate some and vomited black looking stuff along with her breakfast. We kept an eye on her and she is fine. She eats the Pedigree food. I am wondering now, after reading this entire Nutro problem and I just don't know if I should change food - and then wait until I hear about a recall on that food! It's always something ...

Our Pembroke Welsh Corgi was on Nutro Max Mini Chunks. He suddenly died on 3/11/08 of acute kidney failure. He had just turned 8 years old. The vet was baffled by the kidney failure at his fairly young age, especially considering that he was an otherwise healthy, happy, active dog. Prior to his death, he started vomiting bile occasionally, drinking an excessive amount of water, urinating frequently, and his urine was devoid of color (it was clear). In the very end, he had horrible diarrhea and was lethargic. I strongly believe that the food he was eating played a part in his death. We regularly checked the food recall lists, watching for Nutro brand foods, but all we ever saw was that the dry food was safe.

I bought several types of Nutro Food from puppy line and small dogs line and my dog got extremely sick including vomiting, diarrhea, and bloody stools. After switching brands, my Yorkie's symptoms all went away. Food made my dog very sick, to the point he was taken to the vet to be examined for what was wrong.

Six years ago when I rescued my dog, a Lab/Husky mix, I discovered very quickly that she had a sensitive stomach. I started her on the Nutro Puppy and kept her on that and then when she came of age, I put her on their Sensitive Stomach. She was on Nutro for the first two years of her life without any problems. I very much felt satisfied with this food, and the only reason I switched later on was that I could get a high quality brand for a cheaper price through work. However, I did have my old Beagle who at the time was around the age of 8 on the Nutro Senior and he began to have problems urinating and it was discovered that his pH levels were high.

I'm writing in regards to a story that I received a link to this morning from a co-worker (https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/04/nutro_foia.html). My cats had been eating Natural Choice Complete Care Indoor Weight Management for the past couple of years. Around Feb. 17th, I noticed that my cat, Jabba, was acting odd, sleeping a lot and not eating/drinking much. On Feb. 21st, she began throwing up water and not eating, period. My husband rushed her to the vet who gave her some fluids and sent her home. Over the next two days, she worsened (my other cat was unaffected). On Feb. 23rd, my husband again took the cat to the vet (a different office) where he was told that things looked pretty bad. We received a phone call that night that Casey had passed away in her sleep.

I used to sell Nutro as a demonstrator (many, many years ago). It was an excellent food - no by-products and really a class 1 food. I raised 9 dogs on it that lived till they were 18-20 years old. Since then I recently heard of it being recalled. I checked and was really shocked until I found out that Nutro sold the company to Mars. That's when I realized oh no! Several years ago, Mars had some candy recalls as it was bad. I have never ever bought their products since. Now I see why Nutro, that used to be a great dog food, is no longer made the same and I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole. Just a little insight that many may not know.

I want to lodge a complaint regarding the FDA probe of the pet food maker Nutro. There is a formal probe by the FDA and I want to say how much we've taken our Bichon Frise to the veterinarian regarding allergies, sicknesses, etc. in the past several years. How do I get involved? I feed my dog just about every Nutro product sold.

My 16-month-old Rott/Mix has been in and out of the vets since Oct 08 with stomach problems for vomiting and diarrhea. She would be put on medication and a bland diet for a couple of weeks and be okay for awhile. I have been feeding her Nutro Max for sensitive stomach for about 9 months now and she is constantly having digestive problems. I am convinced it is the dog food. She has had X-rays and blood work ups and it all comes back negative.

I have five of my own dogs and foster dogs for animal rescue. The pet store recommended Nutro Natural Choice Lamb Meal and Rice. We fed it for about 9 months. We noticed color changes with each bag. Our dogs would sometimes get sick and throw up. I called the customer service line and they told me to change to the Nutro Max and see if the problem continued. They mailed me a sheet on how to slowly transfer the dogs over. We did that and I called them immediately after a week of being on 100% Nutro Max. I called CS to let them know I had very sick dogs. They had diarrhea so bad I said it looks like someone used a paintball gun on my front yard!

I have been reading about how these dogs were getting sick from this product. I have a 16-year-old Yorkshire Terrier that has been on this his entire life. He started with yellow bile coming up periodically, then he could keep no food down. I have all the vet work for his liver and pancreas damage and the last bag of food information: Nutro Natural Choice Senior, NCSE30-02 1143185, 25 84695-01-09-08, Bar Code 7910523032-2. He is recovering but not sure if the pancreas will ever fully recover. I have spent $600 on vet bills and now have to buy special food for him and continue getting his blood monitored to see if the pancreas will return to normal.

Last year, I began feeding my Black Lab Nutro Max dog food. Shortly afterwards, she began vomiting. Not believing that the food was to blame, we continued to feed her with the same food. Our younger Yellow Lab began eating the same food at the same time. Lately, we have noticed a weight loss in this dog. After hearing about the possible FDA investigation of Nutro, we have decided to change name brand food. We have noticed that there is no more vomiting from my Black Lab, but it is too early to determine if there is weight gain from the Yellow Lab.

I had been feeding my 3 cats Nutro Cat for several years, and all of a sudden, my cats were sick and not eating their food. We finally called the company and asked if the formula had been changed and they said it had not. We explained that our 3 cats would not eat and were sick. They sent us a bag to send in a sample of the food. We did so. My husband then called them and said our cats were still having issues. They sent us a coupon for a new bag. We got a new bag after taking back the old bag of food. We tried the new bag of food and the cats were still not eating.

We have three cats and one dog and have been feeding them Nutro Max for the last four years. The oldest cat started getting sick right away and vomiting about once a day. Now he is doing it if not once a day, three to four times a week. We just thought it was because he was old. The vet hasn't been able to find anything wrong with him other than he needs to lose some weight. Now our youngest cat has started vomiting a couple of times a week. The dog and the other cat will only vomit every so often. We have never been able to explain why this was happening to our pets. Then I heard the story on CNN that others were having a problem. This is the only food that all four of our animals get and the dog is the only one that gets to go outside.

I own a Chocolate Labrador Retriever that is now five and a half years old. I used to feed him pretty much whatever brand name dry dog food and he never seemed to care; otherwise, he is not a picky dog in regards to his food. When he was about 16 months old, he started to lose his fur and his skin was all dry and he was always scratching himself with his hind feet to the point both sides where his paws could reach had no fur left on them whatsoever. I took him to our vet four times about this and was told he was allergic to his food most likely - his shampoo - and everything else they could think of.

My rhodesian ridgeback has had a UTI for a year that we cannot get rid of. We found she has an enlarged adrenal gland so they thought she had Cushing’s disease but tests came back negative. She had been vomiting up foamy bile with yellowish color, chronic diarrhea and excessive thirst. Our vet put her on hills SD for a short time and she got better, but we went back to Nutro Natural Choice Lamb and Rice because she had always been on this. First thing this morning, I heard on the news that people are having a problem with Nutro. I called my vet and we both started looking into the matter and now think the food may be the cause of her illness. I am mad that the pet food store misled me when they were having problems stocking the food. And above all, they should have known there were problems, instead of telling me this was one of the best options in pet food. I am going on Wellness as my vet had recommended. I feel betrayed by the company that they knew and did nothing. I will never go back to this brand and will tell anyone who will listen not to buy this food.

