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Old February 24th, 2006, 04:02 PM
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Sadie's Mom Sadie's Mom is offline
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Nature's Variety OR Canidae

Hey guys, I need some food advice. I need to switch Sadie's food again, because she's stopped eating the Nutro Ultra that I've been feeding her. I'm upset about that because it had worked really well with her. I know it's a kind of middle of the road food. I've decided that price definitely isn't an issue.

Originally I was thinking of switching to Solid Gold Just a Wee Bit, but it's fat content is too high. Sadie has definitely been packing on the pounds lately since we've been unfortuneately less active than we should be. So I'd like something with 15% or less fat. She doesn't have allergies that I know of, so that's not an issue. The biggest thing is the size of the actual kibble. For some reason she seems to have issues chewing the bigger sized kibble.

So now I've narrowed it down to Canidae All Life Stages OR Nature's Variety Lamb and Rice.

CANIDAE
All Natural Ingredients
Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Brown Rice, White Rice, Lamb Meal, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Herring Meal, Flax Seed, Sun Cured Alfalfa Meal, Sunflower Oil, Chicken, Lecithin, Monocalcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Linoleic Acid, Rosemary Extract, Sage Extract, Dried Enterococcus Faecium, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus Oryzae Fermentation Extract, Dried Bacillus Subtilis Fermentation Extract, Inulin (from Chicory root), Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Fermentation Solubles, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Mixed Tocopherols (source of Vitamin E), Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Cobalt Amino Acid Chelate, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Ascorbic Acid (source of Vitamin C), Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (source of B2), Beta Carotene, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Calcium Iodate, Folic Acid, D-Biotin, Sodium Selenite, Papaya, Vitamin B12 Supplement.


NATURE'S VARIETY
INGREDIENTS
Lamb Meal, Oatmeal, Brown Rice, Barley, Canola Oil (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid), Menhaden Fish Meal, Dicalcium Phosphate, Flaxseed Meal, Montmorillonite Clay, Natural Lamb Flavor, Alfalfa Meal, Potassium Chloride, Vitamins (Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Niacin Supplement, Biotin, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Acetate, Riboflavin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Beta Carotene, Folic Acid), Sea Salt, Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Sodium Selenite), Lamb Liver, Inulin, Flaxseed Oil, Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Apples, Carrots, Peas, Freeze Dried Lamb, Freeze Dried Lamb Hearts, Freeze Dried Lamb Liver, Pumpkinseeds, Ground Lamb Bone, Butternut Squash, Broccoli, Lettuce, Spinach, Kelp, Salmon Oil, Apple Cider Vinegar, Parsley, Honey, Blueberries, Alfalfa Sprouts, Grapefruit Seed Extract, Persimmons, Olive Oil, Duck Eggs, Pheasant Eggs, Quail Eggs, Sage, Clove, Rosemary Extract

The weird thing about Nature's Variety is that they recommend switching the protein everytime. Like rotating from Lamb, to Chicken etc. whenever you purchase a new bag. Is that really necessary?

Anyways, I think I'm leaning towards the Canidae. 3 meats in the first 5 ingredients! Is the sunflower oil a bad thing though? Any experiences with feeding Canidae?

Also, if there's another brand of food you guys can come up with, let me know!
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Old February 24th, 2006, 06:24 PM
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Sadie's Mom Sadie's Mom is offline
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Oops, sorry meant to post this in the Dog Food Forum!!
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Old February 24th, 2006, 08:14 PM
Prin Prin is offline
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No it's not necessary to switch every time. It's hard enough to find a food your dog agrees with- if it ain't broke...

They're both pretty good, but the Nature's variety has the controversial ingredient "Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex", that has supposedly been banned from human consumption and is being removed from dog foods slowly. The Canidae doesn't have it. The canidae on the other hand has sunflower oil, which we're debating in another thread in the dog food forum. I don't think it's horrible though. I don't think it's something that should deter you from buying the food, but if we find out more, I'll let you know.

All this is about pooling info, sort of an "us vs them" situation and it seems the foods we look at are only good until somebody hears something bad about them....


As for fat, I think it would be far better to cut down on the amount you feed rather than the % fat. Your dog's coat quality and shine will suffer, as will her overall health. If you feed the Just a wee bit, you will have to feed quite a bit less than you were feeding of the Nutro. (But it's a tasty food, so you might have more luck getting her to eat it).
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Old February 24th, 2006, 08:15 PM
Prin Prin is offline
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Solid gold has a lower fat/lower protein food though, if you decide to stick to that route: Holistique Blendz The fish in it might help keep her coat in better shape...
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Old February 24th, 2006, 08:53 PM
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RaYne RaYne is offline
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I've searched my butt of looking for info on ""Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex"". I can't find anything other than the info on mordanna.com.

The only food that agree's with Bubba.. Performatrin Ultra contains it. So I'm still unsure whether to worry about it or not.

Prin, have you found any other info you could possibly pm me?
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  #6  
Old February 24th, 2006, 09:11 PM
Prin Prin is offline
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Nope. And mordanna doesn't look so good without references other than hints to "a german study".
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