Dinovite??

[Heather & Brinkley]

Has anyone heard of Dinovite? My mom's friend swears by it for itching but I'm skeptical:

http://www.dinovite.com

Thanks in advance!

[Ed Lukacevic]

Audra was pretty shook up and a little teary but she'll get over it. It's not the first time she's been chewed up. She's home now playing with my granddaughter. Glad we could provide some amusement for you.

[BG and Gavin]

Perhaps making an apology to those she offended will restore some good will and make her feel better too.

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

I agree BG. It's unfortunate that she feels bad but you were both deceitful and inappropriate. You may not realize it but our friends Karen and F are likely pretty upset themselves.

[Carol and Banjo]

Ed,  I'm sure your daughter is a lovely young woman, and that you're very proud of her.    Life's lessons are not always easy ones.    Honesty is always the best policy.    You can never go wrong.

[Heather & Brinkley]

Ed,

I'm the one who started this thread because I was truly curious about the product.  I do admire your daughter's passion.  We need more business owners who are passionate about their work.  While I admire Audra's passion, she probably did go at it the wrong way with the wording of portions of her post.  I know she was trying to help the company, but instead she turned people away and put people on the defensive... and in turn, she got some passionate responses from some very passionate Doodle-loving owners in return. But I am sorry she was shaken up.

Like I said, I was truly curious abut the product because every time my mom's friend saw my dog itching, she'd mention your product and how it was the cure-all for her cat.  I don't know what kind of food her cat is being fed.  I do know my dog is being fed top notch food and I have seen great improvements in Brinkley's health since making the switch. For this reason, I started with DoodleKisses for an opinion.  While I grew up with dogs, Brinkley is my first dog that is all mine (vet bills, decisions for his well-being and  all!)... and the many times I've had questions, DoodleKisses hasn't steered me wrong.  I still don't take opinions at face value but I DO take their opinions seriously and run with them, doing more research based on what they have suggested.

I will say, as a consumer---before I read on to the MANY posts and realized this discussion had become a heated internet battle--- as soon as I read Audra's post, I knew she worked for the company (although not to the degree she does-- I just thought she was an internet specialist, whose job was to fix bad PR) and was turned off a bit.  It just struck me wrong and felt like she was giving me a sales pitch that couldn't be trusted (I'm not saying that's what she meant to do or was doing but I'm saying how I felt as a potential consumer).  Just a little food for thought for the future as you forge on as a small business in the cruddy economy.

Best of luck.

Heather (and Brinkley)

[Shannon and Finn]

Grrr, sorry Heather, wish my reply would stick with the original post instead of going to the end.  Your response deserves the end of the page.

[Shannon and Finn]

Ed and Audra--This is not intended to be hostile, but it's my feedback as a business owner.  Owning a company that relies on online marketing is challenging and using forums to gain new customers can be a great idea when used correctly.  The strategies Audra used in this discussion basically broke all the "rules" of reputable forum marketing and will hopefully be a huge learning experience for your future efforts. I am sure you are passionate and believe deeply in your products, this discussion wasn't as much about your actual product but more the sales strategy used, which was a result of the tactic used in Audra's first response. DK is a very large and very active forum, full of passionate and highly educated people who take superior care of their dogs (hence their engagement in this type of forum to stay up to date on the best ways to care for a doodle).  In the end, Audra's assumptions and offensive remarks (if you read back they are truly offensive at times) turned the discussion.  If you want advice on marketing in forums in the future, it's important to become a respected member of the forum first, read the guidelines, fully disclose your company connections in your profile and probably your posts too, and know your audience before posting anything (even when it is tempting, like having someone ask about your product in a discussion).  For example, the "general population" of this forum feeds the best foods available to their dogs which is obvious when doing a quick review of the site.  Joining DK (or any forum/discussion) to give a sales pitch was an "uneducated" way to reach a new audience (of nearly 10,000 dog owners).  BruceGirl is right, an apology would be a great place to start.  I would also highly recommend "getting online and learning for yourself" more on forum marketing, it can really "get your mind going." See, hard not to get offended with this language, right?    

[F, Calla & Luca]

What a good response and the points seem accurate to me although I know nothing about on line marketing.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

And perhaps it would be a good idea for the company's "canine nutritionist" to have some formal education in basic life science and nutrition. Educated consumers look for credentials.

[Kathy Janes]

Boy did I miss the boat!  That's what I get for having one of those 60-75 hour a week jobs!  No time to visit DK and this discussion is nearly three years old.  And this is AFTER my husband asked me to order some of this product to see if it would help with Mater's winter itching.  I have to admit that our dogs love the flavor (or maybe it's the fish oil), but now that I've read through this entire post (after being given the link from the "here we go again" comment), I'd rather spend the money on trying another food during the winter months than buying more of this product.  And admittedly the one thing Karen has always told me to try, Evening Primrose Oil, is the one thing that I haven't tried!  Karen, if you see this, please email me a suggestion for where to get this that will have a quality product.  I think it's time we tried it!  Thanks to everyone who posted here those many months ago.  I should know better and check here first!