Canidae Ingredients

[mercedes]

Ok, I was interested in feeding Mercedes Canidea, and I know absolutly nothing about dog food, but I got these ingredients of the website. I would like to know what chicken and turkey meal is? It seems like there is alot more crap in this food than what I am feeding her now. Can someone tell me what all these things are? Aren't the "meal" things fillers? Also, there seems to be alot of rice/grain in this food.



Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Brown Rice, White Rice, Lamb Meal, Chicken Fat, (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Ascorbic Acid), Menhaden Fish Meal, Flax Seed, Sun Cured Alfalfa Meal, Sunflower Oil, Lecithin, Brewers Yeast, Natural Flavors, Monosodium Phosphate, Choline, Linoleic Acid, Rosemary Extract, Sage Extract, Ferrous Sulfate, Mixed Tocopherols (Source of Vitamin E) Zinc Oxide, Sodium Selenite, Manganous Oxide, Riboflavin Supplement (Source of B2), Yeast Culture, Dried Aspergillus Niger Fermentation Extract, Dried Aspergillus Oryzae Fermentation Extract, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Streptococcus Faecium Fermentation product, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Cobalt Amino Acid Chelate, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Niacin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, D- Biotin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Calcium, Iodate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Papain, Bacillus Subtilis, Aspergillus Niger, Yucca Schidigera Extract.

[samanthac]

Meal, is simply the muscle meat, deboned, defatted with all the water sucked put of it. It is then ground into a meally consistency so that it is easier to make the kibble with. Can you imagine trying to make dog kibble with big sloppy wet pieces of chicken and turkey. It would be like trying to make cookies with a piece of wheat. What you want to stay away from is unidentified meat sources like meat byproducts or animal derivatives. What the heck is an animal derivative anyway.

Yes, there are alot of ingredients in this food, but PLEASE do not call it crap. I worked as a canine nutrition consultant for four years. You want to see crap, go into the grocery store and pick up ANY bag of food on the shelf, even Iams. Or, just for fun, go to Walmart and pick up a bag of Old Roy. Or go to PetsMart and pick up a bag of Hills Science Diet. Now THAT is crap.

Brown rice and white rice are not bad. They are a high quality source of fiber and grain, unlike corn, wheat or soy which are cheap and used as fillers in low grade foods...that's whay they can afford to sell a 40-lb bag for $12.99. Rice is also very mild on the stomach. If you go to the vet and your dog gets sick the first thing your vet will tell you is to feed them boiled hamburger and rice because rice is so easily digestible...unlike lower quality grains like corn, soy and wheat which are VERY hard for dogs to digest. You do however want to stay away from brewer's rice.

Actaully this food is not at all grain based. There are 4 proteins in the first 6 ingredients...chciken, turkey, lamb and fish. If this were a primarily grain based food then the label would read more like. Corn, corn meal, wheat, chicken, corn gluten. If there are 2 or more proteins in the first three ingredients then the food is meat based (ex, chicken, chicken meal, rice, menhaden fish meal). If there are 2 or more grains in the first three ingredients and more than 4 in the 1st 6 ingredients then the diet is grain based.

This is an exceptional food. It is consistently rated in the top three dry dog foods by the Whole Dog Journal every single year. It is holistic and made with all human grade ingredients. You could literally eat this food right out of the bag with no ill effects. There are tons of nice holistic./human grade foods out there nowadays.

I've tried almost every holistic diet on the market...nice thing about working for a supplier is you get lost of samples. There are so many good ones out there...Wellness, Innova, California Natural, Wysong, Azmira, Pinnacle, Nature's Balance, Evolve, etc, but I have to admit that Canidae is probably my favorite.

If you have any other questions or want analysis of other foods, please let me know. I am happy to help!

[mercedes]

Thanks for replying. I just wanted to know that I am not going to be spending $50 a bag for nothing.

[rott&pitincali]

OH MY GOSH!!! $50 a bag is outrageous. Where are you buying from? I pay $29, and just the other day saw Petco had it at $27. I know if you visit the website you can buy in bulk and it averages out at $32. Check around before you buy for $50 a bag.

[mercedes]

There is only one place aroung here that sells it and that is how much they charge. I would order it off the internet, but I don't really feel to safe with doing that.

[BostonRott]

Meals can be tricky. "Poultry meal" is something to avoid, as it's not specific. Chicken meal or Turkey meal is fine.

What I don't like about Canidae is that rices are the 3rd and 4th ingredients listed. Too many grains for my preference, and the same grain.

I prefer Innova, or the cheaper Chicken Soup foods, fewer grains in the top 4 ingredients.

[samanthac]

Originally posted by BostonRott
What I don't like about Canidae is that rices are the 3rd and 4th ingredients listed. Too many grains for my preference, and the same grain.

This was my initial concern as well, but actually out of the first 6 ingredients there are 4 protein sources and 2 grains. That is a very good ratio. There needs to be some carbs in the first 6 ingredients. The carbs provide quick energy to sustain the dog while the protein can be broken down into a more sustaining energy,

Also rice is one of the highest quality and easiest to digest grains for dogs, which is why it is so widely used. It seems a lot of dogs are turning up allergic to special grains being used in a lot of foods such as barley, rolled oats, quinoa and potatoes...lucky me, my dog was one of them. The only grain that she is not allergic to IS rice. Rice is a very low allergen and very easy on the digestive system.

In speaking to R&D people at several independant labs, brown and white rice are broken down and utilized by the body differently so the body actually treats them as seperate entities. So it is like two different grain sources.

I think Innova is a really good food, but the protein to grain ration in the first 6 ingredients is 3 proteins to 4 grains. Personally, although I like the food, I think that is a little grain heavy. Note: potatoes get lumped into the grain category because of their carbo properties.

Then there is Wellnesss which I also like that is dead even at 3 proteins and 3 grains.

Any way you go though, you can't go wrong with Canidae, Innova or Wellness.

[samanthac]

Originally posted by mercedes
There is only one place aroung here that sells it and that is how much they charge. I would order it off the internet, but I don't really feel to safe with doing that.

That is ridiculous. Call Canidae to find another location or get it shipped to you. I order food off the Internet all the time and it is fine. The company I worked for as a nutrition consultant was www.petfooddirect.com . You can also try waggintails.com. There are a bunch of them out there.

[tugger5000]

Make sure you factor in shipping. It still may be cheaper to pay the 50$ at retail.

[Carina43]

If you are in Wisconsin, I think you have Pet Supplies Plus there. Most (around here) carry Canidae - those that don't will order it.
I don't buy it any more, but I think it's around $30 a bag there - our cat gets the feline equivalent (Felidae) so I visit the store a lot with my puppers.

You could just ask at your local pet supply place, to see if they can order a specific product, too. They most likely can get it from their suppliers, just ask!