Opinion on Food

[jcolt32]

If you're going to feed a dry kibble, look for something that has the most meat proteuin sources - and I mean specific meat meals, like lamb meal, or chicken meal. Wellness is good but it's mostly grains and carbs. One of the best dry foods is Canidae. It has 3 meat meals in the first 5 ingredients. Wellness first ingredient is chikcen which is a precooked weight. Once it's cooked, the chicken loses a lot of water weight and it drops down the ingtredient list. The next source of meat proteni is a fish meal. They do this so people see a nice shiny coat on their dog. But, when was the last time you saw a wolf fishing? I wnet from Wellness to Canidae and saw such a big difference in my pits. Now, I do Canidae in the morning and Raw at night - soon I'll probably go all raw. But, Canidae is pretty awesome

[PitBullPride]

Thanks everyone so much for the informative input....Payne, Shai and Havok say thanks to.

[JB]

I feed Innova and my mutt does really well on it.

I've heard really good things about wellness (if your dog is having trouble with other foods) and wysong.

[barbponys]

I have 3 major complaints with Canidae:

1) The rice. One is highly refined white rice, and the brown rice has the fiber intact and that's good but it's the same as white rice when you get to the gluten. If a dog is sensitive to rice they are getting a double dose.

2) The herring meal. Herring has to be sprayed with ethoxiquine when it's being transported........the regulations may have changed but I doubt it.

3) Sunflower oil. It has been found to cause problems in dogs and cats. Instead of helping with the skin and coat it was found to be one of the problems with itching and breakouts. They don't seem to be able to deal with that particular oil or safflower oil.

I have found that a lot of companies put chicken, turkey and lamb on the list leaving out the meal cuz it reads better that way. Most of the public doesn't realize that meal is fine and actually makes for a higher concentration of meat protien. I know for a fact that Timberwolf uses no fresh meat in their formulas because of the moisture content but it's still on the label. Not all retailers take the time or effort to learn all about a food, I have had more than one converstation with the owner of the company................. having similar but different perspectives we've taught each other a few things. Just my .02 cents.

[X-girl]

I'm so confused. There were SO SO MANY positives about Canidae when another 1 of these threads was started several weeks ago. There's just nothing perfect that's practical for me, it seems. I did a ton of research when I learned about Iams and really thought I made the best possible choice in Canidae, now it seems I haven't. I know that Canidae is in 2nd place in the "perfect diet" poll on forum...can someone reassure me that it is indeed a good product? Thanks in advance!

[jcolt32]

I'm so confused. There were SO SO MANY positives about Canidae when another 1 of these threads was started several weeks ago. There's just nothing perfect that's practical for me, it seems. I did a ton of research when I learned about Iams and really thought I made the best possible choice in Canidae, now it seems I haven't. I know that Canidae is in 2nd place in the "perfect diet" poll on forum...can someone reassure me that it is indeed a good product? Thanks in advance!

Canidae is one of the best. I own a Pet shop and specialize in all natural, organic and raw dog and cat food. AS far as the rice goes, dry dog food NEEDS carbs to form the kibble. Rice is the less stressful on a dog's digestive system and the least likely to cause allergies than other grains or corn meals, etc. As far as meat meal versus whole meat goes on an ingredient list, a company cannot list it a certain way over another just because it reads well. By law, they have to state waht exactly it is. You could argue that they could be deceiving - and really, who of us would know. I do speak to Canidae often and they do not use chemical preservatives in their food or any ingredients that comprise their food. The bottom line is that you need to feel comfortable with the food you're feeding. Just stay away from foods that contain different grains or little to no meat protein. Dogs have no dietary need for grains. Your goal, if you feed kibble, is to choose a food that has the more meat than other stuff and is human grade,.

[barbponys]

Meredeth,
The bottom line is basically what works for you and your dog. A lot of people are happy with the Canidae, if it works for your pup go with it. It's decent food, and is widely available.

This is my job, my passion.......my perspective certainly isn't everyone elses, hardly anyones for that matter. I've spent 10 years doing this, I'm a cynic(sp?). I call companies and talk to their "people" and see what they say. They don't tend to like me cuz I'm pretty blunt, I don't buy into their "hard sell". This industry changes at lightning speed, what was good 3 years ago tends to be left in the dust........it's expensive to create new formulas or change existing ones. That's why so many of the old companies fall by the way side. They just can't keep up. With new foods appearing several times a year it's our job to know, or try to, what's coming and whether it's worth promoting.

I put the information out so others know a little about what they are getting. I know some won't agree with me and that's fine. I don't expect that. I like to help if I can.

[barbponys]

I disagree with rice being less of an allergen. I know of too many dogs that can't tolerate it. I have dealt with 2 personally and sooo many dogs come through here with rice specific and grain allergies. It's been used to death in so many ways.

