The Grass Doctor

Can someone explain to me why people are recomending Blue Buffalo food but never Canidae?

I used to feed my dog BB but switched to Candiae some months back because when looking at the ingredients I thought Canidae looked to have more meat. So can someone please explain why ppl have quit rec. them and are now adding BB to the list of good foods. BLUE BUFFALO Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Whole Ground Brown Rice, Whole Ground Barley, Oatmeal, Rye, Whole Potatoes, Tomato Pomace (natural source of Lycopene), Chicken Fat (preserved with Natural Mixed Tocopherols), Natural Chicken Flavor, Whole Carrots, Whole Sweet Potatoes, Blueberries, Cranberries, Flaxseed, Barley Grass, Dried Parsley, Alfalfa Meal, Kelp Meal, Taurine, L-Carnitine, L-Lysine, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Yucca Shidigera Extract, Green Tea Extract, Turmeric, Garlic, Sunflower Oil (natural source of Omega 6 Fatty Acids), Herring Oil (natural source of Omega 3 Fatty Acids), Dried Chicory Root, Black Malted Barley, Oil of Rosemary, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin C, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Beta Carotene, Calcium Ascorbate (source of Vitamin C), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin (Vitamin B3), Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Folic Acid, Biotin, Choline Chloride, Dicalcium Phosphate, Zinc Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Zinc), Iron Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Iron), Copper Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Copper), Manganese Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Manganese), Potassium Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Potassium), Cobalt Proteinate (source of Chelated Cobalt), Potassium Chloride, Sodium Selenite, Salt, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bacillus subtilis, Bifidobacterium thermophilum, Bifidobacterium longum, Enterococcus faecium. CANIDAE Chicken meal, turkey meal, lamb meal, brown rice, white rice, rice bran, peas, potatoes, oatmeal, cracked pearled barley, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), millet, tomato pomace, natural flavor, flaxseed meal, ocean fish meal, choline chloride, sun cured alfalfa meal, inulin (from chicory root), lecithin, sage extract, cranberries, beta carotene, rosemary extract, sunflower oil, yucca schidigera extract, dried enterococcus faecium, dried lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract, dried bacillus subtilis fermentation extract, saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation solubles, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D supplement, folic acid, cobalt proteinate, organic selenium, papaya, pineapple. Alright i WAS just curious if something happened and I missed it. I just read another question and there were like 15 good brands recommended but Canidae was not on any of them so it made me wonder.

Public Comments

1. Personal preference? I really see no problem with people suggesting certain dog foods over others. Your dog is different from others, it might do better on Canidae than it did on Blue Buffalo -- that doesn't mean it's that same way for every other dog.
2. I don't find anything wrong with Canidae. I don't usually recommend it, because I tried my dogs on it a few years ago, and wasn't happy with the results. I find nothing wrong with Blue Buffalo, either. I prefer Natura products for my dogs, as I have seen the best results in MY dogs from those (and my sister's dogs, as well, since I convinced her to switch). These products include Innova, Healthwise, California Natural, and Karma. I think that most people who have switched FROM Canidae no longer like it, because the didn't care for the ingredient switch that included more meat product (which can upset some dogs' stomachs). The dogs that got sick, though, likely weren't given enough time to adjust to the switch. Both are good, quality foods, and I would never say there was anything wrong with either brand, though, I wouldn't feed either to my dogs-only because of personal preference and experiences on what my dogs will or won't tolerate.
3. well i have tried blue buffulo but not canidae, i can never find it.I liked blue buffulo but that's not to say canidae isnt good also, i guess it comes down to which is easier and cheaper to get. edit: just did a search on the closest retailer that sells canidae and that is 25 miles away when i can travel 5 miles to get blue buffulo so that speaks for itself alone.
4. You can ask five different people to recommend a dog food and you'll get six different answers! It really is personal preference. Having a dog with allergies I've tried several high quality foods. I finally settled on Nature's Variety, since that's why my dog seems to do well with. I don't think the stores in our area carry Blue Buffalo, at least I don't recall ever having seen it. However, I do know that some Sheltie friends of mine did use Canidae and had some digestive problems, so I would hesitate to recommend it. I've never tried it myself. I note from the ingredients listed above that it does have grain in it. But so does the Blue Buffalo for that matter.
5. i feed my dog whats ever on sale plus what we don't eat.
6. Canidae changed its formula for Canidae ALS (all life stages) last year when they moved to a new manufacturing plant (I believe its the Diamond plant) They changed their fish source from specific types of fish to a generic "fish meal" to save $$. A lot of people whose dogs had done well for years on the old formula suddenly had dogs with diarrhea, weight loss, coat loss and skin issues (I had my first dog with a hot spot in over 20 years of showing dogs). All of that was enough to annoy people away from Canidae. http://www.canidaenewformula.com/ -discussion about the changes http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/canidae.html has a statement from Canidae as well as a LOT of info from people who have had issues. The posts run most recent to oldest - the posts in July of 08 and shortly after when the change began are the most pertinent. FWIW - I primarily raw feed my dogs and use a variety of brands of kibble as treats/training aids and an occassional meal. When I have a litter of pups I USED to feed Canidae ALS along with raw as it was a kibble that I could encourage new owners to use (since most don't want to raw feed). Last summer I had a litter, used the Canidae ALS and had dogs who will eat ANYTHING (remember, I raw feed) refuse to eat it unless I "doctored" it... the pups ate it but not with the same gusto other litters had. Then, the day following a "kibble" meal one of my show dogs developed a hot spot... and all my dogs had moooshy poop (a rarity for my dogs who can and will eat anything). Certainly - various dogs do better or worse on different foods. I swap out what type of kibble I'm feeding EVERY SINGLE TIME I buy kibble... without any issues... They've had at least 6 different types of kibble in the last 6 months and probably 10 different meat types.
7. I recommend Canidae. It's what I feed my dogs. I think the main reason people are hesitant to recommend them lately is due to the fact they recently changed their ingredients. There were some rumors of dogs getting sick. But if you look at reviews online, someone will always claim that their dogs got sick on a certain brand. One brand doesn't work for everyone. Read reviews here: http://www.rateitall.com Along with positive reviews, there are negative reviews for Wellness, Innova and other high quality foods as well. And I know those are great foods!
8. I suggest canidae. always. I've never had any personal experience with blue buffalo though
9. Well, Canidae *did* change their formula and now some dogs can't handle it.