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Not long after I launched Keep the Tail Wagging I was introduced to Life's Abundance pet food and saw it as a fantastic business that I could build from home. I was told that Life's Abundance makes dog and cat food with the finest ingredients, and I was excited to feed their food to our pets and build a small business through my blog.
A year later, I was no longer a Life's Abundance representative, and our dogs were enjoying a raw food diet. Quite often, someone will reach out to me to ask about my thoughts on Life's Abundance and their products – Spoiler Alert: I have no issues with the company. I chose to stop being a Life's Abundance representative six or so months after I started for many reasons.
1 – Rodrigo is Allergic to Chicken
Rodrigo presented with food sensitivities during the first few years of his life. I turned to Dr. Google and convinced myself that my dog was allergic to chicken. Not a surprise, really, because the food and treats I purchased always had chicken as an ingredient. A sensitivity test confirmed that I should limit the chicken in my dogs' diet.
I tried other dry dog food brands and cleaned Rodrigo's paws daily, but this didn't help. The paw licking finally stopped when I switched our dogs to a raw food diet.
Symptoms of Chicken Allergies in Dogs
Did you know that allergies (actually, it's a sensitivity) to food are thought to be responsible for 20% of all cases of scratching and itching in our dogs? Dogs can develop food sensitivities at any time in their life. Chicken was such a large part of my dogs' diet, and it's not surprising, looking back, that one of my dogs developed a sensitivity.
Rodrigo experienced…
- licking his paws until they were red and irritated
- regular loose stool, diarrhea, and gas – this also lead to anal gland issues
If you suspect that your dog has a food or environmental sensitivity, have your dog tested. It's affordable and eye-opening. Check out the details on my Glacier Peak Holistics review.
2 – Encouragement to Sell to Dog Breeders
When I signed up for Life's Abundance, the people who trained me encouraged me to build my “downline” – the people I signed up to sell Life's Abundance – through dog breeders. At the time, I struggled with the dog breeding business – I didn't know if it was ethical and believed in “adopt, don't shop.” It wasn't until I began meeting reputable breeders that I gained a better understanding. But, when I was trying to sell dog food, I felt like I'd be a hypocrite if I were promoting the food to breeders while silently judging them.
3 – Mail Order Doesn't Work for Our Family
What I loved about Life's Abundance was that it was delivered straight to my door. And I could get many things – dog food, cat food, treats, and supplements.
The downside was that I could never schedule the orders right – I kept running out of food before my next delivery. I don't know what I was doing wrong back then, and I admit this was lame. How hard can it be to set up a recurring order? Today, I do it all the time without issues; with Life's Abundance, I was always a week off, no matter how I set it up.
4 – There are No Coupons for Life's Abundance
When I failed at setting up auto-ship, I had to stop by the pet store to pick up enough dog food to hold us over, and that's when I discovered another brand that Rodrigo did well on and the wonders of coupons. I set up an account at a local pet store and received coupons that shaved $5-$10 off my purchases. The savings are always welcome in a multi-pet home.
Today, I belong to a local raw food co-op, and I can buy food and other pet products in bulk, which saves money. And one of our local pet stores offers 20% off all fresh food products (raw, freeze-dried, dehydrated) on the first Wednesday of the money.
5 – I Suck at Direct Marketing
I am TERRIBLE when it comes to Direct Marketing. I've tried several MLM opportunities over the years and failed because I don't like sales. I don't feel comfortable selling to my friends and family. It was difficult to market these businesses through my blog. And I quickly learned that direct marketing companies had gotten a bad rap over the years, so many people aren't receptive, which was discouraging.
Check out the following podcasts and programs about MLMs:
I'm sure there are great MLMs out there, and there are people who ROCK at direct marketing. My experience with Life's Abundance, Pawtree, and Young Living repeatedly taught me that I'm not a good fit for sales. I have tremendous respect for folks who are good at sales.
Learn More About Raw Feeding for Dogs
Transitioning to raw turned out to be the best step for my dogs. This diet cleared up food sensitivities, environmental allergies, and more. You can check out my book, Raw Feeding from A to Z, to learn more about my experience. And visit my Resources Page if you'd like to learn more.
As humans, we know that eating processed foods daily isn't healthy, so it's not a leap to understand that feeding our pets a processed diet will lead to health issues.
It may not be that the breeder was greedy or not reputable. If the breeder truly believes that Life’s Abundance is the best food, they are probably trying to send their puppies off with the best. We’re learning so much about the pet food industry that it’s difficult to know what companies to trust and although I don’t feed Life’s Abundance to my dogs, I have never heard anything negative about the food.
I wanted to purchase a Golden Retriever from what I thought was a breeder of heart until I read the contract and it only gives a 2 year guarantee IF the puppy is fed LA for the first 2yrs of its life.
Sounds GREEDY and NOT a reputable breeder after all.
Hello Elliott, Its not just grain free dog food that contain the ingrediats the FDA is concerned about… its MOST dog food formulas today that contain ridiculous amounts of peas, seeds, lentils and potatoes and almost all contain a lot of PEAS! Check out Lifes Abundance All Life Stages WITH grains. That formula is actually pea free and might be better for your dogs allergies. Also finding out what your dog is ACTUALLY allergic too would help. There is a test available on Amazon now where you can send in a clipping of your dogs hair and they test it for you so you know exactly what to stay away from… instead of automatically just assuming its grains like most people do. Good Luck! I have a page on my website about Peas, Soy and Flaxseed in dog foods and a list of all the brands that have formulas that don’t have them.
http://www.dreamydoodles.com/pea-and-flax-free-dog-food-brand-list
I believe you are right
We got a puppy and did not do due diligence regarding their “health guarantee”.
It was revealed that a 3 year guarantee was given as long as the puppy was on Life’s Abundance. I asked if it was a multilevel marketing ploy. They repeatedly stated that it was due to the baseline of needing this nutritional plan to ensure healthy growth and physiological support. My dog has excessive flatulence and large volumes of stool which is possibly related to the filler aspect of the kibble. Did you find any relevant findings regarding the underlying legal aspects?
Wayne, please share what your attorney told you!
I wasn’t looking for a business opportunity, in fact, In my mind mlm or direct selling was similar to the plague in my mind. I was unrecruitable. That was until I had a friend reach out and asked me to give this product a try and so I did and by day 5 I started telling everyone about it without knowingly doing it and I ended up having one fall in my lap. What an absolute blessing. It’s been 4 years and the products still work just A’s good, well actually better than they did the first week. I finally found freedom and have mentored many others to do the same. The best part as a single mom of two it was free to join and it has helped us get off food support, off welfare, trade in our $800 car for a Mercedes that’s paid for. 14 paid vacations I earned so far and I’m helping others do the same. It is possible. Woohooo. Great post! Congratulations God Bless Theresa Holland Heinkel
Hello,
thank you for creating this forum for the health of animals. Tonight I watched in shock as the television program 60 Minutes presented the very startling information that “GRAIN FREE ” specialty food, is “probably the cause of serious health challenges for dogs.
I have a two year old Labradoodle, who , licks his paws and has infrequent coughing episodes after eating a “Grain free Life’s Abundnace meal with another grain free canned supplement. We live in Florida. We supplement his grain free kibble with one of the grain free premium selections of treats and canned food from “BLUE BUFFALO”.
So far, his veterinarian has found him healthy and when taken to her clinic, he exhibited none of the symptoms that I viewed this evening. but he does often at other times.
My reaction at this time is to begin to make sure that he is no longer on a grain free food source. Keeping his heathy fats and carbohydrates under careful observation. At two years of age, I believe changing his regimen at this time will help him to enjoy a more challenge free healthy life.
Just got a call from a Life’s Abundance rep. I figured they would find me eventually.
You should definitely try Pinto Canyon. OMG, my dogs are doing great! I”m really excited that I found it.
There is a new baked food available and my dogs love it! They have tons of information on their site, and they sell the probiotics separately, which really makes sense because they should be refrigerated. And they’re only $20 for a large jar. It’s at pintocanyon.com. It’s very similar to FRR food, but I think my dogs like it even better.
I’m mean another reason not to buy Life’s Abundance is that their tactics are deceitful. The Flint River reps that started selling Life’s Abundance make it look like you can buy FR and then switch you to LA when you add it to the cart! For example, if you go here http://www.aplusflintriverranch.com/flint-river-ranch-salmon-dog-food.php it looks like FRR food is available! You click add to cart and it takes you to a LA product, but It *never* tells you that you can’t buy the FRR product!! If you’re not paying close attention you’ll buy the LA product thinking you’re buying the FRR product, and the two products are nothing alike. Life’s Abundance is *extruded* – not baked like FRR, which makes a *huge* difference in the end product.
I don’t have any links to Flint River in this blog post, Susie.
I think it’s deceiving that you click on a discontinued Flint River Ranch product and it takes you to a Life’s Abundance product, leading you to believe that it’s the same as the Flint River Ranch product you clicked on! Life’s Abundance is not at all like Flint River Ranch – it’s extruded! It’s not baked! That’s a huge difference! And the recipes are entirely different. Only one Flint River Ranch distributor is doing the right thing: selling another excellent oven-baked food and making it clear that it’s different. My dogs love Pinto Canyon even better than FRR! It’s amazing. And the service is so good – I can tell that they really care about their product and about my dog.
Wayne, if you don’t divulging what did your attorney say? Thanks!
I feed a raw food diet and I don’t think it can be compared to any kibble food. If you visit a local pet store (not one of the chains) they may have freezers which is where the commercial raw is stored. I prefer DIY because it’s easier on the budget.
How can we find out which brand you have found that is comparable and available at my local pet store?
Thank you,
Andrea
I use La and I read where that dried tomato pomace is very good for cats. Sorry but right now I can remember why. lol
Check it out online I’m sure you’ll see.
I use La and have for years, for my cats. I tried to switch to blue buffalo once and my cats hair started coming out so I went back to LA. All animals are different just like kids. One will do fine on one food and not another and over time they just can become allergic to something they have eaten for years. My yorkie eats Petsuppliesplus new brand of food and does great on it. It’s all trial and error and hopefully you’ll wind up with something your dog loves and it good for them.
Hi Carolyn
I received your message on Facebook before you blocked me and I am confused. I didn’t see anything negative in your comment nor do I feel that my response was negative; I simply explained the origin of the post and why I haven’t updated it and how people can learn more about Life’s Abundance. Why does that make me an “ass” and why did I deserve such a nasty message from you? I’m truly confused because I thought we were friendly. Please show me where in this comment I’m being negative or rude to you?
Here is your comment to me straight from Facebook which is very hurtful and shows me that you obviously have a bad opinion of me that goes beyond this discussion and I’d like to know what I did to deserve this:
AND….just so you know, your reply is EXACTLY what I would expect of a person who doesn’t see the POSITIVE in any part of the note and only replies to what they ASSume to be NEGATIVE. Give the world a break from your higher than thou attitude Kim! You are NOT God’s gift to RAW EATING for dogs. You actually HINDER it with your attitude and replies.
Thank you for your comment. Please note that this is a personal blog where I share my personal experience. This post about Life’s Abundance isn’t an attack on the brand (which I state), it’s simply my explanation of why I no longer feed it to my dogs. The reason I wrote the post is because at the time, back in 2013, I was getting a lot of questions from people about why I was no longer promoting them – these were people who were considering feeding their dogs the food and joining the MLM opportunity.
I didn’t want people to think that there was something nefarious about the brand so I shared what made me stop feeding the food and why I left the MLM behind.
Because I feed my dogs a raw food diet, I haven’t felt the need to update this post about Life’s Abundance because I don’t keep tabs on the company or follow the blog.
If anyone would like to learn more about Life’s Abundance, their products, and their MLM opportunity, it’s best to visit their website and speak with their representatives directly. I’m unable to provide any information beyond my experience that was more than four years ago.
I see that Kim didn’t reply. I also see that this was written in 2013 and that nothing about Life’s Abundance is written from anyone who has been feeding this solely to a dog (like my Sandie) who lived to be 15! And that TURKEY is available… you don’t HAVE to feed CHICKEN. Also NOW Bison is available! Life’s Abundance HAS NEVER had a RECALL. AND no one MAKES you sell their food. That is something a person CHOOSES to do. Kim is a great gal and a friend and has helped me one on one in regards to considering Raw and other dog questions over the years. She doesn’t have time to answer everything here but AN UPDATE is the least that can be done on this GREAT DOGFOOD! I don’t sell for them. I don’t sell any dog food. I do a combination of things. I will be adding sharing what I do on my own dog blog! Since my husband’s untimely death in 2016 and that of my 15 year old dog just 3 months after him, I haven’t done much but take care of my new rescue comfort dog and myself and family. Now with the fires here and so close, I will get to blogging when I can. Thank you Kim and thank you Life’s Abundance! Regards, Carolyn Mullin
Life’s Abundance is releasing new formulas with NO CHICKEN this fall!!!
Hi Cindy…
This is a blog about dogs; I’d recommend reaching out to cat bloggers. Two that I follow are Pawesomecats.com and Catcentric.org.
Hey – what about CATS???? I love dogs, but due to our lifestyle, there isn’t time for a best friend of the dog persuasion. We have cats, they fit how we live. Which MLM is best for cats????
My Maltese lived to be 17 – on Flint River for 13 then needed to be on a herpetic diet. Her allergies caused red skin, constant licking, and she went through a biting phase! The prescription dog food has corn as a main ingredient. Back to the allergies, I put her on children’s Claritin D and she stopped biting and her allergies went down to almost nothing. I would like a lamb, salmon or pork based dog food. I am picking up my new Maltese next week, responsible in home breeder and breeds for show or pets, 1 litter per year.
I have a comment for you as a representive for the company. the kennel I purchased my puppy from suggested your product. I went to the website to find out information about it and was greatly disappointed. First I wanted to see exactly what was listed in the products. All I saw was a generalization of ingredients. I tried to use the buttons to navigate thru the site and they did not work. Why have buttons on a website if they won’t lead you anywhere??! The website reflexes your company.
So my conclusions are I don’t want to feed my puppy something I can’t find answers to my question about the product. I would spend the $20 for a 5-6 lb bag a food but I refuse to spend $8.95 to deliver it to me. On the dog food advisor your product was only listed at 4 1/2 stars. There was a lot of others that had at least that rating. So I see that maybe that’s why you are not that customer friendly to the individual customer and that the company focus on the breeders and so called puppy mills as your customer base.
My new pup comes with a 10 year fitness guarantee if I feed him life abundance . I imagine that the breeder plans on making enough profit on the dog food that he can easily absorb a dog every once and awhile. Seems like another Amway or Mary Kay Marketing plan to me. Except for the health guarantee attached to the dog. I am having my attorney check into the guarantee that is really a pyramid marketing scheme for the breeder
Great news! Life’s Abundance now offers a canned Dog Food without Chicken!
I am a Rep and am having an amazing experience with them. Working at my own pace! Just wanted to share the good news 🙂
Hi Ling
If by “attitude” you’re referring to the blog post I wrote, I think you should take a second look. This post isn’t negative nor does it attack Life’s Abundance. I get a lot of questions about why I stopped selling LA and I wrote this post to explain that it was about my shortcomings with MLM businesses, not those of the company. I don’t believe that I’m “planting seeds of failures.” Instead, I’m simply explaining why I moved on so that people don’t think that it was because of something negative with LA.
If you wanted to learn a successful business, you need to ask the people who are doing well. Just like everything.. learning swimming from someone who knows, instead of someone who can’t swim. LOL.. this type of attitude is planting seeds of failures. This is just my 2 cents.
I am a la rep and I am a dog trainer so I build customers through that…i have not been pressured to reach out to breeders, although it is suggested as a great way…and I would agree..i have been with them for 7 years and love it, but I too wish they would add another protein option. Sorry that any one had a bad experience with customer service. Mine has always been great.
Good Morning Brenda
I market Life’s Abundance pet products through my Hungry Old Hound business. If you would like to know more about Life’s Abundance go to their website at http://www.lifesabundance.com. If you are interested it would be a genuine pleasure to have you as one of my reps. I do provide ongoing sells technique training via email at no extra cost. After looking at the LA website you have questions please do not hesitate to contact me.
Can you forward me some information on The Holistic Chow Hound. I am looking for a homebased pet food business. Thanks, Brenda
There is nothing negative about the title of this blog post. People have asked me why I don’t feed my dogs Life’s Abundance, so I wrote a post sharing 5 reasons I don’t feed my dogs Life’s Abundance. It is YOU who chose to see negativity and leave an unkind comment despite the fact that I say in this blog post that I’m not judging the brand; these reasons all had to do with my experience and lifestyle, not the brand’s shortcomings.
Before telling me that I should be more positive and promote what I love (which, by the way is what I do), please do me the courtesy of reading more than one blog post.
You misinterpreted a blog post title and reacted negatively and that was unkind and disrespectful. I’ve worked very hard on my blog and built a large following (over 5,000 unique visitors a month) and I am reaching dog lovers around the globe, inspiring them to learn more about dog nutrition by sharing my stories and supporting others who are sharing their experience. What’s amazing is how supportive the dog lover community truly can be; so it baffles me when I come across someone who can only tear others down. It’s truly sad.
Hey Kimberly…
Thank you for your response!
Actually I am quite the advocate for entrepreneurship. So it’s not a crime.
I have 30+ years of experience as an entrepreneur… and love others who are on that journey.
Just making the point you will attract more by being positive… and promoting only what you love.
