Feeding Canidae

[Cheetah]

Shippo's been on Canidae since he came home to me at 12 weeks of age, and does great on it.

[Chip's Mom]

Pet Partners told me about it and gave me a card to keep track of the bags. You save the numbers on the bottom of the bag and put them in this envelope and when you have saved up the 12 bags, take them back to pet partners. You may check in where you buy your dog or cat food and ask about it. It helps alot when you buy the 40 lb bags all the time.

[MyPemCharlie]

Yes, I just picked up another 40 lbs a couple days ago. I'll check with the pet store. If I can save money on food, think of all the extra toys Chalie can have. Thanks!!!!

[LaRogue]

now that hes 8.5wks im wondering whats the best portioning with canidae? it seems like its recommended to reduce their meals as they get older?? Is this true?

I agree with the other members, your puppy is growing quickly and he's too young to cut back on his food. In addition to the other great suggestions for determining when to start cutting back on the amount of food, I'd like to add that it's been my experience that a puppy will "tell" you when it's time. When a healthy puppy (or adult!) starts getting picky about eating meals, I will cut back a 1/4 of a cup and adjust the amount from there for the next few feedings to see how that works.

while the nurses at my local Banfield lectured me on getting a puppy food, the vet thinks highly of Canidae and recommends I stay on it. im not sure if their ties to petsmart requires them to recommend the food they sell...which in our case is all crap. it seems like their top brands are royal canine and nutro foods.

I think Canidae is one of the good quality foods. As long as your puppy does well on it and likes it he will do well. I would stick with it!

Also I have not heard of the PAWS canidae? Is it new?

I think this refers to the PAWS message printed vertically on the front of the bag, referring to all life stages.
Puppies
Adults
Working
Seniors
I believe the only Canidae formula that does NOT meet AAFCO requirements for all life stages is the platinum (senior/weight management).

[Peggy]

Originally Posted by Louwants

You may also want to think about large bred puppy food. I know, Michael probably won't agree with that. My vet suggested that for Duncan when he was about 5-6 months old. He was limping a little, and I rushed him to the vet thinking may have torn his ACL. He was just growing so fast the vet said, and his growth plates were growing as fast or something like that. Any, the large breed puppy would help his joints.

Which is exactly why some of us don't feed the puppy formulas at all. And why an all life stages is just fine for puppies.

Peggy

[MattC]

Hi Bonnie,
Canidae PAWS is the the All Life Stages formula. I only refer to it as PAWS because that's what Nick's breeder referred to it as. It stands for Puppies,Adults,Working, and Seniors. It might be relatively new as Nick is only two

[Chip's Mom]

Thanks MattC - that is what I buy for my trio too. I have to buy the chicken because Chip refuses to eat lamb.

[MyPemCharlie]

I opened the new bag of Canidae this morning, and when I gave Charlie his breakfast, he sniffed at it and looked at me like I had changed his food. It took him a minute or two to start eating, and he kept looking at me like it wasn't the same food or something. He did finish it, but I thought his reaction was odd.

Do you suppose there is some variation of the mix of ingredients between manufacturing lots? Or maybe after opening a bag the food loses some of its "aroma" overtime, and the new bag smelled very "fresh". I don't know. Has anyone else noticed the same thing?

[LaRogue]

Or maybe after opening a bag the food loses some of its "aroma" overtime, and the new bag smelled very "fresh". I don't know. Has anyone else noticed the same thing?

I've gotten that reaction (and down right refusal to eat) with more than one corgi, when nearing the end of a bag-different brands too, not just Canidae. Seems my corgis have been connoisseurs! hehehe Not a problem with a new bag, though, they've always danced with joy when a fresh bag was opened and gobbled it up. I hope you'll keep us all posted if something odd is going on.

[MyPemCharlie]

Day three on the new bag, and I put his breakfast down, told him "Free", and he sniffed at the bowl and looked at me like "What is this?" Anyway, once he starts eating, he does finish in his normal 3-5 minutes. His poops look the same, quanity, color and size. I don't think it's anything to worry about too much. I didn't notice it with the last new bag of food.

Maybe the previous two bags were of the same lot, and this bag is from a different lot. I wouldn't expect different lots to be perfectly consistent, especially to a dog's sensitive sense of smell. It certainly appears that he won't starve to death because of it. LOL I think we're alright.

[ShannonRD]

Both of my pups are about 10 months old and have been getting one cup of Canidae twice a day, though they sometimes leave one bowl full. I will probably switch to one cup each once a day after they are about a year old. Both are at a healthy weight.

As for the freshness of the food, I would recommend purchasing air-tight containers to store the food in. My dad always did this with his dogs because they also rejected the end of the bag; the food probably gets stale. I've never had a problem with them not wanting their food. Our pet store had buckets for a reasonable price, and I have also used those huge empty popcorn tins available around Christmas time.

[IslandGirl]

i started feeding him 1.5 cups a day and he's definately not eating all. he's actually not as interested in eating anymore. when we first got him he would eat all his food in one sitting, he would even lick the bowl. now i have to crate him to eat. he'd rather play and have brief moments to eat which sometimes end up with him playing w/ the kibble.
his schedule is: 0.5cup breakfast, .25cup stuffed in a kong for lunch, and .75cup for dinner.

any thoughts? i really want to keep him on canidae.

[Michael Romanos]

I don't know about Canidae, but I have first hand knowledge of several other premium dry food products and I would not give my Taylor 1.5 cups of them per day. I suggest you reduce the dry food to half ie three quarters of a cup and add some tasty and healthy supplements such as fresh diced cooked meat, veggies, cooked brown rice and/or fruit. No more than 20 percent of the 'supplements' by weight when compared with the dry food.

[LaRogue]

i started feeding him 1.5 cups a day and he's definately not eating all. he's actually not as interested in eating anymore. when we first got him he would eat all his food in one sitting, he would even lick the bowl. now i have to crate him to eat. he'd rather play and have brief moments to eat which sometimes end up with him playing w/ the kibble.
his schedule is: 0.5cup breakfast, .25cup stuffed in a kong for lunch, and .75cup for dinner.

He may just be too distracted/excited to eat. I would give him 30 minutes and then no food or treats until the next meal. Even though he is a puppy, I don't think will hurt him, as long as he is healthy. How old is he now? He could be ready to go from 3 meals a day to 2. Probably some one experienced in raising puppies can offer some better advise.

[Peggy]

Originally Posted by MyPemCharlie

I opened the new bag of Canidae this morning, and when I gave Charlie his breakfast, he sniffed at it and looked at me like I had changed his food. It took him a minute or two to start eating, and he kept looking at me like it wasn't the same food or something. He did finish it, but I thought his reaction was odd.

Do you suppose there is some variation of the mix of ingredients between manufacturing lots? Or maybe after opening a bag the food loses some of its "aroma" overtime, and the new bag smelled very "fresh". I don't know. Has anyone else noticed the same thing?

There very well can be a change in ingredients. A company can change the formula and they have 6 mos. to change the wording on the bag. So the ingredients on the bag may not be exactly what's in the bag. Keep an eye on things and read your bags to see if there has been a change.

Peggy