I realize this food has been mentioned on the forum in the past however I'm interested in switching all my dogs over and would like to know if any of you use it, which of the foods, Life Stages, Lamb&Rice or Chicken&Rice and what have you found good and bad.

Also, did you wean your pups onto it and how did they do if you did.

TIA, really appreciate the info from everyone

We have had very good results with the lamb and rice.
We currently have our young puppies on it, this is the first puppy litter we have used it with

We used Canidae for years. I tried their different formulas. I like the lamb and rice or ALS for dogs over 18 months old.

but

Puppys dont do well on Canidae. We find much more bone and substance on puppies with other foods. We even experimented and sunbstantial bad results with Canidae for puppys.

I wanted to like it, but coats here were very poor on Candidae.

wow, very glad I am asking.

Thanks so much

I have all my dogs on Canidae All Stages. They are doing great; good coats, good stools, no problems at all. My puppy is on Canidae All Stage also - since she was about 4 months - plenty of bone and a really nice coat. My breeder friend raises her pups on Canidae also - their bone is fine. Genetics play a part too!

Genetics is not the problem here. Canidae is not a good formula for puppies. I bet you and your friends puppies would go from "fine" bone to bigger bone if you were on a premium puppy food instead of "all life stage". Puppys need more than that.

Ive proven this point on our 4 litters since switching from Canidae. Major changes! These are from all different lines, most you would recognize, so I dont think genetics is the problem.

One litter I kept a female puppy to show. The puppys were on Royal Canin here. Another female went to a pet home. That owner switched to Canidae as soon as they took the puppy home. Both my pup and this pet home's pup were the same size when that one left. 4 months later they brought that pup back in for me to board for a weekend. We showed them our girl and we were shocked how much more substance ours had. The pet owner switched to RC and the next time she was in, she was as big as ours. Luckily they were not on Canidae long enough to stunt the bone growth for life.

Why would you feed your dogs or puppy something with corn gluten, beet pulp, in it?


Royal Canin Puppy
Ingredients
Chicken meal, brown rice, chicken fat (naturally preserved with mixed tocopherols, rosemary extract and citric acid), rice, corn gluten meal, beet pulp (sugar removed), chicken, natural chicken flavor, cellulose powder, dried egg powder, sodium silico aluminate, dried brewers yeast, salmon oil, soya oil, fructo-oligosaccharides, potassium chloride, sodium chloride, monosodium phosphate, choline chloride, brewers yeast extract (Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation solubles), DL-methionine, Vitamins [dl-alpha tocopherol acetate (source of vitamin E), biotin, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), d-calcium pantothenate, niacin, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin A acetate, vitamin D3 supplement, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin (vitamin B2), folic acid], taurine, Trace Minerals [zinc proteinate, zinc oxide, ferrous sulfate, copper proteinate, copper sulfate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, sodium selenite, calcium iodate], marigold extract, dried kelp, garlic, ginger.


Canidae All Life Stages....

All Natural Ingredients
Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Brown Rice, White Rice, Lamb Meal, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Herring Meal, Flax Seed, Sun Cured Alfalfa Meal, Sunflower Oil, Chicken, Lecithin, Monocalcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Linoleic Acid, Rosemary Extract, Sage Extract, Dried Enterococcus Faecium, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus Oryzae Fermentation Extract, Dried Bacillus Subtilis Fermentation Extract, Inulin (from Chicory root), Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Fermentation Solubles, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Mixed Tocopherols (source of Vitamin E), Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Cobalt Amino Acid Chelate, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Ascorbic Acid (source of Vitamin C), Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (source of B2), Beta Carotene, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Calcium Iodate, Folic Acid, D-Biotin, Sodium Selenite, Papaya, Vitamin B12 Supplement.

This is why I proposed the question, Ingredients! I've been doing a lot of researching/learning about foods and what they are made from and really how bad they actually are for our dogs. This particular brand, Canidae, as well as others are made with much better ingredients, no fillers, etc.... It's also graded A on the list of actual grades given to dog food.

