Supplement w/ Canidae?

[WWII]

I've been feeding Canidae for a little while now and noticed my dog's coat was going to sh*t. I first fed the All Stage formula and they were doing well on it. I then went to the Chicken & Rice formula to up the protein a little bit. I fed that for awhile but about two months ago, one of my dog's coat started getting nasty. I talked to a couple people at the Coldwater show about it and they all were telling me that you need to supplement when feeding Canidae. Has anyone else had problems with this food? I have two dogs and only one of them is having problems with his coat. It's like he needs to shed, but didn't. You can literally pull tufts of hair out with ease. I went back to the All Stage formula and I'm mixing it with 2 pieces of toast with 1Tbs of olive oil over each slice, or when I dont have bread, I'm giving him Salmon Oil (1000mg) I got lying around the house. If he doesn't start looking better, then I'm gonna have to find a new feed. He also lost all his defintion and looked really bloated, which surprised me because he was always very lean. He just had a checkup and was wormed and all that good stuff so I know it's not health related. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this with Canidae? I've gotten plenty of helpful tips on improving his coat, and I thank you for those that I've gotten them from.

[brat pack]

We feed the Solid Gold Wolfking food. It is Bison and Brown Rice. I also supplement with coconut oil. One teaspoon per 30 lbs. once a day. I helps the thyroid, less stool, great looking coats, antifungal, anitviral, all sorts of other great stuff. The food is really good. They seem really satisfied. They only get one cup 2x a day. It costs about $42 for a 33lb. bag. Since I am only feeding it to 3 dogs, it isn't that expensive. To me, if you are feeding a good food, you shouldn't have to supplement really. We found the info on coconut oil and Wolfking in the Whole Dog Journal. They have a lot of good info in there.

[miakoda]

Can't help you. My dogs all looked like shit when on Canidae--dull, dry coats, lots of stools, looser stools, etc.

[maryellen1]

alot of dogs dont do good on the canidae. i rotate between canidae and timberwolf, with each getting wild salmon oil intheir food every day, plus an egg 3x a week... i noticed that one of my dogs doesnt do well on the canidae, and now rufus is shedding like crazy... i will have to switch food as soon as this 33 lb bag is done...

[misterdogman]

Yeah I feed Sportmix...its premium and comes in real small kibble and is comparable to Eukanuba in ingredients.... but only 16$ for a 50 lb bag...it has no soy or husks or crap like that and the main ingredient is meat...by law the food maker dont have to list dogfood ingredients in order of quanity like human food...so I called and they told me in a whole bag there is at least a minimum of 73% meat and other animal products....so thats not to bad...im not saying its the best or even eukanuba is that perfect but the stools are small hard and dont stink because its PH balanced...which is all good things in my mind...its better than Ol Roy or Generic dollar store food ...even better than Purina or pedigree...its 26% protein and 18% fat which aint to high or low ...perfect for a athlete really....oh yeah the omega fatty acids and fish oil keeps the hair great and soft and shedding right...never had a problem in years...but I did on Canidae

[gamebred26]

I feed timberwolf organics lamb and apples to my pup and give him an egg once or twice a week and his coat is glossy as hell....he is 6 months and gets a half a cup twice a day....

[Iverson's Pits]

i made the switch from eukanuba to canidae, and noticed MUCH change in amount and consistancy of their stool (negative change) they are happy and healthy as ever, and haven't noticed any coat change....but i do have to drive 50 min away to get the canidae. that sucks.

[miakoda]

Each dog is different. If you feel that you have to provide supplements, then you actually need to switch foods. Either go back to the Canidae formula your dog was doing well on or pick another quality food. Good luck!

[bahamutt99]

I've heard some negative things about the Chicken & Rice formula as opposed to the all-stages formula. I've fed 3 dogs Canidae and they all did really well on it. One dog that's here right now (belongs to a friend) looks totally different: shiny, starting to gain a little meat on her bony frame, small poops. My dog Loki got switched to Canidae from Nature's Variety with no appreciable change; she still looks great.

I put olive oil directly in the dogs' food here a few times a week. It helps keep coats very sleek and glossy. Just can't give too much or I'd have a couple of stuffed sausages running around.

[Winston]

I have been feeding my dog canidae for 4 months now, and he is doing very well

on it. When i started him on it he weighed 54 lbs, now he is at 50lbs with the

same amount of exercise as I was doing with him on purina.with the

same amount of food.

His coat is shinier, and his stool is somewhat harder and less frequent.

[Boss' Mom]

Hmm well, I've never fed Canidae (my dog is on Innova) but I do supplement. I give my dog 1.5 tablespoons of Super5 Supplement from Wellness. If your dog's coat is feeling dry and what not, I would suggest giving him a raw egg over his food. That always seemed to help with our lab/newfie cross. Good luck :)

[BoiBoi]

I tried feeding Innova EVO but it proved to be too much protein for my dog so i switched him to Canidae All Life Stages and he's doing great on it. I've actually seen a huge improvement in his energy level and the conditioning is unbelievable, he's ripped.

[FearlessKnight]

Each dog is different. If you feel that you have to provide supplements, then you actually need to switch foods. Either go back to the Canidae formula your dog was doing well on or pick another quality food. Good luck! I agree with this statement. You can get ideas from what (anybody) uses, but a lot of it depends on your dog. We started using what I have always been a firm believer in (nutro Max and Natural Choice) but with our dogs, they didn't seen to do too well on it. I wanted to give it a better chance because, I don't like the idea of feeding anything with by-product in it. :eek: But.......we changed a few times and have now found something they LOVE and so do we. We are now feeding Sportsman Pride....with by-product :eek:, but it is working great. They eat less, less firmer mess, coats are shiney, healthy, sleek, and they hardly shed! You need to find something that you half-way agree with, and that your dog agrees with 100%.

