Problems with Fromm/Nutri life? Help! - Page 1

I'm looking for anyone who has had similar experiences. My local feed store sells a food they refer to as the fromm "breeder pack" plain white bag with just an ingredient label that says "Nutrilife". Made by the Fromm company in their factory...supposedly. I've been feeding it for a few years and my dogs looked great initially.

This summer, my 6 yr old female started losing weight and her coat looked like garbage. I switched her to the Fromm salmon when I bred her and she looked better, but seemed to constantly chew herself on her lower back, creating hot spots. Now she had shown me this type of behavior during pregnancy before, so I chalked it up to hormones, especially since the puppies were born she has totally stopped and all the spots are gone.

Then, about 4 days ago, I noticed the same scabs/hot spots on my 5 year old female in the same spot. It then dawned on me that I also had switched my older dog to Solid Gold Wolfcub about 2 weeks before delivery.  I got up this morning, gave my younger girl a bowl of water and she now a has a HUGE (3-4''X5=6") bare spot on her lower back, much of the skin is raw.  My girls are my babies and I'm really upset about this. Now, the spot does lean toward her right side above her hip, and her right hip is dysplastic. But she is not limping or showing any stiffness or pain at all, it seems like too big of a coincidence.

Our third dog is fine aside from being overweight and having a suspiciously poor coat for a chubby dog. As much as we cut back the food we can't seem to get the weight off him. My suspicion with him has been thyroid, but this really makes me wonder.

I did run into one another person who used this food whose dog also suddenly lost weight and got a very poor coat around the same time my 6yr old did. I am taking all my dogs off this food, as I suspect they have changed the formula. Here is my concern: what exactly could they have changed/removed/added that could cause this? Can this really just be a big coincidence? I am just horrified about my little one, I doubt it will grow back in time for my daughter to show in Junior's at a big show we were going to do next month, and the thought of her being in discomfort breaks my heart. Any advice to help her, too? I'm going to take her to the vet and try to get some gentocin spray.

 
The common thing to do is to jump to conclusions and blame the food one feeds. When was the last time the dogs were at the vet, checked for parasites, and checked for thyroid function, just as a starter? This is the FIRST thing you should be doing. A poor coat is often a subtle sign of thyroid problems. Sure poor quality food can also cause a dog to look coat poor, but start at the vet and go from there. 

A suggestion for getting the hair back -- Calm Coat.  It is tea tree based and I have even had it return hair onto those hard elbow spots.  Definitely speeds the regrowth process.

I would be surprised if all of your dogs are having problems because of Thyroid -- but all GSDs should have their thyroid checked.  You might also check your water.  Did you contact From and find out whether or not they changed their formula?

I would like to point out, again, that my 6yr old that is currently nursing a litter looks fantastic. All issues have cleared up. Her coat and skin are gorgeous, she has been off the food on something completely different for about 4 and a half weeks. For a nursing female she looks fabulous and healthy.

KJMagan, can I get that at a chain pet store or would I have to order it?

I just found it very suspicious that myself and another person with 2 unrelated dogs, purchasing the same food food from the same place, would see changes in our dogs at the exact same time. Hell of a coincidence. I'm certainly not a vet, but I've seen a number of dogs with a thyroid disorder and none of them have had anything that resembles what my 5 yr old has, but of course my experience is limited. She will go to the vet this week and I'll let you guys know what they say.

Flea allergies?

They definitely do not have fleas. 

IME: Sometimes they just get a hot spot and chew a hole in their butts for no apparent reason. Mine always prefer to time those episodes in concordance with my having mailed their show entries. If you can rule out all the usual possibilities, just deal with it and hope it doesn't happen again soon. I do NOT take dogs to vets just for a hot spot. I keep the spot clean, apply some Panalog till it starts to heal, and put a No-Bite collar on them till it stops bothering them enough that I can believe they'll leave it alone and let it heal.

SS