We fed our dog Nutro Senior for 2 years (a previous dog ate it for many years) without incident. Approximately two months ago, she started throwing up routinely, sometimes several times per day. She also looked sick all the time. We could tell she did not feel well. We took her to the vet to see if they could identify the problem and we started her on stomach medication. When we ran out of the Nutro dog food, we started her on Science Diet Sensitive Stomach (a food we were feeding our other dog who does have a sensitive stomach) and she has not thrown up since. I had my suspicions that it might be the Nutro dog food just because when we stopped feeding that, she recovered. She is well and happy now. I think at minimum, this should be looked into because I am convinced something was amiss with the dog food. Until I get an investigation on this, my dogs will not be eating Nutro dog food.

My miniature schnauzer Daisy had been on the Nutro Natural Choice for inactive dogs to keep her weight under control for the five years I had her. Suddenly I noticed she started losing energy and was lethargic about two months ago. So, I decided to begin feeding her Nutro Natural Choice for puppies to maybe give her more energy with the ingredients provided in that formula. After only two cups of the new food overnight, she began to not eat or drink water and became extremely lethargic and weak. I immediately took her to the vet to check her out and the vet said that the tests came back with pancreatitis and enlarged liver and the bile was upsetting her so she vomited and had no appetite. After treating her with antibiotics and anti-nausea drugs and feeding her and hydrating her through an IV, the vet suggested that she would not recover from the pancreatitis and liver damage. If she couldn't hold down medication, then it was too late.

We began feeding our dogs the Nutro Max Sensitive Stomach brand for about 2 years now and until recently, they were healthy, energetic and great dogs. But lately, both dogs have been very sick. Garcia (our two year old, 90 pound St. Bernard mix) and Lola (six years old, 70 pound shepherd mix) have been having frequent accidents in the house - vomiting, diarrhea, nausea and just not right. I took the urine samples to the vet and they found crystals in Garcia's urine, and prescribed him UTI medication and antibiotics. The accidents continued two and three times daily well after the medicine was gone. Since we have two dogs eating the same food, it was very hard for us to pinpoint which dog was sick. Then Lola started vomiting daily and was losing weight rapidly. I took her to vet and the vet said she had the doggie flu basically and have her antibiotics.

I have been feeding my dog Nutro Natural Choice and recently switched him to the senior formula a few months back. For almost three months now, he has been vomiting yellow bile 1-2 times daily. In addition, he was having other digestive problems. I took him to the vet and they ran blood work, but found nothing. I am now attributing it to the food. After seeing the segment on the news today, I am very concerned. I switched him to another brand immediately. Please investigate further so other poor animals don't get sick.

My healthy 9-month old female boxer began on Nutro dog food (lamb and rice) a couple of weeks ago. My pup became violently ill within a day of eating this food. I could not figure out what was wrong with her. Her diarrhea was severe and she was continually vomiting yellow bile. I could not figure out why she fell so ill so fast. I was doing some research on the Internet to get to the bottom of her illness. I couldn't believe what I found. There are numerous dogs across the country with the same symptoms from this food. I cannot believe that pet stores continue to stock this product. I warn everyone that I know with a pet about this food. Her symptoms cleared up within a day of taking her off this food. Something must be done. This product makes dogs sick and owners, worried sick. It must be taken off the market.

We had 2 Dobermans. Duke was 9 and Isabelle was 3. We fed our dogs Nutro large breed lamb and rice for their entire lives. Duke was diagnosed with bone cancer on Friday before this past Thanksgiving. He started vomiting and had blood in his stools on Sunday night. Monday morning, we rushed him to the vet to send him off to puppy heaven. Three days later (Thanksgiving Day), Issy was acting lethargic and hadn't eaten. We left her home with our son who called us at 7:00 that night to report she had pooped on the kitchen floor and there was blood in her stool. We rushed her to the emergency vet, where she was diagnosed with IMHA (Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia) which is a death sentence. We had to make the horrible decision to let her join Duke.

On March 7, 2008, we had to put down one of our dogs. Crystal. When I heard about the problem with Nutro food, I began to wonder. I was feeding my three dogs Nutro Max Adult Beef. On February 28th, 2008 Crystal had her shots and the vet pronounced her healthy as could be expected for a dog her age. Eight days later she was deteriorating so bad, we had no option but to put her down. She was coughing so bad, peeing everywhere, walking into walls. She was blind, deaf and going in circles. Now that I think back on it, I think she had been going down hill longer than that. It was just those last eight days where it got so bad.

My then 2-year old lab started vomiting (November 2007-April 2008) about an hour after eating. I exclusively fed him Nutro Sensitive Stomach for adult dogs. I took him to the vet who ran tests and as a last resort, performed surgery to find nothing wrong with him. X-rays showed an abnormal amount of stomach gas and he constantly burped and vomited everything he ate. He was eventually put on antibiotics and I switched his food to an all natural brand. He has recovered nicely. After $1,000+ in vet bills and anguish over his welfare, my dog has since recovered. But if the food was the source of his anguish, I feel that reimbursement of my vet bills is the least that is owed us.

We have been feeding our 8 lb chihuahuas Nutro Small Bites Lamb & Rice for about 3 years now. Over the last few years, we noticed that our one dog, Bianca, developed a problem of urinating on the carpet and crying when you pick her up then running and hiding. We thought she had separation anxiety and depression so she was put on Amitryptiline, an antidepressant. Since we assumed it was a psychological problem, we didn't investigate further into it. However, we had tests done about 6 months ago prior to her going back on the antidepressant medicine, which revealed a high ph.

We started feeding Nutro dog food to my dog about two months ago. She immediately started having digestive problems and then diarrhea. She then refused to eat the food altogether. I contacted Nutro and they assured me that it was not the food - that they adhere to the highest standards. They offered to refund my money or I could take the food back to the store for a refund or exchange. I knew something was wrong.

My dog has been avoiding her Nutro food lately since we picked up a new bag of it about three weeks ago. She has had an unusual bout of diarrhea and soft stools. Bit of nausea in the dog.

We had decided to try our dogs on Nutro Max (Beef and Rice, I believe) dog food. We slowly switched them over to it to alleviate any issues with changing foods. When we opened the bag, we noticed it smelled odd like caramel popcorn. We figured it just must be how that food smelled. All of our dogs (we had 4 at the time) had diarrhea with this food. One of our dogs (Mataya), a lab mix, started to get sicker than the others on this food. She got to the point where she refused to eat that food, but her illness got worse and worse. We stopped feeding this food to our dogs after about 2-3 weeks because none of our dogs' diarrhea got any better. It was off and on the whole time and Mataya seemed to be feeling worse.

I had no idea that there has been an issue with this product, but as I read everyone's comments, I would like to testify that similar events have been happening in my household with my dogs. Bright yellow vomiting has been exactly as some other people have reported, and neither one of my dogs were ever finicky about their food before, and neither one had been prone to be the vomiting type or with sensitive stomachs in the past.

