We have been feeding our puppy Akela Fish Feast and she was very happy. But the last bag was completely different. Very different smell and the dog won’t touch it (she is not a fussy eater, this is the first thing we have ever found that she doesn’t like).
It took us a while to settle on this product and we were really happy with it, so a bit annoying to have to go through the process again.
I know a lot of these UK made premium dry foods are all made in the same factory (GA Pet Food partners Wenger TT3630 Thermal Twin extruder) so I know they will all be batch based.
My question is is this common? Do people feeding these long term find noticeable variation from batch to batch? When buying in bulk it is pretty annoying to end up with a big expensive bag you can’t use, butyou also can’t order trials every time the batch changes (if companies would even let you know).
I think we will try Millies next and hope that is more consistent, but wanted to ask here about the point more generally across brands - how consistent are the products from batch to batch?
Hello and welcome to the forum. I can’t answer your question about the change in this particular Akela product. Have you been in touch with the company and compared the recipe on the new bag with the old? The reason I ask is because I am wondering if there has been a change in recipe due to supply factors or there has been an error on the production line, maybe at the bagging stage. If there has been a change in recipe then customers need to know.
You have spent a lot of money on quality food and IMO you should get in touch with the company. I would imagine that they will want to deal with, and rectify any complaints. Please would you let us know how you get on?
Thanks. Yes I have been in touch with the company. They confirmed it was a new batch (the packaging has also changed) but said nothing changed in the recipe so it should be just normal batch to batch variation. They are very helpful and we are going to send off a sample for testing.
But my question was I guess broader about peoples experiences with these smaller batch premium kibble products. Has any one ever noticed a similar change (in any product) that they use for a long time?
Hello and welcome to the forum. I have heard other owners say that they have noticed a change in different foods they have fed but it is’t something I have experienced myself. Happily the foods I buy have been consistent as far as I can tell. I am no expert and I don’t think my dog would refuse to eat anything even if the recipe or quality changed. :-\