# Canidae dog food, unsafe? Storm of consumer complaints.



## Kodasdaddy (Feb 5, 2012)

So we recently adopted a Husky Lab mix puppy! His foster parents had been feeding him Canidae ALS, so we continued to feed him this. He seems healthy, no upset stomach, his poo looks good, and he likes it. I recently did some searching on dog food reviews online and found a whole storm of angry consumers complaining that Canidae was responsible for everything from upset stomach, seizure, abnormal behavior, and many people even blamed the food for the death of their dog!! http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/canidae.html
If I had seen this page before I would never have feed our puppy this crap. Does anyone know what the problem was or is? Is the food even safe? I would tend to believe what consumers say rather than the testimonials on the companies web page. It seems like most complaints stem from a change in their formula a while ago. Is the current formula safe? Was it just dogs that were on the old formula then switched to the new that had problems? The complaints range from 2008-2011. Should I stop feeding my dog this stuff immediately?


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

My dogs weren't eating Canidae when the problems were happening but they did eat it for years and were just fine.

I think the initial problem was consumers not realizing that the formula had changed as dog food companies are or were allowed to use up old packaging for 6 months. I always mixed old and new kibble together, even if the company didn't change the formula chances are every lot is still somewhat different and if you feed a completely monotonous diet any change can upset the dog's gut but consumers tend to trust 'good' dog food companies like Canidae.

I also think there is a bit of hysteria going on about the whole thing now with consumers blaming commercial food for any and all issues their dogs have. Sassy had many upsets over her long career of garbage raiding, I never thought for a moment it was her kibble causing any issue. 

I guess if you are committed to feeding commercial food watch your dog and put him/her on a bland fresh food diet at any sign of upset and if the commercial food still causes trouble after the gut is fine on the bland diet sound the alarm. The stuff is food and dogs die but we are trusting to a company formulating food from products made elsewhere with a lot of testing needed to be certain there is nothing present that oughtn't be there and everything present that ought to be there! And that is ANY dog food, not just Canidae.

That said, I don't use commercial dog products for the most part now. Max eats fresh food and takes human grade supplements and is in much better condition and health than when he ate commercial dog food.


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## jvee86 (Feb 23, 2012)

Canidae was the first dog food I purchased for my dog. He had constipation and bad gas that I assumed was just from him being on a few food etc. I was referred to a more healthy dog food and boom the problems vanished...Nice poop and really no stanky gas. So I dunno if the rumors are true but it didnt sit well with my pups tummy.


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## Jordan S (Nov 21, 2009)

There were plenty of complaints following the formula change, but at the same time there were plenty of dogs who continued to do well on it, and dogs who were transitioned to canidae after the change who are doing fine as well, it's up to you.


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## wvasko (Dec 15, 2007)

Well on another thread I commented that I was switching from one Canidae to another Canidae, now the original Chicken and Rice ALS I had good stools etc and hoping the same happens with upgrade. 

I have a question, on a different forum somebody had a reply,



> In the end, there was a study of dogs.. and dogs fed the cheap s**t and dogs fed the expensive s**t and dogs fed RAW... there was overall and statistically no difference in longevity or disease rates... so go figure.


Just curious if anybody has heard of a study with the above results. 

In 50 years of dog feeding most of the kibble foods I've fed really did a good job. Fed bunches of Purina and Iams. In old school days whatever was selling cheaper, corn etc was added to formula so there were some weird eats going on.


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## trainingjunkie (Feb 10, 2010)

I feed Canidea without worries and my dogs do very well on it. I have been feeding it for years.

If your pup is doing well on it, there's no reason to change.


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## BellaPup (Jul 7, 2007)

I had been feeding Bella Canidae Grain Free for about 2 years. It was the only food she has done really well on. I am currently working on switching her to Orijen grain free because I can never find the Canidae in-stock. The sales person highly recommended the Orijen as well. I HATE switching her food....but we'll give it a go.


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## wvasko (Dec 15, 2007)

It appears the constant food switching is very popular now.


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## CrazyDogLady (Dec 9, 2011)

I've been feeding Mercy Canidade ALS since she came home in Nov. and she's doing great on it. It seems like the formulation switch triggered the wave of complaints, but I did some research and couldn't really find anything to substantiate them. I'm sure some people had issues, but not every dog does well on every food.


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## love2ownlabs (Feb 28, 2012)

I have been using Canidae for my 4 year old Labrador Retriever for two years now. She does really well with it. Coat is glossier than when I had her on mediocre food products with too much grain in them.( I won't mention the companies, because I'm not here to bash their products but they were very popular ones that you would find in your local pet store). My dog is looking much leaner and healthier. Has tons of energy. I like the fact that Canidae is a high protein dog food and does not contain corn, wheat, or by products or fillers in them. After a lot of research, I selected this brand. Anyways, I cannot remark about the quality of the dog food prior to 2 years ago, or the changes Canidae made, but I can only attest to the fact that my dog does really well with this dog food. If there were ever any digestive issues,or other health problems, I would have immediately discontinued using it. I like Canidae and I like the results. Only you can decide if you want to keep your dog on Canidae. BTW, your puppy is adorable looking. Good luck!


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## Goldens&Labs4Me (Jan 18, 2012)

I haven't fed it in a while...but have no complaints when I was feeding it (several occasions over the past few years).


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## BellaPup (Jul 7, 2007)

wvasko said:


> It appears the constant food switching is very popular now.


I don't understand why. It seems to cause more upset than anything. 

If I can keep Bella on a constant, steady diet with good results all-around, why switch? 

That's a different topic, though.

All I can say is if I can find Bella's Canidae formula locally I would be ectatic! My poor Bella Pudding-Poopie-Butt!


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## wvasko (Dec 15, 2007)

BellaPup said:


> I don't understand why. It seems to cause more upset than anything.
> 
> If I can keep Bella on a constant, steady diet with good results all-around, why switch?
> 
> ...


If it ain't broke, don't fix it.


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