My expierence with TOTW vs Canidae

I agree with the stools being yellower, they were solid right off the bat from switching I was feeding Natures Recipe. I am feeding Naturals Chicken and Rice, 2 cups a day. I supplement with Omega 3/6 gel caps as well as mix in about a half cup cooked veggies ranging from peas, carrots, potaoes and sweet potatoes. no problems with coat. Shedding is average.

I was speaking more on the comparison to Naturals and Canidae, the two inferiors

The place I shop doesn't carry Canidae.

If you have a suggestion of what the best feed would be for around 30 bucks for 35-40 lbs. I am all ears.

Thanks

 

i haven't had any problems with TOTW. i really like it as a regular feed. my dogs do great on it. although when putting a dog thru conditioning, i have had really good success with switching to EVO for the higher protein and energy outflow. i can get away with feeding less and i noticed that when working my dogs they had much higher energy and stamina with the EVO. i would NOT however recommend it for regular feed or for puppies. but a dog being worked and put thru physical "stress" the EVO has worked wonders for me. my dog has shit less and has had greater "output" with the EVO vs the TOTW. not to mention he looks at lot more fantastic.

but yeah, i know other people who have used canidae vs. TOTW and come out with much better results with TOTW.

that does suck that TOTW is so expensive in your area. you might want to try to hook up with a distributer and see if you can get a better deal on it, especially if you can buy in bulk. also, get to know your local non-coperate petstores if you have any in your area or your local farmer's co-op and see if they can help you out. that's what i do. I only pay $41 for a 30-35 pound bag. when feeding a lot of dogs, i bet that extra 8 dollars really makes a difference....

 

On bag sizes, Nature's Variety makes a kennel pack that is 50 lbs. They arent retail so you'd have to convince a dealer to order them for you. But if you're looking for holistic and feed a lot of dogs, its worth investigating. And dirt cheap, somewhere around a dollar a pound at cost. Mark-up would probably depend on how much the dealer loves you.

 

I've tried almost all and TOTW is the best for the money. The only one I liked as much or better was Orijen, but that shit is expensive.

 

I just checked the TSC and it is on sale for $39.99 (plus if you sign on at the TSC website you can get a $5 coupon of of $25). I will be going there today to get my $34.99 bag .

The pet store I have been getting it at offers a 15% discount on the 30 lb bags if you buy 5 or more bags but they don't advertise that deal, you have to ask. I am going to ask the TSC store if they offer a similar discount.

I have had great results with TOTW and have even fed it to my 2 toy breeds for a bit but felt the high protein would be bad on their kidneys long term; they just get it if I run out of their food until I get to the store. Stools for all dogs are small and firm and nary a fart LOL!

Personally, I think it all winds up being the same in my case. I either pay for less of the higher quality food or pay for them to poop out the lower quality food.

 

that's an awesome deal Nell...

 

Well, I purchased my bag and asked about discounts for purchasing multiple bags and the TSC where I am doesn't offer that for animal feed (only for hay and the likes). Never hurts to ask though.

 

I just went out back and checked the last bag I used in the garbage - you are right it was 30lbs and I am just crazy!

As far as the TOTW vs. Canidae comparison - the two foods are just in two different classes completely.

Canidae is a good "starter" food for people getting into premium dog foods as it is not horrible on the wallet and contains some decent ingredients. However, it is simply that a "low to mid level" premium food - there are tons of foods that are worlds better than it if you are willing to pay a bit more out of pocket for the results - but there are also tons of foods that are horrible in comparison to it. It is simply on the lower end of the list of "high quality" foods - which isn't anything insulting for sure, it is certainly a decent food.

TOTW is grain free, Canidae is not - the foods themselves are almost in two different "classes" of food, like comparing apples to oranges. Canidae is good for what it is, but it obviously cannot and will not stand up against TOTW pound for pound on an ingredient based analysis.

However, not every dog NEEDS grain free - there are many dogs that will thrive on Canidae due to that fact alone. For me, it is simply not an option. I've fed it before, but my bitch doesn't do well on food with grain. Other dogs I have had have done fine with it, but for my current situation it just won't work.

 

Ran out of edit time, but wanted to add: It is also good to note TOTW is a grain free food, but there are of course better grain free foods available as well - I am not advocating it as the end all be all of dog food by any stretch.

 

I was definitely thinking of changing feeds when I heard of the Canidae ingredient changes but wanted to give the "new" Canidae a try. There were difference in the dogs so I figured why fix something that isn't broken...

 

Bleck, that last sentence is 100% wrong and I'm past the edit time. Never mind the random chicken fat ramblings, I intended to say something about the fat source at least being after the carb source (the potatoes), but on the flip side that there are mixed opinions about the use of chicken fat rather than fish oils - especially when they are among the first few ingredients in a dry food.