Confessions of a Canidae Convert

Some of you may have followed my dog food expedition with Tosca. I wanted to feed her Eagle Pack. Tosca didn't like Eagle Pack. She loved Natural Balance, so I was mixing the two. Eagle Pack for me. Natural Balance for her. Then I simply switched her to Natural Balance Ultra Premium and her coat looked terrific and she was doing very well. ..but for one thing. I felt she was a few pounds overweight. I cut down on her food but she seemed hungry. I mean not hungry in the sense that ALL dogs will eat any time. I mean she seemed like she was not satisfied. This was a dilemma for me because I do NOT want an overweight Collie but I certainly don't want a hungry Collie. There is nothing worse than an overweight hungry Collie who isn't dropping those few pounds. I felt guilty and torn between keeping her from becoming fat and keeping her well fed.

I kept reading about Canidae here on these boards so I bought a small bag and gave it to Tosca is piecemeal. She REALLY liked it. I was on the horns of a dilemma because I knew she loved the Natural Balance and she was otherwise healthy but I was going to have to feed her far less of it than would make her happy. So..........I decided I would cross over to Canidae for awhile and see if she would do better weight-wise and still be satisfied.

The first thing I noticed was that Canidae suggests less food than Natural Balance does. I found she was eating less and enjoying it just as much, and her calorie intake was less. I was also concerned because I didn't want her coat to go downhill. Well that didn't happen either. She looks as good as she did on the Natural Balance with the added benefit that she is not overweight.

There is one more thing I noticed about Canidae. Her stools have very little odor at all. It's hard to explain, but they appear to practically be ready to crumble and disintegrate after the fact. Hard to explain. VERY easy cleanup. She also seems to almost be on an elimination schedule, which is something I didn't see with her other foods.

I don't know how Canidae does it for the price, but this All Stages is a food that lasts longer than Eagle and Natural Balance. I am feeding her less, she is happy as can be, her coat has remained beautiful and her weight is very good. It doesn't get any better than that. I now feel better about giving her a raw neck bone or a biscuit now and then without worrying about adding calories, and I am not as concerned for rationing her treats to the bare minimum.

So, I confess. I am a Canidae convert now. I probably wouldn't have ever tried it if it weren't for the folks on this board. Thanks!

I am so glad that is working out well for you! Canidae is a great food. My dogs are eating it too. I have switched around for a long time because I do like to vary what they eat. Lyric has been on NB for a long time as it was the only thing that didn't give him diarrhea. But guess what? He is over that. I tried Canidae and changed him over gradually and now the NB is all gone. So he is eating Canidae as are the otehr dogs and that's great because I like the variety of meats better than the single meat as in the NB they were eating. I also put canned Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul mixed in. I hope it's OK to mix but that is also a very good food IMO...tons of meats and very palpatable it seems, veggies too. You can see them with your own two eyes! LOL. He never ate canned in his life, but he was having a possible problem with his jaw muscles.....seems better now and that's why he has had to eat soft food. So, we're going to continue so he doesn't get inflamed again....at least for now. I have to soak the kibble in water for a long time first to soften it a little. Then I mix in 1/2 can of Chicken soup. Boy does he love that! Never enjoyed his food more. LOL. I'm trained now. And that comes with the flip off lid with a ring....no can opener needed! Wow! I just can't say enough good things about it.

Doesn't it just make you feel so much better when they enjoy their food and do well on it...when you finally hit on just the right thing? Chicken Soup is very comparable to Canidae I think and it's a tad cheaper. I think dogs love the taste of that one usually too. It is cooked at lower temps so as not to destroy the nutrients. Maybe they all do that. I don't know.

Oh, another thing my vet told me to do if the dog was too fat but disappointed at having such a small meal, add green beans (canned or if fresh, cooked and squished up-they have a hard time digesting hard veggies I think)...gives a little bulk without the calories and makes the dog feel satisfied.

Glad it's all going well for Tosca! She does look great!

Doberluv, I am not surprised you are happy with Chicken Soup. They make a fantaaaaaaaaaastic cat food and I have used it for years. I got a little skittish with the Diamond recall last year and I eased off, being a paranoid. lol. But now I give my cats Chicken Soup canned again too. Their ingredients are spot on for pets it seems. They love it. I discovered it for cats a number of years ago and was always surprised that the brand didn't take off more. It's like a neat secret over there in the cat section. My cats like their dry too, although I prefer to feed them Eagle Pack.

