Farmina formula change?

[virginiajenkins]

I have a Malinois (3M) and German Shepherd (5M) who are both on Farmina N&D Prime. They both do really well on it and I’ve had no issues. I’ve been feeding them this dog food for 2 years. I bought a new bag this week and the Malinois will not eat it unless he’s starving and my Shepherd is now having a bout of diarrhea. Did Farmina change their formula by any chance?

 

[fpjazyevaz]

@virginiajenkins So I actually ran into something like this too.

I was feeding Farmina to my dog and got a couple bags of food that were significantly lighter brown in color than usual. It also smelled very fishy and my dog didn’t want to eat it. It also seemed to give her looser bowel movements.

I reached out to them and apparently they spray the food with herring powder. They said that the variation was due to how much of it was being applied and that it wasn’t anything to worry about.

I ended up switching food brands after that. I know Farmina is well-regarded as a brand, but I’m really not okay with inconsistent amounts of a potential stomach irritant being applied to my dog’s food.

 

[virginiajenkins]

@fpjazyevaz What did you switch to? I’d hate to do the same because I always saw them as the gold standard when it comes to dry dog food but if I have to I will.

 

[fpjazyevaz]

@virginiajenkins I switched to Open Farm wild caught salmon and ancestral grains. People seem a little iffy on it but honestly, my dog loves it and tolerates it very well. She has always had a sensitive stomach too, so I’m happy with it.

FWIW I also don’t see any serious condemnations if it. Seems like some people think it’s overpriced and that the “natural” branding is dubious. Still seems like a high quality dog food to me.

 

[marvin33]

@virginiajenkins N&D is a great brand, I would reach out to them

 

[mufudzi]

@virginiajenkins I don’t think they’ll post stuff about it changing. I usually just compare the two ingredients list on the bags so maybe that’s worth a try, otherwise I would see if you can return/exchange the bag. Nothings worse than a 20lb bag of dog food you can’t use

 

[pattyketty]

@virginiajenkins Farmina has not changed their formula

 

[sharris6973]

@virginiajenkins According to Farmina, there is no change to their formula, but they claim that as the ingredients are high quality and from different sourcing, it's hard to regulate exact nutritional values, so dogs can respond differently to each bag you will receive.

In terms of my experience with their kibble issues (I feed the Farmina N&D Ancestral Grain Lamb & Bluberry):

• December 2022 - Noticed kibble went from smelling like fresh blueberries to more of a fish smell. The bag also changed from a well vacuumed sealed bag to one with a resealable ziplock top. They said there was no change to formula but North America is just being shipped from a different location. Luckily there was no change with my dog.
• April 2023 - Fed 10-15% of the Chicken & Pomegranate in my dogs meals. Caused vomiting exactly 10 hrs after eating. Gave some other dogs 1 kibble and they had similar responses. Farmina's shady response was that the chicken has higher protein which might have been too much for my dog resulting in vomitting. Regarding the other pups vomiting, they were not on Farmina, so they cannot comment on why they got sick, but it could be their high quality ingredients could have just been too much for them as well. Eventually they just refunded me and sent me a return shipping slip.

Not sure of how your dogs respond to Farmina, but my dog responded really well on it. However, their iffy responses to issues make me have a hard time wanting to support them. I just took my dog off Farmina a few months ago to work with the vet yet again to figure out my dogs issues with some kibble, but maybe switch back to it.

ETA: If you contact them with issues, they're very responsive and try to work with you to resolve your issue. Takes a day after a phone call, or a week of emails back/forth, but they'll typically refund you once they receive your returned bag and ship you a new bag.

Not sure of your experience, but my dog has an amazing coat on the food, with no torso inflammation or itching spots, with no need for me to add 2 or 3 supplements to her food. Her teeth also do not develop plaque or tartar as quickly (On Hills, I find I need to give her daily dental treats and brush every 1-2 days vs on Farmina I can get away with just brushing once a week, give daily treats if I remember).