ok so thanks to the last thread i started im even more confused... lol. anyone outhere who has fed both? our dog is 9 months and we dont want to feed the adult california natural b/c i personally believe the protein would be too low for him and im not sure about feeding him the puppy one either. i also havent heard anything much about canidae recently just about the formula change... any help is appreciated!

You will find that there are several the regularly visit this site that feed the puppy formula of California Natural to their older dogs. Like myself and another who posted, the puppy formula of California Natural is an All Life Stages (ALS) food which means it is appropriate for a dog of any age. You should go by the ingredients and your desired protein/fat, etc., verses the label. Don't let the "label" guide you. The protein/fat of the puppy formula is similar to alot of adult dog foods.

I have not fed the Canidae and can not speak to it.

Good luck!

I saw from another thread you were concerned about your dogs size...

My suggestion would be to feed the California Natural Adult Lamb... as fed it is a 22-12 food.. a ratio that works for a lot of Labs... it gets absorbed well into the dog giving it the nutrition needed for growth... and health...

If you want to add more protein you can add sardines, salmon, table scraps of meat without throwing off the balance..

I fed this diet to Satch.. and still do...he's 98.5 lbs...after a year old I started mixing in EVO at 20 % because of field training... You only need to add protein to a dogs diet if they are stressed from surgery, training , or other issues.

As to Canidae ... I fed it to my last lab Jazz and she couldn't adjust to it...the only way to know is by trying.... it is made by Diamond foods... who also have some diets that you may like and cost less.

I used to feed Canidae before it was owned by Diamond and didn't have good results with it for my guys. Dry coats, larger stools and gassy. With Calif. Natural we've had the best results, good coats and small firm stools.

Ok we'll try california natural dult lamb. we got a sample of it at the pet store and he ate it with no problems! his poop was solid but there was more than usual. i think that might me becuase the sample was a little more than he usually eats per meal

Charlie is almost 1 year old and he too is eating California Natural Adult. I just went through this not enough protein in it as well. I still feel the protein is low so I am adding either some canned 95% meat or a couple of Primal raw nuggets.

I recently tried the Canidae chicken and rice because I was worried about the protein in CN adult. When we got to 75% Canidae and 25% CN Charlie's poop was loose and icky. I put him back on the CN lamb and rice adult. I wanted to do CN lamb and rice adult and CN lamb and rice puppy (50/50). Natura advised me not to. Ho hum. Natura suggested I try the Healthwise lamb and oatmeal and I bought a bag, but am too chicken to try it.

Nancy

You will find that there are several the regularly visit this site that feed the puppy formula of California Natural to their older dogs. Like myself and another who posted, the puppy formula of California Natural is an All Life Stages (ALS) food which means it is appropriate for a dog of any age. You should go by the ingredients and your desired protein/fat, etc., verses the label. Don't let the "label" guide you. The protein/fat of the puppy formula is similar to alot of adult dog foods.

I have not fed the Canidae and can not speak to it.

Good luck!

These are exactly my opinions also.

do you guys think 26% is too high for a 9 month old? im still torn between the adult and puppy! i just checked online and the store we go to doesn't have canidae. so now im also considering chicken soup adult which has 24% protein but it has soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo many ingredients. is there anyone with a dog who has had recurring diarrhea problems with other foods have sucess with chicken soup??? i never knew choosing a dog food could be so hard!

oh and isnt the ratio for the adult 21-11 not 22-12?

The guaranteed analysis on the bag is 21-11. The nutrient analysis is 22-12. Natura told me to go by the nutrient analysis. You know you could go with CN chicken and rice. Again the guaranteed analysis is 21-11, but the nutrient analysis is 25-11. The protein is higher in the chicken. I've thought about doing this too, but the fiber is only 1.5% I think Luckyluna said she adds in some canned pumpkin when she feeds CN foods.

I've also thought about doing the puppy CN lamb and rice, but Charlie has hip dysplasia so I didn't want to keep him on puppy food. Also, some worry about the calcium in the lamb for a dog under 1 year. The calcium in the chicken is lower

Nancy

oh ok thanks we will go with chicken and rice adult since it has all the stuff we want: 25% protein, 1.5% calcium(a wee bit high but i think it's ok), and 11.5 percent fat. we might even try adding canned pumpkin. when he's older, maybe 1.5-2 years, we might rotate between lamb and chicken

I think that's a smart decision. Probably one I should switch over to as well, but Charlie does really nicely on the lamb and rice. I also add in some extras which should raise the protein level. Good luck.

Nancy

thanks we'll gradually start the switch when we're about halfway done with our bag of innova large breed puppy

Did you know you can keep your pup on the Innova large breed puppy for 2 years? I also had Charlie on that before the CN. I would have loved to keep him on that food, but he had soft poop even after several months. If your pup is doing well on that food are you sure you want to change? I suppose though it is good to rotate.

Nancy

Actually 26% protein is ideal. That's what my 2 boys get.

Im switching from innova b/c it's just too expensive. where i live they charge $60 for a 30lb bag! so im switching to calif. natural b/c it's just more affordable and toby has had some bad cases of diarrhea on innova(not from parasites, he had a stool sample taken)
to canyon labs: the nutrient analysis says the protein is 25% in the chicken calif. natural so that's high enough for me:2cents:

We fed Canidae and loved it! Both boys had great coats...but, then they started having Diamond foods manufactor it, and they changed ingredients which did not agree with Duncan. So, our next stop was California Natural lamb and rice. Both boys look good and are in great health.

I'm curious why you are worried about the protein. Has your lab had problems? I know CN is lower in protein than some foods, but I had our vet look into it and he said there was no reason to be concerned. (I know some people on the board feel that vets do not have very much nutrition knowledge, but in our case, I'll respectfully disagree. :wink: )

I just think that 22% is too low for MY (still growing )puppy. i'm sure that there are plenty of people whose young dogs might thrive on a 22% protein food, but I believe that he should stay on a little bit higher protein until he's finished growing :2cents: