Does anyone here have any experience with Flint River Ranch dog foods?

I'm sorry to say that the new formulation of Canidae is not working for my setter boys and I am on the hunt for a new food.

Time to swallow some "humble pie" and say those of you who sought to change foods when Canidae changed their formula were right on the money!

I have never used Flint River Ranch, because I know both of my dogs don't tolerate wheat very well, and the majority of Flint River Ranch's products contain wheat.

If wheat isn't an issue, this shouldn't be of any concern. I also gather that Whole Dog Journal approves of their foods (though I haven't seen a list of their approved foods in several years).

I also confess I'm a bit weirded out about the whole Pyramid-type distribution scheme.

Kodie came home from the breeder on Flint River Ranch. We got him at 8 weeks old & by 12 weeks he was off of it. The wheat did not agree with him. He's been on Canidae Lamb+Rice (original formula) doing great...but I'm not taking any chances & probably will do a slow transition to either Eagle Pack Holistic or California Natural.

It is true that the basic Flint River Ranch Puppy & Adult Kibble and their Senior formulas contain wheat but the Lamb Meal & Millet and the "Fish N Chips" kibbles do not.

FRR Lamb, Millet, & Rice Formula...
INGREDIENTS: Lamb Meal, Ground Whole Millet, Ground Whole Rice, Rice Bran, Menhaden Fish Meal, Grapeseed Oil, Flaxseed Meal, Lecithin, Garlic, Rosemary and Sage Extract, Choline Chloride, Zinc Sulfate, dl-Alpha Tocopherol Acetate, Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Selenium Supplement, Mixed Natural Tocopherols (antioxidant), Niacin, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Acetate, Ascorbic Acid, Iron Sulfate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Thiamine Mononitrate, Manganous Oxide, Copper Amino Acid Complex, Copper Sulfate, Riboflavin Supplement, Folic Acid Supplement, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, D-Biotin Supplement, Vitamin D3, Bromelain, Papain, Dried Bacillus Subtilis Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus Oryzae Fermentation Product.

FEATURES:

* All-Natural Ingredients
* No Wheat or Corn
* No Chicken
* No BHA or BHT
* No Ethoxyquin
* No By-products
* No Colors or Flavors
* No Sprayed-on additives
* Chelated minerals
* Fortified vitamins
* Lamb
* Menhaden fish
* Whole grains
* Grapeseed oil
* Flaxseed
* Garlic
* Rosemary and Sage
* Tocopherols (Antioxidants)
* Digestive enzymes
* Probiotics
* Twice-baked
* Excellent palatability
* Highly digestible
* Low stool volume

FRR Fish N Chips Formula (Trout & Potato)...
INGREDIENTS: Trout, Potato, Coarse Ground Millet, Herring Meal, Oatmeal, Sweet Potatoes, Canola Oil, (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Flax Seed, Oat Bran, Natural Flavors, Blueberries, Cranberries, Rosemary, Grape Seed Oil, Menhaden Fish Meal, Granola, Ground Oats, Alfalfa Meal, Inactive Dried Brewer's Yeast, Dried Eggs, Lecithin, Yucca Schidigem Extract, Choline Chloride, Zinc Sulphate, dl-Alpha Tocopherol Acetate, Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Selenium Supplement, Mixed Natural Tocopherol (Antioxidant), Niacin, Iron, Amino Acid complex, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Acetate, Ascorbic Acid, Iron Sulfate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Thiamine Mononitrate, Manganous Oxide, Copper Amino Acid Complex, Copper Sulfate, Riboflavin, Vitamin D3, Dried Bacillus Subtilis Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus Oryzae Fermentation Product.

Both of my boys started out on Flint. I LOVED it, especially since the company would ship it to my door free of charge. :grin: I could order on a Monday and have it on my door by Thursday. Sadly, however, their food was too complicated for Duncan. I suspected the wheat, and we tried the fish and chips, but it didn't work either. :( Tanner, however, (who doesn't seem to have any food issues) did great on it.

Which formula of Canidae were they on? My boys were on Lamb and rice and did fine until the switch. Once I noticed problems with Duncan, I was forced to switch cold to California Natural Lamb and Rice. (I always do gradual changes in food with Duncan) Thankfully, the switch went great and both boys seems to be doing fine on it. We've only been on it 3 weeks, but solid production :wink: and no yeasty ears. Most importantly, Duncan isn't balding or throwing up. :)

I know this is probably a mistake and as a newcomer I didn't want to bring it up but I've been a distributor of FRR for 13yrs and my dogs have been on it for their entire lives with no problems. Our Shih-tzu is 13 and our Golden lived to 11 before being taken by cancer. If your dog can tolerate wheat it's a very high quality product. One btw that was not affected by any recalls last year

The adult, senior, nugget and senior plus do contain wheat. The Trout and Sweet Potato as well as the Lamb, Millet and Rice however are wheat free formulas.