By the way I did read most of the comments which “inspired” me to send my first message.
Your heading “The 5 reasons…. ” is not exactly positive.
Which sets the stage to attract the rest of the comments I read.
Wishing you continued success!
Kind regards!
Dear “Keeping it Real” – it seems to me that you didn’t read the blog post. Instead, you’re judging me for doing something that I didn’t do. I don’t have an issue with Life’s Abundance and this post doesn’t bash the company. I used to be a representative and then I stopped promoting it because my dog couldn’t eat it. People kept asking me why I stopped because they suspected that it had something negative to do with the company, but it was because my dog couldn’t eat the food and I’m a crappy sales person, something you would have picked up on if you had taken the time to read the blog post. And no, I don’t use their supplements. I no longer buy anything from Life’s Abundance. Not because of anything about the company; it’s because I’ve found other products that are a better fit for my dogs.
Making a purchasing choice is what people do every single day. Just because someone chooses Product A or Product B doesn’t mean that they hate Product B. And when did building a business become such a crime?
You’re welcomed to comment on this blog, I just ask that you give me the courtesy of actually reading before judging. And if you have questions about the choices I make, then please ask.
Would you boycott tomatoes, peanuts and strawberries as well as there are many humans that have allergic reactions to those also?
When people and animals have allergic reactions… it’s because of a sensitivity in them… not due to the foods that they’ve consumed.
Kimberly I’ve noticed you love to join in all the company bashing while you are being paid to affiliate market everything floating around this blog.
Now what were you saying about transparency?
You also neglected to put in your heading that you still were purchasing their pet supplements… haha!
The best way to be successful is by promoting what you love rather than bashing what you don’t… 😉
Dan – that is AWFUL and so scary. I wonder why they never got back to you. That’s insane. I’ve always been told that they’re very transparent and they will personally reach out to pet parents when there’s a problem. I guess not. I’m completely blown away and glad that your dog pulled through.
My dog almost Died on this food. This is a quality company run by passionate honest humble people. I’m not out to bad mouth but I will tell you what did happen:
I’m in the pet care business going on 17 years and I’m a public officer on the county animal board. My dog almost died eating this food. According to my veterinarian the food didn’t have a complete balance of nutrition. The owner of life’s abundance was sincere & kind and offered to do a scientific lab analysis to prove it was balanced nutrition but I never received the results. I’m in the business so I was provided a free bag to try and then replacement bag that I did not use. I was never offered a refund for my Veterinary treatment because of course there’s denial which is a natural thing for a business to do. The vet immediately gave my dog medicated nutrition and I could watch Life come back into her. I’m not the only one there’s others out there. This should be an honest well-balanced forum so Don’t even think about coming after me. I just remembered that this forum is not run by the owner of life’s abundance.
Sincerely, Dan Finkelstein
That’s too bad. I bet it was a digestive supplement. For some dogs, kibble is difficult for their system. For Rodrigo, it was all kibble. For Sydney, it was just certain brands. A digestive supplement might help, also, soaking kibble in bone broth would make it work too. It’s great that you called them, because it’s important that they know.
I tried LA a few years back. It gave my dog horrible gas. I called and was told that I could buy a supplement they had that would stop it. I told the rep that I shouldn’t have to feed a supplement, obviously the food disagreed with his system. Never bought another bag. My dog loved the food , but I couldn’t deal with the after effect.
I’m sorry that you had that experience, Lisa. I’ve found that LA’s customer service isn’t very focused on public relations. I’ve contacted them a few times for various reasons and the individuals I spoke with aren’t passionate about the company like some of the reps.
After about 13 years of happily feeding LA on autoship exclusively to my dogs, I stopped feeding it about a year ago. The reason was a stubborn diarrhea that just wouldn’t clear up. It had started not long after I had opened my latest bag of LA. There were many variables including a foster dog I had recently taken in so initially I was not associating it with Life’s Abundance at all. But after all 3 dogs were treated by my vet,had negative fecals and no stone unturned to try and figure out the source of the ongoing problem, I could not rule out the Life’s Abundance because their stools would clear up on the boiled chicken and rice etc etc and I would SLOWLY start to wean them back on the LA and the diarrhea would start again. After several cycles of doing this (this went on for MONTHS) I finally gave up and switched to a different kibble,Orijen. They have not had one bit of diarrhea since!
I had called my rep and explained the problem and asked if the formula had been changed and I got no information that anything had changed….. I didn’t get the feeling they particularly cared about my experience and when I finally called to stop my shipments for good, they just agreed to do so without asking me why or seeming to be at all concerned about why such a longstanding customer would terminate with them. I find this very odd!
Did anyone try to contact me over the last year to ask why I had ended my use of their food? NO!!!
That is why I am addressing my problem HERE instead of with them, as they have already shown me it is pointless and they really do not give a sh__. at all!
Just thought there may be others and they may need to know they were not the only one!
Thanks for hearing me out!
Lisa in Orlando
I think it’s sad that so many people read what you wrote and don’t get what you’re saying. I too am an LA rep, more recent and was impressed first by some of the people supplements. Not only am I a holistic coach, but I am an allergy sufferer, and have a dog who has suffered from allergies. My little doxie mix did the same paw licking with rabbit in a raw food we were using. We rotate our proteins, so that means we do rotate in and out of the kibble. The great thing about having the kibble in rotation is that we travel several times a year and I don’t really trust a boarding facility to get the raw food right. The kibble makes it easy for a week, and because it’s in rotation he doesn’t have a big change to deal with. Allergies are so important for people to know about because a lot of people don’t realize that dogs often suffer with them. I see a lot of labs that have the UTI’s and in truth diet and/or food allergies can be a big contributor to chronic UTIs for these dogs. So thank you again for posting this, Kimberly. I hope that someone reads this and connects some of what’s been happening to their dog with allergies and consider their food.
Who exactly would be paying them to post this article? You’re off your rocker. Obviously they are explaining to their current readers why they chose not to use a product anymore. Not sure what you read, but it doesn’t seem like you read this at all.
The better business bureau ratings actually don’t really mean anything. Do a little research and you’ll find it’s actually rather useless in protecting any consumer or preventing anything. They dont do much & their ratings don’t ever mean that the company rated is reputable or that they are safe to buy from. All it indicates is that they follow a small amount of rules that the BBB put in place, which aren’t things that really change the quality of any product or company.
Also, I thought I might mention that just because a product has never had a recall, does not by any means lead to a conclusion that it is inherently safe. It just means people don’t know if it’s causing anything yet.
I’m not saying anything about LA or their food, I’m just trying to explain that those two reasons are not reasons to trust anything & that you have no right coming here and leaving angry comments on a post you obviously didn’t read or fully understand. You can see from the very first part of this blog post that the writer is explaining they have no issue with the food & they explained why, and it had nothing to do with quality. You should probably learn how to read something before getting angry about what you *think* it says. Assumptions do nothing but make you look ignorant. It’s better for everyone involved if you don’t make them, and instead try to read & comprehend things before thinking about it or forming an opinion.
I do both. I buy 99% of my raw through a local raw food co-op and they offer meat from local farms and we get deals by buying in bulk from brands.
The raw that I make myself is turkey, venison, rabbit, and duck. Brands that I buy are Darwin’s Pet, GreenTripe.com, Vital Essentials, Primal Pets, and NW Naturals, Answers.com, K9 Naturals, and Steve’s Real Raw.
Are you making your own raw food to feed your dogs?
Or, do you have a company that you like that you buy from?
Hello Kristen,
as an avid researcher I do follow their company quite closely, as I do like What Doctor Jane Bicks is about. They do have grant programs that help rescues and shelters. Plus, they now have fundraising opportunities to help the rescues with their food products to make money; so you no longer have to just talk to breeders. I do know of a kitty rescue who has now secured over $1,900 a month from her adopters that feed the LA. They know that they are donating to the rescue every month by feeding the food. So, I wanted to offer that other perspective to know there are other avenues as well.
Would you say that their is something wrong with all of the other brands? it could simply be that they are looking for variety. as there is a multiple protein source. As the grain (Rice Grain) formula has Chicken and Salon. It’s entirely possible they want other proteins. The grain free (potato based) has Duck, Whitefish, and salmon. There are many quality food that have similar ingredients. Does that make them bad as well? Actually, the manufacturing plant in Ohio offers free tours. You can see how clean it is. The facility closes on the weekends and cleans ALL machinery.
