Trinity Doodles 'Tails' from home

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Comment by Marcia Stevens on September 10, 2008 at 6:27pm

Thank you Dianne..! That was a great read..full of interesting information.....
When this mix of Royal Canin and Canidae is just about finished, I will pick up some Calif. Natural...it looks like a clean product. I will also look into Orijen.
Thanks again....I appreciate any info you can give..!

Comment by Marcia Stevens on September 10, 2008 at 6:22pm

Erica, Thanks...I will try...I think because he plays rough with Kodie..and they bite each other all day....he thinks it's "O.K." to play the same with humans...? But, I do really need to stop it...he bit my sons necks pretty hard.

Comment by Dianne Carter ~ Trinity Doodles on September 10, 2008 at 5:56pm

Oh and if you have looked at Wellness brand at all apparently they also had a formula change that was not received well and they have now been aquired by Eagle Pack (another premium food), here is a link if you are interested:

http://www.petproductnews.com/headlines/2008/08/15/catterton-sells-wellness-pet-food-in-400-million-deal.aspx

We do REALLY like many of the wellness treats though.

Comment by Dianne Carter ~ Trinity Doodles on September 10, 2008 at 5:42pm

Glad you brought this up Marcia ~
I highly approve of California Natural and any of the Natura products. I would exercise caution with the EVO though because I believe it to be a bit too high in protien, which can potentially tax the kidneys.
I promised to share so here is some of what I have concluded:

My top 3 food picks were as follows:
Evangers
Natura, specifically California Natural and Innova
Orijen

Without going into the extreme specifics I will share that Evangers is NO LONGER on my list. Their product is great however when I contacted them with questions about their breeders program, I told them that they stated they wanted to reward the cream of the crop and no where did it indicate anything about health, testing, responsible breeding - it was all about AKC, fancier clubs and awards won at competitions. I met the rep over the weekend hoping to clarify this, it was stated that LD's were not even an AKC recognized breed and why would I not just breed poodles or labradoodles, so I asked her 'oh so your food is just for AKC dogs then?', she also suggested that maybe if I got my people to breed these dogs to DO something ie. agility, etc... I told her many LD's are used in therapy and also participate in agility. Towards the end she did suggest I just get a tax id and get product for wholesale. Honestly I spend a LOT of money on food and I just cannot financially support this prejudice.

I love Orijen, especialy the 6 fish. It is a Canadian product and they are generally more 'clean' than we are. They have far less chemicals approved for foods there from what I am told. The product is also fresh. The down sides, very expensive, very high protein and can be difficult to get. I buy this and mix with plain yogurt to freeze in Kongs for treats.

Natura Products meets all of my requirements except as a breeder offering an all stage. I have decided that all of the other positive outweighs this. They have never been on a recall list, they manufacture their own food and do not hire it out while looking the other way and all of their ingredients are sourced in the US except I think some of their lamb (from New Zealand). All of the puppies have tried this except Zeke because we did experiment with it when I knew Canidae was changing. All here loved it, I just kept looking for the all stage and did not want any of you to have to continue the transition stage so we stayed with Canidae until we recently moved to Evangers. We will be feeding a combination of California Natural and Innova, I feel it is good to expose them to different sources of protein and foods. The Cal. Nat. is a very simple formula and awesome for puppies. It is also very good for dogs with allergies. We have already begun the transition and had no difficulties with upset tummies.

Innova has announced it is going to do a formula change, there are many who are making waves about garlic in the food (personally I like it). There packaging will also shrink a bit in order to keep the bag price aprox the same with the increases in ingredients they have faced as everyone else has.

Another California Natural Product I really like is their skin and coat supplement.

There are two additional foods I would like to evaluate further but have not had time if you want to look at them. They deliver to you. One is Life's Abundance and the other is Flint River. If anyone checks out first please share.

Okay so this should have came with a long warning, sorry. And because this darn window is so small it is really hard to look over all that I typed so I hope it makes sense. I feel very strongly about my responsibility to give our dogs the very best start they can have and nutrition is a huge part. I need to know this information so I can condidently share it with our puppy families and potential families.

I am sure there will be more to come as I continue to check this out. I am reading a book called 'Pet Food Politics' - the chihuahua in the coal mine - excellent.
I welcome your feedback on this subject, if I can better address your concerns please tell me how. If you find this helpful without being too much I would like to know that as well.

Comment by Marcia Stevens on September 10, 2008 at 2:47pm

Has anyone tried "California Natural" dog food..?

Comment by Marcia Stevens on September 10, 2008 at 2:46pm

Zeke is adorable with his big, squishy black nose...and, his black eye liner....Tanner's pigment around his eyes has darkend to the color of his nose....Tanner has started to get a bit "mouthy"....like little nips...anyway to curb this...he'll jump up and grab your hair in his mouth...or, a piece of hand....??

Comment by Susan, Zeke. Lily & Jasper on September 10, 2008 at 12:50pm

Zeke weighs in at about 35lbs. and is 19in. at the shoulder. His eyes are dark brown but at a distance look black to match his cute black nose. I just love the expressive eyes of these dogs don't you all?

Comment by Marcia Stevens on September 9, 2008 at 1:53pm

Hi,
Tanner weighed nearly 34 lbs a couple weeks ago...he seems to be growing steadily!
Funny Rob mentioned stairs...Tanner will fly up the stairs, but will NOT come down the stairs...so, I end up carrying him down...!
What color are the eyes on the other pups..? Tanner has a greenish-blue...I get a lot of comments on his eye color...very unique!
Take Care all.....

Comment by Dianne Carter ~ Trinity Doodles on September 8, 2008 at 9:44pm

~ Food ~
As you are aware Canidae went through a formula change recently. I have been on a major food evaluation binge. I was able to attend a trade show with a shop owner over the weekend and went armed with questions and much research. I will share my opinions but wish to wait as I am anticipating the owner of one of the companies to return my call and would really like to hear her side as opposed to her reps.

Comment by Dianne Carter ~ Trinity Doodles on September 8, 2008 at 9:40pm

Susan,

Interesting about Zeke's coat change, usually it occurs about 7-12 months. Warning to all, since the doodles do not usually shed when their adult coat comes in it tends to matt with the puppy coat. Frequent brushing will help prevent a lot of heartache if they must lose their beautiful tresses due to this. Our Micah (future stud muffin) will be a year this month and has just started a bit of matting in the last few weeks.

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