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Canidae brand food...

2K views 26 replies 16 participants last post by  allprolab 
#1 ·
Does anyone use this? Any opinions either way?

We decided that our dogs need to be eating better food. For the most part they've ate pedigree, but Pete has mostly ate iams or purina one. So we bought a smallish bag of the lamb Canidae to see how well it goes over.

Should I expect them to need less food?

Another question...

Does anyone blend food? We wondered if it would be a bad idea to buy a large bag Canidae and a smaller bag of pedigree and mixing them. This can both cut the cost a bit. We don't want to do that if it negates the rewards of the better food.

ok, I think that's it.
 
#3 ·
Kallie has always done really well on Canidae..She had some allergy issues so we had switched her to Wellness and she did horribly..always had loose BM's..at that time Canidae had come out with the one protein one carb choices so we tried the lamb and rice one and we haven't looked back...When we brought Guinness home we put him right on Canidae and he does really well with it too...I know our trainer recommends it but we were using it before hand...
 
#9 ·
Bella's been on Canidae (ALS) for almost 6 years and has done great on it. Firm poops, no gas, good coat, etc.
Like any food, some will do well on it and some won't.

You'd have to look at the caloric density of both foods to figure out how much less you should feed compared to the other stuff.
You probably want to blend while transitioning to a new food, but once you get to 100% new, you should just stick with it.
It costs more per bag, but the bag will last longer because you won't need to feed as much volume.

Good luck.
 
#10 ·
rottnlab dad said:
Bella's been on Canidae (ALS) for almost 6 years and has done great on it. Firm poops, no gas, good coat, etc.
Like any food, some will do well on it and some won't.

You'd have to look at the caloric density of both foods to figure out how much less you should feed compared to the other stuff.
You probably want to blend while transitioning to a new food, but once you get to 100% new, you should just stick with it.
It costs more per bag, but the bag will last longer because you won't need to feed as much volume.
We did ween them off the old stuff into the new. You said exactly what we're hoping happens. Better food might be more expensive but we hoped to not have to use as much food. Hopefully it equals out. But I really don't mind if I have to pay a few bucks more.
 
#11 ·
rottnlab dad said:
It costs more per bag, but the bag will last longer because you won't need to feed as much volume.
I would check this with your current food, because when we fed ALS the bag had us feeding double what we were on Nutro for the same calories.

Also, for the sake of argument, Marlan hated ALS but Riggs was ok on it. Additionally, the people on the Rottie forum I am on LOVE Canidae. They flame people who rise up against it! Hahaha just joking.
 
#12 ·
Bell has been on Lamb n Rice for some years and I wouldnt have thought it would make that much of a difference from Science Diet. Was I wrong. Next to no eye mocos and her coat did get darker and softer.
I think it all depends on how sensitive your dog stomach is. I think you will find pro's/con's on most dog foods.
 
#13 ·
MarlansMum said:
rottnlab dad said:
It costs more per bag, but the bag will last longer because you won't need to feed as much volume.
I would check this with your current food, because when we fed ALS the bag had us feeding double what we were on Nutro for the same calories.
I didn't think that sounded quite right, so I looked it up. :) Values beside the names below are the kcal/cup counts.

Nutro-Natural Choice Lamb & Rice 340
Nutro-Natural Choice Lite 244
Nutro-Natural Choice Senior 272
Nutro-Natural Choice Chicken, Rice & Oatmeal 338
Nutro-Natural Choice Dental Care 289
Nutro-Natural Choice High Energy 393
Nutro-Natural Choice Large Breed Adult 335
Nutro-Natural Choice Large Breed Weight Management 279
Nutro-Natural Choice Large Breed Senior 296
Nutro Max Adult 380
Nutro Max Mini Chunk 375
Nutro Max Natural 380
Nutro Max Beef & Rice 353
Nutro Max Large Breed 306
Nutro Max Weight Control 273
Nutro Max Senior 280
All listed as I'm not sure which Nutro formula you were referring to. ;)

Canidae All Life Stages 468
So, as you can clearly see, none of the nutro varieties come close to canidae in terms of kcal/cup counts, so you would need significantly less Canidae than Nutro. (kcal/cup is a way better indicator of how much you need to feed than values on the bag are. ;))


And for you, allprolab:

Pedigree Complete Nutrition Adult 290
Pedigree Chicken, Rice & Vegetables 320
Pedigree Small Breed 250
Pedigree Large Breed 310
Pedigree Lamb & Rice 330
Pedigree Weight Loss 246
Pedigree Weight Maintenance 330
Pedigree Healthy Maturity 246
 
#14 ·
Perhaps you can also teach us how to determine how many kcals our dog requires per day. Although I no longer feed Nutro or ALS, I am certain that according to Mar's weight and age Canidae's reccommended amount was almost double what Nutro's was (we were shocked). There's something screwy there.
 
