Canidae - dog food new formula - complaints

[menusux]

Many more new, bad reports about Canidae: 

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/canidae.html

Don of Mondovi WI (01/01/09)
We have a wonderful 14 year old Shepherd-Husky mixed breed that we adopted when she was a puppy. We fed her Science Diet for most of her long, happy, healthy life with no problems. In the spring she started itching and developing allergy-like symptoms. At this point we switched to Canidae based on many recommendations.

After about two months (following the ingredient change) she suddenly began vomiting yellow bile, losing weight, and becoming very lethargic. The vet asked the standard questions regarding possible poisoning, change in diet, etc. $1500 later, liver malfunction was diagnosed as the problem. We immediately put her on the vet-recommended food (non-Canidae) to ease digestion issues, and medication to help heal the damage to the liver. She gained weight, and a blood test showed her liver functions began to improve slightly. However, she continued to lose muscle mass and seemed somewhat restless. We just returned from the vet today (Dec 31, 08) after a follow-up blood test and check-up, and found the liver functions heading back down. Im not sure it was the Canidae, but after reading so many similar events, it certainly seems likely.

At 14 (or any age) liver problems will most likely be fatal, and there is nothing that can be done now. However, if the cause is related to something in the food and enough people speak up, perhaps we can save other dogs.

Ro of Richland WA (12/31/08)
I have a strong suspicion that Canidae Platinum may be the root cause of a major medical bill that I just had on my Jack Russell Terrier. A few weeks ago the dog suddenly began licking its paws a lot. Then on December 21st the dog suddenly began having major abdominal pain. (I had recently switched her to Canidae food) and the bags were the new formulation. (I had used the old formulation of Canidae for a year or so with no problems. The dog quit eating and had extreme abdominal cramping. There had been no other changes in her diet. She started having trouble passing stool. To my knowledge, she never vomitted. The vet took xrays and ran a barium test. There appeared to be no obvious blockages. However, the dog continued not to eat and be in pain.

Finally, exploratory surgery had to be performed in case there was a bowel obstruction related to something she might have swallowed or a tumor. The surgery found nothing other than a highly irritated stomach and bowel. Three biopsy samples were taken. The lab results were negative for cancer on all three samples. The dog still cannot ingest food so we are having to force feed her (not Canidae!). She is also on a regimen of antibiotics, stomach antacids, pain killers, etc. Since nothing had changed in the dog's life (other than the food), I suspect the Canidae food (for whatever reason) triggered this illness. All of the dog's bloodwork has been perfect.

We have sustained several thousand dollars of veterinary expenses in the last ten days due to this event. We are still not sure whether the dog is going to recuperate.

Nancy of Cortland IL (12/31/08)
I began using canidae platinum in July 2008 to help my cairn terrier, Molly, lose weight. She seemed to love the food and she was losing weight...everyone was happy!!! To make a long story short, at one point I had to buy her old food that she was eating before canidae because the pet food store where I purchased the food was closed and we were totally out of food at home. As she appeared to be putting a little bit of weight back on I switched her back to the canidae.

I opened up a new bag just a few days ago and noticed the change in appearance. Molly has always loved to eat so like any other time,she gobbled it right up. That was about 5 days ago...since then she's suffered from 5 grand mal seizures!!! I can't help but believe that the formula change is the cause!!!

It's heartbreaking to watch beloved family member suffer! Molly has an appointment to see the vet in 2 days. Our vet has instructed us on what to watch for in case she needs immediate medical attention.

As a responsible pet owner I thought I was feeding her a quality product. I truely believe that if you feed your dog quality products, along with proper exercise, ect.,they can help your pet live a long, happy, healthy life.

To be totally honest, my husband and I ae not in a financial situation that will allow us to spend thousands or even hundreds of dollars on our Molly....It brings me to tears to think of what might happen to Molly. My husband and I along with our 2 young children adore our beloved pet. I only hope and pray that we are able to afford her medical care. It sickens me to think that the food that I've been feeding her may have caused all this!!!

Joanne of West Grove PA (12/31/08)
We have been feeding Canidae Lamb & Rice for over a year to our Shelties & Collies as well as 4 rescued Terriers... all was going well UNTIL this past Late Summer/Early Fall. our yearling Shelties who typically are excellent eaters started throwing up right after eating! Not all the time but enough for me to take them in to the Vet! Nothing showed up but the only thing was the food, unfortunately we didn't know Canidae had changed its formula and we were bringing home old food then new food .. back and forth which was yanking at the dogs GI systems.

We called the Pet Store, they told us about the change but covered their story with they didn't know until now. The Canidae Representative called us and send a few coupons out for more bags of food. Things calmed down once we were on the New bags of Canidae. we did notice a new thing though, itching. we bathed and treated for everything but the food, never did we think the Food was the culprit!