I have three boxers and have been feeding them Nutro Ultra for adults for years. In February of 2009, my oldest turned 10 and has been getting Adequan Injections and taking Deramaxx as needed for arthritis and has been doing fine; he was able to run and play with the boys most of the time and when he couldn't, we assumed it was because he was getting older. On March 16, 2009, I took him to the vet because he hadn't been eating well and when he did, he was throwing it up and also throwing up yellow bile. The vet ran tests and then blood work and the blood work came back that his liver enzymes were extremely elevated, so they kept him overnight.

I bought Nutro canned dog food to feed my dogs because the woman at the pet store told me that it was one of the best and I wanted to make sure my dogs weren't fed food with junk in it. So I bought it. After approximately 1.5 - 2 weeks, they all started getting sick with throwing up and diarrhea. I thought it was something I was using around the house or something that may have gotten in the yard, but I hadn't changed anything or done anything different for years, so I couldn't imagine what it would have been. I just heard this morning on HLN news about the food I was feeding and then looked into it on the Internet. All the testimonials are exactly what I have experienced with my dogs. I was actually happy to know that it wasn't me but was sick to think I was the cause of their discomfort for feeding it to them. I have had to take one dog to the vet for evaluation. The other ones seem to be alright since they aren't eating it anymore. I was under the assumption that the recall of the pet foods was past and that if I bought what I thought was good quality food, they would be alright. I am very disappointed.

My dog became ill after eating the Natural Choice Chicken, Rice and Oatmeal Formula dry food. My 2 1/2-year-old, 15-lb Dachshund began having diarrhea and throwing up all over. This occurred every 45 minutes or so. After he had a bloody stool, I took him to the vet. They first put him on antibiotics. A couple of days later, they put in an IV overnight and sent us home with more intestinal upset antibiotics. This has been going on for 7-8 weeks now. At first I was transitioning him into the new dog food, but when he went on it full-time was when he got severely sick. Now he has been on prescription food only for about 2 weeks and still in stomach distress. About the time this dog got sick, my now deceased 18-year-old Dachshund was getting a few kernels of Nutro when he wouldn't eat other things. Two weeks ago, we had him put down because he was constipated and threw up when he ate. At 18, he could not withstand the trauma.

We have been feeding our Terrier Nutro for years and years. Recently she began refusing to eat her food. We called the company and asked them if they had changed their ingredients and they claimed that they had. Shortly after, she began to vomit continuously, and we took her to the vet. The vet said that she had an inflammation in her bowel like he had never seen. He thought that it was cancer. After a $1500 scope/biopsy, on top of regular vet bills, he determined there was no cancer and that it was just an inflammation. We were told to switch foods and have her on medication. I don't know what happened to Nutro, but their product is garbage now.

I suspect that Nutro dry pet food caused my dog to become ill, eventually resulting in her death. She had digestive problems including frequent vomiting and urinary tract blockage. I thought she had a sensitive stomach and possible urinary tract infection; however, after reading this article **, it seems her symptoms are identical to many other dogs that suffered because of this product. I had to euthanize my dog in March 2009 because she was unable to urinate and in a great deal of pain.

I have had 2 dogs die with similar symptoms after feeding them Nutro for years. The last one came back as intestinal cancer. She was only 8 years old. Her symptoms were vomiting and loose stools. The vet school I had taken her asked me if she had been poisoned. They treated her for her cancer, but she still died. I had spent will over $15,000 for her cancer treatments, but didn't know that it was the food making her sick. She died 3 months after her last chemo treatment.

We have a beagle that is 7 years old. About 2 years ago, she became very sick. We nursed her back to health. She maintained for approximately 1 year and then started declining again. This time we were pushed to the edge several times with the decision of putting her down. Her symptoms were lack of appetite, urinating in the house, throwing up her food, throwing up yellow bile, and occasionally black stools. The vet was treating her for liver failure, as that was what the lab work indicated.

I have a German Shepherd Rescue here in Montana and have been feeding Nutro Natural Lamb and Rice. The dogs like it, but they constantly have the diarrhea, started vomiting and won't stop. I wasn't sure it was the food and tried Pepto-Bismol and Metronidazole. Nothing. So I switched food and they stopped vomiting and had regular stools again. I am not feeding Nutro anymore. Now trying to doctor the dogs back to health.

Several days after beginning to add some Nutro canned food to my dog's dry dog food, she became lethargic, began vomiting and had white gums. Her blood counts were extremely low. This was a perfectly healthy 10-month-old dog. We tried giving her a different diet and some added iron for several days, but she eventually lost the battle. The only thing that was different was the addition of the Nutro food. This happened approximately 5 weeks before all the news stories about the tainted pet food occurred in late 2006. I will never ever purchase any products made by Nutro again.

Approximately 20 months ago, both of my retired racing greyhounds developed severe diarrhea, vomiting, and lethargy. This went off and on for nearly 14 months. I was feeding my dogs Nutro Natural Choice Lamb and Rice. I had them both to the vet; however, nothing showed up on exam other than weight loss. They were put on various meds to help with the diarrhea and vomiting, and I home-cooked. The diarrhea and vomiting would go away, then I'd start them back on their food. Same thing. Within days, they would have bloody diarrhea and be vomiting yellow bile. The vet thought maybe try a sensitive stomach formula, which I did switch them to (Nutro Sensitive Stomach). Same problems after only 3-4 days.

I share the following to alert you to yet another dog food-related problem, and to add my complaints about NUTRO Natural Choice Large Breed Dog Food (Kibble)/grain. My (formerly 90 lb) male Doberman has been on NUTRO for the past 2.5 years. Every morning, he received 2 cups of NUTRO with water and a hard-boiled egg, and every evening he received 2 cups of NUTRO with water and a 1/4 lb of cooked chopped meat. A (now large) tumor (the external portion of which is the size of 1/2 a good sized grapefruit) at the base of his floating ribs began developing approximately 2 years ago. It is an intra-muscular tumor that, due to its location, the vet is reluctant to remove.

First I was sold an expired box of dog biscuits. They expired in January and I purchased and opened the box in April. I didn't notice the expiration date until after I had fed my dog one of the biscuits. Within less than 24 hours he was extremely sick. My normally active dog was so lethargic that he wouldn't even get up to walk around the house. His vomiting did not stop until given a shot from the vet. He needed IV fluids for dehydration and he wouldn't eat anything for 2 days. When I looked at the box of treats after we realized what was going on, we found that the treats had holes all throughout them and there were flies/moths in the box. There were so many flies that when you opened the box, they started escaping.

I purchased an eight-week-old puppy from a rescue organization six months ago and immediately started him on Nutro's dry puppy food. He immediately refused this food (tried to cover the dish with his bed) and never wanted to eat even though I knew he was hungry. As soon as I cut the dry food back to half/feeding a month ago, in order to add canned organic, he immediately gobbled his food. Prior to this he would often vomit, have diarrhea and occasionally was lethargic. The vet has examined him on two different occasions over the past six months and determined he had too much acid in his stomach. Her recommendation was to break his meals up into three a day. She also recommended Pepcid at night in order to prevent the vomiting; sometimes it works. I switched to another dry dog food today after reading other consumer accounts regarding Nutro, and I'm waiting to see if his symptoms will subside. I might add that today I also took my cat off Nutro because he would appear bloated from time to time.

