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Ripoff Report | Dog Food Advisor TRUSTED Business Review - Internet
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Report: #1127155

Complaint Review: Ripoff Report | Dog Food Advisor TRUSTED Business | Verified Safe™…businesses consumers can trust. The Dog Food Advisor is privately owned. Dog Food Advisor is not affiliated — in any way — with the pet food industry. The Dog Food Advisor is a public service website designed to help you make a more informed decision when buying dog food. In addition, to avoid any influence from the industry itself... the company does not accept or allow paid advertising from pet food manufacturers. - Internet

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  • Reported By: Gordon — Willlamina Oregon
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  • Dog Food Advisor TRUSTED Business | Verified Safe™…businesses consumers can trust. The Dog Food Advisor is privately owned. Dog Food Advisor is not affiliated — in any way — with the pet food industry. The Dog Food Advisor is a public service website designed to help you make a more informed decision when buying dog food. In addition, to avoid any influence from the industry itself... the company does not accept or allow paid advertising from pet food manufacturers. Internet USA

Dog Food Advisor TRUSTED Business REVIEW: Dog Food Advisor’s editorial and service team are employees dedicated to 100% customer satisfaction. DFA's approach to reader support is focused on providing the highest quality customer satisfaction in the pet food review industry.


*UPDATE: Dog Food Advisor pledges commitment to always improving operations by joining Ripoff Report's Corporate Advocacy Program, Dog Food Advisor is recognized by Ripoff Report Verifiedâ„¢ as a safe business service.

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Ripoff Report Verified™ REVIEW

EDitor's UPDATE: Positive rating and recognition has been given to Dog Food Advisor for its full commitment to quality customer service.

Ripoff Report's discussions with Dog Food Advisor have uncovered an ongoing dedication by the company to total client satisfaction. This means that clients can expect that the company will work towards finding a mutually satisfactory resolution to any concerns. Dog Food Advisor listens carefully to client concerns and sees them as an opportunity to learn from past mistakes and become more efficient as a company in the services offered and the support for those services.

Dog Food Advisor's managing editor, Mike Sagman, has informed us that his personal philosophy is that his clients success is the heart of his website.

As a successful publisher, Mike believes it is critical to listen to his readers and respond properly.

By always placing his reader's welfare first, Mike hopes to maintain Dog Food Advisor as a successful organization both now and for many years to come.

Mike's personal business philosophy is based on the premise that "strives to add value in service, understanding that a successful business model is based on value-added services, and client care".

The website's founder and managing editor says this, "We are one of the top pet food review websites for helping dog owners make informed buying decisions."

One of the things Ripoff Report learned in the course of its review is that typical customer feedback reads, "Dog Food Advisor truly communicates all details in its reviews. I am very pleased with the excellent service provided by their support department. They are serious about helping me every time I've contacted them for help."

Dog Food Advisor is Ripoff Report Verified
Ripoff Report Verified™ .. part of Ripoff Report Corporate Advocacy Business Remediation & Customer Satisfaction Program.A program that benefits the consumer, assures them of complete satisfaction and confidence when doing business with a member business..



The information provided in this report below is based on comments made by Mike Sagman during an onsite inspection held by a third-party verification company with no biases towards Dog Food Advisor.

Dog Food Advisor is a company created by Mike Sagman that provides reviews of dog food. Mr. Sagman stated the following about his company, "we give it a rating of 1 to 5 stars. I don’t work for the pet food industry I am independent. We really as of the last month or two don't sell anything on the website we pay for the website through traffic referrals from online retailers but not manufacturers. We are independent of the pet food industry. It is the busiest page on the internet. People trust us and we review pet food."

