Butternut Box - why the huge difference in ratings?

[Chilassie]

Hi There

New member - owned dogs for many years but not shared my life with one for a few years. We now have a chihuahua puppy who has come to us this week on Pedigree Chum. We have been looking into changing it and decided on Butternut Box after reading review here and Trustpilot reviews. I am very puzzled to have stumbled across another dog nutrition website who have given it a really low rating (94 here compared to 64 there). Why is this? I am really worried now about quality. 

[Dottie]

Hello and welcome to the forum Chilassie. Congratulations on your new Chihuahua puppy. I can’t answer your query about Butternut Box ratings but if you would care to provide a link to the other website which gives it a lower score I can pass the information on to David, and he will be able to explain.

[Chilassie]

Thanks so much Dottie.

However, I don't seem to be able to post links. The website was Petfoodexpert and Butternut can be searched from there

[Dottie]

Thank you for this information. The website is petfoodexpert.co.uk. I will pass the query on to David.  It might be a little while before he can reply so please keep a watch on your thread.

[Spanielowner]

Hi, I also have a question about butternut box. I asked them recently about what they use for calcium etc as I use ground bone and some omega oils when I make fresh food. The answer I got was that ground bone isn’t used as it’s not fit for human consumption but they never told me what they used for their ‘minerals’. Wondered if you guys know?

[Dottie]

I don’t know the answer to that but as I understand it you are right to add calcium to home cooked food. Of course you can include ingredients that contain good levels of calcium but I imagine it might be a bit hit and miss. I have read that egg shells can be dried in the oven on a low heat and then ground up to a powder. The calcium supplement that is sold by  We Cook for Dogs consists of powdered egg shell.

[hello@lunaandme.com]

petfoodexpert.com looks as if it is owned by Pets Corner. The highest rated raw food listed on the site is only stocked in their stores (not sure if it their own brand). I would question just how impartial this site is to brands Pets Corner does not sell.

[David]

Hi Chilassie! Thanks for posting and apologies for my slow response!

I can't account for PetFoodExpert's rating as I'm not familiar with their rating criteria but if you scroll down on our Butternut Box product page you will find a detailed writeup of why we give it a nutritional score of 94%. Essentially, it is a very good food with an excellent balance of top quality, bio-appropriate ingredients and prepared in a manner that is kind on the natural nutrients.

I also know that the guys there went way beyond the call of duty in their research and development phase, working with some of the world's leading experts in pet nutrition so, with this company more than most, there shouldn't be any reason to worry about their nutrient levels.

In the BB recipes, calcium will be provided by a number of the ingredients, most notably the lentils and flaxseed.

I hope that helps!

[David]

And on the subject of PetFoodExpert, it is indeed run by Pets Corner - not that you would be able to easily tell from the website.

As you can see from the Pets Corner website, they also manufacture More and Yora pet foods and have close ties with McAdams, all of which score remarkably well on the PetFoodExpert site.

Personally I have a big problem with pet food manufacturers posing as independent review sites and reviewing their own products but in this modern age these kind of shenanigans do seem to be becoming more and more common.