Tosca gets a whole carrot several times a week, loves green beans! So do my cats, believe it or not. Tosca also loves,,,,, are ya ready? Celery. lol. She gets a raw pork neck bone twice a week and a raw egg twice a week. So hopefully, I've got her covered. Really, her coat still looks great on the Canidae I think and her weight is right on now and she feels more satisfied, so I am REALLY happy with the Canidae for her--glad I read so much about it on this board.

I keep reading about fish oil. Do you feed it? If so, which type/brand?

I did for a while feed fish oil....some kind for humans....little capsules, but it made them really gassy. I think it's in the food, isn't it? Anyhow...lately I haven't...might try again. I'm kind of wishy washy about what to give. Some of those things really do a number on Lyric and when it does, I feel like deserting and checking into a motel. LOL.

I am so glad you found a food that makes both you and your dog happy! That is very important. Canidae is a really great food. I wish it worked better for my dogs, but unfortunatley no such luck. Hope all continues to go well for you and your dog!

I'm glad Canidae is working well for you! Virgo was doing well on it there for a time, then I don't know if she developed an allergy to one of the ingredients, or we just happened to get a bad bag, but she now vomits after eating it. So she's back to being on Innova Adult and is doing great. I like her coat better on Innova anyway.

But I recommend Canidae to my clients quite a bit! I just wish it was easier to find around here...there's only one store in a 50 mile radius that sells it.

Funny you should mention it Zoom. Here it's just the opposite. Canidae is easy to find and Innova isn't. I think it's probably dependent on what's popular in the area we live in? I decided not to try it because the supply was so low and the bags looked beaten up. I have used Innova CAT food for cats that needed to gain some weight though.

Yes Dober, it is in the foods, but I have read where so many people supplement it. I know it's good for humans but I could see where it could be a gastro issue too. In the old days it was cod liver oil. lol.

Fish BODY oil is better for them. I hear a lot of people on here use Grizzly Salmon Oil. I'm looking into it.

I've been contemplating opening my own dog supply store, just so I can stock Canidae and all the varieties of EVO, etc. so people have an easier time buying them.

What you are seeing with her poop is evidence that there is very little actual waste in the food. This is a wonderful thing. Poop that is hard and ready to crumble/disintegrate, with little odor, is a sign that your dog is processing everything in the food, and that the food has very little (if any) "filler" that just passes through the body.

People talk about quality ingredient and that this or that should be in a food or not in a food. The BEST way to determine the quality of a dog food is to examine your dog's feces. Small, crumbly texture, little odor = a great food!

Betcha if you left it a couple of days it would turn white - another sign of a great food.

Ah, the subjects that suddenly become "acceptable" when we have dogs! :lol-sign:

Yes! I saw that! First time I saw it, it was like What The Heck? It's like it turns to dust or hay or something. The fact that there is NO odor really was the first thing to strike me though. It was like, Hey! Is this poop or something else? Hahahaha.

So now you know why I push the stuff so hard! Canidae is amazing.

A lot of companies put really nice ingredients in their foods but Canidae has the perfect balance or something. Herschel is on such a predictable bathroom schedule, it's amazing. I've had the exact same results as you, ToscasMom, and I've been feeding it for just about 8 or 9 months now.

LOL! Yes!!! And babies. I remember when the kids were infants. When hubby came home from a day at work, the conversation went something like this: "Hi honey, how was your day at work?" ....."All right and how was the consistancy of Emily's poops today?" LOL.

You know, there just is no end to the all-time lows we dog freaks can reach. Do you realize this whole thread is basically about poop?

Oh geeze, that's nothing! This morning it was vomit time at my house!

Sigh. All for the love of the dogs, right?????

Well there ya go. We obviously need a vomit thread.:lol-sign:

All of mine love Canidae and I have one picky eater in my group.

Well, ditto all of this for me. Canidae was the second food I tried (after finding this forum) and I have experienced all of the things you have said. I can't see ever switching. I do not supplement for fear of messing it up except for a cooked egg every Sunday (when we have a big breakfast)!!

Call me snoody, but, - MY DOG'S POOP DOESN'T STINK!!!!!

I've recently switched our two dachshunds over to Canidae and they seems to really like it. It got to a point that they just couldn't handle eating the Innova anymore without having really bad gas or tummy aches.

ZhaZha (the new kitty) is also eating Felidae and seems to be doing well.

Unfortunately, that seems to be all too common. I'm glad to hear you switched.