# Canidae All Life Stages dog food



## Paige_Buddles (Dec 16, 2008)

IMPORTANT: Please update this information. The nutritional analysis is no longer correct since Canidae changed the formula about 5 months ago. Many dogs, including my 2 yr old Shephard, are experiencing severe, life threatening symptoms on the new formula. It is very scary what's going on with this formerly high quality food. Check out this website: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/canidae.html


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## Mike1 (Jan 12, 2009)

In June '08, Canidae changed their ALS formula without any sufficient warning, causing our our dog to develope a terribly irritated bowel for two and a half months. They did it because the price of brown rice went through the roof last spring and they didn't want to lose market share by having to raise the price of the product, so they replaced most of it's brown rice component with a varity of cheaper ingredients. Despite every other reason they might give for the formula change, the real reason was just a desparate and underhanded attempt to hang on to market share in an already bad economy. However enlightened or responsible they like to think they are, they're still a bottom line corporate entity. Please understand: this constituted a radical formula change, but, and this is key, they kept the name and overall appearance of the bag, virtually identical to the original packaging. At the very least they should have put a big bright sticker on the front of every new bag, to alert long time purchasers of this product (i.e. loyal customers!!) that the formula they had been using for years was signifigantly changed, AND maybe they should have given these same customers the ability to pay extra to keep using the original formula if they're dog didn't respond well the crappy (literally) "new improved" fomulation.


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## sal (Feb 6, 2009)

These comments about life threatening reactions to the new Canidae formula are total BS. I know dozens of people that feed it including me from time to time and not one reported anything.

People don't know jack about animal nutrition, for a kibble it is still one of the better products.


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## Mom_of_11_dogs (Jul 3, 2009)

I find the comments by "ss" that "...life threatening reactions" experienced by other people's pets as "BS" to be exceptionally crude, rude and irresponsible. There is indeed validity to other people's responses and reactions. I also had problems with their cat food and had to stop using it. We have eight indoor cats and essentially they ALL refused to continue eating this food! Based upon my own experience with the cat food buttressed by what I have read here, I think it would be foolish to switch my dogs to Canidae.


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## Ginny (Jul 13, 2009)

As an ol' time fan of Canidae ALS (old formula) - 
The new formula of ALS is terrible and dangerous to feed. Every member of my pack (5 dogs) experienced significant (if not dangerous) weight loss with some experiencing the reported diarrhea and vomitting reactions. I have switched to another product and will NEVER purchase or trust Canidae again!

More details of my experience are contained in another post to this site, so I won't repeat them here.


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## Cheryl2 (Aug 23, 2009)

I have fed my dog Canidae ALS or Canidae Lamb and Rice for 2 years now. When they changed the formula, his stools got a little loose for a few days after I started the new bag, but soon returned to normal. I continue to use Canidae and have a healthy, energetic dog. I use Canidae primarily because it is 100% U.S. grown and raised products and I do not trust the food supply coming from outside the US. My vet agrees that my 3 year old working dog is supremely healthy.


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## Aaron (Aug 24, 2009)

Well SS - how do you know what other people are experiencing with their pets.
You say you feed it to your pets from "time to time".
Excuse me??? You clearly change the food for your dog based on what suits you!!!
We are in New Zealand and purchased this product for our dog, and fed it to her everyday. She really enjoyed it, however suffered with welts on her skin for no apparant reason. It took us a wee while to find out what it was.
We changed the food and voila, they have completely gone, they were horrid, green coloured and must have been uncomfortable for her.
We totally beleive that this change made to the ingredients of the food really afftected it and not in a good way, if this many people are having issues then it is clearly an ingredient problem.
For you to say it is all BS is totally uncalled for and everyone is entitled to their input in this matter.


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## Soozy (Dec 5, 2009)

I will never use Canidae again. I changed my dog to Canidae, after I could no longer locate the brand I had used for 20 years with all 4 dogs I have owned. In the 3 1/2 months I fed my dog Canidae ALS, I saw significant weight loss, HUGE amounts of gas, stomach upset and my dog was pooping 8 - 9 times daily and it was always diarrhea. I spent more money at the vet with fecal tests that always came back negative, worming meds etc. Drove 40 miles to get the brand of dog food I used to use and within 12 hours of changing brands our dog was fine. Even my vet has commented that she has had more than a vew patients who have had gastro issues with Canidae.


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

Soozy, I do not feed Canidea but would have no problem feeding it "with" other foods. Remember if you did not include a new food "slowly" it well always end up in diarrhea. My dogs have gotten diarrhes on a lot of GOOD foods, it just doesn't work for them. Heck, I tried to introduce Orijen RED (THE BEST FOOD MADE in my book) TO MY GSD and it did not go good for him, so back to his old stuff(good stuff). But I well try again, knowing that he might not get along with Bison or something else thats in it. I am a total believer you should be feeding more than one brand of food. Try another high quaility food but go really slow and I mean like starting out with a tablespoon with the 1st feeding then adding 1 more a week, yes a week, slowly.