I switched my two chihuahuas to Nutro Natural Choice Lamb and Rice Small Bites a year ago after the big recall from the grocery stores. My female died two months ago at 6 years old of a very mysterious massive heart attack. That's all the doc could tell me. He wasn't really sure but that's all he could say. My dogs are my children and are very healthy and even only drink filtered water. I still can't accept the loss of my little Girlchilidog. Now I have Corn dog, who has also been on Nutro for a year and the new puppy Cairo, who just started on Nutro. I called the store where I buy this food and they hadn't heard of the CNN reports or from the company yet. This was on 4-21-09. I noticed that Cairo had been vomiting in my bed and so did Chilidog and Corn dog over the last year. I thought it was just a chihuahua thing. How do I make a claim against Nutro for Chili's death? I will never feed them Nutro again. I'm in tears typing this; scared to give my dogs anything I haven't killed and cooked myself.

As the others, my dogs became very ill on the Nutro food, vomiting the food and yellow bile. I contacted Nutro who told me they had had no other complaints and wanted me to send them a sample of the bag I was feeding. I did switch the dogs’ food and have had no other problems.

After purchasing a Bernese Mountain dog in December, the seller told me to keep my puppy on Nutro puppy food. She has now been on it for six months. I gradually switched her over to the large breed puppy formula and within a few days, I started to notice that she had runny yellow diarrhea. She has never had this problem before. I also have another dog (golden retriever) that I feed an adult dog food, California Choice, and she has never experienced any problems. They both live in the same backyard, drink the same water, and are exposed to the same things, other than the food. No one can deny the link between my dog getting sick and the Nutro dog food that she is eating.

On 11 March 2009, I lost one of my best friends, an approx. 8-year-old hound mix. Two days later I almost lost my other dog. Both dogs were lethargic, vomiting, had severe diarrhea, and the one that died experienced early stages of renal failure. My vets could not figure out the source of the problem. Your news article had provided some incredibly valuable information. The common theme with my 2 dogs: I fed them both Nutro Natural Senior dog food. I never suspected this company would sell a tainted product, but apparently I was wrong. I trusted this company so much that I started to feed my remaining dog Nutro Sensitive Systems to help him recover, and his recovery has been incomplete. I'll never feed a dog a Nutro product ever again.

I heard about the Nutro Pet Food issue on CNN today. My heart sank. I had to put my Airedale Terrier Mike down 2 years ago after a rapid decline with liver cancer. I adopted Mike when he was 4 years old. I knew he had allergies and went to an allergist. From the time he was 4 until his death at 7 years old, I fed Mike Nutro Max Lamb and Rice. He had multiple bowel obstructions and digestive issues, which we wrote off to his history and allergies. His symptoms started with loose stools and progressed over time. At first, he did wonderfully and developed a beautiful coat. I am hoping that his decline and death wasn't from me thinking he was being fed a high quality formula of food.

I import and breed German Shepherds so I have a number of dogs in my kennels. I also have an Australian Cattle Dog. I fed them all Nutro Max Naturals for years and I began seeing more and more diarrhea and loose stools. This went on for quite a while. I have since changed them over to another brand of dog food and everything seems to be okay now.

I read the recent article by Lisa Wade McCormick (FDA Confirms Probe of NUTRO Pet Food Deaths/Illnesses) and noticed that someone complained about their dog developing bladder stones after eating this food. We recently took in a new rescue, who recently developed bladder stones after being fed NUTRO by the previous owner. She's having surgery to remove them this week.

I have been feeding my puppy this dog food since last May. Around June of 2008, he began to vomit yellow bile about every other day. When taken to the doctor, they said they thought he might have acid reflux so they gave him some pills. He has been taking the medicine but still has the issue. I thought Nutro was a good brand of dog food. But after reading the other reports, I know now that it was most likely the food that was the cause of the sickness.

We have been using Nutro for years. When using the Lamb and Rice and also the Chicken Nutro, which we used for many, many months, our doberman vomited bile daily. We switched to Nutro Ultra about 2 years ago, and she has not been vomiting bile like she used to.

I want to update my February 14, 2009 posting on the Consumer Affairs website about the problems that my English Springer Spaniel, Promise, experienced from eating Nutro Max Adult Dry Dog Food. He ate Nutro Max Adult Dry Dog Food for over 12 years and he was a completely healthy dog until the late Fall 2008 when he ate a tainted bag. He lost weight, experienced profound diarrhea, and was not his usual self. Switching to another brand of dog food (Canidae) helped but he never regained any weight and we needed to give him Fresh Digest and Pepto-Bismol to control the diarrhea. His digestive tract had been severely compromised and he could not absorb nutrients.

I have been feeding Nutro Lamb and Rice small bites to my dog. After some weeks of slowing down in appetite, lethargy, vomiting and diarrhea, I took her to the vets where she has been treated for kidney failure. After 4 days of treatment and no improvement, I put her down to end her suffering. She was a healthy, beautiful 3-year-old cattle dog! As her appetite decreased, I increased the amount of Nutro by adding canned food and homemade chicken and rice, thinking I was helping her. Little did I know I was poisoning her! Get this stuff off the shelves!

My two Siamese cats have been suffering from increasing digestive problems since I started them on Nutro, thinking it was safe, after the semi-recent pet food scare (Purina, et al.). Both have been vomiting more, and one has developed declining kidney function, starting about the same time as the change to Nutro. Because of the digestive issues in both cats, more frequent visits to the vet and lab tests have been required, especially for the cat with kidney dysfunction. In addition to regular kidney function tests, I had to start the cat on expensive probiotic therapy, which I can no longer afford since losing my job in March. Since it appears to be helping the cat, I don't want to stop it, but I can't afford the extra expense of increased testing and oral therapy.

I am shocked to see that I have the same exact experience as Amy, whose complaint was written three days ago. I wonder if something is wrong with Nutro pet foods again. We got our dog two weeks ago and our puppy was healthy when we got her. She started eating Nutro Natural Choice for Puppies, since it was recommended by a friend of ours. A week later, she started squatting to urinate, but only small drops or none at all came out. When she can urinate, it is frequent, in small amounts, and contains blood.

Thank God for this website! I had been feeding my dog Nutro for years. I always believed I was spending my money on good quality food and even recommended it to people. I started feeding her Nutro for Sensitive Stomachs about 6 months ago. At first, everything seemed fine. Then my dog who never urinated in my house started having accidents (frequently). She needed to go out constantly and would squat repeatedly, come in, and ask to go right back out. I took her to the vet and began treatment for bladder infection.

