Canidae

[Guest LJS1993]

Tonight I switched Freckles to Canidae "all life stages". She seems to really like it. However, she has burped a couple of times.

[smileyzookie]

Rohan is on Felidae! I LOVE it. He's gained weight and his fur has gotten bushy and isnt greasy anymore. I love it. Hopefully Freckles does well on its doggie formula.

[AKB]

That's a really good food. I keep thinking about switching my guys to that from the Wellness, but they are doing so well on their current food that I hate to switch for no real reason. But I really do like the fact that they are considering purchasing their own canning factory to totally control their manufacturing process. That's a company concerned about quality. Although I can't remember where I read that now.

[sluj]

That's a really good food. I keep thinking about switching my guys to that from the Wellness, but they are doing so well on their current food that I hate to switch for no real reason. But I really do like the fact that they are considering purchasing their own canning factory to totally control their manufacturing process. That's a company concerned about quality. Although I can't remember where I read that now.

 

I like Canidae (and more importantly, Allie likes it). I know a few people here advocate rotating between different varieties to ensure a good dietary balance. Might be something to try. I'm considering trying out Wellness and Solid Gold in rotation.

[AKB]

I've heard that too- but how do you rotate foods without getting upset tummies from food switching?

[Root Beer]

I've heard that too- but how do you rotate foods without getting upset tummies from food switching?

 

It depends on the dog. I can switch Sammie and Maddie from one good food to another cold turkey and they do just fine. Mickey had no trouble with cold turkey switches either.

 

When Dean ate kibble, he would have a bit of upset tummy when I switched his food even if I did the mixing thing. The only way I could do it was to give him a half portion of the new food with some raw meat. Turned out that raw was best for him, after all.

 

Sammie and Maddie have had a lot of variety in their diets for years - I've always given table scraps and snacks. And no, neither are fat by a long shot. But I think that has helped them to be fine with food changes.

[Becki's Boys]

Jack and Star do really well on Canidae too. I think Freckles will love it. Star and Jack nearly maul me at feeding time .

[Guest TheRuffMuttGang]

I feed all of my own dogs Canidae (except one that has a grain sensitivity...she eats gold...I mean EVO) and they do awesome on it.

[OurBoys]

I feed all of my own dogs Canidae (except one that has a grain sensitivity...she eats gold...I mean EVO) and they do awesome on it.

 

LOL. Yes, EVO is a bit expensive but since putting the boys on it, JJ has not had to take any allergy pills. In the long run, not only has it been cheaper for us, JJ has lost weigh and has a lot more energy!

[Guest WoobiesMom]

What's EVO? Is it readily available at most pet stores in the US? I'm at my wit's end w/Woobie. He's on Benadryl 2x a day now for what we suspect are allergies, his stools are consistently soft and he is developing anal gland issues because of it (I think), and I'm feeding him Merrick Grandma's pot pie + rice + pumpkin with no real significant change in his stool consistency.

 

I had him on Science Diet for a little while and it was the only thing so far that's produced firm stools but he would not eat it alone and most time he managed to eat the pumpkin off of the nuggets and then spit them out!

[OurBoys]

WoobiesMom,

 

You can't buy Innova's EVO at big chain pet stores. They only sell to small individual pet stores. I have to confess, the boys are actually on Innova's EVO RF (reduced fat). It has a higher protein level than the reg EVO. With the EVO RF and 1000 iu of flaxseed oil twice a day. JJ has stopped taking his prescription allergy pills and since I started adding a little yogurt as well, Jake has not had a yeast infection in his ear (secondary sign of allergies per vet).

 

If you go to http://www.naturapet.com you can find a store that sells it.

[Guest TheRuffMuttGang]

Rumor is the opposite. Since she had trouble digesting her food and it all came out of her as quickly as it went in, she was very underweight until I switched her to EVO. She gained 4lbs (to total 23, so that's a huge percentage for her) in a week. Now she holds her weight pretty steadily at 20lbs (I do keep her very thin as she has bad hips and knees) with 1/3 cup twice a day. She only goes through a 13lb bag about once a month so it's not really too expensive to feed her. On Canidae I could feed her 4+ cups per day and she would just crap more.

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

There's also the Natural Balance line of grain frees, and Solid Gold and Nature's Variety have grain frees as well. What I like about EVO and Natural Balance is that they offer grain frees that also have alternate protein sources (besides chicken).

 

 

The Natural Balance products are extremely simple - one protein and one carb source - allowing for a convenient way to do an informal elimination diet.

 

You can get Natural Balance at Petco. The other brands are typically only found at the smaller boutiques and mom-and-pop stores.

[gypsy84]

After searching the entire city for Canidae, I finally found one pet store in all of Winnipeg that sells it. Gypsy loves it, her coat looks great, she's reached her perfect weight and she has tons of energy. But at $60/40lb bag I can't afford to keep her on it Once the bag runs out, we're gonna try Kirkland's Signature which is a *bit* more affordable at $20/40lb bag.

[2 Devils]

I fed Canidae for a long time and only switched to Innova Evo because my borderjack had some severe food allergies which resulted in really bad yeast infections in the ears, legs and even his winky. I knew I would not be good about feeding different foods to different dogs so I switched them all to Evo. I also add salmon oil to their food to help the coat/skin.

[OurBoys]

What I also like about EVO is it's made from human grade ingredients and not from rejects unfit for human consumption. Is Natural Balance and Solid Gold the same way?

