The Farmer's Dog Story

A little out of the normal format tonight because I have a story that I feel needs to get out so those readers with dogs will not go through what my friend's friend went through after her dog started eating the fresh food from The Farmer's Dog Company. 

[photo credit: mysubscriptionaddiction.com]

The Farmer's Dog dog food is a great concept. I cannot afford it with the four I have but it sounds like great dog food to feed your if you have one maybe two dogs and in the mid to smaller breeds. 

I HEARD A STORY FROM A FRIEND TODAY ABOUT THEIR FRIEND'S EXPERIENCE WITH FARMER'S DOG .... the story was appalling and quite shocking with the company's casual attitude.

BEWARE if you have thoughts of using this food.

She asked her friend that lives in San Diego (location is a factor in this story) how it was going feeding her dog the frozen fresh dog food from The Farmer's Dog company and her response was eye opening !!!!!

I cannot quote what was said exactly but I would have reacted the identical way if were to happen to me. Let's just say it was a WAS BAD experience. The lady's dog started rejecting the food and vomiting, followed by being sick, listless, etc. She called the company's customer service to report what was going on ....

A monotone voice responded "well let's check the food batch number to see if it's one of the tainted batches!!! She replied "you know you have tainted batches of food and still issue them out?" 

The company said "well it's produced in New York, then packed with dry ice. Then shipped to the west coast. "we hope at least some of the dry ice remains when it gets to you, and as long as one pack of food is still frozen, but the others are thawed, you should be okay to use/freeze again !!!! 

BUT WE CAN'T SAY FOR SURE THAT THE THAWED BAGS DIDN'T GET BACTERIA CONTAMINATED. "

I cannot imagine getting an answer like this after one of my dogs or hounds being sicker than ever, vomiting, listless .... Did they really say that? "....see if it is one of the tainted batches ????"

This company is into heavy advertising right now. They are forced fed to me on Facebook, they are on all the commercials I see while watching my Reds baseball games every day/night. I imagine they are on other social media sites.

With that capitalized comment about them not sure if the thawed bags did get bacteria contaminated ... that company has a huge problem. I hope this helps in some way to prevent any tragic issues for dog owners.

A senior moment hit me this morning and that was advantages to the hounds and dogs. I had bought those three on the left a few months ago. All Beef. The Buffalo Horn is new and the old one is missing in action. The ones on the left didn't last an hour, except for the one that Ava was chewing. I had to police Watson and Henry from trying to take that chew away from her. She was pretty strong though letting both of them know it was hers not theirs.

Forgetting those three chews was my first senior moment this morning. Ava has her own container of puppy dog food, so the three older are eating their same food in a different container. I thought their food was going down awfully fast for just three eating it. When the round scoop starts hitting the bottom that is the sign to buy more. So this morning I took off to the pet food store after I stopped by the Cross-Eyed Cricket for some great coffee and breakfast.

I gave the new buffalo horn to Watson ... he went running to the other side of the yard for privacy.

As you will see later, Walter's hesitation cost him a chew bone. He wanted to stare at it, sniff it from one end to another ... then the fatal error of turning and walking away. THAT cost him a nice beef chew bone. On a side note, it is sunny but cold 58° and I have not done any spring cleaning including that patio door. I need hot temps for me to operate in that kind of work!!  LOL

Henry and Ava each had one and headed for the yard. I have to watch Henry because he gets aggressive sometimes when it comes to sharing bones and he has been that way since I brought him home at 8 weeks old. Is that because he had nine siblings in his litter?

Like I said ... Walter's hesitation cost him. By the time I came back outside from the computer room, Watson had already grabbed the bone off the step and had taken out into his safe space to chew on.

I could tell by the way they were chewing them, they would not last long. I have yet to find a chew that lasts long, except the buffalo horn.

Watson wanted to walk around the yard, the deck and inside the house with the chew in his mouth, just to show the others it was his and he was in charge. Ava, Walter, Henry and I didn't pay attention to him.

By the time Walter decided he might want to chew on his ... he found it was gone. Watson had left the new buffalo bone in its place but Walter was not interested in that.

The other senior moment I had was forgetting the extra dog food I had put in the drawer for dog equipment, toys or bones. When I opened the drawer to pull out those three chews, there was my rolled up dog food bag containing what was left of the new bag that would not fit in the one container. With Ava using the other dog food container, there was not enough room for 40 pounds of kibble in just one dog food container. I will have to remember that from now on.

Last night as I was making a large salad for dinner, yes salads have returned to my diet this week with signs of success. Less filling, no indigestion. Anyway as I was making a quick dinner right before the Reds game I looked up to see Ava and Henry sound to sleep. They along with Watson had been playing most of the afternoon and chasing each other from one side of the yard, across the deck to the other side of the yard.

The hounds and dogs didn't do much this afternoon after they ate. No playing today like they did yesterday. Henry, Walter, Ava and Watson spent most of the afternoon sleeping.

By late afternoon they had some interest in some aerobic exercise. 

Rarely does Walter like his picture taken.

With the Evansville Otters playing their first exhibition game in five days, I decided it was time to introduce Ava to baseball here in the backyard. She didn't stand a chance because Watson took the ball every time, as usual.

You can tell there is a lot of interest for the baseball as I held it high and out of their reach.

Watson already has the baseball in his mouth and you don't even notice it.

Waiting for me to throw the ball in their direction.

I am going to have to get a bigger ball this year. I would hate to have Watson swallow that ball by accident. You can see in other photos the ball disappears in his mouth completely while he is running. You can barely see the baseball in his mouth. 

So after this last retrieval we closed practice for the day. Ava did very well walking with a leash. So she is ready for her trip to the vet tomorrow. It will be updated shots for a 14 week old puppy and a checkup.

It feels like a Friday here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana today ... just one of the hazards of retirement.