Oh my gosh! I can't believe this is happening to so many other dogs! For 3 years, I have been feeding my dog Nutro Natural Choice Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Small Bites Dry Dog Food. The last bag I bought, I noticed the food color was lighter than in the past. Me being who I am, I believed there was a change in formula for the Better. My Dachshund/Lab became ill, vomiting food chunks and yellow bile as well. We took him to the vet and I have been feeding him homemade chicken & rice and antibiotics and he is on the mend. How can so many dogs get sick and nothing be done? Today, I will start mixing his homemade food with a different brand of dry food. I never want anyone else to go through, what appears to be many, the same situation as our dogs.

I recently bought a bag of Nutro Max Dog Food for my 10-year-old Black Lab/Husky mix. I asked the salesperson what would be a good food for him because he has trouble eating hard dry food. They recommended Nutro Max because the bites were pea-sized and he shouldn't have any trouble eating it. Well, he still couldn't eat it. I gave him a small amount to see if he'd eat it and he tried but couldn't. While he was trying to eat the Nutro, I was on the internet trying to find something that was soft for him to eat. While I was looking, I read about the Nutro and all the problems that other owners have had with the Nutro food making their dogs sick.

I would just like to post a positive experience and respond to a few of the negative comments. I hope that Consumeraffairs.com will prove reputable and post something other than the negative. I feed all of my dogs and cats Nutro products and they are just as healthy as they have ever been. I am a former Science Diet user, which also worked well for my pets. They have healthy shiny coats and their stools are firm. I have noticed that every brand of pet food is listed on this site and each and every one of them have similar complaints. I would certainly hope that if every company was producing tainted or contaminated product, that someone would intervene. Since this isn't the case, I figure there is not anything for everyone to be alarmed about.

I have been feeding my Dachshund Nutro Ultra Dry dog food for many months. Suddenly, 10 days ago, he started vomiting yellow bile, 1 - 2 times daily. My vet thought it might be an allergic reaction to the Heartgard, specifically the beef additive. However, the vomiting has continued. I decided to go online to compare some dog foods, and I am horrified that I came across all of these consumer complaints about dogs becoming ill while eating Nutro! It makes me sick to think that I might be the one responsible for my dog's vomiting by feeding him this food! After so many complaints, how can this dog food still be on the market for consumers to purchase and feed to their dogs? I remember a huge dog food recall last year. Is this part of that problem? I can only hope that something is done, very soon, to prevent other pets from becoming ill.

I have a 3-year-old Puggle and she happily ate Eukanuba since she was a puppy. She was completely healthy, no health problems, happy, active. Then we switched to Nutro after she became a bit picky, just to spice things up for her. We fed her Nutro Natural Choice Lamb Meal & Rice Formula, Small Bites Dry Dog Food and Nutro Max Beef & Rice Dinner Chunks in Gravy Large Breed Adult wet dog food mixed in. After about 2 weeks of this food, she became sick, constipated for a few days, then had diarrhea and finally vomiting and was always extremely thirsty!

For the past month, I've been feeding my two cats either a Purina senior dry food or Nutro senior dry food. I ran out of the Purina so for the last two weeks, they've been getting the Nutro. The younger (8) seems to be fine, but the older one (14) became suddenly quite ill on 4/9/2009. She started vomiting at 7PM and didn't stop until 10PM that night. She eats anything you put in front of her so I knew if she didn't eat the next day, she was sick. She refused to eat the next day, so I took her to the vet on 4/10/2009. We do not have the results of the blood work, but the urinalysis shows she is not concentrating her urine. Until the blood work comes back, she's on an antibiotic for a suspected bladder infection. If I had known about the problems with Nutro, I would have never given it to my kitties and two - I'd mentioned it to the vet. Now her tests in Oct 2008 were excellent, so the only difference is the Nutro. Interesting since I've read all the problems just like my Inky is having right now.

Kibble: ar code# 079105 23032 2 best if used by April 27, 2010. Other markings below bar code and use by: 2L4JP. Canned wet food: no longer have it, threw it away before finishing. But we think it was Natural Choice with Lamb & Rice Lite formula for less active dogs, 30-lb. bag. We will not buy your Nutro Nature's Choice Senior products again. We have a serious problem with Nutro Max dog food. We think the Dry Kibble makes our dogs ill, but much worse is the canned food. We bought the canned food for the first time a month ago approximately and one of our dogs has been coughing. Unfortunately, we have thrown the cans away last week before finishing the 2nd can, and before realizing that there have been problems before with Nutro.

My husband and I purchased Nutro chicken and rice small bites for our two chihuahuas. We had just run out of our regular dog food and needed something quickly. After about five days, our six-year-old male chihuahua became lethargic; groaned a lot; developed a fever; was not excited to go on walks; and lost excitement for anything that used to bring him joy. My husband began to suspect it was the new food as he had only developed these symptoms after eating Nutro. He has always been a healthy and active chihuahua. We just brought him to the vet and after blood work and a hefty vet bill, she was not able to determine what is wrong with him. He was given antibiotics and we are crossing our fingers they'll work.

I have fed my 13-month-old Chocolate Lab Nutro Lamb and Rice for the past 10 months. We started with the Lamb and Rice Puppy formula. At about 8 months, we switched to the Adult Lamb and Rice Formula. It was increasingly hard to find the Puppy Formula. We just opened a new bag in the past few weeks. My healthy dog suddenly developed excess urine. She would leak urine soon after relieving herself outside. The day after this started, I collected a urine sample and took it to the vet. She has excessive thirst and diluted urine. The vet then ran blood work. Her BUN level is also elevated. We were prescribed antibiotics although there was no sign of infection in her urine. The vet is mystified as to what is causing this problem in such a young animal.

I have been posting my updates here as my husband and I get them. To date, the State of Wisconsin's Dept of Agriculture has our Siberian Husky's Nutro dog food in its lab and is in line to be tested. We have an awesome case worker that keeps us posted and is truly interested in our case and feels for our loss. I have read ALL your stories out there and I feel for everyone. I am happy to hear about those of you who caught your pet's sickness before it was too late. We weren't that fortunate, but that's just how fast Pierce got sick and his organ failure was beyond repair.

My 11-year-old Lab started becoming ill in early Dec. with vomiting, excessive thirst, and extreme weight loss. After extensive blood tests, the exact cause of his illness could not be explained although he did have elevated liver enzymes. Our vet's educated guess was that because of his age and symptoms he most likely had liver cancer (we opted not to go through the expense of X-rays and ultrasound because of his advanced age). Then a friend told us that her Lab also had become ill recently and had been eating Nutro dog food as has my Lab. Her vet advised to stop feeding Nutro immediately because he has been seeing an increase in sick dogs eating this food.

I talked to the Nutro specialist in Petco this weekend and was told Nutro has changed their Lamb and Rice dog food formula. It's now made of Lamb, not lamb meal, potato flour and pea flour. Nowhere on the bag does it say the formulation has changed. I wonder how many times they have changed their formulation over the past 2 years without notifying the public. My dog has had excessive urination, weight loss and is constantly eating grass. My vet suggested I switch food. I bought Natural Balance at Petco and my dog seems to be doing better. I do not give treats, other than biscuits for his teeth and I do not use a Swiffer.