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## Kristin_Scarpino (Dec 29, 2009)

I have been feeding my 13 dogs Canidae ALS for years. Right through the "change" of ingredient(s). I personally did not notice any changes with any of them. Actually they are all very healthy and in weight. I am certain that everyone has their own unique personal experience with dog nutrition however to condemn this product over a health issue your dog experienced is not fair. If your dog(s) are that sensitive to a change in diet you should probably talk to your veterinarian.


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## Mike5 (Jan 28, 2010)

I have fed my dog Canidae (ALS) and Canidae (chicken and rice) for the last year. I have noticed that she does much better on chicken and rice, while the ALS formula gives her bad gas and Diarrhea - I have been sticking to (chicken and rice) formula lately and she has been doing great. 

After all the problems surrounding this formula switch I'm glad I didn't buy another bag of it. ALS might work for some people, but my 2 year old aussie shep/lab mix gives it a thumbs down.


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## Michael3 (Mar 17, 2010)

The comments about life threatening illness are not BS. I thought it was too so I disregarded them and fed the food to my dog anyway. I slowly transistioned from his old food and he began having severe bloody diarrhea and vomiting mucous and bile. A lot of blood. He is so sick I have been feeding him rice for 2 days. I don't care if it works for some dogs, it doesn't work for mine and I have never seen a dog this sick from dog food. And yes, it's the dog food. He didn't get into anything, he doesn't have a disease, it is the food.


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

First off I do not feed Canidae, but for a dog to get this sick off a food seems very odd to me. I really have not heard many bad things about this food. I did hear they changed their formula and it is not the one we look at and must go to their site. I sure hope you called them or E-mailed them about your problem, remember you need to tell them or they will never know.


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## Jane1 (Apr 25, 2010)

I've been feeding Canidae Platinum to my 2 older dogs and ALS to the younger ones for 14 months with absolutely no issues. None have had diarrhea or thown up, none have gone off-feed, and all have gorgeous,plush coats. I recently bred the youngest bitch and she is expecting a litter of 6 or 7 pups. I don't know what was going on with the formula and why dogs were getting sick, but apparently it's been corrected. My dogs are thriving on Canidae.


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## Bozena (May 24, 2010)

I feed all three of my dogs the new ALS formula and have had no problems. I switched their food slowly from Science Diet... after reading the ingredients and comparing them to Canidae. Our male dog has a very sensitive stomach and this food works. He has no problems with his stool or stomach. My dogs are happy, active and coats are very shiny. I can not speak to the old formula, but the new one works very well for them. They are very healthy and I like the price as well. It works well with our budget as all 3 are 60LB+. I am very happy with this food! 

Also to be fair I do cook for them from time to time (1 or 2 meals per week) and add flax seeds, olive oil, sunflower oil to salmon, potatoes/sweet potatoes, celery, carrots, apples, garlic, avocado, turmeric, cranberries/blueberries... - they love it and hover over me with impatience :0) then lick their bawls absolutely clean!


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## Vegas_Native (Jul 22, 2010)

Would it be good to feed all life stages food to a puppy. I seen nothing about the Glucosamine or Chondroitin in the ingredients. I was also wondering about the first three ingredients loosing water and falling down the ingredient list. Thanks


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## Michelle6 (Feb 12, 2010)

Vegas Native-When it comes to a puppy what you really need to look out for is calcium and phosphorus levels,this product is suitable for puppies with calcium at 1.2% and phosphorus at .9%.And even if Glucosamine and Chondroitin are listed the amount is usually trivial.And Chicken,Turkey,Lamb Meal cannot lose water weight because they are already in MEAL form.So they are NOT going to fall further down on the ingredient list...ONLY meat that IS NOT in meal form and therefore has to be dehydrated to make kibble will lose water weight.


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

Actually Orijen Large breed puppy food contains a pretty decent amount of Glucosamine and Chondroitin. It is by far the most of any dog food manufacture. This is off their web site and is also listed on the bag I was just looking at.