Leads for Dog Food Advisor are primarily obtained through their high SEO, "we are number one on the internet we are the busiest website that does reviews for the pet food industry. We come up in over 27,000 keyword combinations and searches. People find their way to our website they are trying to answer the question what is the best food for my dog. And so we review them based on the labels. That's what we do. When you say what's the business the best way to put this is the readers are our customers they just aren't paying for the information it is free." Their services are solely provided through their website. Individuals interested in their products have access to over 1,000 reviews that cover over 4,600 products and recipes. Mr. Sagman additionally stated, "we try to make it as easy as possible for people. This is the age of choice that we all have so many things to choose from. I think people come to our website I know they come to our website because they are confused and overwhelmed and many of these people are truly in love with their pets."



CUSTOMER CARE & COMPLAINT RESOLUTION – DOG FOOD ADVISOR

Mr. Sagman was asked to describe a situation where a client was not satisfied with the level of service they received. He stated that because their service is based on reviews they very rarely receive complaints. Occasionally individuals will disagree with their review of products, "people just write down and sometimes they get in arguments. That is what causes all the strife. They are arguing with each other and when we step in as a moderator that's what causes complaints. I mean people complain about dog food all the time they go to the manufacturer’s website or they may disagree with the rating. The aggravation comes when we step in and ask them to please not use bad language. We have clear rules no profanity we are not always wearing halos but just please remember to be respectful."

When asked to comment on complaints posted on Ripoff Report's website Mr. Sagman expressed that all the comments on Ripoff Reports website are false. He stated the following, "Everyone of those is about being banned. If you read the complaints and really look at them they are talking about how unfair we are. The one that you will see that motivated me the most are the ones that say credit card fraud. I am an honest person we are not the kind of people that are in the home building business. I have kept a clean record my entire life. I work really hard and so does my wife. My wife started crying when she read those complaints. This person wrote every single one of them. He says he is in Florida...I know his name. We went through the trouble of hiring a 3rd party to track him down but we decided to take no action because I am just embarrassed I don't want this in the newspaper. That's how he got even with us. We had a $14 product that we sold for 4 years that we are phasing out because we don’t make much money from it. $14.99 membership for a year for our recommendations and that is how we funded our business for years. He made up this bogus complaint that we took $700 from him and I would love to know how you do that. Also, no credit cards are exchanged with me, my wife, or anyone who is an employee. They are stored on authorize.net it is a Visa subsidiary. It stores the last 4 digits of somebody's credit card so we can’t charge anyone's accounts. It is set up to charge only $14.99. It was completely made up. If you look at the pattern he went back the next day and just changed his name. We know exactly who it is."

In order to ensure that clients are receiving the best experience possible Dog Food Advisor, they are always looking for ways to make improvements. Most recently, "[our] comment policy on the discussions has helped a lot and a major improvement. We have profanity filters. On our forums that are separate from these that have filters that automatically asterisk words that are not allowed in forums and comments."

Dog Food Advisor is proud to be a part of Ripoff Reports Corporate Advocacy Business Remediation and Customer Satisfaction Program. Mr. Bruce stated the following, "when I learned about the Corporate Advocacy Program I thought it was interesting, but I thought this would make them come up even higher and I still believe that it will. But what I like best about it is if someone posts again...it will give me a chance to hear about it and in other words, they will say 'Hey Mike, this was just posted about you' and you can respond. That is what I am most excited about”



DOG FOOD ADVISOR – STATEMENT FROM THE FOUNDER – MIKE SAGMAN

" I am proud to be the founder and managing editor of The Dog Food Advisor -- DogFoodAdvisor.com -- a popular review and reference website ranked #1 in its niche by Alexa.com, an Amazon company. The Dog Food Advisor was awarded its registered trademark from the United States Patent and Trademark office in 2015. Before I founded The Dog Food Advisor website, I practiced Restorative and Cosmetic Dentistry in Newport News, VA from October 1975 to June 2014. I am a 1973 honors graduate of the Medical College of Virginia with a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree. My academic training at Roanoke College included a major in chemistry and a minor in biology. I am a member of the American Dental Association, Virginia Dental Association, the Peninsula Dental Society and the Southeastern Academy of Prosthodontics. I have received numerous awards for excellence by my profession. I am a Fellow of the American College of Dentists, a Fellow of the International College of Dentists, a Fellow of the Academy of Dentistry International, a Fellow of the Academy of General Dentistry and a Fellow of the Pierre Fauchard Dental Honor Society. I am a 1975 recipient of the United States Army Commendation Medal for Meritorious Service to my country. I have been recognized as one of "Virginia's Top Dentists" every year since 2010 by Virginia Living magazine. I have also been chosen by my peers to be honored by Hampton Roads magazine in its list of the area's "Top Dentists".