#15 ·
MarlansMum said:
Ok, so maybe I worded it wrong, but for Mar's height and weight on the all stages formula their reccommended amount was double what it was for Nutro. You can look that up if you want ;).
That wouldn't play into it, really. The kcal/cup # indicates how nutrient dense a food is, that wouldn't change based on the size of the dog at all. Don't go by what it says on the bag, they always put a higher amount than necessary. That way you use more food, therefore buy more food. ;) I believe you that it said to feed him more, but the fact that Nutro doesn't have anywhere near the kcal/cup count that Canidae does tells me that you would need to feed way, way less to achieve the same results. :)

Also, over-feeding of a nutrient dense food can cause loose, mucousy poops. ;)

ETA: I did check, and Canidae ALS recommends a 50 lb dog be fed 2 cups/day. All of the Nutro products I looked up recommended more than that. Most recommended much more, up to 4 and a half cups for a 50 lb dog.
 
#16 ·
I have used Canidae on both my Newfies, Shih tzu and now our newly adopted Lab and everyone has done very well on it. :) Remember when you use it if you contact them they will send you a form to fill out and when you have bought ten bags you get a certificate for a free bag. Basically as frequent buyer program. It helps save money.
Hopefully it will be great for your dogs too!
Rena
 
#17 ·
I feed my two Canidae ALS. I switched them from Nutro Ultra to Canidae ALS last summer. It took about 3 months to begin to see a difference in Jefferson's coat--and it is a very minor difference. I can't tell any difference in Teddy's coat.
I feed them about the same amount that I was feeding before--and they have stayed the same weight. Jefferson weighs 70 lbs. and gets 1 1/2 cups twice a day (total of 3 cups) Teddy weighs 60 lbs. and gets 2 cups twice a day (total of 4 cups) I think you just have to watch your dog and adjust accordingly. If I think that their "waist" is getting too filled out--I decrease by 1/4 increments until their weight stabilizes where I want it.
 
#19 ·
Canidae ALS is the only thing that doesn't give my Boston Terriers hellacious gas...so we feed it to them and our 2 labs. Everyone does very well on it. I don't think it's expensive at all, especially compared to some of the other premium brands. I only pay about $40 for a 40 lb bag at the feed store.

Teddy (CL) is about 75 lbs and gets 2.5 cups
Cocoa (CL) is about 50 lbs and gets 1.25 cups
Ivy (BT) is about 25 lbs and gets 3/4 cup
Emily (BT) is about 16 lbs and gets 1/2 cup
 
#20 ·
I have my two on it and they have done very well. My father has switched his dog over to it and she has done well with it. We were both feeding our dogs Techni-cal (made by Royal Canin) and all dogs were doing well with that but given the food scare I wanted to put the dogs on something with no corn or glutens of any kind. Tried my two on the Canidae ALS and haev not looked back. I am able to feed both my boys for the same cost as I was feeding one on The Techni-cal.

I think you will find there is no need to mix foods like you are suggesting. Both mine get two cups a day each and both are active dogs. I always get complements on how healthy they look, how good their coats and teeth are. Also, no ear or eye infections at all (knock on wood)
 
#21 ·
I'm in the process of switching from Pro Plan Lamb and Rice to the Canidae ALS. They really seem to love the flavor whereas with the Pro Plan they would just pick at it. With the Canidae they eat it right away. No problems so far so we'll see where we end up in the next several weeks since it takes some time to adjust to the new food.
 
#22 ·
PerhapsI'm wrong but I think some people won't know how to compute the equivalence in kcals between Food A which has X amounts of kcals and Food B which has Y amounts of kcals.

If you're feeding 2 1/2 cups of Food A which has 300 kcals/cup then you're feeding 2.5 x 300 = 750 kcals.

Simillarly, if you feed 2.5 cups of Food C which has 362 kcals/cup, it's 2.5 x 362 = 905 kcals

Let's say the food you're going to feed (Food B) has 450 kcals/cup.

To find how many cups of the new food to feed, you divide 450 (or whatever the kcals/cup of the new food is) into 750 kcals to find how much of Food B has equal kcals to Food A -- that gives 1.67 or 1 2/3rd cups.

(Similarly, if you anticipate feeding Food C which has 468 kcals/cup, you divide 468 into the total amount of kcals you were feeding to get the number of cups to feed of the new food)
 
#23 ·
Very good information in here. We're going to cut back their amount a bit and see how things go. We're anxious to see if we'll notice a difference.

Good tip on the feed store. After going to canidae.com we discovered that they carry it at a feed store just down the road. And beyond that they sell it at a dog spa that is pretty darn close. Can't beat that.
 
#25 ·
allprolab said:
Those of you using Canidae ALS, can you tell me how much you pay for a 40lb bag?

Whoever mentioned a feed store...thank you so much. There happens to be one about three miles from me, and I just got a 40lb bag for $31.50 w/ tax. You can't beat that!
I paid $36.75 for a 40lb bag. I think that's a pretty good deal for the quality of food. My girls woof it down and have been doing great on it. With the Pro Plan they really turned their noses up to it. Many times they would just walk away and wait for the next feeding time. With Canidae they don't hesitate.
 
#26 ·
allprolab said:
Those of you using Canidae ALS, can you tell me how much you pay for a 40lb bag?

Whoever mentioned a feed store...thank you so much. There happens to be one about three miles from me, and I just got a 40lb bag for $31.50 w/ tax. You can't beat that!
That's a great price.
Up until a few months ago, I was paying about $32 before tax, but it recently jumped up to around $38 (oh well).
 
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