Complain about a product or service

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

Robert of huntington beach, CA May 26, 2009

We began feeding our dog Canidae dog food last year and she began to show signs of deterioration, culminating is what the vet has described as kidney failure as well as liver problems. We then read about all the kidney and liver problems dogs have had on the new Candidae formula.

Marilyn of Mason, MI May 24, 2009

At the end of December (2008), after several days of internet research, reading dog food labels, asking questions, etc., I decided to try Canidae dog food. I hugely regret this decision. I put two of my Bouviers, Crystal and Keeli, on the Canidae Original. I began gradually changing them over to it but when the mixture increased to 50/50 Keeli ended up with loose stools.

After a while, thinking the multiple meats in the Original was upsetting her, maybe it was too rich, I decided to put Keeli and Crystal on the Canidae Chicken and Rice formula, that’s what they were used to, chicken and rice formula in a different brand of dog food. They were on the Canidae Chicken and Rice formula for the month of January and Keeli had loose stools or diarrhea that whole time. She also had hot spots on her cheeks (first the right cheek then the left cheek) which I couldn’t get under control even with antibiotics. At one point in January I even emailed the Canidae Company but got a couple of copy/paste responses with no interest in my individual concern.

Their email responses showed a lack of concern, a seemingly blaming attitude (it must be that you transitioned too quickly), I actually felt insulted by their responses. They didn’t care about me or my dogs, such a lousy attitude. A little bit about me – I grew up on a farm, raised and trained horses for several years, then about 20 years ago I bought my first show dog (a Bouvier) and ever since then I have raised, trained, and shown Bouviers with over 40 Champions to my credit. So I have a lot of experience with animals. In February (just a few weeks after I started feeding the Canidae) Keeli, our 5 year old bitch, ended up sick. She was diagnosed with pancreatitis. Her blood work showed elevated lipase and the ultrasound verified pancreatitis. After a week at my vet's clinic Keeli came home on Science Diet dog food (which I hate). Just when I am thinking Keeli is going to be okay and she was seemingly feeling better, Crystal, our 9 year old bitch, refused to eat her breakfast.

Throughout this time Crystal had acted lethargic and somewhat painful at times but her stool remained okay so we blamed it on her back problems. It didn’t occur to me that Crystal may have been sick too. But when she wouldn’t eat her breakfast I took her into my vets and sure enough now Crystal has pancreatitis (that was April 24th). She spent 11 days at my vet clinic and improved somewhat but remained anemic. She came home to us on a Monday but by Wednesday she was so weak she could hardly walk without stumbling. I was so upset; I took her back into my vets’ clinic. I am again sitting on the floor at my vet’s clinic with my dog in my arms crying, so many tears these past few months. They kept Crystal over night, I went back the next morning to visit her, they had to carry her into the room because she was too weak to walk on her own. Sitting on the floor, Crystal’s head in my lap, I looked up at my vet and in shock and with tears I said, “She’s worse than she was yesterday.” That was when I told my vet I wanted to take her to OVRS (a specialist vet clinic in the Detroit area). I got her there by afternoon but it was too late for Crystal, they couldn't help her. She died by the next morning. And less than a week after Crystal died, Keeli ends up with pancreatitis again. Keeli, my sweetie, my love, so devoted to me she follows me around the house, full of happy energy–pancreatitis for the second time. Am I going to lose her too??!!! So far this year my vet bills are over 6000. I am so heartbroken, and of course blaming myself. I made a huge mistake changing over to Canidae. I lost Crystal and now does this mean that Keeli will have chronic pancreatitis and/or a shorter life span all because of feeding Canidae for six weeks? I wish I had known of all these problems before I fed Canidae.

Susan of Indianapolis, IN May 19, 2009

I fed Canidae ALS to my five dogs until they changed their formula last year and all of my dogs became very sick (yellow diarrhea, vomiting, lethargy, and so on). I changed dry foods, but kept them on a little canned Canidae each day. For months, the consistency of the canned food was smooth; however, this last case I bought was much, much different. The food is dry and crumbly, and it smells absolutely terrible.

It smells spoiled or rotted. So I am now taking my guys completely off of any and all Canidae products because obviously this company can't be trusted to put out a good, consistent product. How sad. This company used to be very customer focused and the products were great. Not any longer, however.

joyce of Rocklin, CA May 18, 2009

A few months back my dog began throwing up a lot, eventually a few times a week. he would jump up from bed at night and was clearly uncomfortable. the gurgling sounds coming from his stomach were an indication that he was in pain and going to have an episode. after about a month of this we went to the vet to test for parasites. the test was negative. i read online about the problem with canidae which he'd been eating for several months. i put him on another food, transitioning with boiled hamburger and rice. he threw up once more about a week later but hasn't since (about two months ago). there's no question in my mind that it was the food. and it was not about transitioning since he'd been eating it without a problem for quite a while after the recipe was changed. my fear is that it took that long to cause the damage which resulted in the symptoms. he seems fine now but it's alarming to read about so many dogs who suffered permanent intestinal damage.

Lawrence of Dacula, GA May 14, 2009

My original complaint was registered on September 5, 2008. My Yorkie suffered the same symptoms as other posts and ended up being hooked up intravenously for 3 days at the Vet. Since that incident, we changed his diet from Canidae All Life Stage - Chicken and Rice Formula dry food (which he refused to eat anymore) to Iams small & toy breed, which he tolerated without any issues. However, he suffered with bouts of vomiting and runny stool at least once a month and never got back to his expected good health. On April 21, 2009 he became ill with the same gastric symptoms and, regardless of our attempts to keep him hydrated, he died at home in our arms. He was only 3.5 years old and we are crushed. I am appalled at Canidae for not taking responsibility for their actions. There are far too many related incidents to write this off as a coincidence that is not related to tainted food.

Jody of North Las Vegas, NV May 9, 2009

In May of 2007 my husband and I bought an eight week old female boerboel puppy from a reputable breeder. We started her out on Canidae All Life Stages dry chicken and rice formula kibble when we got her home. We fed her this food until spring of 2008 because she, and our other dog, a border collie, consistently experienced diarrhea on a daily basis -- yellow, mucous threaded diarrhea, with frequent bouts of vomiting. The older border collie was not affected as severely as our boerboel puppy. Our boerboel had terrible gas all the time.

Then our boerboel girl developed ear infections and started to chew her feet all the time, developing sores on them. I treated her with miconazole products but the condition never cleared up. The vet eventually put her on antibiotics, and Otomax for her ears, which gave her some relief for about a month. It was around this time that we decided there was something wrong with Canidae and switched to Innova.

The diarrhea cleared up in our border collie, but our boerboel was still experiencing intermittent colitis. She never quite recovered from whatever damage had occurred to her gastrointestinal system.

March of 2009 she began to fail, losing weight, ear infections, raging skin infections, and diarrhea and vomiting. Back and forth to the vet. Saturday, May 26, 2009 she vomited twice, and had leg spasms. Then at 4:30 on Sunday morning she began to howl in pain and pass copious amounts of blood from her bowel. By 8:00 Am she was hemorrhaging and had fallen unconscious. We rushed her to the vet, where she hemorrhaged to death.

X Rays revealed a damaged stomach and intestinal track. The vet opened her up and examined her bowel, discovering an approx. 12" length of ruptured, inflammatory, necrotic bowel.

Pathology report declared the absence of pathogens and bacteria. Our Boerboel's bowel had somehow been damaged and she'd developed a progressive inflammatory disease of the bowel that eventually ruptured her intestinal track, killing her.

She was beautiful, bred from champion lines, and the love of our lives. she died three weeks short of her second birthday. I hold Canidae responsible for destroying our developing puppy's digestive system. I cannot even begin to describe our grief.

We have all the receipts for the purchased Canidae, from the time we brought our baby home, to when we took her off the product. Nothing can bring her back. But Canidae needs to step up to the plate. If we'd raised our puppy on a different food she would still be alive today. Canidae ruined her bowel. I can only hope and pray that our border collie does not eventually succumb to the same product induced disease.

Justin of Valley View, Trinidad & Tobago May 5, 2009

Started my 6 month akita on it after taking him off Science Diet. He immediately started to have diarrhea. Reduced the quantities, and stuck with it for about 2 months, and his stool eventually improved. My vet told me other people were having the same problem.

He developed a reaction, itching all over - scratched himself raw and bloody twice - tested for mites, found none... supposed it was a allergy to chicken... no concrete proof so far. Got some redness around his penis.... and so on and so on.

Wrote to Canidae and their response did not satisfy. It went like this: 1. Formula was changed 2. mix it 50/50 and gradually increase new formula 3. OR Feed 100% new formula, in smaller portions more often 4. Prevent your dog from eating quickly 5. Check with your vet to see if something is wrong with your dog 6. And hey! if you still not satisfied, we'll give you a refund.

That's a CRAP attitude. No big deal, your dog started eating our stuff and suddenly starts having these problems? Maybe its something on your end! Deceitful people! They never acknowledged a problem so they obviously dont care about my dog and their food.

What really pissed me off was their vague, puerile, sanitized corporate response, and I'm getting more worked up just writing this. It isnt pleasant to see your pet tearing up at himself.

I thought we got a bad batch here in the Caribbean, but after seeing multitudes of similar complaints and putting it all together, I am finished with this. I care about my dog and I dont want to have the risk of any long term problems.

I am glad there is this forum for product feedback. I currently feed him a mix of everyday, middle tier chow with lamb necks & potatoes

Jack of Pflugerville, TX May 4, 2009

We have been a loyal Canidae customer for the last 8 years and sadly since the switch of their dog food formula, our dogs were never quite the same. The stools, the coats and skins have all indicated to us that something in the food has changed for the worse. We have been reluctant to believe or blindly except that this is all the cause of the formula change but the evident is too great to ignore and has ultimately forced us to make a change. We are quite happy now with a new dog food and I'm glad to report that even with just over 10 days of feeding the new foods in place of Canidae, we'd already seen great improvements. The funny thing is that we used to recommend Canidae to all our friends with the troubles they had with their dog food.

One quick observation I'd like to mention in relation to this; my wife and I used to run a dog boarding facility few years back at our home in Northern California and from time to time when the boarding dogs ran out of their foods, we were always happy and never hesitate to use Canidae as substitution and no dogs , I say again, "no dogs" that we introduced the food to had never has any kind of digestive problems. We live in Central Texas now for the past 3 years and although we're no longer running the boarding home, we have been involved with retired racing greyhounds and have off and on brought in foster dogs, our experiences with the new Canidae were not quite the same as the old Canidae. Our last foster whom we had for the past 3 months were never quite adjusted to the food and problem with loose stools and diarrhea are quite routine, our own 3 dogs(not all Greyhounds) were not the same with the new formula either. I hope it's not too late for Canidae to bring back the old formula and hopefully when it does, may be one day I will consider going back to the brand but the issue of trust at least for now is broken. Regards,

M of San Antonio, TX April 30, 2009

I began feeding my dog Canidae "Snap bits" (original and platinum)about three months ago because I believed that they were safe to feed my dog as a treat (I thoroughly researched the website and everything sounded great). The treats were only something extra as she eats Merrick dog food and has ever since the recall of alot of the other foods out there. Shortly after I began feeding my dog the snap bits she became lethargic, had loose stools, and just never wanted to walk or play much anymore-I found this to be strange since she is only 4 years old and loves to walk in the park and chase a frisbee on a daily basis usually. I thought maybe the heat outside had something to do with it (we are approaching spring and summer and in the South it is really humid and hot) so I let her rest most of the time.

I accidentally stumbled upon the consumer affairs website and read other testimonies of owners who have pets that have eated Canidae food and their symptoms matched my dog's symptoms (obsessively itching and scratching, loose stool, lethargic) and I was shocked. I have taken her off of the Canidae treats totally (it has been a week now) and she is back to her playful energetic self again. I don't know what Canidae puts in their products to make the animals so sick but shame on you Canidae-I will tell everyone I know and all of the stores that stock Canidae products. I have used Merrick products for several years and have never had any problems-it is all Merrick all the time now for my dog.

Dana of Burlington, CO April 28, 2009

We recently put all of our beloved bullies on the Canidae dog food with very high expectations from past users, etc. Not probably a good month into the food we noticed horrible gas, their poop was like yellowish, runny ant they acted like they were still so very hungry when they were done eating their meal. Today I am a believer of all the post on this website! I WILL never use this food again and will tell everyone that we have turned on to it to find something better. One of my top females was bred and we delivered her pups today. Everyone of them were water babies! We HAVE NEVER had a problem with this, ever. This female was indeed very top quality and very healthy! My vet does believe that was what the problem was that caused all these poor, inocent puppies to loose their lives!

My heart is sick and I will NEVER, NEVER forgive this company! As far as I am concerned they OWE us 2700.00 per puppy plus all costs of the treatment of clearing all thier poop issues! it is so sad that we trust company's to do their very best and provide us with the highest quality of food-YOU should be ashamed of yourselves!!

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.

Share		Follow us on Twitter.

Back to the top |