Mike Sagman is the founder and managing editor of The Dog Food Advisor -- DogFoodAdvisor.com -- a popular review and reference website ranked #1 in its niche by Alexa.com, an Amazon company.

The Dog Food Advisor was awarded its registered trademark from the United States Patent and Trademark office in 2015.

Dr. Sagman practiced Restorative and Cosmetic Dentistry from October 1975 to June 2014.

He is a 1973 graduate of the Medical College of Virginia with a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree. His academic training at Roanoke College included a major in chemistry and a minor in biology.

Dr. Sagman is a member of the American Dental Association, Virginia Dental Association, the Peninsula Dental Society and the Southeastern Academy of Prosthodontics.

He has received numerous awards for excellence by his profession. Dr. Sagman is a Fellow of the American College of Dentists, a Fellow of the International College of Dentists, a Fellow of the Academy of Dentistry International, a Fellow of the Academy of General Dentistry and a Fellow of the Pierre Fauchard Dental Honor Society.

He is a 1975 recipient of the United States Army Commendation Medal for Meritorious Service to his country.

Dr. Sagman has been recognized as one of "Virginia's Top Dentists" every year since 2010 by Virginia Living magazine. He has also been chosen by his peers to be honored by Hampton Roads magazine in its list of the area's "Top Dentists".

Dog Food Advisor's research and editorial team have regularly expressed their confidence in the performance of their professional assignments. Dog Food Advisor takes employee satisfaction seriously as well. Employee feedback and surveys reveal comments such as this, ""Dog Food Advisor provides a very positive environment within to work.

Opportunities for suggestions and improvements are encouraged. Our editor, Mike Sagman, is truly concerned about our contribution to the company and providing growth opportunities for each of us. He takes the time to listen and communicate with employees and customers."

Ripoff Report was pleased to learn that Dog Food Advisor's past and current approach to business is focused on its pledge to total commitment towards client and employee satisfaction.



STATED IMPROVEMENTS FROM DOG FOOD ADVISOR

Dog Food Advisor recognizes that complaints posted on Ripoff Report (whether true or not) are issues that need to be addressed, not ignored. If handled correctly, complaints can be valuable learning opportunities. With the feedback generated by Ripoff Report's review, Dog Food Advisor has made organizational changes allowing its clients and employees a more streamlined approach to problem resolution and a commitment to a great client experience.

In summary, after our review, which included discussions with founder and managing editor, Mike Sagman, Ripoff Report is convinced that Dog Food Advisor is committed to quality delivery of services resulting in total client satisfaction.



How does a business get Ripoff Report Verified™

The member business allows Ripoff report to email everyone from the past. Those who respond to Ripoff report with a valid complaint must be take care of. They have made a commitment that if anyone contacts Ripoff Report in the future, they will make things right within 14 days. The member business must err on the side of their customers. Otherwise the member business is off the program.

Ripoff Report has determined that Dog Food Advisor meets Ripoff Report Verified™ standards which include a commitment to make a good faith effort to resolve any consumer complaints. Members of the Corporate Advocacy Business Remediation and Customer Satisfaction program do pay a fee for our on-site review, 24-hour monitoring and for support with customers to resolve any disagreements.