GUARANTEED ANALYSIS
Crude Protein (min.)	40.0%
Crude Fat (min.)	16.0%
Crude Fiber (max.)	3.0%
Moisture (max.)	10.0%
Calcium (min.)	1.5%
Calcium (max.)	1.7%
Phosphorus (min.)	1.1%
Phosphorus (max.)	1.3%
Omega-6 (min.)	2.6%
Omega-3 (min.)
DHA
EPA	1.0%
0.6%
0.3%
Carbohydrate (max.)	20.0%
Glucosamine (min.)	1400 mg/kg
Chondroitin (min.)	1200 mg/kg
Microorganisms (min.)	120M cfu/kg

I believe you should feed a puppy food until they are fully grown or at least the largest meal of the day. I am going to keep my dog on this until he is 2 years old, but, it is the same price as the Adult. Now my dog is feed twice a day and his smaller AM feeding is Adult California Natural and has been since he was 9 months old. Boy I'll tell ya, he loves the Herring and sweet potato, he scares me he eats it so fast.

http://www.orijen.ca/orijen/products/puppyLarge.aspx


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## Jasmine2 (Aug 27, 2010)

Started feeding to my puppy 2 months ago after hearing how high quality it is but have too change. He has had super soft stools and diarrhea ever since.


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## CNB (Sep 14, 2010)

Reluctantly switched from Orijen Large Breed puppy. I have always only fed Orijen and was very nervous about the switch, my Mastiff was very gassy, lose stool, horrible coat.... 3 weeks later after switching to Canidae I have NO concerns, I do give raw meat as well though, I have been very happy with the food


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## Brian4 (Oct 2, 2010)

I had fed my Lab ALS for years and didn't even realize they switched the formula. After reading all the negative comments and because of the economy I decided to switch to a cheaper food. After having a mammory tumor removed we began feeding her Solid Gold Barking At The Moon but she struggled to keep weight. Then I switched her to Diamond Chicken, Lamb and Rice
which sees to be a very good food for the money. I finally switched back and am almost through the first bag with no complaints.


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## Jackson1 (Oct 6, 2010)

For those of you condeming or defending this food, get your facts straight. Yes Canidae did slightly change their formula and some dogs did get sick. However, as you should know, food effects different dogs differently. My dogs were on canidae before, during, and after the switch and they showed NO signs described by these people and NEVER HAD SIDE EFFECTS. The changes by canidae were fairly minimal, from my understanding it wasn't an ingredient change but a brown rice to white rice porportion change. The only differene i could find in the ingredients between the new and old formula was a couple diff named beneficial microbios. Don't believe me? Look at the new ingredients and compare them to the old. There is almost NOTHING DIFFERENT. These are straight off the bag I bought two weeks ago and on the canidae website. So before you jump to conclusions and claim that Canidae RADICALLY changed their formula, CHECK YOUR FACTS. I'm not sure exactly what happened w other people, but my dogs are perfectly healthy and have never had a problem w they. Compare for yourself. And if I'm wrong I'd love you to show me the difference in ingredients that has caused this to no longer be a quality food. Here's their current ingredients for the ALS formula:

Chicken meal, turkey meal, lamb meal, brown rice, white rice, rice bran, peas, potatoes, oatmeal, cracked pearled barley, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), millet, tomato pomace, natural flavor, flaxseed meal, ocean fish meal, choline chloride, suncured alfalfa meal, inulin (from chicory root), lecithin, sage extract, cranberries, beta-carotene, rosemary extract, sunflower oil, yucca schidigera extract, dried enterococcus faecium fermentation product, dried lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried lactobacillus casei fermentation product, dried lactobacillus plantarum fermentation product, dried trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, papaya, pineapple.


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## RodiKenley (Aug 9, 2010)

It's better than taste of the wild.


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## Antonio1 (Apr 22, 2010)

I think what affected my dog most was the fact it was now manufactured at a Diamond Pet Food facility. I think Diamond makes decent feeds with their higher end brands, but my dog can't tend to handle hardly any Diamond Manufactured products.


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

Anna, YOUR FUNNY .....This is extremely ""grain"" heavy. With so much crap before the first fat, YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS. Please get your facts straight.


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## Michelle6 (Feb 12, 2010)

Anna-I would love to know your reasons why you think that Canidae ALS is better than TOTW!! What exactly makes it better? With so many grains before the 1st fat this is a very grain heavy food.ALS is a good product but definitely NOT better than TOTW,which is grain free,and dogs do not require any grains to sustain life.


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

Michelle, Canidae is not a very good dog food. The only decent product they make is their grain free. But if you look close you'll notice sunflower oil down the list. This tells me that their is a lot more of the secondary ingredients than you might not think. It would be a cold day in He00 before I fed this.


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## Michelle6 (Feb 12, 2010)

Jess-I agree.I would not feed this either.You know I pretty much feed grain free,with one exception.But you have to admit C ALS is much better than Grocery store brands.I just think it's really funny that Anna would say that Canidae is better than TOTW.LOL.I'm waiting to see her explanation as to what SHE thinks makes C ALS better than TOTW.


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## KC23 (Nov 17, 2010)

I used to feed my dog Canidae a few years ago because a local pet store owner recommended it to me right after I adopted my dog. We used it for a while, but then switched to something else as he didn't seem real fond of it. I adopted my 2nd dog in February of this year, and his foster had him on Canidae. She gave me enough to keep him on it for a while, but he had loose stools the whole time, so I didn't keep him on it.