I switched to Nutro a few months ago. First two bags seemed fine. All the dogs liked it. On the third bag, the kibble size was slightly smaller than previous two bags (exact same labeling and bag). Dogs did not want to eat the kibble from the new bag. I thought maybe they were just being picky. So they finally ate it. About three weeks into this third bag, two of the five dogs began with vomiting, diarrhea, extreme thirst, incredibly red gums, listlessness. I did not suspect the food at first and just thought I should google it to make sure and I have found hundreds of complaints about Nutro just recently with identical symptoms. I immediately stopped the food and saw improvements. I have no way of knowing if there was permanent damage.

I have used Nutro chicken rice and oatmeal for nearly 5 years for my two dogs and have always recommended the brand to others. Unfortunately, right around New Year's, one of my dogs was having runny stools and vomiting. Two days later, my second dog began doing the same thing. My husband and I both realized they began doing this right after I bought a new bag of food. They get no table food EVER and are taken outside on leashes. We have a 9-month old baby who is crawling so there is nothing they can get into. My female refused to eat and slowly began to feel better. She ate last night finally, then began vomiting again around 2 this morning. My male dog didn't eat last night (2 days now) and is beginning to act like his old self. For 5 years, I have been an avid fan of this food and after talking to my family vet, we'll be switching their food TODAY.

Our Golden Retriever mix, 1 1/2 years old, has been eating Nutro adult Chicken/rice/oatmeal for over a year. Within the last few months, she had developed a couple hot spots and scratching herself more than normal. I attributed it to fleas, but could never find any? On the last bag of food that was purchased, when I emptied into the container that I use for her food, I noticed the color was different compared to the bag before, there was still a little left over and I didn't think much of it. When I fed her that morning, she turned her nose up to it (my dog has never been picky). There was something about the smell that she knew was not right. She did eventually eat it, but because she was probably hungry. This went on for two weeks, which is how long a bag lasts her. In the mornings, she seemed lethargic, did not want to get out of her crate, and did not want to eat like she normally would. We chalked it up to the excitement of the holidays, and me being home more. There were some other issues which were subtle but thinking back were not normal for her. But because she is young and healthy, it did not become an issue.

I previously posted my concerns about Nutro. At that time, my dog, Buddy, was very ill and I was told that he had Diabetes and may have to endure insulin shots for the rest of his life. I was very willing to do so and educated myself on this procedure. Well, my poor little Buddy died on New Year's Eve, after five days of intense veterinary care. Buddy was 8 yrs old and had eaten Nutro products his whole life. Lamb and Rice (the light green bag) seemed to be his favorite. He was a very happy and healthy dog right up to the last couple of days, before I took him to the Vet.

It has been 5 months now since I last posted my complaint regarding Nutro Natural Choice Lamb & Rice formula (08/11/08). I wanted to give an update that Nicki, our 8-year-old Yellow Lab, has recovered and is doing great. All of her symptoms have disappeared since I have switched her to a non-commercial brand of dog food - iVet which can only be purchased through a veterinarian. I am careful to check labels on any treats or rawhides and only feed All Natural treats or 100% rawhide - I have learned through other websites to stay away from ANY animal by-products or animal digest which is reported not to be healthy for your pets. I also will not purchase any commercial dog food at the stores due to the ingredients above.

I fed my beloved Jack Russell Terrier, Riley, Nutro Lamb Meal & Rice Formula for 8 years. The vet had actually suggested it. In March of 2008, he started getting "Bad breath", drinking water excessively and peeing in the house excessively. By early June, he was getting lethargic so I took him to the vet where he was diagnosed with kidney failure. The vet immediately switched his diet and gave him about 2 years to live. He hung on until December but he was getting skinny and lethargic again so I took him back to the vet. - Kidney failure, end stage. The kidneys had been permanently damaged and were in a degenerative state. They put him on IV fluids where he lasted 4 days then died. He has been at 3 different vets - nothing they could do. He was only 8 1/2 years old.

I just started feeding Nutro to my brand new 6-wk-old puppy and w/in a few days, he started losing weight, vomiting and having severely watery stools. He was also shaking a lot and became a lot less active. I took him off Nutro this morning but now he is so sick he is refusing to eat or drink,. I have been giving him electrolyte drinks through a medicine dropper. If he is not better, we will be going to the vet tomorrow. I have fed Nutro to an Akita that I used to have for years and have always endorsed their products. Not anymore, I was a naysayer to all these complaints about Nutro and now have learned a tough lesson. Don't risk letting dogs get sick just because a co. has a good reputation and a positive track record. This food made my puppy sick I have no doubt.

My dog, after switching her food to Nutro Natural Choice Herring Meal Rice and Potato, got extremely ill. I am currently seeking medical attention for her. I live with my daughter and her 4 dogs are starting to experience the same problems. I am alarming people especially based on the consumer complaints that I have viewed that this dog food can be deadly. I will pursue further legal action if death occurs in my or my daughter's dogs.

My dog also suddenly died after eating Nutro Lamb and Rice. I contacted the FDA and it is under investigation. I recently received an email about the Swiffer WetJet and how it is reportedly the cause to several Antifreeze like related deaths. My Vet initially assumed that my dog, Snowman's death was due to antifreeze poisoning. That is impossible but maybe the antifreeze like molecule in the WetJet has something to do with it?? Did any of the people that thought Nutro was the cause of their dog's death use the WetJet?? Here the e-mail I received about the Wet Jet:

For anyone still feeding your animals this product, you are crazy. Yes, household chemicals can poison animals and surroundings can affect animals. My dog and cats almost died from eating this food. Both went into liver failure within days of being on this food. Two animals, two different species, same food = same health issues. No problems before Nutro and thankfully nothing happened that couldn't be reversed. So you can call of these people lemmings, but I'd rather be a lemming and have a healthy pet than be a bigot and take a chance with a dead animal. Good luck to you. If you're feeding Nutro, you'll need it. And for the person who said they get all of their ingredients from the USA, you need to check your facts. They get rice, wheat and cornmeal from overseas.

I had been feeding my 9-year old Pharaoh Hound, Sultan, Nutro lamb and rice dog food pretty much all of his life. In June 2008, the lamb and rice dental formula disappeared from the shelves of our local Petland store. When I inquired when that formula would be available, I was told by the Petland manager that Nutro was having bagging problems and they didn't know when that formula would be available. I took the Nutro Max lamb and rice formula as a replacement, which my dog initially refused to eat. I found this unusual, since he never turns down food. I coaxed him to eat it, to our demise.

My husband and I adopted a 20 lb, 7-year old female Cocker Spaniel in October 2008. At her previous home, she was eating Natural Balance. On the advice of PetSmart, we slowly switched her food to Nutro Max Mini Chunk. At first, she seemed to adjust well. However, after 2 weeks, she started vomiting, usually in the middle of the night or early morning. Some days, the vomit was solid matter; other days, it was just liquid. After researching Nutro, I discovered many other cases of dogs getting sick. I switched her to Iams Mature Small Dog food (purple bag) and the vomiting hasn't happened since. I feel that we dodged a major health crisis and I hope others can be so lucky with their beloved dogs.

