Canine caviar holistic dog food

[Nikki & Charlie]

So I'm trying to switch Charlie's food to something better than TLC, but the problem is in Canada we don't have a lot of the brands on DK's recommended list.

What are your thoughts on canine caviar holistic. It's gluten free, wheat free, potato and tapioca free, no added hormones and no by-products and there's 27% protein. You can rotate the protein by switching to different meats... Duck, chicken, beef etc

The ingredient is minimal as well; not a super long list,

We have Orijen but it's out of my price range... $82 per bag is a lot right now. Is brand is about $60-$70 a bag...

I've attached two pictures of the brands they carry... I would appreciate so much if you guys could help me pick! Or give me your opinion on the brands they carry.


Thank you!

[Nikki & Charlie]

Second list of food..

[Kate, Mel, Tenley & Harper]

Don't know much about the food but I'm a financial analyst for a living so can't resist the price discussion :)

Have you priced out calorie-wise how much the new food will cost? So if Carllie needs X calories per day, how much is the new food per calorie versus how much is Orijen per calorie? That's not a huge difference in cost and I think that if you did the analysis you would find that the cost per day of feeding him is actually cheaper on the Orijen.... you have to feed so little food with Orijen that a 28lb bag lasts us almost 2 months! (Tenley is 30lbs and eats about a cup a day.) But, I also know nothing about the other food so I can't make a TOTAL judgement call :)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

You are exactly right, Kate.

[Nikki & Charlie]

That's a good point. I'm just so stumped on what to start feeding him. I have no idea if I should go with Orijen or NOW or Fromm.... I don't know how many calories he should be consuming but he's only 9 weeks so I'm assuming a lot lol.

[Kate, Mel, Tenley & Harper]

I just googled it and found 400 for small breeds; 530 for medium; 990 for large. So I would say 400 for mini doodles, 530 for medium doodles, 990 for standard doodles. Not sure how accurate that is, you may want to do your own researched.

Honestly, we've always fed Orijen and the results have been fantastic. His coat is absolutely wonderful. His poops are stellar. Everyone who doesn't feed Orijen is jealous of his poop, even his doggy day care has commented on it to me. Sort of funny. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Calories are calculated by current weight, expected weight, and age; we need all of those.

Champion Pet Foods, makers of Orijen & Acana, is the most ethical and trustworthy company making pet food today. You simply cannot buy a better kibble. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

What does he weigh?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Nikki, this isn't a once in a lifetime decision, lol. You're not signing a contract.  If you go with a quality brand food, you really can't do any harm, and you can always change later on. 

But again, do not change diet until your pup has been with you at least two weeks, has regular, well-formed stools, and no apparent digestive issues. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I see several of our recommended brands in the link you provided. I would hope that you would choose one that is on our list. Canine Caviar is not. 

As we have said many times before, you cannot judge the cost of a food by the price per bag. You have to look at the calorie content and feeding guidelines, because you feed a lot of more of some foods than others, and thus have to buy more in the same time period. I looked at the feeding guidelines for the Canine caviar puppy food and compared them to Orijen Puppy. You feed nearly twice as much CC as Orijen. So if you have to buy 2 bags of $60 food at a cost of $120 versus one bag of food at $82 for the same period, obviously the Orijen is much cheaper.

If you don't want to go with Orijen despite the fact that it is less expensive, I would go with Wellness Core Puppy or Petcurean's NOW Grain-free Puppy. 

[Nikki & Charlie]

I guess I'm just having a really hard time deciding what I want him to be on..

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I agree with Karen and Kate.  I don't even feed grain-free to Peri, but a high quality healthy grain food is even more nutrient dense than, say, Purina.  I buy a 15 pound bag of Fromm (4 Star) once every 6 weeks.  That's $35 with tax every 6 weeks.  Granted Peri is only 25#, but that's not a lot to spend on food. I only feed her 1/2 cup 2x/day.  Less than stated on the bag because she was gaining too much weight!

[Donna K & Quincy]

Pet's Unlimited sells Fromms with a frequent buyer program where you buy 10 bags and get a free one. If you have a senior friend you can get 20 % off on senior's day. I think they also sell several of the other brands on the recommended list as well. There was a time I would not have suggested this store but they stopped selling puppies a couple of years ago.