Ripoff Report sends a 3rd party service to do an onsite inspection of the new member business. The on-site inspection / review does not mean that the products or services offered by the business have been evaluated or endorsed by Ripoff Report and has not made a determination as to the business' product quality or competency in performing services. We can verify, that Ripoff Report went to the business, verified their business or “work from home business”, there for, if a customer in the future does not get treated correctly, Ripoff Report can get the problem resolved. If not, and the customers is right, the member business will be taken off the Corporate Advocacy Program. Remember, Ripoff Report emailed every customer from the past that filed a complaint to make sure the member business made things right with customers from the past. Again, to err on the side of their customer, those from the past and those in the future.

Read more about why consumers should feel confident when doing business with a member of Ripoff Report's Corporate Advocacy Business Remediation & Customer Satisfaction Program. Yes, it’s a long name for a program that does a lot for both consumers and businesses alike.

Read about Ripoff Report Corporate Advocacy Business Remediation & Customer Satisfaction Program, a program that benefits the consumer, assures them of complete satisfaction and confidence when doing business with a member business. This program works.

As a matter of policy, when a business becomes a member of the Corporate Advocacy Program they agree to allow Ripoff Report to contact every client who filed a complaint, so they can make things right with them. In order to confirm that the complaints were resolved, Ripoff Report is copied on all responses, so we can insure that the member business did right by their customer.

NOW TO THE ORIGINAL REPORT THAT WAS FILED

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dogfoodadvisor Mike Sagman, dogfoodadvisor.com dogfoodadvisor, Michael Sagman, dog nutrition advice Internet

WHY THE ORIGIONAL Ripoff Report and other comments filed below are completely false..  Internet troll, blogger threatens and harasses owners of Dog Food Advisor, creating multiple fake identities when posting comments on the community website, retaliation for being blocked from forum.  

 

By Mike Sagman

The person who created this fictitious Ripoff Report in September 2016 (including his 7 deceptive followup comments) did so because he had been previously denied access and blocked from participating in The Dog Food Advisor discussion forums and Disqus blog. 

 

This action was taken by our moderators because of his repeated use of multiple false identities to threaten the owners and officials of The Dog Food Advisor blog as well as other members of its discussion community with malicious and alarming comments.

 

These sinister actions taken by this person even included illegally publishing the personal names of the minor children of other members of our social community.

 

We frequently received numerous complaints from members who feared for their personal safety as well as for the safety of their own families. He also illegally posted the personal information including addresses and phone numbers of other participants he had "scraped" from other sources (like Facebook).

 

We reached out to this individual and implored him to cease and desist his dangerous behavior. He responded by continuing his personal attacks.

 

Each time we blocked him from participation, he created new and fraudulent identities at Disqus and also on our own website. He also continued to threaten other members.

 

He retaliated by creating this false and misleading Ripoff Report --- because we blocked him from further participation in our blog.

 

We appreciate the opportunity and the help afforded us by the owner and staff of Ripoff Report in another attempt to reach out and publicly respond to this this person.


NOW TO THE ORIGINAL BOGUS REPORT THAT WAS FILED

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 The editor of this page dogfoodadvisor.com and NONE of his co-workers have ANY training in dog nutrition yet they make outrages claims that has been making dogs sick! A lot of dogs get diarrhea from their high protein diets yet Shawna keeps claiming it is a detox process. As a vet tech and a nurse this is about the stupiest things I have ever heard. When we proved her wrong all of our posts have disappeared, and we were blocked!!!!!Don't put your dogs in danger by listening to them!!!!The dog food companies they recommend look at the Ash, Phosphorus and Calcium, it is not in proper balance, usually too high, this can cause health problems, I could write a book about them, and some day I will, it has to STOP!!!!Too many dogs get sick!!!!

 Please don't listen to them on dogfoodadvisor about dog nutrition, your dog doesn't need more than 25-30% protein, and it is wise to mix kibble with canned because otherwise they get diarrhea. And diarrhea is NEVER a detox process, please believe me, I'm a nurse and vet assistant with diplomas unlike them. They banned me for speaking the truth, like many others. You are talking to houseviwes without any credentials on the dogfoodadvisor.