I agree with Brian. My pets have been on Nutro for years... I haven't had to have them to the vet for anything other than a routine well visit. Household chemicals - swifter, mops, carpet fumes, dust, poor storage, are all issues which may harm your pet. You take your dog outside for a walk, don't you? (At least I HOPE you do) There may have been a parked car, with a leakage - rock salt on the ground from the winter weather... so many reasons. My fear is that someone read these posts, assume a change in the food will be a CURE and not realize there is an underlying issue. Do you really think there is some conspiracy, whereby if Nutro really was causing illness, the FDA would still keep it on the market?

We switched to Nutro Large Breed Adult for my 2 dogs right before Xmas. When I came back from being away, I found that my dogs were not eating and would just lie around. Then they both started vomiting. At first, I thought they were just not feeling well and it would pass but then one of my dogs got really bad. She stopped moving around and just stayed in her bed and stopped drinking and when she went to the bathroom, it was a black bloody mucous. Then she stopped drinking as well. I took her to the vet and they ran blood work and found nothing. She had lost 10 pounds in almost a week. We put her on meds but nothing worked.

Our sweet 9 year old shelter dog, Ripples, was a mixed breed. We got her as a 5-month old puppy from a local shelter. I worked at a feed store and Nutro was recommended. So for 9 years, she was a "Nutro" dog. She seemed to thrive on the Lamb Meal and Rice Formula for about the first 5 years. Then she got a severe case of itchy skin that got so bad, she was losing her fur. We tried a lot of different kinds of baths, oils, etc. Shortly after it started clearing up, she was diagnosed with acute pancreatitis. She took antibiotics and it seemed to be better with a diet of boiled chicken, hamburger, rice or potatoes.

My husband and I have used Nutro for 5 years (Large Breed Adult) and our labs have flourished. They are doing very well on the food. The recall was for WET dog food. Many different brands were recalled, Nutro also, but when checked, they did not get the offending ingredient from China (where the bad ingredient was made and sold to American plants such as Alpo, Purina, etc). Check the facts. All of Nutro's ingredients come from the USA.

I have been feeding my Rat Terrier, Jackie O, the Nutro Ultra Senior canned dog food for the last year. In mid-November of 2008, she stopped eating her food, became very lethargic and was acting depressed. She was very weak and shook constantly. She also took on a terrible, foul smell to her body and especially her breath. Jackie had been to the vet in early Oct. for her yearly physical and was deemed in excellent health at that time. I took her the vet the next day. Her blood work came back with extreme kidney failure.

I wanted to say I've been using Nutro Natural Choice for 7 years with 6 of my dogs, all living and healthy. Actually healthier than most dogs I see. Any other food I try causes vomiting, diarrhea, and major irritation of the skin (which is the first sign of trouble with your dog). Nutro has made my dogs extremely healthy, active, and energetic. Isolated cases of poisoning of animals are not contributed to food. If it were the Nutro, my Amstaffs (which are extremely sensitive dogs) and the millions of millions of other Nutro users would not have pets left. Solid Gold, Science Diet (which my dogs smell and barely eat), Iams, and Natural Balance all negatively affect my dogs. Nutro does not. A well-known quality pet food company that takes pride in their food would never let tainted food make it out of their warehouses.

I just want to pass along this information about my cats and how they reacted to a specific cat food, Nutro. One acted skittish and the other vomited a number of times. I finally looked online to see if any cats had an affliction with this type of cat food and found, yes, they have. I discontinued feeding Nutro and am back with Purina for the time being with no problems. The last bout my cat had was really scary. So I pass this along and recommend to discourage anyone from using this brand. I noticed some folks apparently had worse endings to their stories.

NUTRO DOG FOOD!!! My 7 year old Golden Retriever ended up getting extremely ill on 12/26/2008. We took him to the vet and he ended up staying overnight getting pumped full of fluids after vomiting all day. He had x-rays, blood taken, etc. He was sent home the next day, due to the vet finding nothing wrong. Once again on 12/29/2008, he started vomiting again. This time he ended up going to an emergency hospital where they did an ultrasound, blood tests, pumped him full of fluids, gave him special pills to prevent the vomiting, and did multiple other tests. He was finally discharged today, 12/31/2008, and hopefully he is on the road to recovery. After all of these tests, the vets could not find anything wrong with him. No obstruction, no cancer, nothing! He was eating NUTRO weight maintenance food for large breeds. We believe it is his food that is making him so ill! I would think after all of the dogs getting ill and dying from this food that somebody would do something to pull this crap off the shelves!!!

The dog food that I use, Nutro Max Mini chunk, has made both of my dogs very ill. I stopped feeding them the food and they are doing better but Nutro insists that there is nothing wrong with the food. They are not responding to my complaint and they need to do something about this.

I recently switched my dog's food to Nutro Large Breed Puppy and within a week or so he began vomiting and would not eat. Because he is a Lab and 10 months old, the vet initially thought he might have an obstruction. Of course there was no obstruction and there was no explanation of why he was acting the way he was. Looking at him, you would think he was a very old dog on his death bed. He was very lethargic, wouldn't eat or drink and was vomiting. Finally after a week of no food, 4 X-rays, blood work, and numerous IVs he is doing much better. Still no cause. The only thing that he has had exposure to is the new dog food. It looks as though there is a major problem with this dog food.

I got Chops (treats) from Nutro the last month and our poodle start with stomach noises and acid reflux. We stop the small biscuits after 2 weeks, he was ok. On the 24th (christmas night) he received a new box for Nutro, but this time for SENSITIVE STOMACH treats. (We thought he have a problem.) Immediately he start AGAIN !!! with the same problem. I call the company today. They never heard the problem with the biscuits!!! Today I went to Petsmart with the new box and the old ones (I still have with me just in case some laboratories want to check them.) Our Poodle 6 years old, he's been eating Nutro Small bites lamb rice for years without a problem, but I noticed his urine smell and look more yellow than normal.. but nothing more. My concerned is he can develop kidney or bladder problems. I called his vet and they want to check him. I hope this information could help and prevent more people.

I have been feeding my 8-yr old Min Pin Nutro Natural Choice dog food his whole life. I ignored the vomiting, diarrhea and excessive thirst for weeks. Now my dog has been diagnosed with Diabetes. I believe something has changed with the production of this dog food. Perhaps some sort of tainting has occurred. Is there any accountability from this company? My dog will have to be on insulin the rest of his life. The vet bills as of today are just over $800, with more bills to come. Beside the money, my dog's life has been considerably challenged. I too must now alter my schedule to provide the needed care for my dog, including insulin shots and a special diet - which I can assure you will not include any Nutro products. Where is the responsible action from Nutro to prevent this from happening to other dogs?

We recently adopted a terrier-chihuahua mix, 2 years old. His foster mom has been feeding him Nutro food. She told us to do the same, so we bought him Nutro pet food as well as biscuits. He's been on the food, 1/2 cup twice a day, and one biscuit or two a day, as a treat, and he's started vomiting, both solid and a more liquid vomit, and having bowel problems.

Why did the Nutro sales staff pull every bag of Natural Choice cat food off of the shelves in Utah Petco stores the past couple of days? Is there something wrong with the food?

