[HannaBanana]

Got the Eukanuba Boxer Specific Coupon in the mail yesterday.  Have to laugh because the ingredients are still Sh*t-

It kind of bothers me that they would target boxer owners and do mass mailing and spend probablly millions with BS marketing when they could in return spend some of that money on reseach of the effect of their ingredients they are using in their foods.  

I sent off an e mail to their company saying as a boxer owner how upset I was to receive in the mail their coupon for the $5.00 off a bag of their boxer specific food which contains by-products and some of the top allergyns for boxers.  Further more that if they care so much for the boxer, and trying to produce a food that contributes to the health of the boxer, then get rid of some of the Sh*t ingredients in your food and other chemicals that are in it.

File under  - sleazy marketing plan!

Ingredients
Chicken, Chicken By-Product Meal (Natural source of Chondroitin Sulfate and Glucosamine), Corn Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Ground Whole Grain Barley, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Natural Chicken Flavor, Brewers Rice, Dried Beet Pulp (sugar removed), Fish meal, Dried Egg Product, Brewers Dried Yeast, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Beta-Carotene, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of Vitamin B1), Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (source of Vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of Vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), Flax Meal, Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Fish Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Calcium Carbonate, Choline Chloride, Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate), Dried Chicken Cartilage (Natural source of Chondroitin Sulfate and Glucosamine), DL-Methionine, L-Carnitine, Rosemary Extract

 

[southerngirls]

i got the same thing a few weeks ago, but threw it away. I couldnt figure out though how they got the information that i owned a boxer....any ideas on that one?

 

[sully]

People call me a "health nut" because I feed my dog these brands they've never heard of because you can't find them at Petco.  I don't bother with the lectures, they'd just give me more of a hard time.  Most people don't care what they put into their own bodies, nevermind their dogs.....so it's not worth it.

 

[HannaBanana]

I am pretty sure from AKC, since they are one of the leading supporters of AKC shows.

Also it was been brought up at many meetings of boxer clubs around the country that the boxer on the cover of their flier and coupon does not represent a boxer within standard.  Its shows a Euro looking boxer with a tail!

Ticks me off because if they care so much about animals, why are they using ingredients left over from other products and corn in their food?

 

[Bumpy]

We have recieved a few odd things that I can only trace back to the AKC selling our info.

 

[HannaBanana]

Like the special christmas boxer collector's plates?  ha ha

 

[Bumpy]

yep, that would be one of them. there has been others too, but they escape me.

 

[jjtac]

I know that I will probably get beat up for this but I personally know alot of people that use that brand of food and I have never seen one that looks bad or unhealthy.I dont use it myself but I cant say I would never use it again either.I use to have rots and when my female died I thought that it was going to kill my male as well.When she passed he went into a deep depresssion and would not eat.My vet at the time said that he would eventually be OK and not to worry about it.Well to make a long story short he went from 130 pounds down to around 70 and looked like skin and bones.He would only eat a few bites of food a day.We switched him to eukanuba and even though he was not eating more he started putting his weight back on very very slowly.He eventually made a full recovery on eukanuba and he lived the rest of his life on it.I guess that what I am saying is that even though the ingredients do not look ideal in that food it somehow works very well.If the holistic food that I am feeding Jake would not have worked out I was going to switch him to Eukanuba.Oh yeah ...........but I do see your point about the marketing vs allergy thing too.

 

[HannaBanana]

jjtc -

I see your point and glad everything went well with your rottie.   I do believe that there are reasons why a dog needs to be on a particular food.  Even if it is crap, but given certain reasons like the one you described, I have no issues with at all.   There are some top breeders that have to feed a crappy food to keep weight on their show dogs.  They then will have to use coat conditioners and add-ins to get results that the holistic / human grade can give them.   I have no issues at all, you have to do what is best for the dog, in this case yes it was the right choice and he lived a great longer life.

What ticks me off if the marketing to people who have AKC registered boxers.  The ones unlike us that do not know these things.    For an organizations that promotes a majority of the shows, I would like IMO to see a little better standard in their food and the choice of representation they use.  Not just the marketing of feed this food and you dogs will have a healthy heart and longer life.   Sad thing is that peopel out there are going to be like "Look honey, a new boxer food, lets go get it".  

If you boxer has any heart condition (Aeortic stenosis or cardiomyopthy -sp??)  then this food is not going to help them.   If you boxer has alergies, this food is not going to help them either.   If you want to promote having a healthy boxer, then promote the importance of a well rounded diet without fillers, and human grade ingredients.  Not bi-products (which can be ground beek and feet) and low grade poop generators!       I do have to say they do a lot for the AKC and shows, but would like IMO to see a little more on the return end from these larger big time marketing companies.