Susanne,
Life’s Abundance has not changed their formula since they started in 1996. However, if you have concerns; I would contact your rep. and they can have you talk with Doctor Jane Bicks. She is their formulator, Vet and Nutritional Scientist who has put a lot of thought, complete nutrition into the products. Also, my only concern with other “quality brands” are the lack of freshness. As a nutritional researcher myself. I have discovered that it take an average of 8 months from the time the food is made until it reaches your pets bowl. I do know that with Life’s Abundance they make their food every 6 weeks. It’s is also the ONLY brand that can offer and gaurentee 5 live probiotics and prebiotics. This is due to their cooking process being longer and lower tempatures. I can also tell you that everything is made right here in America. if you have further questions I would be glad to discuss. Please fee free to e-mail me @ JoshsAfghans@gmail.com
I’m not affiliated with Life’s Abundance. You’ll have to visit their site for samples: lifesabundance.com
Can I get a free sample the rep didn’t,t return call thanks
I don’t have any experience with solid gold.
What are your thoughts on solid gold?
Exactly! It’s a great food. It’s funny that people come to this post assuming that they’re going to read something bad about the food. I have nothing negative to say – I simply think that they need more protein options. I think as the company grows, that might happen. I did have one negative experience, but it wasn’t related to LA, it was related to another LA rep. Otherwise, I think it’s a great food and would feed it to my cats if I could ever get around the autoship. I still order the Bath Fresh Mist. OMG it smells so good. I bought 8 of them last year that I have stocked up to use. It’s great for rainy days and wet dog smell.
Thanks kim. You said what I think about LA. I had a cat with mega-esophagus which is when the swallowing doesn’t happen. I received my product and started feeding my 7 cats the food within 3 weeks Yoda was able to swallow his food. I didn’t have to shake him anymore. It was crazy to think that LA could help his situation. All of my cats coats were clean and soft and very shiny. My vet told me that Yoda would maybe live another few months to maybe a year. He was 4 then
He lived to be 12 years old. He died due to complications of pneumonia.
I stand by the food. Does help to align the stomach with the rest of the body. They say healthy gut healthy body. I know some may have issues with chicken and I do agree they get something besides chicken.
I have lots of clients that get LA. They stand by it.
Yeah, that’s part of the problem I see is that it’s chicken (one does have Turkey). I had a alaskan malamute that had issues with chicken. Ever since I’ve stayed away from it. Although I’m pretty sure my dogs now don’t have issues with it, and am starting with some raw chicken in their diet. So we are not fully kibble, nor fully raw.
LOL – welcome back! I think Life’s Abundance is a good food. The only criticism I have is that they only have a chicken recipe. I can list other ingredients that I’d prefer not to be in the food, but overall, it’s a good food and a great business opportunity. Because it’s an MLM, the company offers a way for people to offset the cost and make a little extra cash if they’re good at selling/promoting.
I keep having people ask me about Life’s Abundance dog food and if I’d recommend it. I’ve seen many people recommend it (many breeders), but never understood why. I started researching and came across your site in searches. Funny how I keep coming back to your website for information.
The problem is not you or some innate inability to sell; you were not passionate about LA. If you have no reason to be brand loyal other than the promise of a paycheck then you can not tell anyone why they should use it.
Now, you may have to put some effort into looking at a product line ; you can’t know what a product might do if you don’t use it. The motivation to try something can only come from someone YOU respect. It doesn’t mean you need to have known them for a while either.
I guess my advice is this: make it a goal , get serious about it, don’t put it off until it’s too late and make sure it’s something you love.
I find MLM isn’t for me either but MLM is not how every home based business operates. Don’t write them all off and don’t stereo type. Lifestyle and marriage status are a slippery slope these days . Half will be divorced. Women with children who are suddenly on their own find companies are not flexible anymore. Sick children and other things that get in the way leave most women sliding down faster than the stock market. I think every woman ought to be trying to find and building a good home based business. Just don’t get caught up in labels like MLM, Network marketing, sales …. We all tell people what we like and we all “network” for pleasure. Saying you aren’t good at or not interested in something because you assume it’s xy or z may be a big mistake.
I agree! What’s more important however is whether you are genuinely impressed with something. In addition , do you enjoy helping people? If you love a product , if it has made your life somehow better/easier etc, then why wouldn’t you introduce someone to it? That is sales however Jim is right; there are tried and true principles and if it’s a career you should get some training .
I have one for you – I’ve been very happy with the products for 25 years. I wouldn’t use anything else.
You do have a point, but your original comment was rude and I’m sure you can agree with that if you take a moment to read it again. In your comment, you made a lot of accusations about a person you don’t know. If you had taken the time to read the entire post, you would have seen that I stated twice that I think Life’s Abundance is a good food. Everyone that has a problem with this post makes the same mistake – they don’t read the post, they simply assume (maybe because of the title, I don’t know) that it’s a post attacking the brand and then they leave a rude comment.
That has nothing to do with my writing, it has something to do with the people leaving the comment. If my intention isn’t to attack a brand and that’s stated clearly in the post, then I don’t believe I’m responsible for the choice someone makes to leave a rude comment.
I’ve never heard of the term SEO Fluffer. I’ll have to look that one up. Are you saying this based on one post or have you read more of my content? My blog is nearly four years old and has a great following. I enjoy sharing my experiences feeding my dogs.
Thanks for the conversation and have a nice weekend.
Im not a rep yet. I’m researching the company to see if it’s a good fit. I don’t have any reason to be offended by your blog other than as a potential future reader. I saw an affiliate link tag and a dog with a stop sign. It was a long post, and I shared what I got out of it. Instead of getting defensive maybe look at your own writing and figure out why so many people thought the same thing. I’m not trying to be rude, I’m calling you out as resembling an SEO Fluffer that writes tons of articles to bash one brand to pump up their competitor. As a programmer and lover of the Internet I get irked when I see internet clutter. I realize now that’s not the case.
I’m just as confused, because the post is very clear and I state in it that I have no issues with Life’s Abundance products. I truly don’t understand how anyone can see this post as blowing out Life’s Abundance candles nor do I understand why you would think I would attack a reputable simply to make money. I don’t know who would be interested in paying me for something like that.
So I guess we’re both confused this evening. I’m not sure why Life’s Abundance reps are so rude to me when I’ve done nothing but say nice things about the food.
OHHHHHH! that makes sense. I was SO confused.
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. The reason I wrote this post is because people would ask me why I no longer sell Life’s Abundance and these are my honest reasons. I didn’t want people thinking there was anything wrong with the Life’s Abundance brand – the business didn’t work with my lifestyle and because one of our dogs is allergic to chicken, it didn’t make a lot of sense for me to promote a food that I wasn’t feeding to my dogs. That didn’t go over well with new prospects.
I’m not sure where in this post you read that I was attacking a great brand. Dr. Jane is an amazing veterinarian who has formulated a food that is superior than many brands on store shelves and I continue promoting it to people – if you search my site, you’ll see several posts where I recommend Life’s Abundance food and their MLM business to people.
For your reference, here are the posts:
https://keepthetailwagging.com/the-truth-about-lifes-abundance-premium-health-food/
https://keepthetailwagging.com/quality-kibble-that-im-excited-about-and-why/
https://keepthetailwagging.com/more-home-based-pet-related-businesses-for-dog-lovers/
This is a very strange post. I mean, your dog being allergic to chicken? what does that have to do with this food? My dog has been licking his paws too, continuously since he was born and I’ve had him on pure duck, pure fish, pure buffalo, pure chicken, pure beef, pure venison, I’ve even made his food with a variety of different proteins under the supervision of a fancy dog nutritionist from New York. And just because you couldn’t get in rhythm with your auto send schedule? Again, the ball is in your court on that one. What does breeder leads have to do with this at all? anyway, every other reputable blogger loves the food and Dogfoodadvisor.com gives it a 4.5 out of 5
I’m doing research to make sure I got in with a good company and I feel offended that you’d waste my time with this clearly paid for unhelpful blog post. Seems like you’re just blowing out LA’s candle to make your paid blog burn brighter. well, here’s a hit for your analytics. Though I kinda wish I could take it back. #internetfluff
I write primarily about dog nutrition although I do have a couple posts about what I feed our cats. Dry food isn’t for cats, because they need a lot of moisture in their diet and dry food sucks it away from their organs in order for their digestive system to break it down and process it. Our cats do get Petcurean NOW dry food, but it’s minimally. Their diet is mainly canned food from Weruva and Stella & Chewy’s freeze dried raw. Ideally, they should eat a raw diet based on the Prey Model of raw feeding, but our cats weren’t interested in raw and after four days of trying, I gave up.
Here’s a post about cat nutrition that a fellow blogger wrote for me: https://www.keepthetailwagging.com/guide-to-feeding-cats-a-raw-food-diet-by-meow-lifestyle/
Here are a couple posts I wrote about our cats’ diet: https://www.keepthetailwagging.com/how-i-transitioned-my-cats-to-raw-in-minutes/
https://www.keepthetailwagging.com/why-not-all-canned-cat-foods-are-created-equal/
Hi,
I’m a newbie to blogs and think I’ve gotten lost! Trying to find cat nutrition information. Do you still do that and if yes, can you tell me how to get back there? One thing I’m curious about, is that everything I’ve learned so far points to how detrimental kibble, no matter the quality, is to cats and I believe dogs. Thoughts?
