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Think I need to switch food- your opinion.
I've been feeding my two dogs Canidae All Life Stages for the last, hmm, two years. IIRC, Canidae is not well thought of on this board, but I don't have an unlimited budget and they've done really well on it. However, in the last few months my lab mix has started to scratch and scoot. I took her to the vet, and and he found no worms, fleas, etc. We both thought it would be a good idea to try a food switch.
I liked the Canidae because it's rated five stars, one of the cheaper foods, and although I generally order through petfooddirect, I can find it at a local pet supply store if I need it. (Pretty small area, and limited access to non-Iams/Purina type foods.)
So, what would be your first thought as to what I should try to eliminate? Eliminating all grain seems like an expensive jump, but scooting on my rug kind of sucks. And, without looking up prices on every brand from dogfoodanalysis, what would be closish in price? (Sorry, I'm kind of lazy!)
Re: Think I need to switch food- your opinion.
I know Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul is similarly priced; I went back and forth with our puppy, who came from the breeder eating Canidae ALS and we started mixing in the CS before I'd really done a lot of price comparison. She wasn't loving the CS though, so I'd checked out the Canidae as a possibility of switching back.
Only caveat right now is the recall CS has on their adult dog light formulas; I believe the regular adult formula is fine, but you might want to look into it if you're thinking of switching. I think another good food might be Blue Buffalo (or is it Blue Wilderness? I can never remember which is which!). If you do make the leap to grain free, I think TOTW tends to be the most affordable.
B/w 1/8: betas 17,345, progesterone 25.6
How much do you pay for Canidae? I feed Wellness Core (6 stars on DFA and is grain-free), and both of my dogs do very well on it. I generally order from PFD and can get a 26 lb. bag for anywhere from $50-$65 (depending on which variety - Ocean is most expensive - whether it's on sale, if I have a coupon, etc.). PetCo also sells Core, so I can go there if I'm in a pinch. I've heard that TOTW is pretty well-priced, so maybe that's an option?
The scooting sounds like an anal gland issue. Have you tried adding a little pure pumpkin to your dog's food? You can also ask your vet about having his anal glands expressed (warning - it's gross). I've only had to do that once for my older pug, but the scooting stopped.
I don't remember the exact price, but from my research last year for Zoey, Canidae was WAY less expensive than CORE is; it might've been at the CORE price point ($50-$65) for something like a 45-lb bag. I could be remember wrongly, but it definitely was less than $2/lb. It's the main reason I ended up going raw with Zoey, since I wasn't finding a low-enough priced grain-free food. The cost difference to switch can definitely be a deterrent.
B/w 1/8: betas 17,345, progesterone 25.6
Emerald Nuts Midnight Run (4m) 1/1/12
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RnR Philadelphia (Half Marathon) 9/16/12
With shipping and after discounts, I pay $1.40/lb for the Canidae. I just ordered a 35 pound bag, and w/ $15 shipping I paid $50. Although we feed less w/ better food, and the dogs have better/fewer stools, I think my H would be hard pressed to pay too much more.
It's not anal glands, that was checked at the vet as well. Maybe I'll see if I can switch to one of the specific protein Canidae lines. It would be more costly than what I'm already feeding, but sounds like it would be less so than some of the other brands.
No real "beef" so to speak that I've ever experienced. A lot of the ladies just staunchly supporting feeding grain free, which Canidae is not. As far as foods containing grains go, though, its grains are far better quality than your run-of-the-mill kibbles. For some, stepping up to the cost of feeding grain free isn't possible; my kitties don't get grain-free kibble, but they do get grain-free wet. It's a compromise I can manage until such a time that I might actually be able to go fully grain free with them.
B/w 1/8: betas 17,345, progesterone 25.6
Canidae does have a grain free line, and as far as I recall, there have been no problems with Canidae. I like it, and would feed it again. They were a pain in the rear to a past regular when they changed their formula and she tried to get info on the new formulation to see if it would be safe for her pup with food allergies, but that's all I know of as far as complaints.
If you wanted to try a different food, I would probably try one of the wellness simple solution foods, since they have limited ingredients.
Have you seen my monkey?
At my local feed store, TOTW is cheaper than Canidae, and grain free. It's $49 for 30lbs (before the frequent discounts and the 10% off loyalty card). But at all full price, it's like $1.60/ lb.
I didn't have a problem with Canidae, just that one of my pups has problems with grain and chicken.
I would also talk to the vet about expressing anal glands (super duper gross) and adding pumpkin to firm up poo.