Michelle or Jess (or both): Do you feel the grain-fee foods cause your dogs to gain weight fast? Just asking because I found this on the Facebook page for Nature's Domain:

We do get comments from time to time about how dogs can gain weight easily on Nature's Domain. This is true; it is grain-free and the additional nutrients that go into making the food are more caloric. You really have to watch the amount fed in relation to the exercise your dog gets. Ideally, you want them to remain lean.


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

I feed grain free because I feel it is the best dog food.. Orijen is my dogs main food because I feel it is the best food made today. I also feed TOTW wetands because my dog flat out loves it and it is a very good food. 

The A list
1.	Orijen
2.	Acana, Harvest, pacifica & grassland Only.
3.	Horizon Legacy
4.	Taste of the Wild, wetlands & prairie, ONLY.
5.	GO, grain free /Endurance Only.
6.	Fromm, 4 star.
7.	Merrick
8.	Wellness Core
9.	Blue Wilderness
10.	Acana, the rest of Acana products.
11.	Artemis
The B list
1. GO, the rest of their products.
2. Evangers
3. Timberwolf
4. Fromm, the rest of their products.
5. Instinct
6. Wellness super 5 mix
7. Now, Grain free. 
8. Solid Gold
9. Precise Holistic Complete, Only.
10. Natures Logic
11. First Mate
12. Kirkland or Natural Domain, Costco!
13. Now, the rest of their products.
The C list
1.	Evo
2.	Innova
3.	Nutrisource
4.	Chicken soup for the dog lovers soul
5.	Exclusive
6.	Pure Vita
7.	Canidae, Grain Free ALS, Only.
8.	Wellness 
9.	Earthborn
10.	Pinnacle
11.	Annamaet
12.	Organix
13.	Natural Balance, not all are good!
14.	Whole Earth farms, this well move up!
Premium Edge


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

I know their is a word limit so I left you my 3 lists. As you notice some do have grain in them.


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## KC23 (Nov 17, 2010)

Thanks. The info/opinions on this site have helped a lot. The TOTW (Wetlands & Prarie) both sound great, and they are actually more reasonable than I thought. Now that I joined Costco, I would like to see if the dogs like Nature's Domain as well. I just worry about that info I got from the Nature's Domain Facebook site about people saying their dogs gained weight quickly on the grain-free formulas. I'm finally getting my 2 male dogs to drop a little weight--I'd hate to see them gain it back. They do seem to enjoy the Kirkland Healthy Weight food though.


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## Michelle6 (Feb 12, 2010)

KC23-I have had a totally different experience with grain free foods.I am embarrassed to say that I used to feed Nature's Recipe.3 cups a day for my 77lb lab,despite being very active,she always looked kind of heavy.After learning about dog food I switched her to grain free.I started with Merrick's Before Grain-grain free.I continued with 3 cups.Over the next few months I noticed that she started to thin out,I was getting comments from neighbors/friends on how good she was looking,and how much weight she was losing.So after about 3 or 4 months I got curious and weighed her at the pet store.To my suprise she weighed 75lbs,only a difference of 2lbs.But how could she be so much thinner looking?? The only reason that makes sense to me is she lost fat and gained muscle,she has a waist now and her stomach tucks up.So from my experience I would recommend grain free to any dog,especially one that is overweight looking.Remember the amount to feed on the bag is a suggestion,you may need to adjust the amount up or down depending on each individual dog.I have a 10 month old Springer Spaniel puppy that weighs 50lbs and he also eats 3 cups a day despite being 25lbs lighter.....I rotate dog foods,these are the ones I use Merrick,Champion,Fromm,Diamond-TOTW.


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## KC23 (Nov 17, 2010)

Thanks, Michelle. Once I start running low on the Kirkland, I am going to buy the grain-free. Will try out Nature's Domain and TOTW.


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## Michelle6 (Feb 12, 2010)

KC23-Don't forget to make the switch gradually.TOTW is my 2 dogs favorite-they really go crazy for the Wetlands.I can get a 30lb bag for $40 dollars(in feed stores)


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## KC23 (Nov 17, 2010)

Yes, I always make the change gradually. Tomorrow will be the 1st day my dogs will only be on Kirkland. If you thought you were embarrassed to admit you used Nature's Recipe, ummm...I actually tried 2 bags of the new corn-free Pedigree Healthy Weight. So..I've been weaning them off of that for over a week now, and finally ran out of it. They lost weight BUT the anal gland issues are horrible since being on this food!! It must be the wheat!! While eating homecooked meals, Chicken Soup brand & Diamond Naturals prior to that--things were so much better. Corn & wheat--obvious culprits in our house.

Thanks for the recommendation of the Wetlands TOTW. I think my dogs would probably love that formula the best too.


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