Then this past November one of our older Collies, a very stable girl of 9 who always ate well stopped eating. no matter what we tried that day she would not eat. We took her to the Vet and was SHOCKED to watch this lovely girl decline right in front of us on the Vet's table. The Vet asked if she had ingested some sort of poison. POISON I thought, NO WAY. we are 1,000% safety around here and there aren't any poisons. Once the blood tests came back the Vet had horrible news, Maddie was dieing of possible Liver Cancer and the most humand thing would be to put her down!

My husband and I were in shock. how can this be. she was just frollicking with the Shelties not three days earlier. the whites of her eyes are yellow. her skin was yellow. in less then 48 hours Maddie is gone and not until I found this site and read some of the people's stories did I ever think ... Canidae ... but now!

Shelley of Brownsville WI (12/26/08)
Today would have been my lab's second birthday. However, we had to have her euthanized yesterday, on Christmas morning. She had lymphoma, which I have been told is extremely rare in a dog that young.

She had eaten Canidae ALS since she was about three months old and initially did very well on it. However, in the late summer/early fall of 2008 she began having symptoms similar to those reported here by others. She started having excessive itching and hair loss. Her coat was dull, even after a bath. She was doing a lot of licking.

During the fall, we noticed her having a lot of foul gas. She was also having more frequent bowel movements and seemed to be straining at times. She vomited a couple of times right after eating and on two occasions I found odd, yellow, frothy vomit in her pen in the late afternoon.

At no time was I ever informed of a change in her food. As a result, I never questioned her food even though I noticed a slight change in the kibble. I assumed that some of her symptoms were due to being a lab and possible seasonal allergies.

That all changed dramatically for us on Nov. 21st. I took her to the vet immediately when she got up one morning with excessive drinking and refused to eat. I was shocked when I was called in the afternoon and told that her condition was very serious and that her blood calcium levels were very high. Her vet initially suspected that she had ingested a toxin and most likely had vitamin D toxicity due to rat poison. We never had anything like that at our home and our dog was constantly supervised.

She was hospitalized for that possible condition for four days and appeared to be recovering. During that time, she was switched to another food and her symptoms immediately disappeared. Her coat became soft and silky. The scratching stopped and there were no more gastro-intestinal issues. Unfortunately, that is not the end of our story.

As a precaution, she was also tested for the possibility of cancer. One test came back positive and we continued to do further testing, which was initially inconclusive. However, within a couple of weeks, she did develop the symptoms of lymphoma which led to her death yesterday. She was an expensive, well-bred hunting dog with nothing like this in her lineage.

We will probably never know what part nutrition played in the development of her illness. I do know, though, that as a consumer I was not made aware of any change in her food, which I resent. If I had known, I would have had the opportunity to make a change when I saw some of the symptoms being attributed to Canidae.

I became aware of this website when I googled Canidae after our vet suspected that she had ingested a rodent poison. I remembered that I had opened a bag a couple of months ago and found a dead mouse in it. I was shocked to find hundreds of similar complaints. I have been in contact with the company and ideally, would like to have the food sample that I saved analyzed. They are not willing to do that because I no longer have the original packaging and UPC code.

I know for sure that we had the new formula since late October and am quite sure that we actually started it in Sept., 2008. If there is a positive side to this, it is the fact that I have become much more educated about pet foods and hope that any experience that I have had with this company will in some way help someone else.

We have lost the companionship of our pet in addition to substantial financial loss of thousands of dollars. Our vet bill for diagnosis and euthanasia will be between $2500.00 to $3000.00. In addition we have lost a few thousand dollars in regard to the cost of the dog and her training, not to mention thousands that will be spent to replace her.

There are even more than these since we last checked the Canidae thread around the middle of December, 2008.  Many people are reporting the same symptoms. 

[psyche2]

I have not. But with what I just went thru with a brand of What I thought Trusted cat food. I got rid of my Blue Buffalo, and scratched out the Iams Am now feeding my Husky and Pug Rachel Rays Chicken.  They love her peanut butter cookie treats too! It is not made in a big plant like the others are.  Has no garbage parts included in it either.  Of course the bi-products used are the most useless parts of the animal being used, beeks,legs,bones, etc. With having looked hard at what is in her bagged chicken mix.  It can be trusted, I don't care who's name is om it,just want to be sure everyone of my pets here are eating a product that is SAFE.  This pet food worry is really getting to be to stressful.Our pets are family too. No one should have to worry when going in to ANY store for food for their pets.  From what I have seen hers is the best in local retail stores and priced with in reason still.  MY dogs BOTH inhale this food. Yhet were honestly not as interested in the Blue Buffalo or the IAMS.  Just adding my experience.  I just lost a dear aged friend (20) thinking it might now be from a cat food from a plant being questioned.  So am begun looking HARD for better foods fo ALL of those in my small zoo.

[Sandi K]

I remembered reading some info about Nutrish here at Itchmo and found this old thread that talked about it and its ingredients.  Thought it might be of interest:  http://itchmoforums.com/pet-food-questions-and-researching-foodsingredients/questions-about-nutrish-by-rachael-ray-t6563.0.html