mbc1963 Posted September 14, 2008 Report Share Posted September 14, 2008 I, along with some other posters, am switching off Canidae since the formula switch. Buddy's been itchy all summer, but I bought a small bag of Canidae Chicken & Rice while I studied foods (he was getting the "All Life" which has 4 protein sources), and he's much itchier and I've noticed him picking up a smell, which he's never had before! Yikes! So I just picked up some of the venison formula of TOTW. It is pricy - but if it helps the itching, it'll be worth it to not have a stinky dog all the time. Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afrancis Posted September 14, 2008 Report Share Posted September 14, 2008 Yeah, Mary, we were just told our food from Fromme () is being discontinued at our local store (which we are very loyal to btw) so we're having to look at other options. What's TOTW? Should probably know but ... Skye has done very well on the fish formulations of Fromme and I'd love to find another high protein, low cal version of it (Whitefish). However she has also been itchy. I have put it up to having a heavy coat and being in the water so much this summer. I washed her with oatmeal shampoo the other day and she seemed somewhat relieved. Anyway, I'll be interested to see what others are doing. Ailsa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbc1963 Posted September 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2008 Yeah, Mary, we were just told our food from Fromme () is being discontinued at our local store (which we are very loyal to btw) so we're having to look at other options. What's TOTW? Should probably know but ... Sorry! I should have typed it - Taste of the Wild. It's expensive. ::Sigh:: But all the other foods I looked at had barley or corn in them, and I'm a bit concerned that it's the barley (now in Canidae) that's making Buddy itch. They did have some Whitefish formulations in the store I went to. Can't remember the brand, though. Good luck finding one. Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaggieDog Posted September 14, 2008 Report Share Posted September 14, 2008 I've always liked the Wellness and Eagle Pack Holistic formulas and they both have a fish variety. Maggie's allergic to chicken, so it cuts down on our choices greatly. I'm currently feeding Wellness Lamb and the next go round will prob be ProPlan Selects Salmon or Prairie Beef. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afrancis Posted September 15, 2008 Report Share Posted September 15, 2008 Sorry! I should have typed it - Taste of the Wild. It's expensive. ::Sigh:: But all the other foods I looked at had barley or corn in them, and I'm a bit concerned that it's the barley (now in Canidae) that's making Buddy itch. Hmm...interesting what you say about the barley. Don't know if we can get TOTW up here. That's available in dry? I've always liked the Wellness and Eagle Pack Holistic formulas and they both have a fish variety. I used to feed Riley the Wellness and I did like it. Can't remember now why we didn't feed it to Skye. She has some of the Merrick canned with her dry at dinner, but I see now that our store is carrying the Merrick dry. Has anyone tried this? Ailsa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyler08 Posted September 15, 2008 Report Share Posted September 15, 2008 I just recently switched from Canidae to Merrick, the wilderness blend. I must say the girls LOVE it and it smells alot better than the new Canidae. Also the dry formula, if you add water to it, it makes a thick gravy which they absolutely love. It is pricey but a very good dogfood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyler08 Posted September 17, 2008 Report Share Posted September 17, 2008 I posted this in another thread also. 2 very informative sites I used when choosing foods were. www.dogfoodproject.com (tells you many diff. ingredients to avoid and ones that are good) www.dogfoodanalysis.com (rates diff. dogfoods and gives their opinion on them) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wasi Posted September 17, 2008 Report Share Posted September 17, 2008 Good luck with the switch - hopefully it goes smoothly! I know quite a few people who feed Merrick dry to their dogs, and they love it! Mine never showed a big enthusiasm for it, so I never went beyond the sample pack. Mine really love the Wellness Core, Orijen, and we'll soon be trying the Merrick Before Grain varieties (have all three flavors in sample size). I like them to be on grain free - my arthritic/hip dispaysic boy has gained tons of muscle in his back end since I've gone grain free and he's so much happier/faster/energetic since that's happend. He's like a little pup again! I'm also lucky that I don't need to do the "transition" thing with foods. I can hop back and forth, bag to bag, and never a bad reaction for the pups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afrancis Posted September 19, 2008 Report Share Posted September 19, 2008 Well just went