Seven Hills Retrievers

Permalink Reply by Sara Hornsby on August 18, 2015 at 5:40pm

Oh no! Where did you see that about the dog food/warranty?

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Permalink Reply by Jeff on August 18, 2015 at 6:12pm

I adopted a puppy from Seven Hills and was very impressed with the dog food they recommended. I thought it was very thoughtful of them to help guide me to a good food.......there are so many out there and I had no idea where to start. My Vet also looked into the company who sells the food and the ingredients and was also impressed.

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Permalink Reply by Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle on August 18, 2015 at 6:32pm

The breeders don't just recommend it, they sell it. They're not being "helpful", they're making money. And there is no nutrition curriculum in veterinary school; vets study medicine, not nutrition. Just like human doctors.

The food is sold through a pyramid scheme, (by a company that only sells products through multilevel marketing schemes) and the breeder makes commissions on it. It's an overpriced mediocre food with questionable sourcing and manufacturing. We have a big active group here on DK called the Food Group where we have all of this information, as well as lists of recommended foods that have all been researched for both content, manufacturing and sourcing. The info is there free of charge, with no ulterior motives, for anyone who doesn't know where to start. Please join us. :)

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Permalink Reply by Sara Hornsby on August 18, 2015 at 6:29pm

Jeff-Is that true about the warranty? They don't say that on their website. How long do you have to buy the food for?

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Permalink Reply by Jeff on August 18, 2015 at 6:47pm

Sara-Yes they recommended a dog food that extended the guarantee they already offered to us as long as the puppy was being nutritionally supported. My Vet loves the product and he is not just a Vet who only understand medicine, but his wife who works with him specializes in animal nutrition. The ingredients are all natural, made in the USA and the company guarantees to never have a recall. I couldn't be happier with the food they recommended to our family.

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Permalink Reply by Melissa Mertes on August 18, 2015 at 6:34pm

They told us we had to purchase a specific food and vitamins to keep our warranty valid. The purchases are to be made online for their tracking purposes.

We like the required food for our dog but chose different vitamins. So....our warranty is void.

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Permalink Reply by Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle on August 18, 2015 at 6:36pm

The purchases are made online for tracking purposes so the breeder can get credit and commissions.

And no dog who is eating a proper diet needs vitamins. The whole thing is a pyramid racket.

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Permalink Reply by Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle on August 18, 2015 at 6:43pm

Life's Abundance (and Nu-Vet vitamins) is part of an MLM (multi-level marketing) company called Trilogy, which sells all of their products through a structured plan in which each person along the chain receives a commission. If your breeder recommends it, she receives a commission each time you order it using her number. The person who recruited her, the area director, a whole group of people each receive a commission each time you order the food. This is also known as a "pyramid scheme". Here's some info on this "business opportunity". Be sure to watch the video:

http://www.lifesabundance.com/Opportunity/Opportunity.aspx?realname...

This is why the food is priced so high. You are paying premium prices and getting a so-so food. All of the claims that the food is fresher, made in small batches, made to order, etc. that they use to justify the prices is hooey. The price is what it is because a whole lot of people are getting a bonus when you buy it. That's why the breeders, daycares, trainers, etc. recommend it. The food is a private label kibble like any other that manufactured in a plant like any other and stored somewhere until you buy it. They say things like "It doesn't sit on a shelf in a warehouse". Well, newsflash, it may not sit in a warehouse, but it sits somewhere. It's not like ordering a pizza, where they make that bag up fresh right then and there and hop in the car to drive it over to your house. The plant doesn't run one or two or twenty bags at a time, lol.

We have some older discussions here about LA, including the one Laurie mentioned:

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/lifes-a...

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/canidae...

One thing that I hate about LA is the secrecy surrounding the ingredients, nutritional profile, source of ingredients, etc. It's almost impossible to get this information. They say "we use, chicken, potatoes, etc." but they don't give you the simple basic nutitional profile or the actual list of ingredients as every other food does, and they will not give the source of their ingredients. Because of this, I cannot give you an actual analysis. The last time I tried researching it, it was an okay food in terms of ingredients and nutritional content, but I don't know if they outsource the ingredients. They also have a very limited selection of formulas. It's certainly better than Beneful or Pedigree, but for the price, you can do much much better. .

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Permalink Reply by Melissa Mertes on August 18, 2015 at 7:02pm

Much like Jeff, I asked our vet about the food and vitamins. Our vet felt the food was of good quality. When I price compared it with Iams (and adjusted for serving size) it's actually a good value and it's delivered to your door, on schedule, without having to think about it or lug it into your cart and car.

I don't dispute the pyramid theory but, let's face it, someone(s) makes money of all your purchases anyway. Whether it's the breeder or some other distributor...doesn't matter to me.

I don't like the way they forced our hand with the purchase BUT it's worked well for us and I'm happy with the product. If the warranty isn't a deal breaker for you, you can always feed your dog whatever you choose.

Again, we chose against the vitamins (voiding our warranty) but with the advice of our vet. They were NOT necessary.

Maybe we've been extra lucky but our doodle is very healthy. Choosing a puppy and breeder is a difficult and a lifelong decision. Decide what's best for you and consider how much weight you put into food & warranty.