Royal Canin Availability Problem? - Page 1

Is anyone else having trouble finding Royal Canin GSD Food?  My Pet store has been out for almost 3 weeks now.  Finally on Wednesday they told me that the manufacturer was having trouble getting packaging, so product is made, but cannot be packaged and distributed.

I checked 3 other pet stores and finally found one that has one last bag which I am picking up today, but was just wondering if anyone else is experiencing this as well?

I am in the Northeast - 35 minutes west of philadelphia.

Cheryl

I experienced this same issue several years ago. Royal Canin makes plenty of dog food, but I think you will agree that it is a bit of a specialty item for pet food stores hence they tend to not stock much more than a single pallet of the food. When this happened to me on a few occassions I questioned the employees of a local PetSmart. Each time I asked to speak to the store's manager I was directed to someone who was obviously a regular employee to voice my concerns.

Funny though; after hearing the bunk mantra "we only get about two (2) or three (3) bags with each shipment" three (3) times I went to that company's website and posted my comments and concerns. Within one (1) or two (2) days I received a telephone call from the store's manager who was a bit distraught after being contacted by upper management about my comments. I repeated to her what her employees told me, and she promised to keep it in stock for me. She kept her word and I never missed it again.

So in short, you may need to do as I did. I knew that the food was shipped on complete pallets of about sixteen (16) bags so I never bought the "two (2) or three (3) bags" part of the answer. In my case, it was all about speaking to the person who could do something about the situation, and maybe it will be the same for you. I would give that a try.

Regards,

Bob-O

I tried to order yesterday from my distributor and indeed, they have no GSD24 variety available because of the problems noted by the first poster above. I have also contacted the company and was told this is in fact the problem. I was told it might be first week of April before I can get my order of 30 bags......that is about one months order!

In the meantime, I will feed their large breed variety which I also feed to boarding dogs. I could also feed the Maxi Light variety for a week or so and it would not hurt as the really cold/windy winter has allowed the dogs to put on an extra pound or two.

I am sure things will be back to normal quickly.

Royal Canin is coming out with some new packaging. They have done so in other parts of the world for other food of theirs.

I'm pretty sure that GSD 24 is soming with new packaging and higher price:)

cheers

Royal Canin is coming out with some new packaging. They have done so in other parts of the world for other food of theirs.

I'm pretty sure that GSD 24 is soming with new packaging and higher price:)

cheers

 The price for MAxi GSD24 has already risen over and over and over in the last year. My cost per bag as a distributor is now more than $36 per bag. In stores, it is much higher. They also put the Maxi Light in a new bag, cut the weight and raised the price.

I paid $38.00 a few months ago, but the last few bags were priced at $42.00 per bag.  I get one free bag for every 10 bags, but if goes any higher, I am going to have to rethink what I am feeding.  I completely ran out and fed them Taste of The Wild - bison, but got a little worried as Libby's stomach woke me up in the middle of the night - gurgling very loudly.  I was up all night watching her as her father died from bloat and I am aware of at least 3 siblings (all females) that bloated, but luckily survived with surgery.  Libby is fine, but I am feeding very small portions throughout the day to make sure it does not cause her a problem.

Cheryl

Cheryl, Hodie, thanks for the information. I don't buy very much-about one (1) bag per week so I guess I do not feel the pinch from it that others do. I noticed that the bag type has changed, but I really paid no attention to it. I can say this though; all kibble bags are not created equal. My short stint in the dog food industry taught me that even minor changes and/or defects in the construction of a bag cause severe throughput issues with the bag hanging/filling/sealing equipment.

"Maintenance-Baghanger Line 2", "Maintenance-Baghanger Line 2" Wow, I can still mentally hear those telecom pages! I agree that the cost continues to increase, and of course some of that is caused by increases to the cost of OTR transportation as well as higher prices for corn due to the Methanol surge.

Another thing I noticed during my time there was that the cheif ingredient for most dog foods (corn) was purchased through the futures market for a set contract price. Of course a new contract is negotiated each year and that is when the major price increase hits. My last days in the dog food industry were in June 2007, and I remember well a high-volume brand made there was priced at $8.99 for fifty (50) pounds. I saw some of this in the grocery store the other day and the preprinted price was more than $11.00. So within ten (10) months the price rose more than 20%. I realize that a large component of Royal Canin is poultry, but of course they are fed corn as well and it is purchased the same way. 

Regards,

Bob-O

I have been unable to get Royal Canin Rabbit and Potato canned for the last several weeks, and I've been told by my vet that it will likely be unavailable until May.  Supposedly it is an ingredient issue.  My female, who has corn allergies, eats it, but I am able to substitute other brands.

A bigger is issue is the repeated problem I have had getting Royal Canin Lowfat/Low Fiber canned, the only food my male who has inflammatory bowel disease and lymphangeictasia can tolerate.  It has been backordered for more than a month on two occasions in the last year with no explanation.  I got the smoke and mirrors routine both times when I called their customer service number.  They offered each time to send me a free case when it became available, which they did.  However, a free case a month after my dog runs out of food is not particularly helpful.  I need a consistent source of food for him, not a lot of tap dancing.

A number of people on the IBD website I frequent often complain about Royal Canin and their rather cavalier attitude about the food they supply, especially to dogs with serious health problems.  No one seems to have an idea of what to do about it.

cheryl,

 I will check locally. If I find any, would you want me to pick it up for you?

K9 Kaylee