Does anyone know??

[LuvBoxers1]

I ask the question because I've been giving some consideration to switching to Canidae because of the talk around here. However, there must be a benefit to my Boxer (i.e. shinier coat, etc). I fear all this is just trendy.

I had Rylie on Nutro Natural Choice for large breeds. Her stools were VERY loose bright baby yellow-ish and she would just pick at it. I looked into different brands and went with Canidae. Gradually I switched her over (she would pick out the pieces of Canidae so I don't know how well I did) But I can say her coat is sooo soft and is getting much glossier. Even my 5 year old daughter said "Mommy Rylie feels so soft and comfy now" So that's a testimonial in itself. Her stools are nice and firm and she looks forward to every meal. So I am extremely happy with it.

 

[caspersmom]

My two boxer puppies are also thriving on Canidae. Casper is 5 mo and started out on Nutro Natural Choice then Innova and always had loose stools. Now with Canidae everything is better, he is so soft and really looks forward to meals. Chloe our 11 wk old brindle has switched from Iams to Canidae successfully and is also doing great!!!

 

[GoCougs]

Thank you all for your posts and input. Our little girl is 11 weeks old last Friday, and we really wanted to get her on something for the long term. She came down with allergies about a week after we got her home, and the first thing out of every vet's mouth is "food allergy?". We don't think so, because she has been on the IAMS MiniChunks since she started on solid food. It would be very strange for her to have an allergic reaction so late.

So, we did our research on food allergies. We looked at the WDJ brands, and also considered BARF. Although we are not convinced this is what we are dealing with, we are in the process of switching our little "Annie" over to Canidae now. This is based on other posts we have seen that described some success with overcoming food allergies by using this brand. This is step one in trying to figure out what doesn't agree with her. She is a show dog, and as I stated before, we are interested in what is best for her. For over 20 years my family fed our champion St. Bernards a Purina brand, and they lived long, happy, healthy lives, so I'm naturally skeptical about trendy dog diets. Thank you all again, and I'll let you all know how it goes.

 

[JulieM]

For over 20 years my family fed our champion St. Bernards a Purina brand, and they lived long, happy, healthy lives, so I'm naturally skeptical about trendy dog diets.

Lots of dogs are "just fine" on grocery-store foods.....until the owners switch to premium or real foods, and then "just fine" turns out to be not as good as it could be. Of course, 20 years ago even grocery-store foods were probably higher quality than they are today.

In the grand scheme of things, though, kibble is the "trendy dog diet," whereas bones and real foods are what dogs have been eating for hundreds of thousands of years. And some of the companies on the WDJ list have been manufacturing their foods since the 1970s and 1980s, which maybe is a little long for something to stay "trendy." (Are there rules on that?)

Skepticism is never a bad thing, as long as you are also open-minded enough to believe things when you see them with your own eyes. I have heard very few people who switched from a grocery-store brand to a premium brand of kibble say the dogs did better on the grocery-store brand. I'm sure you'll be quite pleased with the results you see with the Canidae.

PS - what was your family's kennel name in Saints? I've always been a fan of the breed - if it weren't for all the hair! :D

 

[GoCougs]

And some of the companies on the WDJ list have been manufacturing their foods since the 1970s and 1980s, which maybe is a little long for something to stay "trendy." (Are there rules on that?)

I define "trendy" as in what is "in" rather than what is best. Not necessarily defined something that has just been introduced. Some kids are wearing bell bottoms today. Just because they've been around since the 70's doesn't discount the look as "trendy". :D

The big dog food companies have nutritionists, and expensive laboratories and scientists. I can't believe they don't know what they are doing.

In the grand scheme of things, though, kibble is the "trendy dog diet," whereas bones and real foods are what dogs have been eating for hundreds of thousands of years.

Humans don't eat the same things today that we historically ate. However, we are living longer.

PS - what was your family's kennel name in Saints? I've always been a fan of the breed - if it weren't for all the hair!

My parent's kennel name was Split-T. They showed Saints throughout the mid-west. We also owned/bred with dogs from Schooner, Born Free, Town and Country, Ru-Sho, and Da Lus kennels, and had friends from many others. They were pretty active during the mid 70's up until the early 90's when they got out of showing after moving to Alaska with the military.

I miss the Saints dearly. They are so loveable, gentle, and sweet. However, as you said hair and size are a big issue.


Thanks for the healthy debate. I think we both have the same goal, and that is the health and well-being of the breed and our k9 companions. If my results with Canidae are half as good as some that I have read about, Annie and her "mom and dad" will be happy at the end of the day.

 

[JulieM]

The big dog food companies have nutritionists, and expensive laboratories and scientists. I can't believe they don't know what they are doing.

Many of the WDJ manufacturers have labs, scientists and nutritionists, too, and the ones that don't have them in-house have access to independent labs (better? worse?) - and all commercial foods must meet the AAFCO requirements. I'm not saying the big companies don't know what they're doing - just that they are often more concerned about their bottom line, and so are using more fillers, cheaper ingredients, etc. Remember, most of the big dog food companies (and some smaller ones) are owned by bigger conglomerates (Iams is owned by Procter & Gamble, Purina is owned by Nestle, Science Diet is owned by Colgate-Palmolive, etc) and pet food is an $11 billion per year business.

Humans don't eat the same things today that we historically ate. However, we are living longer.

Ah, but are we living *healthier*? We have better medical care, techniques for overcoming or at least living with diseases that used to be quickly fatal, etc. - and of course less threat from predators! - but that doesn't mean we're in better health overall than we were historically. (But, that's really OT from puppy feeding!!)

I'm not familiar with the kennel names you mentioned - mostly I know of Slaton and Eastgate. Oh well!

 

[GoCougs]

Slaton Saints is Joe and Shirley Wolf. We knew the Wolf's.

 

[Eric J]

Another thing to point out is not that your vet "sold out" but look at your family doctor. If you have nutrition issues he doesn't tackle it, he sends you to a nutritionist, because he knows this is not his area of knowledge. Why would you expect your family pet doctor to be more knowledgeable? Especially considering they have a much more varied clientele, instead of just humans they have dogs, cats, sheep, pigs, etc.