Canidae changes

Question
QUESTION: Hi Catherine,

I wrote to you a few months ago and you gave me a lot
of good information. I trust your judgement. We talked about
our new puppy and how good canidae is (or was.)
They have recently changed the all life stages. At first
look the ingredients look great but they have also changed
the manufacturer. It is now made by diamond. which of course
has had there issues in the past. i noticed all three
of our dogs stools have changed color and are extremely
loose and runny. I looked on the web and found out that
there are thousands of people having the same problems.
some much worse, including vomiting and a bloody stool.
this seems to be a lot to do about money. smaller bags at
the same price and now larger bags at a much bigger price.
Have you heard anything about this? I will not be feeding
this to my dogs any more. They have only been eating it
for a few days now. I don't want to take the chance for
something more serious to happen. Canidae does have all
the new info on their website and it does look good. The
one big thing I noticed is ocean fish meal as opposed to
a named fish meal. Is this a case of lower quality product?
We get that prices are going up. I'm sure people would
still use canidae if they raised the prices a few dollars,
but to raise prices and use lower grade products is a huge
mistake. I also read they will coming out with a grain free
food in the near future. The food will be extremely expensive.  Thanks for listening.
Tim

ANSWER: Hi Tim,

The short answer is that Canidae is still a better-than-average food, but it won't be as good as it was. On the site they claim it's improved, but that's just marketing. It's not improved, it's been made more affordable for them to manufacture. I don't like the addition of barley, for one example, and outsourcing to Diamond isn't exactly a move that inspires confidence.

I have not heard these cases of bloody stool etc or I would not be continuing to advise Canidae for owners looking for an affordable commercial diet in the premium range. I expect a lot of Canidae business will now go to Fromm, Merrick's, Wellness, Innova and Natural Balance (to name a few).

And no, I won't be using the new formula for my own dog, but then I mostly homefeed anyway, so perhaps I will now go 1200% homeprepared.
It is a move I can't understand, Canidae was such a great value for the money - no gluten, human grade ingredients etc. A lot of the foods I am interested in, such as Timberwolf Organics, contain gluten which means I won't use it and most of my clientele won't either.


I'd encourage you to look into the aforementioned foods, I quite like Innova despite the barley, and generally speaking if your dogs tolerate it, rotation is a great idea, too. I have several clients who report excellent results using a food like Wellness Superfive as half the diet and a protein-focused product like CORE for the other half.
I think many owners who are reluctant to pay full premium price, but want something better then Beneful will still use Canidae, and I hope the association with Diamond won't mean any more disatsers - for any of the companies out- sourcing there.

I hope you find a reasonable substitute, but as we all know, it can take a few tries before we find the right premium for our individual. Buy small bags and keep notes! Let me know if I can help with anything,
Catherine

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: There are several forums with dog owners reporting very
similar problems including consumeraffairs.com. I'm not one to always believe the internet but i actually expericenced it myself. WHAT WOULD CAUSE SUCH A DRASTIC CHANGE? It can't be from the barley or increased lamb meal. I also saw
Timberwolf Organics recalled two of its foods.
I have looked into some of the foods before and I wasn't
totally impressed by them vs the Canidae, but at this point
I don't have much of a choice. They also say it could take
three days for the dog to adjust to the new food. How can
they say it's the same food but have such a drastic effect
like it was a completely different brand? I have 3 dogs all
different breeds and it affected them all the same. Including one who has had the same stool for over a year.
She never has any problems whatsoever. Is it safe to
continue to give them this food to see if they do adapt to
it? It has been about 3 days today is the 4th day.
Once again
thank you
tim

ANSWER: Honestly, if I personally had three dogs with that sort of reaction I would stop the food and do bland diet for several days. It isn't normal. The fiber profile has changed but I mean, I change dog's fiber all the time, daily, without such drastic reaction. Write the company, check in with your vet - ask for your money back. That's excessive, in my opinion. My Ridgeback has a sensitive bowel but I switch foods within the same fiber/fat levels he doesn't react like that. He had some issues last week when I tried Nature's Variety, but that was a drastic change. I don't like the sounds of this TIm - and I'd let them know it.
Please consider joining my discussion group too and asking if others have had such a reaction. I know a lot of people are going off Canidae now that it's downgraded...but honestly, this is a big reaction.
It may well be "safe" to give it one more day, but it sure isn't comfortable for your pack. Is the diarrhea mucusy, bloody - are they scooting their rear ends, any other symptoms at all? If you have real liquid, or blood - SEE YOUR VET. It might not be the food but a bacterial infection they picked up along the way.

So sorry to hear this happened,
Catherine

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: My dogs have not had any blood or mucus. Just extremely
loose and a very light beige color. Which I guess makes
sense. The food went from dark brown to light tan.
I just realized I told a friend of mine to start using
Canidae for his new puppy. He told me the pup had an
allergic reaction severe diarrhea and a green stool.
He quit using it and now the dog is fine. His story matches
many others reporting the same. Having said that his other
dog is still eating Canidae and is doing fine.
With so many people myself included reporting similar
reactions it really makes me worry. Is it the new formula
or something much worse. How could so many dogs have
a bad reaction from just a formula change?
Thank you so much Catherine.
I will look into your group
Tim

Answer
I'm not sure what the question is here TIm but I hope you are finding the discussion at the group to be of some use. I can't say why a given dog reacts to a food change and another doesn't; the factors are too individual and I'd need a full profile on the dog to make that call. If the food isn't agreeing with your guys you need to make the move to home made or another brand. I'm hoping at TPC we can help you find a food that does serve your pack well.
Catherine