 Mike Sagman is a dentist without training in dog nutrition and he for sure needs more training in anatomy as well. His background is hunting and fishing, no wonder he hates plant protein, that is good for dogs.

 Dentist Michael Sagman, editor and owner,of this site, the dogfoodadvisor, and his co-workers Shawna Noffsinger, Marie Shavasta Danzell, Janice D. McCollan with nicknames Shawna, Inked Mary, Betsy Greer and JanMom2Cav as well as those others hiding their identity, such as Hounddog, Pattyvaugn, among most others should have been more humble because it turns out the majority of them are housewives and none of them have careers in real life and NONE of these contributors have ANY real credentials in DOG NUTRITION as of this date yet they have been making ridiculous claims about it.

 When you look though the posts it is striking with what arrogance and rigidness they bully 'outsiders' and mistreat others but brown nose Mike. In the end he deletes unwanted posts and leaves those that suit him and makes outrages accusations, threatening people with legal action for speaking the truth, but the legal action or accusation are not based in fact and/or law. They will twist and turn facts as they please and talk and bully as they please, kind of mean kids in high school at times. It is very unjust the way they judge dog food based on a questionable bias on such a surface level. If you want a good dog food, look for a holistic brand and make sure they don't use any ingredients from China and most is USA sourced. How the food is made is important, not just the ingredients list that can be VERY misleading. The aforementioned website is not to be trusted and their star-rating system is wrong! It doesn't take into consideration the companies' practices, sources of ingredients, the question if it is human grade type quality, recalls how the food is made and where etc. Several of their 5-star foods have had several recalls, I think that says it all. The information is indeed BIASED and NOT unbiased as claimed. A lot of veterinarians challenging the flawed studies and erroneous data have been unfairly blocked from the site and they are not shy about making up stories in order to defend and construe facts not based in law. When they come back with an alternative email address he threatens to put them in prison! But he cannot do that and it was for them not unlawful to re-post their honest posts that have been deleted unfairly. All they wanting is provide HONEST not DISHONEST information! Also their calculations of ingredients is not accurate, often they take averages and the points could be off by as much as 4% yet if a food has 1% less meat protein it gets less 1 star; so that is just ridiculous. The website is not a trusted source of information. Just look at the credentials the people posting have that says it all.

Mike Sagman doesn’t allow unbiased information because he frequently deletes posts disagreeing with his theory making dubious claims against posters who disagree or makes certain posts pointing out his errors, ‘dissappear’.

Today HE DELETED SMITTY'S POSTS FOR NO LEGITIMATE REASONS AND YESTERDAY HE WAS MEAN-SPIRITED TOWARDS A VET WHO (AGAIN) PROVED SHAWNA WRONG JUST THE WAY I DID REGARDING HER HIGH PROTEIN RAW DIET CLAIM THAT SUPPOSELY SAFED HER DOG, YET NONE OF IT IS TRUE. THE DOG HAS NOT EVEN BEEN PROPERLY DIAGNOSED AND SHE LIES USING ARGUMENTS CONTRADICTING HERSELF TO MAKE HER CLAIM.

Mike's main point is that dogs should receive a very high protein diet and he rates dog foods very high in protein, with approx.. 38 %, higher than a dog food with 30%. He also falsely calls plant protein a by product such as peas or grains. Veterinarians generally recommend around 20% with 30% being the highest. The food with higher protein, however, may have a lot of recalls and could have quality issues, but amount of protein is more important in his rating system, particularly, meat protein even though this theory is clearly not scientific and contrary to what most veterinarians recommend or suggest. While he is trying to back himself up via a disclaimer and repeatetly suggests to talk to a qualified vet his actions clearly suggest a specific agenda that is evident all over the website; either in his articles or the blog section. His white coat on his picture makes him appear like an authority as a doctor.