It’s great to “meet” another raw feeder. I didn’t know about the importance of rotating proteins until I started feeding raw. I alternate every 5 days – this week, our dogs are eating duck. Then 2 meals of green tripe, then they’ll be eating turkey.
We have 2 dogs who had arthritis and one is completely fine (vet at the time mentioned amputation) and his sister had a partial cruciate tear last year that is fine now although when she over does it, it can bother her.
I love raw!
I know for a fact that you should rotate the protein at least monthly. If life’s abundance only offers chicken, then you may need to alternate your food brand, so your dog doesn’t keep eating the same thing. Personally, I feed a raw diet and my dogs have no allergies, no arthritis and are never sick. But I alternate the proteins weekly.
What I love about Life’s Abundance is that it’s consistently provided a good product and I love the fact that they’ve had no recalls. I think the people who have been most negative about LA are people who don’t like multi-level marketing companies. I had one negative experience with LA as a rep, but it was due to another rep, not because of the brand.
Very informative. I would like to add that 2 years ago, I was using popular dog food brands. But when I found out what it does to my dog’s health, I searched for natural dog food alternatives. When I switched to this great product.
I’ll email you my phone number or you can head over to my contact page – my number is there too.
I’m interested in hearing about your experience. I have been tapped by a rep and need some honesty before making the decision. <3
Very true. I learned recently that one of our dogs chewed and bit her nails, because of anxiety. So I started spending more one on one time with her and the behavior stopped.
My American Eskimo pup was a fur licker as a pup and would take out patches of fur on her legs on our way to dog shows. I had the vet muscle test her for any sensitivities (very few dogs have allergies to food) and the Life’s Abundance products all tested fine for her. What we did find though was that whenever she had a chiropractic adjustment, all licking stopped…so it was an energy flow issue. This could have been caused by her pulling on the leash attached to a collar on her neck as we were going around the ring in conformation. Since then, I have used a front clip harness. We pet parents are conditioned to switch foods and treats when licking starts…however, it may be a different cause so keep an open mind and explore your options.
I’m a huge fan fan of Life’s Abundance and it got another mention on my post “Quality Kibble that I’m Excited About and Why.” Having emailed back and forth with Dr. Jane a few times had me convinced that this is a top brand.
I have been using Life’s Abundance since 2002 with no issues. Dr. Jane does reveal her sources of ingredients. She changes her ingredients as science proves them to be safe and effective for her formulations. The best source for this information is from Life’s Abundance and Dr. Jane herself.
I appreciate the integrity of this blogger and her decision to feed raw food which takes so much dedication to do.
Hi Kim
You make such a great point about where a brand sources their ingredients, including the vitamins and supplements they put into the food. One thing I respect about Dr. Jane is that she’s so hands on in the formulation of their food and really gives everything a lot of thought and does a lot of research.
Life’s Abundance is an amazing brand.
HI A few months ago some recalls came out about products made by other companies that claimed they were US but the sourced ingredients were not. I checked with LA and they said that theirs were sourced in the US. I am a rep and am always learning. Dr Jane who is the formulator said she gets her via C from Germany as it was the best she could find that would be absorbed and actually used by the pets. She uses Diamond yeast which is one of the best she could find and is always on the look out for better ingredients. That is one reason she switched to tomato pumice and is looking for a new protein source besides chicken but getting the amount she needs and keeping the quality and integrity is proving to be a bit of a problem but hopefully one will soon be found. We are getting ready to offer a grain free due public demand but every time something is changed it is tested and retested many times to make sure it will benefit the pets not just make the owner happy because they feel they need to be feeding the new marketing hype. As with everything in life not one size or product fits all.
I’m not giving advice, I’m sharing what I’m learning about our dogs. I find it fascinating how our (both dogs and humans) health is so closely tied to our digestive system and the food we eat and so I write about it.
From the tone of your comment, it seems that you may think that the post you commented on is a negative post about Life’s Abundance. I think it’s a great product and recommended it often when people ask what kibble brands I endorse. The reason for this post is to explain to people why I stopped feeding our dogs the food; many people gained the impression that something was wrong with the brand or the company, but it was because of our dog who has a chicken intolerance and a few things I was struggling with when I was building a business as a Life Abundance rep. I’m still a customer. Although I don’t buy their food, I do buy their grooming products and have a recurring order for the Bath Fresh Mist, which is the best product on the market.
Thank you for stopping by and allowing me to explain the purpose of my blog.
~ Kimberly
We have 3 very healthy, very active dogs, all fed Life’s Abundance for years. If you aren’t a vet, nor a nutritionist, how do you feel it’s OK for you to be giving nutrition advice?
Thanks for the tip!
Oh, I must have misunderstood you! Thanks for clarifying. Also, if you want to find great dog foods, (amongst other things like dog beds) I recommend going to http://exoticonlinepetstore.com. I have been referencing them for a while now and they’re great. They share healthy, dog friendly foods and such. Check it out if you need to or share it with someone you know who may need it!
Oh no. Life’s Abundance is a great food for dogs. I thought I made that clear in this post and I apologize if I lead you to believe any differently. I initially stopped feeding it, because our dog, Rodrigo, has a chicken intolerance and LA only makes a chicken recipe.
I didn’t even know about Life’s Abundance, but I’m glad that I know now, (and to avoid it!). Your dogs are absolutely precious, by the way. This is a great, informative post, and I appreciate having newfound knowledge so that I don’t use it in the future. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. It’s unclear why you’re so angry in your response. Kristen simply said that she wasn’t comfortable marketing to breeders; she didn’t list why or levy any judgements. At the time I was a rep for Life’s Abundance, I was struggling with the breeder/rescue dynamic and felt that I would be a hypocrite if I was marketing breeders, but didn’t support the business. That was nearly 3 years ago and I’ve learned a lot about both dog rescue and dog breeding since then. This post is simply explaining to people why I stopped promoting Life’s Abundance; it’s an email I get a lot and many people think there’s a story behind me quitting, and this post simply explains what was happening with me at that time and lead to my choice to no longer work with Life’s Abundance (although I still buy the Bath Fresh Mist). The purpose of this post is to show people that it was nothing that the company was or wasn’t doing; it was my choice.
I’m not sure how much time you’ve spent on my blog, but most of the posts I’ve written this past year, after transitioning to writing solely about raw feeding and dog nutrition, have recommended Life’s Abundance for my readers who are interested in quality kibble.
Although I do appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment, I ask that your responses to other readers are respectful. I’m sure you would want someone to show you respect when sharing their point of view.
Thank you.
Full disclosure: I am a Life’s abundance rep and I am one of your much maligned breeders. I purchase other foods for certain life stages including reproduction and nursing.
I get so tired of the blanket anti-breeder rap. What do you guys think a breeder actually is? some non-human entity?
I raise a large breed of dog that is considered a minority breed. That is to say; I am perpetuating an artisanal breed that will be lost forever if DEDICATED breeders do not maintain our small population. My lines do very well on Life’s Abundance as well as certain other high quality kibbles.
Now first question on allergies: Which first, second and third degree relatives of your dog also had allergy problems? You mean to say you haven’t you met your dog’s parents, siblings, and cousins in person or at the very least seen them listed on paper? Come to my house to buy a puppy and I can tell you that in my line only the silver sable dogs have given evidence of allergic skin reactions in the last 7-8 generations. We maintain contact with pet buyers and include their information as well, not just dogs that have achieved their conformation, agility, obedience and field titles. We also maintain contact with my mentor and other breeders across the country.
I am a former member of the board of directors of my parent breed club. In that role I was the liason with our Breed Health Committee that establishes recommended health screening tests for all our breeder members to utilise in our breeding programs and Code of Ethics. We basically select against food allergies along with extensive repeated health testing for a number of known heritable diseases. Buying a WELL BRED dog from a REPUTABLE breeder will greatly reduce your chances of your own wonderful pet inheriting these weaknesses.
If you go to your human doc with allergies the first thing they ask is: “Who in your family has allergies, asthma, etc.?” It is the same with dogs. Why are you trashing the only group of persons that can help reduce your chances of ending up with a unhappy pet made miserable by allergies?
The hybrid vigor theory of mutts just doesn’t hold up anymore. If you acquire a puppy with 2 or 3 or 4 breeds behind it then it has inherited possible health issues from each breed instead of the known issues a single breed carries. If you only figure 3 or 4(but it could be 5 or 12) problems in each breed and multiply it by the number of breeds example: 3 breeds times 4 problems equals 12(more likely 20-30 possibilities). Now your vet has to guess between which of these problems this pup might be experiencing. If you bought from a reputable breeder you can call them up and tell them the symptoms and ask what is known in the lines. Not just in the breed but in their specific lines. Take your dogs family history to the vet and voila, vet can diagnose quicker and much more cheaply with less diagnostic tests. A good dog breeder is your ally and support in times of need and emergency. And no, they will not advertise constantly on the internet and ship a puppy within 3 weeks across the country. You will have to seek them out, they will ask for your references and require you to sign a contract. I often tell people who want 2 pets to rescue a second pet from their local humane society and give advice on appropriate personalities to mesh well with their resident dog. I am not likely to always have a puppy available at the moment you desire one. I will refer you to another reputable breeder.