out and bought a small bag of the Wellness Core (Weight loss formula -- Skye is the willing recipient of many "treats" from the "man in the house" ) and am anxious to see if she likes it. We're still going to add some Merrick canned with her dinner for variety. I liked that my store said the Wellness is "satisfaction guaranteed" so if Skye doesn't like it I can bring the bag back for a refund or replace with another brand. Thanks Skyler for the dogfoodanalysis. com website -- it was really helpful. And Mary, how's the TOTW trial going? Ailsa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbc1963 Posted September 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2008 And Mary, how's the TOTW trial going?Alisa Seems to be going well! It's been less than a week, and I'm still mixing with Canidae, so I can't really give any kind of solid report... but the itching seems less. Meanwhile, it's gotten much cooler and dryer here - so it could be that the summer allergy, whatever it was, has passed. Plus, I've give some fish oil, in hopes that maybe it was just dry skin and that would help. All in all, I'd say this is definitely not a very scientific study! But, Buddy does seem to really enjoy the taste of "Taste of the Wild." I'll look around and see if there are other similar brands I can get cheaper. I only explored one supplier this week. Good luck on your switch! Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon M Posted September 21, 2008 Report Share Posted September 21, 2008 Good luck with the switch. I switched from Canidae as well and tried first Innova and then Eagle Pack Holistic. The new formula Canidae was causing itching in one of my dogs and bad gas in both. Lance actually started to smell like a fart all the time it was so bad. The Innova stopped the gas and itching and so did the Eagle Pack. But the dogs like the taste of the Eagle Pack a lot so I'm planning on sticking to it. They actually lick their empty bowls clean when I started feeding Eagle Pack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnLloydJones Posted September 21, 2008 Report Share Posted September 21, 2008 They actually lick their empty bowls clean when I started feeding Eagle Pack. Senneca did the same after starting with Eagle Pack (Anchovy, Herring and Salmon) -- earlier she never did that. And in the transition (morning EP / evening Canidae old formula) she did it for morning and evening meals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbc1963 Posted November 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 Update! Buddy has been on a gradual switch to Taste of the Wild (Canidae/TOTW mix as I used up the last Canidae) for about 7 weeks now. He's doing well, and the itching seems to be cut back a lot. This could be due to the change from warm, mildewy, damp summer weather to colder weather - who knows? But the smell I was talking about is gone, at least. After I finished a 15-lb bag of Venison TOTW, I drove back to the co-op where I had bought it. No big bags of venison, so I grabbed a big bag of salmon. Hope there's no intestinal upset. (It's a Very Long Drive to the co-op, and I'd already wasted the gas, and the big bag is cheaper...) Oddly, the salmon kibbles seem not to float. Buddy loves to chase treats in the local reservoir, but he kept losing his today. Poor expectant dog, looking vainly at the water surface for a treat that has met a watery grave. Any other updates of Canidae switchers? Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedismom Posted November 14, 2008 Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 My dogs itching stopped when I started supplementing with fish oil. I'm feeding Canine Caviar now. Sometimes the Merrick for Jedi. He can eat anything but Cadi only tolerates the Caviar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizmo Posted November 14, 2008 Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 Hope the switch continues to go well for you! We, too, switched off Canidae when they made the change. We went to DLG (Dog Lover's Gold) and it's been working out very well for the dogs. I also love TOTW. We used it for about 4 months. Just to try it, then we switched back to Canidae because we had to order it on-line. But just wanted to add that I think it's a great food, too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trailrider Posted November 15, 2008 Report Share Posted November 15, 2008 I use TOTW wetlands formula for a dog that is allergic to corn and canola oil. It is expensive, but worth it for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadows Mom Posted November 15, 2008 Report Share Posted November 15, 2008 Both of my dogs got VERY sick on the new formula Canidae, vomitting and explosive bum issues... ugh.. it was bad. I talked to the owner of the store and she let us return it, I guess a lot of folks were returning it for the same reason. I switched Shadow to Blue Seal By Nature; the salmon, whitefish, and yogort variety. I like it even better than the Canidae old formula.. its chicken free, wheat free, low gluten.. and its just right for her insides! Plus she loves the taste! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dal & Mad's Mom Posted November 16, 2008 Report Share Posted November 16, 2008 I'm trying a new brand called Verus and my dog would like to report that they'ld rather starve than have to eat it. It has a weird greenish sort of color to the kibbles. The only way I can get them to eat it is to pour canned merrick over it. We change foods alot and most recently had waltham from royal canin and they liked that and we are also small bag testing evolve lamb and rice which they like better than the Verus. TOTW is a good one and diamond naturals suits them fine. I miss the old canidae. They also like chicken soup for the dog lover. We feed the puppy one with good results at the rescue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotimus Posted November 17, 2008 Report Share Posted November 17, 2008 I switched to the TOTW Salmon formula. Callie loves it, and I've had no stomach issues with her. My 13 y/o Black Lab on the other hand is not doing so well on it. Trying to figure what I should try with him next. His gas has been so bad he can clear a room in about 2 seconds flat. Rahne, who is 4 1/2 months old is on the Blue Buffalo dry puppy food, and she's been doing great on that. So when would be a good time to start to switch her to the TOTW? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2 Devils Posted November 17, 2008 Report Share Posted November 17, 2008 I just order Before Grain Buffalo to try out. It should be in on Thursday. It is not easy finding a grain-free in the stores. I have fed Evo and Core but wanted to try something new since my dogs did not seem to be doing well on them. They did well on Evo for awhile and then they started having issues with it. I switched to Core for a couple months and the dogs were still doing poorly. I have gone back to Evo for now but one of my dogs became quite ill after the switch hence wanting to try something totally different. I really hope Before Grain works well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Root Beer Posted November 17, 2008 Report Share Posted November 17, 2008 I just order Before Grain Buffalo to try out. It should be in on Thursday. It is not easy finding a grain-free in the stores. They are getting easier to find around here, so hopefully they start showing up in your stores, too. Just the other day when I went to get some TOTW for my guys, I saw that the store now carries Evo and another grain free food in addition to TOTW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bo Peep Posted November 17, 2008 Report Share Posted November 17, 2008 Usher & Bliss are on Dog Lovers Gold. I noticed I had to cut back to 1/2 a cup twice a day, Usher got a little chubby. It's working well for them. I also add lipaderm with vitamin E oil on top. Glad most of you are doing the switch well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2 Devils Posted November 18, 2008 Report Share Posted November 18, 2008 I can get EVO & EVO RM, Core and Barking at the Moon at a local store. I am trying to cutback the overall protein which is why i am not try BATM. Some stores also carry wetfood that is no grain but not the actual kibble. Oh well, I know a place that will order just about anything I want. I just hate not being able to run out a buy if I forget to reorder early enough. I really wanted to try Instinct but that was extremely hard to find in kibble version. I can find canned in many places - go figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbc1963 Posted November 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2008 I had worried, when I switched from Canidae to TOTW, if I'd be paying even more because of the increased feeding recommendations, but boy does my dog NOT need to eat twice as much of the TOTW. Can't imagine giving him the 3 cups (1.5 cups 2X per day) they recommend. On 3/4 cups 2X per day, he's maintaining a very healthy weight. Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afrancis Posted November 18, 2008 Report Share Posted November 18, 2008 Well, we were never on Canidae but did switch from Fromm to Wellness Core. Skye's been on that for a while now and I have decided to go back to Fromm. So, its the whitefish and potato formula at 11% fat, which is lower than the TOTW that I found at a specialty local store at 15%. She needs to lose a few pounds, esp. from being on reduced activity since her surgery. Skye's poops on Wellness Core have been smellier, larger, softer and more numerous than on Fromm. Other than that, her energy level seems the same. So I reason that if so much more is coming out, she can't be effectively processing it, so its just going to waste. Maybe I'm naive, but I figure if most of what I'm feeding her is just coming out again, what am I paying for? Ailsa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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