COVID. Yep, it sounds like an excuse, but is real.

Hills, Royal Canin, and Purina have a problem. Their formulas are fixed, and don’t fluctuate to allow ingredient substitutions. That’s a big part of why we recommend them.

• People are worried about not getting their pets’ special diets, so are increasing the amounts they are buying.
• Hills, Royal Canin, and Purina are having trouble with their own suppliers, who have workers out sick and have to create social distancing in their plants.
• Then a lack of adequate shipping capacity to get the ingredients to the pet food company.
• Then Hills, Royal Canin, and Purina have to create social distancing within their own plants, and have workers out sick with COVID.
• Then again, the lack of shipping capacity to the warehouses.
• Then warehouses that have workers out sick, and creating social distancing for their workers.
• Then shipping capacity to veterinary practices from the warehouse.

We really, really want to keep your pet on diets that are helping specific problems. I suspect Hills and Purina are in the same boat, but we received a letter this week from Royal Canin that they are suspending MUCH of their retail diet manufacture so they can work on filling demand for their prescription formulas.