I have a BS degree in Animal Science, I compete in conformation and performance events with my dogs, I groomed dogs to put myself through college and then on the side for 25 years. I have 5 generations of dual titled dogs. I do not make a living breeding dogs, in fact puppy sales never come close to my expenses. It is a hobby. I have a full time job as do many but not all real dog breeders.
I AM A DOG BREEDER.
I am not alone. There are many dog breeders with similar credentials. Folks that have dedicated their life to breeding better dogs. You want your hair stylist, your doctor and car mechanic to all be very good in their field, not just average. Then simply demand the same from the dog breeder you choose to work with. It is not a single transaction but a commitment for the life of your dog. Real dog breeders make that commitment to every pup they raise. If you cut corners when you buy a pup then you increase your risk of being disappointed. I am not talking about price here, but quality. If you don’t spend the initial time and money working with an excellent breeder then you are more likely to spend that exact same time and a lot more money with your veterinarian. Anybody can breed two dogs together but that does not make them a real dog breeder. If your puppy purchase is lazy and spontaneous then you can hope for the best but please expect the worst. We are talking $3000 or $7000 or higher vet bills in some cases.
And I agree raw and home cooked foods have their advantages but I find most people are going to end up relying on kibble so good recommendations are in order.
Hi I been feeding my kitties life abundance for 3 years, my only concern is my new order I compared the ingredients and they are new ingredients added like dried tomato pomace I am concerned why the ingredient been change and if life abundance keep changing the ingredients they will loose a lot of costumers,I am concerned I was reading reviews about people loosing their pets due to changes in ingredients, I love life abundance so much it is one of the best food but please do not change the ingredients, as for costumer service they are helpfull polite they even sent me a free case of can food I am greateful for dr jane hope you can help and help keep animals safe and well, thank you so much.
We adopted an American Bulldog senior girl (homeless due to divorce of her pet parents, but in foster home with a humane society volunteer) with what I would call blighted front paws: webbing that was swollen, infected (staph)and bleeding and so sore she could hardly walk. I almost felt like I could not bring her home as I had never encountered such a thing, and had no idea how to tackle it. But that thought lasted 15 seconds. We were told that she had grain and grass allergies–she was on allergy pills and grain free, but I’m unclear why she still had this issue. (And I could see from past vet records her history).
I committed to feeding her grain-free, and both my husband truly thought we would have her about 6 months before putting her in the ground. We would simply love her, keep her comfortable for that time.
Until we got Angel, I never gave pet nutrition much thought, as my dogs did ‘seemingly’ well on what I was feeding them. After doing much research (and I had bumped into your wonderful site a few times in my research), I switched them to a homemade diet. I started out full RAW, but I’ve since changed our formulation a bit.
There are four dogs (2 English Setters (F), an American Bulldog (F), and a Pitbull (M)). The 3 girls are senior, the pitbull is a young male–he livened things up in our home. All are rescue dogs, the pitbull, rescued from being dumped on a country road. They are doing very, very well on it. I grind my bone-in meat (and muscle meat) along with a variety of vegetables due to both convenience and necessity (1 dog who would refuse, 1 dog who would choke due to muzzle mechanics, 1 dog who gulped).
Angel’s paws are restored now to good health, she no longer smells like an old sponge and her energy level is quite good (once she gets moving!). Rather than having to dig a hole and bury her at this time, we are enjoying seeing her revitalized. She loves her new feeding regimen so much, that she is an alarm clock reminding of feeding time. She is also underfoot, and she is a big girl to be such an eager kitchen helper when the Weston gets going….hoping that gravity will reward her with something. I’m hoping to not trip and fall on her and hurt myself.
I have introduced carbs (and I realize that this is not BARF, and I am not trying to argue one way or the other). However, I currently share Dr. Pitcairn’s view of meat contamination, and using carbs to offset exposure. I concur with Pitcairn and Strombeck (from scatalogical evidential matter) that there is far greater wholesomeness and digestibility of carbs we would prepare v. what is in kibble. We go through 5lbs of food per day with our crew, so buying organic meat is not feasible. With the careful introduction of carbs, I have noticed NO difference in scat formation or quality. That surprised me, and it it tells me that they are digesting it well. (Though other’s mileage and preference may vary, and I respect that). Further, I’m watching Angel due to ‘grain allergies’, and am noticing no untoward effects. If I do, I will modify her back to no carbs.
I also say ‘current’ thinking above, because as I research and apply these methods, my understanding evolves.
So the reason for my long-winded post is that I suspect that Angel’s was reactions were to something in the food, though it was grain free. She was our catalyst to feed differently, and that her symptoms completely abated, I no longer believe she even had a grass allergy (which I think was the fall back issue when grain-free was introduced, but her symptoms continued).
I appreciate that you have posted your ‘stuff’ on your website. It has been a source of inspiration for me!
No worries about the URL. I’m still researching how to make that feature optional.
One of the reasons I stopped buying dog treats from the store is because of the inability to tell where the ingredients were sourced. Finding healthy food has been such a task that I now only give our dogs treats from a handful of brands whom I trust. It’s nuts how complicated it’s all gotten.
Sorry for the website info. I don’t have one and it wouldn’t let me bypass it.
I have been researching LA for a while but what I have NOT been able to find out is where the ingredients are sourced from. Any food can claim they are made in the US but they can source the ingredients from other countries. There is a big name one that gets their rabbit from China but it takes a while to find that out!
It has good ratings but now that I have rad your blog posts, I see a different side than what I have been able to find.
Thanks for this! I have been involved in animal nutrition for several years.
I think it’s awesome that you did your homework. I feel like that’s the step that became a slippery slope for me, because it’s not easy understanding dog nutrition. What I like most about LA is that Dr. Jane is so open to answering questions. Even though I no longer feed or sell their products, she’s taken the time to help me with blog posts, because I still think it’s a great option for dogs.
Saw your comment about the Halo mailing list – love the coupons! And I think Ellen is part owner.
I forgot to say that I joined the halo mailing list. I will start looking into this product and I saw that Ellen recommends it.
Thanks for replying. 😀 He had kidney failure before I started him on LA. We don’t know if it was something brewing in his system but it happened immediately after he was neutered. I think his kibble was IAMs. While he was in the hospital, I started to research why he might have had kidney failure and at the time, there was a big recall of food made in china. He has been doing great for the past 7 years. I agree raw is the best. btw, I love how honest your blog is! I can rest my mind again at least for a little while till I start worrying again lol.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I had trouble following the timeline; did your dog have kidney failure before you switched him to Life’s Abundance?
LA food is one of a few that I recommend to readers when they ask. I will always believe that home cooked and raw food diets are superior to kibble, but it’s not realistic for everyone to make this change. Kibble is simply convenient and it does provide a balance diet for dogs. I just wish more brands had the reputation and interest in providing a quality product for pets.
My Rottie, started LA about 7 years ago after he was neuterd and for an unknown reason he had kidney failure. Not sure if it was related to the big recall of gluten products at the time. (Which he fully recovered – a miracle according to my vet at the time.) When we first came home, and for approximately 6 months I cooked for him and gave him supplements. As this was not practical for me, I searched for a product that was made in the US and was highly recommended on dog blogs, and had no gluten. My long winded point, sorry, I have 2 Rottweiler’s now, one is a rescue and 1 Papillon. I do hate the idea that they only have one flavor but my dogs will not eat any other kibble. Especially the older one who is very picky about his food – he doesn’t like ground beef – never heard of a dog not liking beef. He has been doing great on the food, has never had a relapse regarding his kidneys. I do mess up the auto-shipping – and it’s a big problem because of the fact that he refuses other kibble and I have to cook for him. Ok, what I am saying is this food is loved by my dogs and my cats and I have had no problems with it. I have never heard of Halo – maybe when I run short I will try it out.
That’s terrible. Of you haven’t already, I suggest you contact LA and send them screen shots of his claims. If a dog gets sick because the owner made choices based on his advice, I wonder if LA would be liable.
It does appear LA is a reputable pet food. I choose not to feed it because the rep in my area represents himself dishonestly. He claims to be an animal and human clinical nutritionist for over 40 years. He also claims a PHD. I know that these claims are definitely false. Knowing this about the rep causes me to doubt the entire company. They should “vet” their reps. and what their reps are claiming since the reps are “representing” them.