There's a lot that AAFCO will NOT allow to be put on a label and DON'T require them to put on the label that MAY be in the formulation. There are percentages of stuff that are allowed that don't have to be listed. I didn't say that Canidae uses chemical persevatives, I said Herring must be preseved with ethoxiquine while in the ships hold. Big difference.

I wasn't refering to Canidae when I said I had spoken to the owner, I was referring to Timberwolf. He does NOT use fresh meat in his formulas but it IS listed.

Confidence in your food is important, if you are comfortable feeding it, that's what matters.

[X-girl]

Confidence in your food is important, if you are comfortable feeding it, that's what matters.

That's just it. I was confident with my choice in Canidae.
I don't consider myself the average joe, I research stuff to death before I take a leap. I know now I made a big mistake w/ Iams. I started to feed my cat Iams over 9 years ago (pre-internet; the greatest research tool available as long as you know how to weed out the bullcrap from good, solid info) and she has never been sick a day in her life. She still looks like a kitten! I am almost sure Iams was a higher quality product at that time - I know it was not available in supermarkets. The second I got a puppy and found this place I started learning a lot about better quality foods, both from members and independent research. Based on this post I am less confident in the choice I made and since I have a 40lb. bag of Canidae in my kitchen right now, I'm frustrated.

[barbponys]

I'm sorry X-girl. It wasn't my intention to confuse or errode confidence in the food you're feeding. I certainly didn't mean to imply that you should throw it in the garbage and find something else. It's a damn site better than Iams or any of those crappy foods. It's better than a lot of "better" foods that are out there. I would put it about 5-6 in my top 10. That's nothing to scoff at. Yes there are better foods out there, availability and cost play a large role in choice. Canidae is widely available, my top 2 aren't. Pure and simple. Who knows what will happen in the next year or two. If your pup likes the food and he's doing well on it, go with that. If down the road something else comes along that's better, there's always the option of changing.

I fed the same food to Sash for 6 1/2 years, I kept an eye on the market and waited till something MUCH better came along. They will stay on the Timberwolf till something much better comes along again.

[X-girl]

No need for apologies, I appreciate the advice/insight/knowledge of many of the members of this board. I also appreciate your "rating" of Canidae for me, it makes me feel better to hear it's in your top 10. Clearly you are the resident kibble expert so I am thankful you took the time to respond.

Lola has only been eating 100% Canidae for about a week and seems to be doing well on it. My cat has been doing great on the Felidae...I thought for sure there would be issues w/ switching her after eating Iams for so long but she's been doing very well.

Thanks again.

[barbponys]

Meredith,
I'm glad my explanation helped. I couldn't leave it as it was, I felt badly for having confused you.

I'm glad to hear everything is going well. As good as your puter looks now she will improve. Both she and Lola will go through a bit of detox and the results will amaze you. Especially with the cat, being on Iams for so long it may be profound. Stinky stools and breath, oily skin, dull dry hair, shedding like mad, may last for up to a month but may not. When all is said and done she will look amazing and feel much better too.


Another thing I don't believe in is a slow switch. Going from low grade to high grade usually goes pretty smoothly. Their body usually sucks up the nutrients it's been lacking. If there are loose stools it's usually a day or two, yogurt helps with that. I have never done the mix thing with my dogs or my cat. The healthier the digestive tract the less issue they have with change.

[X-girl]

Especially with the cat, being on Iams for so long it may be profound. Stinky stools and breath, oily skin, dull dry hair, shedding like mad, may last for up to a month but may not. When all is said and done she will look amazing and feel much better too.

Another thing I don't believe in is a slow switch. Going from low grade to high grade usually goes pretty smoothly. Their body usually sucks up the nutrients it's been lacking. If there are loose stools it's usually a day or two, yogurt helps with that. I have never done the mix thing with my dogs or my cat. The healthier the digestive tract the less issue they have with change.

Funny thing, my kitty never had any of those problems on the Iams! No bad breath, beautiful coat. She's bionic-kitty I guess! But hey, she's my baby and I love her to death - cried for 4 hours non-stop they day we brought Lola home because I thought Nala-kitty would think she wasn't good enough for me ( :roll: Silly, I know.) - so I had no problem switching to a much higher quality food at the age of 9. If it means she lives to be 20 instead of 16 because of it I will be THRILLED.

I had no idea you could forego the gradual change like you suggested! I made the switch so so so gradually for both of them it took 2 or 3 weeks. Obviously I know there was no harm being so cautious but had I known it wasn't really necessary, I wouldn't have been so diligent.

Thanks again, Pat.

[barbponys]

Now Nala will be double bionic kitty!!! . You're very welcome Meredeth.

[Kara]

3) Sunflower oil. It has been found to cause problems in dogs and cats. Instead of helping with the skin and coat it was found to be one of the problems with itching and breakouts. They don't seem to be able to deal with that particular oil or safflower oil.

I always thought safflower oil was good for their coat. I was told by my vet to add it to my dog's food. ( who has dry skin) ....