Complain about a product or service

Purina Pet Foods

Aimee of Newport, TN June 9, 2009

I had been feeding my dog Purina Pro Plan Sensitive for years. Months ago I noticed he had balding spots on his neck. I thought maybe his collar was rubbing against him and that was the problem, even though he has been wearing a collar for most of his life(he's ten). His hair on his back was also thinning.My doctor suggested we get his thyroid checked.I moved and was unable to find Purina Pro Plan so I switched him to Purina One Sensitive. Within a week or so he started vomiting and having diarrhea.

The vet ran a thyroid test-it was borderline low-and other tests and could not find anything wrong, so they gave him meds to treat the symptoms. In two weeks I was back at the vet. They wanted to run a more expensive thyroid test but I was broke so I just got the meds to treat his symptoms. I finally realized maybe it was his food and switched brands and also started to mix it with homemade dog food to cut down on commercial food I was giving him. Since then I have had no more episodes of vomiting and diarrhea and his hair is starting to grow back.

I feel the food amy have been too high in selenium. The signs of chronic selenium toxicity are hair loss, vomiting and diarrhea. I don't know this for a fact but I do know I took my dog off the Purina and he hasn't been ill since.

T of Santa Ana, CA June 7, 2009

With my financial situation tightening (like everyone else) I opted to change my dog from dry Science Diet to dry Purina. My dog ate, but not like he ate before. I mixed in some chicken, but he still didn't want to eat the food. This went on for about four days and, as I again poured fresh food into the bowl, I noticed what looked like larva or their little cocoon things. Dug again in the bag and the amount I found was UNBELIEVABLE! I was shocked, angry and sorry I didn't "listen" to my dog when he wouldn't eat.

I took the bag back to PetSmart and the gentleman there not only promptly gave me credit toward a new bag of Science Diet but - get this - he said, "We get a LOT of returns. They are known to have a problem with that." HELLO??!! "KNOWN to have a problem..." Why is this stuff still on the market. And, if it's known to have a problem, why do they still carry it?

To top things off, my neighbor got a new puppy. I hadn't thought to discuss food with her - the neighbor not the dog - and I noticed her dog's stomach looked bloated. I mentioned the bloat and my neighbor said she wondered about that too. "My dog doesn't eat all that much and when she does, she seems to get sick." A lightbulb went off in my head and I asked what she was feeding her. Sure enough, it was dry PURINA! Immediately asked permission to take it back for her and exchange it for Science Diet. Her dog ate a healthy meal as soon as I got back and within three days, the bloat was gone and she stopped getting ill.

Bottom line: If your dog isn't eating properly, has a bloated stomach, gets ill after eating (vomit or diarrhea) CHECK THE FOOD. Dogs eat. Dogs don't get diarrhea from the air. My suggestion: Stay away from Purina! Thank you for letting me vent.

Kathryn of windermere , FL May 24, 2009

My cat is 2 years old old and he is strictly indoor. Once he was a year old I started feeding him Purina Cat Chow: Indoor Formula because it supposedly had a "good reputation". However, everytime he would eat he would throw up repeatedly. I thought the one bag might have been bad so i fed him something else one time, and he was fine. I switched him back to Purina and not only did he throw up, but he was depressed, and lethargic.

I have been feeding him purina for a few months and he keeps havingn the same reaction, then when i switch him to another brand he is fine. Now whenever I put his food out and its Purina he WILL NOT eat. So, I will not ever purchase a Purina brand ever again because it keeps making my cat sick and not wanting to eat.

Sue of Natchez, MS May 14, 2009

I have been using Beneful Dog Food for my dog and just last night discovered thousands of "mites" on the outside of the dog feeder. My brother noticed a white film on the top of the automatic feeder that looked like dust, when we went to wipe it off it felt wet...upon further inspection we realized that there were millions of tiny white bugs/mites that were moving around. I assumed that they had some how come in from outside and were trying to get inside the feeder to the food. We took the feeder outside to clean and investigate further.

This morning I decided to give him a fresh bowl of food from the sealed bag in my laundry room and to my dismay found that it was infested with these mites. I have seen this white film in the bag before but I thought it was just "dust" from the food...I never realized it was some sort of bug. I am now going to start cleaning out everything to make sure I have removed all of these mites or whatever they are. I am shocked at this and it makes me sick to know that I have been feeding this to my dog. I would like some sort of explanation concerning this finding.