Cutter and Lilith are two of our four children, 3 year old and 1 year old Schipperkes. In December 2008 we nearly lost both of them to what I now suspect to be a poisoning of unknown origin contained within their dog food; Nutro Natural Choice High Energy High Protein Formula, 40lb Bag, 7910520305, Best if Used By 15JAN2010. This is our story: We have two cats and have used Nutro Products all 8 years of their lives without incident. Because of their success we started our dogs on the aforementioned food, again without incident. Our pets are indoor animals and their time outside is supervised which includes daily walks of 3-5 miles.

Over the past week, our 18 month Boston Terrier has had mild to now serious hives. Our vet believes these are related to tainted dog food which we had been originally feeding her Nutro Chicken and Rice. We went over the past weekend to get more since we were out and ended up going with Nutro Max Small Bites. This gave her a mild condition and we followed up with a visit to the vet. He said to put her on some Benadryl and switch back to the regular chicken and rice formula. Well this gave her even more serious skin irritations. First on her back with small bumps under raised hair, and now on her head and stomach!! This has cost us almost $500 in Vet visits alone in the past week and a half including medications for one bump that started to look like a staph infection because she itched it so hard it became an open wound. As of now, we are keeping up with the Benadryl and going to switch her to a Science Diet recommended from the vet. I plan on returning the second bag of tainted food. I also think it is interesting to see other complaints from local Massachusetts towns in the past few weeks that are pretty similar to our complaints... Way to go NUTRO! NOT!!

Our chocolate lab, Lucy, has been eating nutro food since she was a puppy. About two months ago we switched her to nutro large breed weight management, because she started getting too heavy. On December 14 she had loose stools and was throwing up. She was very lethargic and wouldn't eat. The next day she seemed to be getting better and started eating so we cancelled the appointment with the vet. On December 17, she seemed much worse so we took her to the vet to find that she had something wrong with her liver. We had an appointment for December 18th to have the excess fluid removed and see what else needed to be done. She didn't make it through the night. I wish I had read more about the food we had her on earlier, she might have been able to pull through.

I have a Beautiful Black border Collie named BoBo. I had been feeding him Nutro Choice Lamb and Rice for 1 year 4 months. Initially he thrived and his coat looked great, but then problems developed. He started losing hair, vomiting nearly everyday. I called our vet who said it sounds like a food allergy, I did the boiled burger and brown rice routine for a week. Then I bought a bag of Nutro choice Venison and Brown Rice for sensitive stomachs and skin. I began weening him off the lamb and rice by mixing in the Venison and brown rice. This took about a week with no noticeable improvement. As winter grew nearer in Pennsylvania, I watched in awe as my dog lost even more hair. I purchased a supplement of oils and nutrients to mix with the food in hope that would settle and calm his skin and stomach. I always scoop the food from the bag with my hand as per suggested by Ceasar **. When the Venison bag was a little more than 1/4 full I scooped in with my hand as I always do and digging into the bag came up with a DEAD RAT! This was on December 9th 2008.

My dog has been drooling since I switched her to this food 7 to 10 days ago. Also seems somewhat lethargic, and her fur seems to be falling out more. I also have been having achy joints in past week. (I use dishwasher for pet bowls) Any connection to dog food? Please let me know of any similar complaints.

I see many negative reports on Nutro pet foods, pets dying and such. I just wanted to say, I have 9 cats and 3 dogs that have been fed Nutro indoor cat formula/venison dog food for five years. All 12 pets are in wonderful health.

I just started serving my 4 yr.old Pointer-mix dog a combo of Science Diet Lite (30 lbs) and Nutro Venison Dry for Sensitive Stomach and Skin. (5 lbs) She appeared to take it well for the month. Just 3 days ago I bought a new bag of the Nutro again. (20 lbs) Everything was fine. Last night a treat I mixed in 1 package of the Turkey wet meal. Within 24 hrs. my poor dog has been vomiting for over 6 hrs. I am not sure if it's the new dry food or the wet turkey package. But it is out of my house forever! I will be returning it to the PetSmart first thing tomorrow am. Right after I take my dog to the vet!

I bought a bag of Nutro Natural Choice Senior Dry Dog Food food a few days before Thanksgiving 2008. My dog has been eating this food for years. But within a day, she started having extreme diarrhea and I had to take her to the vet. Originally I didn't think it was the food. They did a fecal check and it came up negative. In the meantime, they switched her to a Lo Res (Eukanuba). She cleared up, but not totally. But the Vet then said it was ok to start switching her back to her regular food. I was suppose to begin mixing both foods together and switch her back over the course of a few days. However, the diarrhea came back almost immediately. Also my other dog finished up the leftovers that the first dog left behind and then she started almost immediately having diarrhea. So that is when I suspected the food. I took the full bag to PetCo from where I got it and told the manager. She said she would report it and gave me a full refund of the food. But the vet bills ... How do I get reimbursed for the vet bills? Since I had to take both of them to the emergency vet care today?

I have fed my 2 American Bulldogs Nutro Adult Dry Dog Food for almost 9 months and before that they ate Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy Food (they are 21 months old). I brought home a brand new bag of Nutro 5 days ago. Today is the 5th day that my dog has been vomiting since I opened and fed her from the new bag. My other American Bulldog has had large hives all over her body for the past 5 days. I have been researching Nutro on the internet and now see many stories about problems with the Nutro Food. I am switching to a new dog food today. I have talked to the store manager at Petland and he said he has never had a complaint, but he will talk to the Nutro Rep tomorrow to see if they have had complaints.

My 1 1/2 old Weimaraner had been eating Nutro Lamb and Rice food since he was old enough to chew. We never had any problems until one day he started vomiting and having explosive diarrhea. Within a couple of days he started having blood in the mucous-filled stool and then he was basically just passing blood. He was very lethargic. We took him to the vet and after a couple of visits and pricey tests, there were no conclusive results. The vet suggested an allergy to the food which didn't really make sense given the severity of his symptoms. We tried giving him chicken broth and white rice which he would eat but every time we tried to give him the Nutro, he wouldn't eat it. It gave us an idea that there might be something wrong with the food so we switched him to the Science Diet ID food that the vet has suggested. Our dog acted like he had been starved, ate this food ravenously. Within days his stools were solid and he gained the energy that most young Weimaraners should have.

Both of my dogs have been extremely sick after eating Nutro natural choice small puppy bites, chicken meal, rice & oatmeal formula. They have had severe vomiting and constant runny stools as well as felling very bad. Both dogs have had to be hospitalized for almost a week.

We have been feeding our two boxers Nutro for years. October 15, 2008 we had to have our last dog put down. I now believe it was from the Nutro Senior dog food she was eating. I still have a full bag in the laundry room. She had explosive diarrhea, vomiting and excessive thirst. She lost 6 lbs in just two weeks. Wouldn't eat and very lethargic. I ended up making her home cooked meals which she just picked at. We thought she was just old (10) although she was just fine two weeks prior. She had a benign tumor that the vet thought caused her problem. I believe because of her age and the fact that we had no idea it was her food, she just couldn't recover.