I know a lot of people are turned off by the marketing methods and shun the food as a result but it was a great way for me to make money while in graduate school and it was what we determined to be a great product before the marketing opportunity was presented to me by the person selling it to me. Actually, had it not been for a friend of mine in school who bet me that I couldn't make money on the net running a business I would not be where I am today. This was 1995 and the Internet was still relatively young. The rule was that I could do no face to face selling and everything had to be done via the web. I had 3 months to get to a $250/month profit. I put up a site and spammed the search engines to get noticed and offered free samples (big mistake). It worked out very well for me but I certainly respect some folks feeling about the company. I feel kind of the same way in that I wouldn't buy Amway but in fact some of the products Amway sells are regarded as the best on the market.

Anyway, I guess that was a very long answer to a short question. I just want to be clear that I am not here to pitch FRR in any way and only responded to the thread because it was directly related to the products I distribute.

I hope I'm still welcome.

Mark

I tried it years ago - like 10 years ago. It was difficult to get, terribly expensive for a college student, and Oscar didn't do very well on it. The dogs all gave it 10 out of 10 for flavor, though.

I know a lot of people are turned off by the marketing methods and shun the food as a result but it was a great way for me to make money while in graduate school and it was what we determined to be a great product before the marketing opportunity was presented to me by the person selling it to me.
Unfortunately, I think a lot of people are turned off by the marketing aspect of this food because many have run into breeders who INSIST their pups stay on it & that their health guarantee is contingent upon staying with the food. Something they never tell you while you have this beautiful pup in your arms, signing a contract, then there it is in small print, which you finally read when you get home.
BTW you are definitely welcomed to stay around & thanks for the explanation.

Unfortunately, I think a lot of people are turned off by the marketing aspect of this food because many have run into breeders who INSIST their pups stay on it & that their health guarantee is contingent upon staying with the food. Something they never tell you while you have this beautiful pup in your arms, signing a contract, then there it is in small print, which you finally read when you get home.
BTW you are definitely welcomed to stay around & thanks for the explanation.

With the greatest respect this is not isolated to breeders who distribute FRR. The breeder whom we were originally going to get our puppy from, who was very highly regarded (just to stress that this person is not a byb), was only going to guarantee the health of the puppy if we continued to feed Pro Plan Select through the first year. I checked out the food and it's ingredients and I was floored. I didn't see anything that would make this food something that a guarantee should be tied to. Unless of course, you have a vested interest in the product.

Mark

With the greatest respect this is not isolated to breeders who distribute FRR. The breeder whom we were originally going to get our puppy from, who was very highly regarded (just to stress that this person is not a byb), was only going to guarantee the health of the puppy if we continued to feed Pro Plan Select through the first year. I checked out the food and it's ingredients and I was floored. I didn't see anything that would make this food something that a guarantee should be tied to. Unless of course, you have a vested interest in the product.

Mark

I might have agreed with this at one point in my life, but I have to say that having now actually used ProPlan Select... it is by far the best food my greyhound has ever eaten... for him (ETA: my lab also does beautifully on it). Our breeder did not specify a particular food, but she did gently remind me year after year that her line does best on a particular kind of food, and ProPlan Selects fits her recommendation. I'm just sorry I disregarded her advice (and ended up with a dog with appetite/digestion/stool problems for most of his life) until 8 years later I decided to try it.

A breeder requesting that a particular food they have raised successful dogs on for the first year (during development) does not sound unreasonable to me; we almost universally recommend to people who come here asking advice on foods for new puppies to continue feeding the pup as per the breeder's instructions at least for a few months.

Those of us who shop around for a puppy, and then carefully choose one we feel is superior, but then disdain the breeder's food choice are missing a part of the picture, I feel.

I was one of those people you mentioned who ask what the best food is for a lab. I did end up buying a bag of Puppy Chow as that's the food the pups are on now nad will feed it for at least as long as a 17lb bag lasts. At that point I'll decide what is best for Tyler. I've narrowed it down to three choices. I guess I just disagree with requiring a food be used and only guaranteeing the health of the dog is you do as they say. As many have pointed out, some dogs just don't do well on certain foods. So what if 3-4 month into the first year your dog just doesn't agree with the food? What then? I would hope and expect that the breeder would address this on a case by case basis.

No one food is a magic bullet for all dogs like you said. Many years ago we tried Innova for our Golden and even after about a month on the food with a slow transition and feeding a proper amount his stool was still very loose. Obviously this is a great food, just not for Lucky.

I certainly hope the OP question was answered because I feel like I sort of hijacked the thread. Sorry about that :o:

Mark

I think a good breeder will work on a case by case basis, and will always be there for you if problems arise. My greyhound breeder has become a trusted friend, and I always seek her counsel, even 9 years after we got our puppy from her.

Sorry, Anna! I'll end my part in the hijack too.

I fed the Flint River Lamb and Millet to Leah for months with great success. Really nice coat, no gas, no ear infections and normal poos.

When we adopted Toby however, he kept getting loose stools on the food. I tried for weeks for him to adjust and even decreased the amount I fed in case it was too much -- but the food never worked out for him. But it also never caused an allergy flare up in him either. No staph, hot spots or ear infections while on it. Just loose stools. Maybe it was too rich for him?
And since he didn't do well on lots of food, judging by how well Leah did on it, I would highly recommend it. Also, the website I got it from never one approaced me to sell it or anything.