[Guest WoobiesMom]

Thanks! They were just handing out samples of Natural Balance at Petco when we were there, so I think I'll start with that since I have several bags of different flavors. I think I'll try to yogurt also. Do you just feed plain yogurt? Any particular brand? Do any of you feed canned salmon? I've heard that can be good for the omegas, etc. Would that be helpful for coat/allergies also?

[Guest TheRuffMuttGang]

Correct me if I am wrong, but Natural Balance has a line of single-protein source foods, but no true grain free products. Even their organic line does not boast the title "grain free" as the Solid Gold, Innova and Nature's Variety grain free foods do. I am not a fan of Natural Balance anyway. I had all of my dogs on their Ultra Premium formula (after reading the Whole Dog Journal's top dry foods list for the first time) and none of them did very good on it, IMO.

 

WoobiesMom, you can feed canned salmon if you want. Or you can just give fish body oil capsules which work the same way. Yogurt is fine, too. Plain is best because some of the flavored ones have A LOT of added sugar. Even some of the plain ones have a lot of sugar so just check the labels. I think the natural kinds are lowest in sugar.

[PSmitty]

I had the same experience with EVO, as Brenda. Lilly lost the extra lbs she needed to lose once I started them on it. She also stopped itching! I noticed they got very lean and muscley looking, too. I am very pleased with it, always have been.

 

Natural Balance worked ok for Lilly & Jack (before Alex), but not as well as the EVO. It's a good food, though.

 

Also, Wellness is coming out with a grain-free formula. I got a 4 lb free sample bag, and all of mine loved it. I liked that it was grain free, but not quite as high of a protein level. It wasn't stocked in my store, last I checked, but the cat version was. If the dog food is as expensive as the cat food, I can't afford it, unfortunately!

[PSmitty]

Oh, as for yogurt, I give plain Stoneyfield Organic yogurt every day. I don't feel salmon, but I give salmon oil capsules (along with vitamin E) daily.

 

ETA: Debbie, the Natural Balance has a Duck/Potato and Fish/Sweet Potato. So, it doesn't have cereal grains in it, just potatoes as the carb source.

[Guest TheRuffMuttGang]

Flaxseed is a grain last time I checked.

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

Correct me if I am wrong, but Natural Balance has a line of single-protein source foods, but no true grain free products

 

Yes, I will correct you, if you don't mind.

 

Sweet Potato and Salmon:

 

Sweet Potatoes, Potatoes, Salmon, Salmon Meal, Canola Oil (preserved with natural mixed tocopherols), Potato Fiber, Natural Flavor, Salmon Oil, Flaxseed, [vitamins and minerals, blah, blah]

 

Duck and Potato:

 

Potatoes, Duck Meal, Duck, Canola Oil (preserved with natural mixed tocopherols), Potato Fiber, Natural Flavor, Salmon Oil, Flaxseed,

 

There's a venison and brown rice formula too for people whose dogs don't have trouble with rice.

 

The only thing about these foods is they are quite low in protein. I jazz them up with raw meat, meaty bones, and homecooked stews, since I already know what Ben is allergic to. It still ends up being much more convenient and cheaper than trying to feed Ben all raw or home prepared. I'd do nothing all day but cook for him!!

[OurBoys]

Thanks! They were just handing out samples of Natural Balance at Petco when we were there, so I think I'll start with that since I have several bags of different flavors. I think I'll try to yogurt also. Do you just feed plain yogurt? Any particular brand? Do any of you feed canned salmon? I've heard that can be good for the omegas, etc. Would that be helpful for coat/allergies also?

 

Let me start off by saying everyone is different-that includes dogs. What works for one doesn't necessarially means it will work for another. It took me around a year to find a 'formula' that works with our boys.

 

I use non-fat plain yogurt. At first, I was apparently giving Jake too much but didn't know it. He got gassy and I thought he was lactose intolerant so I stopped giving it to him. That's when he got his ear infection. DH suggested I start giving it to him again but cut back on the amount. I did and he's been doing great since (no gas, no ear infections).

 

The formula that works for JJ is one that's very high in protein and low carb (grain-free). I slowly increased his protein and omega 3's until I found the amount that works for him. I heard fish omegas are better for dogs than the flaxseed omegas but when I had JJ on it, he started getting the scabbies again (he would scratch himself raw) so I put him back on the flaxseed oil.

 

What I would suggest is try different formulas and see what works best for Woobie. Also, read the labels. If Woobie is allergic to some kind of grain, does the dog food you're feeding him have grain in it? While doing research, I read online if some dogs don't get enough protein, they can have skin problems. That's why I kept increasing their protein. Their vet suggested I increase their omega 3 (along with their protein but EVO RF is the highest protein dog food I can find). Not all omega 3's are the same. Plant protein is different than meat protein. I wish I could give you an exact diet but unfortunately, trial and error is the only way you're going to find out what works best for Woobie.

 

Finding a custom diet for Woobie can be very time consuming but it is sooo worth it. Good luck!

[OurBoys]

Flaxseed is a grain last time I checked.

 

You're right but apparently it's a grain JJ's not allergic to. He's not allergic to wheat either (I make their cookies with whole wheat flour) so it makes me wonder if he's allergic to corn????

[Guest TheRuffMuttGang]

My flaxseed comment was in reference to the Natural Balance foods, which are not true grain free products because even their single-protein source formulas contain flaxseed.