# California Natural, opinions please



## Ripley! (Jan 26, 2011)

Has anyone had problems with California Natural Grain Free lamb? I've been looking into switching my Doberman to that. Then I find out it's owned by Proctor & Gamble now! Have you had any problem recently with the quality? I've tried to switch her puppy food twice. Now she no longer needs puppy food and she needs better then Purina. I know more now, thanks to this forum and dobermantalk. Always transitioned food, never crossed my mind that to much food=loose stool. And the vet was little help.


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## Serendipity (Aug 13, 2010)

I still feed Evo (also from Natura), and I haven't noticed any differences. My dog is still doing great on it, and I still think it's a top notch food.


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

My dog was on C.N. for 18 months but the last bag gave him terrible diarrhea. I have also heard of people having issues with Innova. So I feed TOTW-wetlands in it's place, AM feeding, and Orijen at night.


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## doggiedad (Jan 23, 2011)

i've never fed puppy food to my dogs. my dogs
kibble is normally mixed with something, as follows:

>>>> cooked boneless and skinless chicken breast
>>>> canned, no salt added salmon, mackerel
and sardines
>>>> veggies
>>>> fruit
>>>> fresh fish
>>>> salmon oil, coconut juice, flax seed oil
>>>> raw ground beef
>>>> table scraps (no seasoning)
>>>> organic yogurt
>>>> organic eggs
>>>> rice, quinoa, millet
>>>> who knows what else???


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## Jack Monzon (Jul 25, 2010)

I don't know of anyone who feeds CN Grain-Free and I've heard from my pet stores that it's selling poorly. I wish I could read some more reviews on it.


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

We have a few clients who use California Natural Grain Free, and those who do have excellent feedback. 
But, it does sell poorly. I think it's because most people buying cal nat are going for a mild food, and grain free is notoriously known for being rich. 

That being said, we sell a LOT of Natura products, and have had ZERO complaints since the takeover. We don't sell as much innova as pre P&G but evo and regular california natural are still hot sellers... GSL only comes here to bash anymore


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## _Trish (Jan 31, 2011)

My dogs ate CN Venison Meal & Potato, and the Lamb Meal & Potato and did great on it. Discontinued feeding it once Proctor & Gamble took over, I just don't trust the food anymore, and there is too many other high quality foods out there to stick with a food that is now owned by a company with such a terrible reputation.


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## Jack Monzon (Jul 25, 2010)

_Trish said:


> My dogs ate CN Venison Meal & Potato, and the Lamb Meal & Potato and did great on it. Discontinued feeding it once Proctor & Gamble took over, I just don't trust the food anymore, and there is too many other high quality foods out there to stick with a food that is now owned by a company with such a terrible reputation.


What did you switch to?

Did you switch when you heard the announcement, or did you actually see some difference in your dogs after feeding CN?


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## Dana (Oct 27, 2009)

I started feeding CN Grain Free Venison to both my dogs back in July 2010. My dog with sensitive stomach/allergies did great on it, and my Aussie who has no issues with anything did fine on it as well. The dog with stomach/allergy issues did better than she had done in about a year - got all her stomach issues resolved! 

However, I do think the meat content is low (I would not consider this a "rich" food like the other grain frees - look at the protein %....). It is a limited ingredient food, good for dogs with allergies and stomach issues. I think it's better than the Natural Balance L.I.D. since the meat meal is listed first. But it's still very heavy on the potatoes and peas. That's why I've already switched my Aussie off it. I'm also going to switch my sensitive dog off it (she's still eating it now) - trying to get away from so many potatoes, and it's very expensive (well, the venison variety is, and I know she doesn't do well with chicken or lamb, the other 2 options in CN grain free). Kept her on it for a long time to just get her stomach "back to normal". She's also having some allergy issues (which could be environmental) - if it's from the food, it's an issue she has, not a problem with the food itself, since my other dog was absolutely fine on it. I haven't seen one instance from either dog of diarrhea and their bloodwork is perfect. So.....it appears that, so far, P&G hasn't done anything bad to this food.


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## Jack Monzon (Jul 25, 2010)

Hey Dana, thanks for the analysis. I'm curious what you switched your Aussie to. My dog is part Aussie, and he has allergies and a sensitive stomach too.


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## Dana (Oct 27, 2009)

Jack,
My Aussie doesn't have problems with anything! It's the other dog, Shadow, my Rottie mix who has allergies and a sensitive stomach. I switched Krystal (Aussie) first just to see how she did on the new food - Petcurean Go! Natural Salmon and Oatmeal. Both dogs like it, and Krystal is doing fine on it (but, she seems to do fine on everything). I just figured if it upset her stomach, I certainy wouldn't try Shadow on it! Shadow is only getting small handfuls, as a treat, right now. I go really slow when switching her (and I have quite a bit left of the CN that I need to use up..)! I chose the Petcurean Salmon because it's a meat source Shadow hasn't tried before, and it has no potatoes. 

Love your dog's eyes - my Aussie has blue eyes too!


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## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

My 3 are on a current rotation of Cal Natural Grain free Chicken. 

Doing great. Nothing much to report. One of my guys was struggling with alot of mouth licking and smacking his mouth... Cal Natural was my choice to see if it was something in his previous foods(Acana and Totw). 

I'm not happy with the meat content but I add fresh chicken 2-3x per week...I don't know for CERTAIN how much of the protein comes from meat but with Peas as one of the first ingredients, it does worry me a bit(eating some crow-was able to learn some of this from GSL last week). But I still think its a nice, simple formula, especially for those who might be struggling with an allergy or stomach troubles. 

Plus, as I posted recently... Heartypet had 30 lbs bags for $28 which was a pretty nice deal. I think I also used a 1/2 off shipping coupon so the deal was sweet. 

All in all, I think a very decent food.


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## Jack Monzon (Jul 25, 2010)

Thanks, Dana! And thanks for the clarification. Sorry I got lost in your tale.


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## Jack Monzon (Jul 25, 2010)

kevin bradley said:


> My 3 are on a current rotation of Cal Natural Grain free Chicken.
> 
> Doing great. Nothing much to report. One of my guys was struggling with alot of mouth licking and smacking his mouth... Cal Natural was my choice to see if it was something in his previous foods(Acana and Totw).
> 
> ...


Thanks for the feedback. Were you on CN grain-inclusive before this? If so, do you see any positive difference?

I've been on CN Lamb & Rice since September. Happy with the results, but I switched to the puppy formula about a month ago to try to up the protein and fat, and his stools have definitely been softer. I'm probably going to switch back to the adult formula but was also considering the grain-free version.


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## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

Jack,

I've used Cal Natural grain inclusive before. It was awhile ago and it was one of the first true decent foods I tried with my pack of 3. 

As I recall, they all did fine on it. But honestly, my guys seem to do ok on most(w/ the exception of a Canidae incident) foods. 

CN is a decent food. I do think there are better but I had no issue throwing in a round of it as part of my rotation. I'm a little less picky about feeding Orijen/Acana 24/7, mainly because I'm adding fresh chicken pretty regularly. Like I said, if I had one qualm about CN, it might be the lack of meat--which appears to be a possible issue with the food.


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