Susanne – I’m no longer a rep for LA and I don’t know if anyone from that company reads my blog. Your best bet is to speak with them (as you did) and if you feel that the food is the cause, I’d suggest talk to your vet about the best alternative. Your dog might need to be on someone prescribed while he recovers. Best of luck and hugs to your dog.
I post only to try to let LA know that there could be a problem with their supplier. I actually had positive experiences dealing with their customer service and have even talked with the Doctor. Sadly is not always easy to control suppliers.So I am alerting you to this, in case their is a problem with the formula before there is a serious problem. Could you guys check into this?
Hi this is Susanne who posted last year. Well now my dog is having liver problems and all she has been on has been LA. I even ordered wet cans I have not opened. I am not saying for sure that it is the food but I would like to know if the formula has changed or even worse the supplier. Please LA tell me if anything had changed. I am trying to figure out how this happened. I am so careful what I give her. Also we may need info on how I can return these cans, because I am not sure I want to feed her LA anymore
I am a Life’s Abundance independent rep. I do have a question for several of you. How many books, tapes seminars have you read, listened to or attended on sales techniques? Sales is a process. Jump a step in the process and you will not be successful. I have spent many years selling and teaching others to sell. If you would like to take another run at Life’s Abundance keep an eye out for The Holistic Chow Hound. I have been very successful selling product and I have only one rep I have signed up.
Sorry to read such a hateful comment from Karen. I thought this was a great post!
Good evening, Karen
Please return to my blog and read the post again. I didn’t bash the company in any way. I get emails monthly from people who want to understand why I stopped being a rep so I wrote up this post. I’m connected with two reps on Facebook and when people want to connect with a rep, I send them their way, helping them build their down line.
Although I don’t rep for Life’s Abundance, when my readers ask me about quality kibble, LA has always been on the top of my list and I direct them to one of my friends who reps for the product. I’ve even since communicated with Dr. Jane to direct questions that have come to me about the food just to make sure I don’t misrepresent the company; she’s been generous with her time.
I’ve never said that they created a bad food, I’ve never said that it’s a bad company. What I said was simply that our dog couldn’t eat the food and I didn’t feel right about promoting it when I wasn’t feeding it. I was encouraged by more experienced reps to build my downline through breeders, but at the time, I was still struggling with the breeder v rescue saga, and that I suck as a sales person. I truly sucked.
If you would like to comment on my blog, I ask that you do so with kindness. You have a right to your opinions, but I ask that you ask me about my experience instead of attacking my character. I have no issue with Life’s Abundance and can direct you to two reps whom I’m helping build their downline with referrals and their FB presence, because I believe in seeing pet businesses who create quality products succeeds.
Just because the food and business didn’t work for me doesn’t mean it won’t work for others.
And, FYI, I’m also a customer of Life’s Abundance. I have an auto ship of the Bath Fresh Mist.
Hi, I have been feeding my dogs Life’s Abundance for the past six years and have never had an issue with it. As a matter of fact my dog’s skin and coats improved after only a few weeks and their constant diarrhea issues from their previous store brand dog food was completely eliminated. I love the auto- ship option and I have never run out of LA in the entire six years that they have been on it. UPS delivers right to my front door, how easy is that? No more having to lug a 40 lb bag of dog food from the store to the car, then the car to the house! My dogs get excited when the box arrives and can’t wait for me to open it.
Also, my cat was having severe allergy issues to the point that she had open sores and scabs all over her body. I switched her to LA dry cat food and not only did she love the food, but all of her sores cleared up by my feeding her solely LA.
I’m a rep with no Downline, my choice. I don’t force LA on anyone and I don’t go out actively seeking clients. I have never been pushed by the company to do more!
I’m sorry your dog is allergic to chicken or was or for whatever reason couldn’t eat LA, I never tell anyone that it’s right for every dog or cat. I just tell them my experience with it. But, for you to bash LA in your blog isn’t right just because it wasn’t right for you. Life’s Abundance is a reputable company with an A+ rating with the BBB and none of its’ food have ever been recalled. I will be surprised if you post this, but if you truly aren’t biased you will.
Thank you.
Once we switched to raw (and the occasional home cooked) we haven’t had any further experience with food allergies. What’s funny is that our dogs eat mostly chicken. They love it and they’re doing great on it.
Dogs and cats may be allergic to processed (especially kibble of which all but two made in the US use “meal,” most are “rendered” and most are “extruded” not baked) chicken but not necessarily REAL chicken. I have a cat who got a granuloma response to kibble chicken but can eat it from cans or from my kitchen or raw/freeze-dried. No steroids; no antibiotics – poof gone.
FYI – I own a small, holistic pet supply shop so I spend a lot of time researching and my cats, dog and bird try almost all my products first. That being said – my animals are primarily home cooked and no longer eat kibble.
I’m so sorry, Jackie – that sounds very frustrating.
We feed our cats Nutro Natural Choice (http://tinyurl.com/kurssvx) – they love it and it’s been a great food for them. I’m sure others may disagree, but I won’t be changing it. We feed them soft food by Nutro Max Cat, because the Natural Choice canned food is too rich for them (http://tinyurl.com/os3exla).
Hi Angie – thanks so much for stopping by; it’s nice to hear from someone who had the same experience. At the time when I researched it, I couldn’t find any information tying Rodrigo’s itchy paws to the food and Sydney wasn’t licking her paws like crazy so I didn’t know what was happening.
The biggest lesson I learned from being a Life’s Abundance rep was to do my homework before signing up. When it was all done, I was out nearly $1000 and had 1 steady customer. I had no idea what I was doing and I had to get out and start educating myself about dog nutrition.
Thanks for the link; I’ll check it out.
I have been feeding my dog’s Life Abundance and about 4 months ago one of my dogs started licking her paw until it formed what was diagnosed “lick granuloma”. Now I have a 2nd Mini Aussie that is doing the same thing. Thank goodness I had started to question L.A. dog food and had already started researching what should be in our dog’s food per government standard’s and what canine nutrition scientist are saying. I also unfortunately signed up for their rep program which was a mistake. My extensive review of this dog food and others on the market find L.A. dog food only adequate. I was surprised how many other dog foods on the market were superior to L.A. at the same price. L.A. is NOT cheap. I am so glad I did not encourage a lot of people to use this food. Getting paid to promote a dog food is not a good reason to promote it. it has to be on it merit of quality and L.A. fails there in my opinion. As recommended by the National Academies of Science and even Cesar Millan I now use a rotational diet system with my dogs including a raw diet. I rotate two superior organic dog foods ( one with and one without grain) and one raw dog food. Plus supplementing with Omega N-3 and N-6. Once off the L.A. the obsessive licking stopped. Here is an excellent link to NRA “Science Based Guide to nutritional needs for dogs; summary.
I’m glad that I could help, Kristen! It’s always great to have an open mind, because what works for one person may not work for another. My personal experience with Life’s Abundance isn’t something that I expect everyone to experience and I’m thankful that I at least gave it a try, because I know now what works for me and what doesn’t.
Best of luck!!!
Hi, Kimberly!
I’m really glad I ran across this post! A LA rep has been persistent with me for about a year, now, and since her Web site has SO much information, and I have SO little time, I haven’t given the research the attention it deserves. I have so many thoughts about this swimming around in my head, and it is great to read your opinion on this.
I agree that every dog is different, as is every sales rep and every customer service rep. It’s not a one-size-fits-all formula.
Before reading this post and the comments, my opinion was that the ingredients looked good, and I liked the fact that everything is made in the U.S. and that they have not had a recall. I want to do more research on each of the ingredients and the process by which the food is made. I was hesitant about the fact that there is only a chicken variety. I’m also hesitant about the business aspect. I figured if it was a food I would feed my dog and could easily recommend to others, great, especially since people ask me for dog food recommendations all the time.
Like you, I, too, would be uncomfortable about working with breeders.
So while I’m doing my research there, I’ve asked the rep to tell me more about what is required insofar as the opportunity.
I’m thinking this probably isn’t for me, but I’m giving it a chance.
Thanks for this perspective.
Hi Angela
I’m really glad that you posted on this blog. Thank you! Our dogs have a similar interaction when it comes to liking it at first, but then not so much a few months later – they’ve been this way on every kibble we’ve tried with them. I’ve always had to dress it up for them, which sucks.
I did the same thing; it was a process of elimination. What’s changed? When we took Rodrigo off LA, the licking stopped. He eats chicken today with no trouble so I think it’s just the processing that happens to chicken OR it’s just chicken kibble. He didn’t have any trouble on salmon kibble when we switched to Halo Pets.
I love what you had to share, because you’re right, just like humans, all dogs are different and I’m glad that Rodrigo’s experience is going to help you with your dog. Best of luck with the raw diet and check out my blog Raw Dog Food Reviews where I chat about raw – http://www.rawdogfoodreviews.com
Hi Kimberly!
I don’t normally post on blogs, but had to say my 16 month old Samoyed is going through the same thing! Ever since we switched to LA about 7-8 months ago as our breeder recommended, I’ve noticed a host of problems. He did ok for the first few months, although I noticed that he didn’t like the taste as much as his previous food. He started having bouts of diarrhea, but I attributed it to normal dog stuff since it wasn’t lasting more than 3 days. About 3 months ago he started with the obsessive front leg/paw licking and chewing his left front leg. The chewing has recently gotten much worse and hes almost broke the skin, and I just stumbled on your blog while doing research to see what could be causing this. I’ve wondered if he has been reacting to the food, although we haven’t switched yet. He won’t even eat his food anymore unless we mix something else in.
I know a lot of people who love LA, and I too don’t think they’re a bad company or that their food is of poor quality. All dogs are different! I’m wondering if its the chicken that’s causing the issues, and I like the point you made about how allergies can start at any age. I’m planning on switching to raw food and cutting the chicken out and see what happens. I’m definitely disappointed too that they don’t offer other versions that are more allergen friendly.
Obviously I can’t be 100% sure it’s the LA that’s the problem since we haven’t switched yet, but I have a feeling it’s the problem. We haven’t made any other changes since! I’m planning on switching him TODAY and will definitely give you an update!
Thanks for sharing your honest experience with LA! Hoping these issues will be resolved once we switch!
-Angela
I appreciate you approving my comment and sharing another side. I just felt it would be fair to share another side. I’ve had bad experiences with MCDonalds but still go back. 😉 Some people are just not very good at promoting a company in a bright light and I am sorry that was the experience for you. I just don’t want any one to suffer for a bad experience. I wish you the best and hope that people will take into consideration we are dealing with people and that’s not always a positive experience but shouldn’t reflect everyone involved. Thank you again for posting my replies. Again I’m sorry for your experience.
Thank you for taking the time to leave this detailed comment, Kimberly. I was hesitant to post it, because I don’t feel comfortable marketing an MLM to my readers (therefore, I removed your URL), but I think it’s important to have a different Life’s Abundance experienced shared for people who may be researching working with the company.
I’m glad that you offer a no pressure environment. That wasn’t my experience. I didn’t feel bullied, but I did feel pressured to build my downline and I was witnessed to a very uncomfortable interaction on one of the training calls that made me realize that I simply couldn’t be part of this company any longer. As I stated in the article, I’m just not made for sales and MLM.
That being said, although our dogs couldn’t eat their food, I won’t say that their food is bad. I’ve been researching and writing about nutrition for over a year now and I’ve come to the conclusion that the best diet is the raw diet, but for people who can’t swing this change, a premium kibble is the best option. Because Life’s Abundance only offers a chicken recipe (and many families are experiencing chicken allergies with their dogs), the controversy about the beet pulp (no one can seem to agree on if this is good or bad for our dogs), and the email from a Life’s Abundance rep – I think it’s best that I only promote foods that we actually use currently.
I do appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment here and to connect with me on LinkedIn. Although I’m used to people immediately promoting products to me (I am a blogger), I’m uncomfortable with Life’s Abundance and MLM in general, because of my own experience.
Side Note: Should anyone be interested in the details of my experience with Life’s Abundance, I will be happy to share them with you in private. It’s not something I care to discuss on my blog or social media sites, because I think my experience was isolated and involved an interaction with one rep and I’d like to believe that this wasn’t reflective of the company as a whole, therefore, I don’t want to “bash” the company by sharing my experience online.
That’s pretty fantastic! We just recently started our dogs on a raw diet and I’m blown away by how well they’re doing!
Hello everyone,
I recently came in contact with Kimberly and was sad to hear of her experience with Life’s Abundance. We are reps as well and feed our 7 precious pets their food and have had nothing but great things happen physically for them. As far as customer service goes, I am sorry to hear that people had a bad time with that as well. I am here to state on behalf of the reps I know that we are not all like that. What company can always predict how the people they hire will react? But the only way the company can fix the problem is to be told about it so I hope your complaints about the service reached who they needed to and the problem was handled. As a former HR person myself I can tell you I’ve hired people who came off great in an interview only to be the worst people for customer service and it was handled swiftly. But the only way I was able to handle that was if I was told.
I hope, like anything, a few bad apples don’t spoil the bunch and just wanted to put my two cents in so you know that there are people out there like me who care about your pets safety and health and are here to help.
As far as the allergies go, yes that does happen and it’s very sad. I have turned away a few customers who pets are allergic to chicken. Unfortunately just like humans, we never know what we are allergic to until we try it. I’m glad the allergies didn’t turn into something serious or life ending. My Aunt has three boston terriers who are allergic to wheat. I hope you know it’s not a reflection on the companies and they are not out to hurt your pets, it’s just no one can know what someone is allergic too. 🙁
I hope I was able to maybe put a better light on the company or at least on what I can provide for you as a rep and not all of us push for signing up reps. I have one under me and the rest are customers. I prefer to just be able to provide something alternative and healthier than store bought food. Being a graduate of Biology I have taken many courses in food microbiology and have been appalled with what is in pet food. That’s why I made the switch and I don’t push anyone to try it or sign up as a rep.
Have a great day everyone and I hope you found this informative from another perspective. Thank you.
That’s so awful! I’m so sorry that you experienced that.
I concur about customer service policy. My cat got sick from the canned food and when I called to ask to return, I was told not only did I have to pay the $9 shipping but my own return shipping which would cost $16 now due to increase in all methods to ship. I called back and told them I did not see anywhere on their site about my paying to return but more bout their 100% satisfaction guarantee and safe purchase etc. I received a nice letter from Dr. Bicks informing us our cat is the ONLY cat EVER to get sick on this. But she was sorry. So bottom line, we are stuck with $33 to pay for food which sickened our cat. I have never run into this before anywhere else so to me this business is just that, a business. And one I cannot approve of. I hope one day they understand this is not standing behind their product.
These five reasons are authentic. I had a dog which died on last year due to allergy problems. But I have introduced a new dog to my home and also keep away him from chicken and give him raw food for his full growth.
I think they are missing out on a target market by only carrying a chicken version of their kibble. 2 of our dogs are allergic to chicken; it just stopped making sense for me to buy it, plus I kept meeting other dog families who had dogs who were allergic too. I think it’s important for food companies to provide several protein option; because allergies can develop over time; not necessarily when they’re puppies.
This is great information when you read the ingredients on the bag it all sounds good. Something has to be wrong with their food if your dog refuses to eat it.
That is so sad. I can’t believe that they didn’t show more concern. That’s just bad customer service. I’m so sorry that you had that experience, but I appreciate you sharing your story. Hopefully an LA rep will read this and look into it.
Susanne, we have a 9 month old puppy that was given LA since day one. Our first bag of LA was ok, his stools weren’t the greatest and he seemed lethargic at times. We got our second bag of LA in early December 2012 and it caused major diarrhea. Called LA about the problem and they didn’t really care about the issue. Rep. simply said, “Do you want us to cancel your account?” Sorry, but I can’t trust a company that doesn’t care about its customers. We’ve moved on since and our pup has more energy than he ever has. Everything has been great, including the coat getting shinier and having more volume.
Hi Susan – I’m so sorry to hear about your dog. That is so frustrating, because they can’t tell us what’s going on. I don’t know if Life’s Abundance changed their formula. I’ve been out of the loop with them since I stopped buying their food. I only buy their supplements.
I updated the article with more information about chicken allergies. From what I understand, it involves intense licking. Rodrigo was licking his paws like crazy; they were super red and we were worried about infection. We changed his food on a hunch and the licking stopped. Skin lesions can result from the intense licking. I would suggest calling your vet to see what they have to say, because the lesions could lead to infection, which requires antibiotics.
Please tell me more about LA. Did they recently change their formulation? All of a sudden my Springer will not eat it. She has been getting some strange skin lesions lately so I am worried. What are the symptoms of a chicken allergy? Could they have added something new?? Please need your help. Who is the manufacturer?
Thanks!
Kim…just read this and I thought you mind find it interesting http://terriermandotcom.blogspot.com/
I wish I could have done better, but I couldn’t bring myself to convince someone to try LA if they were already feeding their dog a good diet and there are so many. And with the introduction of the raw diet and cooking for your dog, I found myself being swayed by potential customers. Thanks for the great article about grains.
Interesting. MLM isn’t for me either, Kimberly. 😉
I’m still trying to keep my eye out for a great business to partner with my blog, but I haven’t found one yet. I figure that at least I gave LA a try and I know for certain that MLM doesn’t work for me.
I appreciate your take on this type of business…I have thought about it but, like you, I suck at sales and the whole idea of “building a downline” is something I just wouldn’t be able to do…Cross this idea off my list