 

[Nexu]

jjtac,

 

[samsonsmom]

I will be interested in what response you get back Heather..Valid points and unfortunate that the AKC is allowing this....I didn't get the coupon, so don't know what it looked like, but if you are advertising in the states, shouldn't you have a proper representation of our breed on it? When I got my first boxer 9 yrs ago, I was totally clueless about the differences in foods...I did know that I wasn't going to feed Purina or Alpo, so I thought using Eukanuba, Iams was really great....Both Buck & Tia did fabulous on it, no allergies, health issues, excess shedding, so yes, I was lucky....I know that I get a lot of questions about why I feed mine Chicken Soup, they all laugh at me saying "oh Campbells?".....Grrrrr

 

[jjtac]

Oh yeah I agree with you completely.Unfortunately corporate America preys on the people that buy because of marketing.At the same time I cant feel bad for someone that would not do the proper research before buying something.Sometimes I am one of those idiots that fall for false advertising   so I perfectly understand how it happens 8O

 

[Honeyec]

Does the US not have a Data Protection Act that stops companies passing on your information (address, etc.) to other parties?  In Ireland no company, individual, whatever can pass on any of your information whatsoever to third parties without your written permission, and I'm happy to say that the Data Commissioners Office takes breaches of the regulation very seriously indeed.  I dread to think what kind of junk mail and direct marketing would be doing the rounds without the Act.

 

[jjtac]

Are you kidding me????The government make a law that would cost them a $0.39 postage stamp.No way they are going to regulate something that makes so much money for the United States Postal Service.In their eyes,the more junk mail the better.The one that should be at fault is the AKC.They should have a box that you check on your registration papers that asks your permission or asks if you would like to receive promotional items.

 

[Brutuss]

Are you kidding me????The government make a law that would cost them a $0.39 postage stamp.No way they are going to regulate something that makes so much money for the United States Postal Service.In their eyes,the more junk mail the better.The one that should be at fault is the AKC.They should have a box that you check on your registration papers that asks your permission or asks if you would like to receive promotional items.

Glad to see the goverment still like you better then me lol......cause postal went up here may 07 to $0.41

 

[HannaBanana]

I also think you have to develop your own philosophy on food.  Not saying one said person is right but you need to least explore all different options and take into consideration what you value and what you dont, what works well with your dogs and what does not.   Dogs are not all like robots that are created equally.  You have dogs with alergies,  dogs with liver problems, dogs with cancer, dogs with skin and coat problems.  

You need to explore all foods that best provide the overall health for the dog - (IMO).   What works for mine may not work for yours.   However IMO I think a healthy heart depends more on genetics first and diet second.   I try (again IMO) to feed my dogs like I would if they were my skin kids.  To control weight, less carbs more lean proteins. What do they need carbs for??   No grease, no table scraps or fat trimmed from my plate.  If I would not personally eat it, should I give it to my dogs??   Yes dogs need some fat, that is fine but in moderation.

I try not to feed my dogs sugar, I think it may contribute to a hyper behavior and some have said that cancers feed off of sugars.   So I try to limit that stuff as well as can cause concern for their teeth.  I wonder if they get cholesterol?  Too much junk clog arteries??? stuff like that - Nuts I know, but I am caring for a living thing, in IMO my responsibility is to take the best care of it.  ha ha ha

Willow here is the link to the said campaign -  with said Euro dog in question.

http://us.eukanuba.com/eukanuba/en_US/j ... F&brid=box

 

[jjtac]

LOL well it guess that tells how much I actually mail letters out.I also think you are 100% right about the dog foods,but I would never try to feed my dog like I do my kids.I really like my dog and would never let him eat the junk I feed my kids :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

 

[samsonsmom]

Nice looking boxer Heather, but yes it does surprise me that they would have used an undocked tail....Not good research

 

[HannaBanana]

Euros have the longer sleeker coats (like my dogs).  Not sure if they were assuming if you feed this food, you dog's coat will be thicker and glossy.  tee hee.   Thats genetics, ha ha.   Definately intertesting however.

 

[AbbyandBrady]

I think food is a touchy issue on several grounds...it sounds as though all of us here can afford decent quality food, that is not true for a large part of the population. (Although we know that "cheap" food is not always cheaper given that you have to feed more of it). Many good families have pets and are capable of providing a good home, just not capable of paying for premium brand food.

Also, I think there is a generation gap and a, what I will call, knowledge gap.  My cocker spaniel growing up was fed puppy chow, the Iams. Know why? Because that's what the vet told us to do. 25/30 years ago, that was good food and I don't believe the same effort was put into producing dog food then. I am sure there were some good companies, but nothing like today.  As for an education gap...when we rescued Abby, right off to the vet we went, where he gave us samples of Iams and told us that Euk was better. He is also a rep for I think, Royal Canin. So, of course, these were recommended to us...but fortunately, he also provided us with a list of varying levels of food.  The lower levels contained Iams, Euk, etc. The middle levels I believe contained products along the line of Royal Canin, the top levels contained things such as Candidae and Chicken Soup.  But no where was there a good description as to the difference in these foods. It was not until Abby was dx'ed with giardia that I was really researching food and started to learn more.  Immediately ran out for Canidae...not all people do this research though. If you are used to one thing because your vet says to do that or because you know the particular product from usng it in the past, and things are going well, many would not think to look into it further. Why fix what ain't broke? The one thing I can say about the food recall is that I thinkit probably opened a lot of eyes.

Sorry to ramble...