I do think there is a point however that pups need more, I have seen differences switching myslef over the years.

so confusing.

I have heard good things about Canidea and how wonderful this food is for problem ears and coat. This thread has confused me. In the example above, I wonder if it was the amount of food that made the difference, not the brand of food?

Can someone Please list what they are feeding their pups that is an A list food, not made with corn and stuff they absolutely love results with.

Also, what about a higher performance food for dogs showing if needed also not containing corn, fillers etc???????

TIA, I know there has been so much talk on the forum about foods, sorry to bring this all up again, just really appreciate the input.

I am not opposed at all feeding different foods to different doggies/pups as needed. We all eat different things so it's not a big deal to me.

to "breeder", I'm a little confused too which is why I keep asking for help and asking the questions.

thanks all!!

We have four labs - two shows dogs in our family. Ages range from 10 months to 10 1/2 years, all are on Canidae All Life Stages. The young ones their entire life and the older boy for the past three years. We supplement with salmon oil and nupro. No problem with coats, ears, poops, etc. Everyone comments on how great their coats look. We also supplement with fresh fruits, veggies and some additional lean protein. That's been our experience with Canidae to help others out!

What may work for some dogs may not work for others, you need to find what works best for your own dogs. For every person who swears by a certain food there are just as many who have had bad results.

I agree with you forestwood. But I also know the information available about ingredients and what we are feeding out dogs has changed. Even now I do not feed each of them the same, they are fed individually based on what works best. Still, I really am in the market for a Grade A food like Canidae, Timberwolf, etc.... So many swear by Purina or Eukanuba and that's fine if it works for those dogs and those people are happy with it. But the ingredients are simply not what we find in other foods and if you look on the grade scale, sadly they are "F"...

It's all opinion, all what works best, of course.

I do know one thing, my question shows how great this forum can be and for that, I'm grateful.

other great foods are California Natural, Innova, Noble and many success stories from Pro Plan, seems the Westminster Best of Show winners are on it.

To the poster above that asked why would you feed your dog beet pulp, you should do some reading on beet pulp. There are lots of good reasons for feeding it. this is only one site that cites scientific studies that show the benefits of beet pulp in the dog's diet. http://www.greatdanelady.com/articles/beet_pulp_myth.htm

We tried the Chicken & Rice formula with our dogs for 3 months. I so wanted it to work because I think the ingredients are very good, but our results were not good at all. Out of the 17 dogs we were feeding at the time, both our dogs and client dogs, only 3 did well on it. The other 14 had a variety of problems including excessive shedding, weight loss and constant diarrhea. Not to mention that most of them pooped a TON! I was really confused because I thought they were supposed to poop less on a better quality food. Not the case with the C&R. Because we had such a bad experience with that formula, I haven't been brave enough to try the other formulas. And I didn't have a litter of puppies in the time I was feeding it, so I can't answer that part.

Fed Canidae - coats weren't good and it wasn't enough for the working dogs. Fed Solid Gold - expensive and couldn't tell that much of a difference. Fed Arkat Enhance - didn't like the ingredients but the dogs did great on it and was hard for me to get. Fed Euk PP until they changed the bag and hiked the price to $50.99 for the formula - all did great on it. Now am feeding Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach and they've never looked better.

Those guidelines are a tool - but feed whatever works.

I currently have two dogs on Canidae C&R. They look great, are actually shedding less and have nice small, firm stool.

I gave Canidae Lamb & Rice & Chicken & Rice a good chance with a dog that has had bad ears for a long time. I seen no difference/changes. I choose to put him on Eagle Pack Anchovy. He is doing much better. I took the left over Canidae, mixed it with Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and started feeding it to my 14 mos old. He is blowing coat like crazy. I didn't have that much Pro Plan left so the Canidae is probably causing coat loss. Everyone else is on Pro Plan Lamb & Rice. Every dog is different....feed what is best for your gang.