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Canidae Pet Foods

A statement from Canidae:

September 2008
We apologize to all who have voiced their concerns with our new formulation. Canidae distributed letters to retailers, breeders, updated packaging, and provided in-store signage, however it appears that this message did not reach all of our customers.

The new formulation, with increased levels of meat protein, lowered carbohydrates, and an increased overall complex carbohydrate quality, provides the most nutritious, all natural, palatable products. Canidae never uses soy, corn, wheat, by-products, grain fractions, or fillers in our food.

If you believe your pet has experienced challenges related to the new formula we suggest feeding smaller portions multiple times a day. Adding warm water can decrease the chance of pets eating too quickly and not chewing thoroughly. It’s not unusual for pets to experience some digestive issues when transitioning, but if your problems persist, contact your veterinarian to rule out any underlying health concerns. For more tips, visit canidae.com/transitioningfromorig.html.

Due to increased commodity costs, we’ve changed our packaging sizes, reducing the overall weight by approximately 3-5 pounds per bag. The new sizes are more consistent with other brands and allow for easier handling.

We are committed to bringing quality products to pet owners and in June that commitment led us to Diamond’s manufacturing facility. Diamond facilities have rigorous quality control processes, utilizing a 141-point ingredient test protocol. All products are subject to a 10-point final product safety review and Canidae has also implemented hourly testing to confirm quality and product safety in our onsite laboratory. All Canidae products meet or exceed AAFCO nutrient profiles in USDA and FDA approved facilities.

At Canidae, we are committed to providing you and your pets the highest standard of excellence for product quality, palatability, and customer satisfaction. Please call 800-398-1600 or visit www.canidae.com to let us know what we can do to serve you better.

Canidae
Scott Whipple and John Gordon
Owners
PO Box 3610
San Luis Obispo, CA 93403

Karen of Danbury, CT October 19, 2008

Karen of Danbury CT (10/19/08)
Canidae changed their formula (without notification) in mid-2008. We had all three dogs on it, and they went from having sporadic bouts of (very smelly) gas (which we could live with, as we knew the food was higher quality) to very frequent (MANY times a day), highly noxious fumes coming out their rumps.

We returned the last bag of Canidae ALS that we purchased, and will now go back to our earlier dog food. I am frustrated over two things - 1) Canidae didn't have the sense to leave a good thing alone 2) The lack of early notification in change of ingredients, along with the fact that they didn't mention what sort of side effects could occur.

Amber of Huntington Beach, CA October 17, 2008

Amber of Huntington Beach CA (10/17/08)
I feed my dog Canadae. About a month and a half ago she stopped eating as much. She always got one cup in the morning and one in the evening. She started eating only one cup a day. She has been braking out in rashes, has an eye infection, and has some hair loss, she hardly even plays with her toys, she just lays around.

Last week after eating dinner she thru up. I got an email about Canadie changing the ingredients and I changed her food emediatly. Now she is eating all of food at feeding time and playing again.

Chuck of Allen, TX October 17, 2008

Chuck of Allen TX (10/17/08)
My cocker spaniel has always had a sensitive stomach and I finally found a food he could tolerate, which was Canidae lamb formula. He's done great on it for 2 years and then, completely unannounced, they changed the formula. Suddenly he was having diarrhea and gas & it wouldn't go away so I eventually realized it was the Canidae. Now I'm still trying to find a food my dog can tolerate. Canidae shouldn't have messed with the formula and I don't want to fee my dog smaller portions of their crappy food a few times a day. According to my retailer, they've heard a lot of similar complaints and sales of Canidae have gone way down. Not only did they screw us, they screwed themselves.

John of Montgomery, IL October 17, 2008

John of Montgomery IL (10/17/08)
The company changed formula without informing customers. Bags were not labled with changes.Have been feeding to three highly prized dogs.

All three dogs have continous diarrhea,stomach aches, vomiting.

Debbie of Oregon City, OR October 16, 2008

Debbie of Oregon City OR (10/16/08)
Canidae changed the ingredients of their dog food..but did not inform the public.

I had heard through pet forums that Canidae was the food to feed. I had a new pup and wanted to give her the very best I could afford. After much research, Canidae was the food I selected. After I started her on the old recipie, I adopted two more dogs. So all in all I have 3 Newfoundland's and my boyfriend also has three Newfoundland's. I got him turned on to Canidae so we would be feeding all our dogs the same thing. Our dogs were doing so well on the old Canidae, that he told two co-workers about it and they decided to try it for their dogs. And so by word of mouth alone, Canidae was sweeping our area.

Then the switcheroo with no heads up. Which I find offensive that Canidae didn't even bother to put on their bag New and Improved Recipie! Unless they new it was not an improvement. And they switched manufactuers, raised the price and lower the size of the bags! Were they hoping we wouldn't notice?

My extremely well house broken dogs began to have accidents in the house with loose stools and a weeks worth of belly troubles. I had no idea what was going on...and decided to ride it out and if things got worse...I would have to take them to the vet. From reading other complaints, I consider myself lucky. At least I had no vomit to deal with along with the loose stools. Then one dog began constantly scratching, her ears, her belly and chewing on her legs and feet. I now realize this too is because of the new Canidae recipie. She didn't have this problem prior to their change.

My boyfriend took his older dog into the vet because of her chewing and losing hair to find out she now has an allergy. We assume to the new recipie because like my girl, she did not have this problem before. Her skin is waxy and she has lost almost all of the hair on her belly.

When I contacted Canidae personally by phone and by email..both times I was told some dogs would have a little trouble with the new recipie but VERY few. That they have hundreds of very happy customers and sales have only gone up since the changes. And basically it's not their food, but more my dogs. However, I just spent the entire afternoon researching foods driving around to four different natural pet food store and NONE carry Canidae for sale any more. They all said the complaints were across the board. All I can say though is my dogs MUST have caught on about the switcheroo before I did, because slowly, they stopped eating it. Now one of my dogs wont eat it at all. Which is fine because we are switching foods today.

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