[misterdogman]

I agree with this statement. You can get ideas from what (anybody) uses, but a lot of it depends on your dog. We started using what I have always been a firm believer in (nutro Max and Natural Choice) but with our dogs, they didn't seen to do too well on it. I wanted to give it a better chance because, I don't like the idea of feeding anything with by-product in it. :eek: But.......we changed a few times and have now found something they LOVE and so do we. We are now feeding Sportsman Pride....with by-product :eek:, but it is working great. They eat less, less firmer mess, coats are shiney, healthy, sleek, and they hardly shed! You need to find something that you half-way agree with, and that your dog agrees with 100%.you know I like how you say that....because I have tried almost all the super premium and high priced dog food.... the stuff that makes you feel like your feeding top of the line stuff and doing a good job....well I always get bad results like fur or bad toe nail flaking/growing or even bad breath and smelly runny stools....but when I feed something higher in protein than 20 percent and higher in fat than 10 percent but like mid grade stuff I get better results.....like the sportmix I feed is 26/18 and I feed it soley only giving cow bones raw as chew toys every couple weeks....which I get for free.... it is cheap food but comparable to higher priced stuff like Science diet and Eukanuba.....so I theorize im doing better than the minimum by at least 50%....purina and pedigree and even Ol Roy are legal and say they are 100% nutrition for dogs so if im feeding something better then that then im doing a good job...and if im getting better results with a 16 dollar 50lb bag than why pay for the 50$ for a 20 lb bag to just end up needing a supplement for even more $...so any way.... I agree with you very much.... just because your feeding the theroretically best and also most expensive stuff dont mean your dogs will do the best on it...so go right down the middle and they have no problem.....that is funny too because humans are the same way...we all eat crap and pay more for it at Mcdonalds....when we could go home and save money and be healthier....lol.... so find something you can feel good about the "compromise" on and save your money....the other stuff is just propaganda for better sales...just like Vets pushing Science Diet...they get money for it....

[FearlessKnight]

you know I like how you say that....because I have tried almost all the super premium and high priced dog food.... the stuff that makes you feel like your feeding top of the line stuff and doing a good job....well I always get bad results like fur or bad toe nail flaking/growing or even bad breath and smelly runny stools....but when I feed something higher in protein than 20 percent and higher in fat than 10 percent but like mid grade stuff I get better results.....like the sportmix I feed is 26/18 and I feed it soley only giving cow bones raw as chew toys every couple weeks....which I get for free.... it is cheap food but comparable to higher priced stuff like Science diet and Eukanuba.....so I theorize im doing better than the minimum by at least 50%....purina and pedigree and even Ol Roy are legal and say they are 100% nutrition for dogs so if im feeding something better then that then im doing a good job...and if im getting better results with a 16 dollar 50lb bag than why pay for the 50$ for a 20 lb bag to just end up needing a supplement for even more $...so any way.... I agree with you very much.... just because your feeding the theroretically best and also most expensive stuff dont mean your dogs will do the best on it...so go right down the middle and they have no problem.....that is funny too because humans are the same way...we all eat crap and pay more for it at Mcdonalds....when we could go home and save money and be healthier....lol.... so find something you can feel good about the "compromise" on and save your money....the other stuff is just propaganda for better sales...just like Vets pushing Science Diet...they get money for it....
Ya, I found out the hard way...lol poor dogs, went through stomach aches and everything, just because I was stubborn! Like you I "thought" that high price, very reputable and recommended food was the answer; but it isn't. It is all about what your dogs do well on. Ithink you are very right when you say "that somewhere in between food" "mid-grade" from my exp. has proven to be the best..........

[maryellen1]

yep, what works for one wont work for others.. mine did horribly on the EVO. they do better on middle grade food. i think if you find something that works great then to stick with it.

[SouthernDixie]

Have you thought about switching back to the All Life Stages? You said they did better on that right? I feed that, but I add 1/2 a patty of Nature's Variety Raw once a day also.

[bahamutt99]

Have you thought about switching back to the All Life Stages? You said they did better on that right? I feed that, but I add 1/2 a patty of Nature's Variety Raw once a day also.
That NV is good stuff. We get the patties when we can afford them.

[WWII]

I've gone back to the All Stage formula. I'll finish up the bag and see how he's doing. I've been thinking about going back to Diamond Naturals, or even that Sports Mix Lamb formula. It's kind of like the Diamond Naturals. I'm supposed to be getting a good deal on some Eukanuba Premium Performance, so I might go to that for awhile after this bag of Canidae gets finished up.

[Boss' Mom]

yep, what works for one wont work for others.. mine did horribly on the EVO. they do better on middle grade food. i think if you find something that works great then to stick with it.
Yeah but, IMO, EVO is a bad choice for any dog. The protein content is too high, so I'm not surprised your dog did horribly on it. It's over-priced crap if you ask me. The regular Innova is good for my dog, he needs a health food with a high caloric content.

I've always had good results from high end health foods. But there are lots of things to consider when choosing which health food will work for your dog.

[STPFAN]

After feeding Canidae for 2 years I had to switch back to Pro Plan as Canidae gave my dogs a dry, dull coat! Although the quality and ingredients are way better than Pro Plan, my dogs performed and looked there best on Pro Plan!
I guess what works for some doesn't work for others!

Besides that I supplement with "Missing Link" and raw chicken thighs or canned jack mackeral!

The raw meat really does wonders on the dogs energy level and atttude....you see a big difference as the dogs become more alive and hyper!

YIS

[Verderben]

Can't help you. My dogs all looked like shit when on Canidae--dull, dry coats, lots of stools, looser stools, etc.Mine did too. And it made them have a weird odor even after a bath.