Jill of Rancho Santa Margarita, CA May 7, 2009

Purchased Purina Busy Bone dental dog treats (2 pack/5 oz size); fed one bone to my dog per packaging instructions. That night, dog became very ill and had diarrhea for 3 days following. I filed a formal complaint with Purina, even sent back a portion of the remaining bone per their request for testing in their labs, and they see nothing wrong with the product. Asked them to add a warning to the packaging or recall the product, but they said they are not taking any action. I'm now in contact with the FDA.

James of Cottonwood, CA May 11, 2009

Purina Prepared dog food Beef Stew meal has bad foil seals with product splashed onto the sealing area. Other containers have air pockets sealed under the foil seal and is also rancid. I have called the manufacturer and the store selling the product as an advisory statement. I caught the condition visually before giving this to my pet. Purina is requesting the return of their product for inspection.

Stacie of fort wayne, IN May 8, 2009

Purnia One dog food was the food my beagle Copper ate from the time she was a puppy. Then at the age of five (2007)she became sick.Blood in her urine,stool, vomiting,not playing.I took her to the vet and they gave her antibiotic. No change, went back did x-rays and she had gall stones (2) of them. She had surgery to remove them and was told all would be well. She was still sick, with blood in urine, stool and vomiting. She was at the vets office every 4-5 weeks with more test and antibiotic. After a year of doing that,two vet opinions, surgery, meds. the vet said said there was no more they could do and it was time to put her to sleep. We spent all of our savings to save our dog because she was like a child to us. After reading lables and doing research I know in my heart that it was the Purina One dog food that took our 6 year old dog. We have a new puppy and I won't feed her anything that Purina makes. I am a better pet owner now because I know what all that junk they put in dog food can do to the pet you love and they don't care. they just put a cute dog on the bag. The only thing they are good at is marketing to the public. If they spent as much time and money in there dog food as they do marketing, maybe it wouldn't be killing our pets.

Jill of Rancho Santa Margarita, CA May 5, 2009

Purchased Purina Busy Bone dental dog treats (2 pack/5 oz size); fed one bone to my dog per packaging instructions. I filed a formal complaint with Purina, even sent back a portion of the remaining bone per their request for testing in their labs, and they see nothing wrong with the product. Asked them to add a warning to the packaging or recall the product, but they said they are not taking any action.

Kelly of Pittsburgh, PA April 23, 2009

I have two young dogs, Gunnie (1 year old) and Kennedy (2 years old). My dogs have always eaten Pedigree food. One day in an effort to help Kennedy lose some weight, I bought Purina Complete and Balanced Dog Chow (green bag) instead. Very soon after, withing a day, Gunnie began having severe diahrrea and vomiting occured for days on end. I did swicth the dogs back to Pedigree 3 days later but Gunnies symptoms progressed and continued for 3 weeks and are just now starting to decrease. He always had an appetite so I was thankful for that but I spent many nights with him standing in the front yard for hours watching him get sick. His diahrrea soon turned bloody and I could hear his belly gurgling from 5 feet away. He did vomit occasionally, usually any food he had tried to eat or yellow foam. He would moan and squirm in his sleep. The first week, even after I had switched dog foods back, my other dog Kenendy started throwing up and becoming lathargic. Now, Gunnies stool is finally becoming normal again and Kennedy has not had any symptoms. My mom just called today to tell me a friend of hers just had to put her dog to sleep. At first they thought he was old and had cancer. Then my moms friend gave her dogs left over Purina dog food to her sister and her sisters dog started showing the exact same sypmtoms that Gunnie and my moms friends dog had: excessive diarrhea and vomiting! They are taking their bag to be tested. I have another story about Beneful and how it almost killed my best friends 2 year old dog but I think the trend here is obvious!

concerned of eynon, PA April 25, 2009

This news on Purina is disturbing, if you dont do your homework. Grain Based Infestations are a common occurrence. And its not just in your pets food. Any grain based product can be affected by these bugs and larva.

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.

Back to the top |