 What is also concerning that a lot of companies proudly state on their website things like ‘”5 star raging by the dogfoodadvisor”. Then they include extra cheap chicken meal (that is cheaper than plant protein) in order to receive their 5 stars; however, the very high protein (in many cases 40%) causes stomach upsets, diarrhea, colitis or looses stools in many dogs, for instance Blue Buffalo or Orijen. A lot of people don’t post there anymore because no matter how difficult it is for the dogs to digest too much protein, the ‘top contributors’ come to the companies’ defense but bash companies that provide plant protein. When someone mentiones it on the website, ‘star top contributor’ Shawna (who has no valid credentials in a related field) then falsely claims that would be a ‘detox prosess’ and a ‘good thing’, using false data or information from Quack Mercola, yet the dog could be dying from a condition. Mr. Sagman usually upvotes these posts making false claims like these based on Quack Mercola or Karen Becker. Their recommendations often put dogs in danger, for instance they frequently recommended a raw diet which made the dogs sick and ended up at the vet. After many people spoke up they are not as vocal about the raw food anymore though but still about the very high protein amounts and their choice on meat protein. Then Shawna frequently recommends not to listen to the veterinarian.

 Just yesterday she was called on by a veterinarian about her kidney disease dogs she claims is thanks to her 50% high protein raw diet still alive-yet if it was true that the dog had kd then it would not be unusual, unlike she claims, that the dog is still alive. She then goes on and claims the dog would not be on ANY medication, whatoever, but later admits, it is getting renal kidney support. When I challenged her and showed the truth, my posts were conveniently deleted, claimed, I would be ‘fraudulent’, something that was never true. I was unlawfully banned from the site, because of my credentials I exposed the facts and they could not handle it.

 You have to ask yourself: What does this very high meat protein diet do? Is it better to feed a dog 40% meat protein versus 25% meat- or even plant- protein? The answer is no. The excess protein will not be utilized but simply flushed out. Plant protein contains all amino acids like meat, it comes in the same form. Will your dog be more healthy on a dog food like Orijen rated five stars with 38% meat protein versus a two-star vegetarian dog food like V-dog or Halo around 20% plant protein? The answer is clearly no. Among veterinarians it is well known that vegetarian dogs can thrive on a vegetarian diet and they even recommend vegetarian diets for certain health conditions. Vegetarian dogs live, per statistics, very healthy and long lives, just like the rest of the dogs or they often even do better since the same amino acids in meat are found in plants. Testimonials of people using these foods are evidence that there is no health benefits in Mr. Sagman claims. To the contrary; most of his favorate foods have been causing a lot of health issues for dogs. Some of them don’t are AFFCO complaint or have too much or too little nutrients. Some of them had recalls or the heavy protein content is difficult to handle for dogs. Testimonials of most of veterinarians will state the same. In fact many veterinarians recommend vegetarian diets for health reasons and there is no ill effect. They also will recommend not to use more than 30% protein due to possible health issues this can cause yet they push people in giving more than 30% MEAT protein, all which is a health concern and unnessessary..

  Mr. Sagman simplifies complex scientific studies and is intellectually dishonest when representing them. For instance he often quotes the famous Bovee Kornfeld study. While the ‘conclusion’ of the author was that a high protein diet had no severe ill effect on the kidneys , it was determined in the study that dogs fed a 56% protein diet had more glomeral leasons than the others on a lower protein, which reflects damages to the kidneys which then leads to a lower quality of life. He delibertly misconstrues this among other studies by claiming that ‘ a high protein diet doesn’t cause kidney failure’. Also he leaves the fact out that high meat protein comes with high phosphorus amounts which is scientifically proven to damage the kidneys.

 Mr. Sagman has no scientific evidence to substantiate his claims the way he presents them. The general consensus among researchers is different than he presents it. Another example: Senior dogs may profit from a higher protein diet, but no responsible scientist suggests 40-50% protein also like him and his groupies do. They recommend to increase the amount from 18-26%.

  Please speak up use your cell phone with a new email so they can't block you.

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