Canidae All Life Stages Dog Food Review

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You can find detailed information aboutCanidae Pet Food Corporation in our main review of Canidae Dog Food. There you will also find information about how the food is made, recalls, and their quality control. This review will cover the Pure Sea blend in the line of Canidae Dog Food products.

Canidae relies on an All Life Stages approach to feeding dogs. Most of their products are formulated for all life stages. They produce kibbles and canned food in several formulations: all life stage formulas, senior formula, and several grain free formulas. They also produce cat foods. Canidae is considered to be a premium pet food and can be found at pet stores and for sale online.

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Info About The Ingredients Used in Canidae All Life Stages Dog Food

The first five ingredients in this food are: chicken meal, turkey meal, lamb meal, brown rice, white rice.

Canidae was one of the early foods marketed nationwide as a “premium” dog food. The meaning of this term can vary, depending on who you ask, but it usually means a food with better quality ingredients (perceived or real). It also includes foods that feature several meat proteins in the first five ingredients, which you find here. It can also include things like no corn, soybeans, or wheat, for example; and no artificial sweeteners, coloring, or preservatives. Today people also use terms like “super premium” to describe dog food. You should remember that people and pet food companies make up these terms. The criteria can vary and it’s all more or less someone’s opinion. Dog foods can change over time, as well. They can be purchased by other companies. Ingredients can change, for better or worse. So a food that is outstanding one year can be quite different a few years later.

This food is also marketed as “all life stages.” You probably know that AAFCO (the Association of American Feed Control Officials) has two standards for a dog food to be considered “complete and balanced.” These standards can be met either by animal feeding trials or by a company submitting a nutrient profile for a line of food. (A company only has to submit one nutrient profile for an entire line of its food in order for the food to pass. They don’t have to submit a separate nutrient profile for each different variety of food in a product line.) The two standards used by AAFCO are 1) Growth and Reproduction; and 2) Maintenance. Growth and Reproduction is also known as “All Life Stages” since to pass this standard the food must be nutritious for puppies, gestating mother dogs, and lactating mother dogs.

You can see the current AAFCO standards here.

Foods for Growth and Reproduction or All Life Stages will usually have higher percentages of protein, fat, and many other vitamins and minerals than Maintenance dog foods because these higher percentages are needed for growing puppies and nursing mother dogs. There’s nothing wrong with feeding your adult dog an All Life Stages food. Many people do. But you should know that it’s different from a Maintenance dog food. It could have more calories, for example, if that’s something you are concerned about for your dog.

You will notice here that three of the first five ingredients are meat proteins. Later you will also see ocean fish meal so there’s plenty of animal protein in this food. The fact that it’s all in “meal” form shouldn’t concern you. Many people like named meat meals very much. They have had most of the moisture removed so they are a concentrated form of the meat protein and contain several times as much protein as the original meat.

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First 5 Ingredients Breakdown

The first ingredient in the food is chicken meal. Chicken is about 80 percent protein and it’s a good source of Vitamin B6 and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Niacin and Selenium. Since this is chicken meal, it’s had most of the moisture removed, meaning it is a condensed form of the chicken protein and a good source of protein for dog food.

The second ingredient isturkey meal. Turkey is about 70 percent protein. It’s a good source of Riboflavin and Phosphorus, and a very good source of and Selenium. Since this is turkey meal, most of the moisture has been removed and it is a concentrated form of the protein.

The third ingredient is lamb meal. Lamb is about 60 percent protein. It’s a good source of Vitamin B6, Pantothenic Acid, Phosphorus and Manganese, and a very good source of Vitamin A, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B12, Iron, Zinc, Copper and Selenium. It also contains lots of omega-6 fatty acid. Since this is a meal, most of the moisture has already been removed prior to cooking and the protein is very concentrated.

The fourth and fifth ingredients here are brown rice and white rice. Brown and white rice are often used in dog foods, especially for dogs who can’t eat corn or wheat. From a dog food viewpoint, rice is a cereal grain. Brown rice is higher in fiber than white rice, and less processed, but white rice is considered to be easier to digest and less irritating to anyone (or any dog) with a sensitive stomach. White rice is often given to dogs recovering from surgery or from gastrointestinal problems. Brown and white rice can do different things in a dog food. A dog food that has too much rice in it might be using rice as a filler ingredient but rice (brown and white) can also be beneficial to your dog. It’s a simple carbohydrate that can give dogs quick energy. Used in conjunction with more complex carbs in a dog food, brown and white rice should be good ingredients.

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As for concerns about arsenic in rice, and thus in dog foods that include rice, the FDA has not made any recommendation for pet food companies to stop using rice or for dog owners to avoid feeding foods that contain rice. Nor has the FDA suggested that people stop eating rice. If you are uncomfortable about the possibility of minute amounts of arsenic in rice or dog food, you should avoid this food or any dog food that contains rice.

The first five ingredients in this food feature three good meat proteins in concentrated meal form. They also include two forms of rice which have long been used as a carbohydrate in dog foods instead of corn, wheat, or soy. These are very good ingredients and, based on just these first five ingredients, would justify considering this food a “premium” dog food. However, the remaining ingredients do show a lot of grain/carbs and we wonder why the food needs so many different grains.

Additional Ingredients of Interest

In addition to the brown rice and white rice already discussed, the food also contains rice bran, potatoes, oatmeal, cracked pearled barley, and millet. That’s a lot of carbs. Yes, they are mostly complex carbohydrates and will be slow to digest, which is often considered to be better for your dog. But carbs are carbs. Your dog does use them for energy and some of these ingredients also provide dietary fiber, but why so many? When a food has this many different kinds of grain and/or carbs, it begins to look like they are being used as fillers. We note that this food has an estimated 44 percent carbohydrates by dry matter basis. That percentage is getting quite high, especially for a “premium” dog food. So, individually all of these grains may be perfectly fine, but when they are all lumped together in one food, we begin to think there is cause for concern.

The food also contains “natural flavor.” This is a deceptive term that often indicates the presence of MSG or monosodium glutamate used for flavoring. This isn’t something that you generally want to add to your dog’s food unless you have a particular object in mind, such as discouraging your dog from eating his own poop. MSG is sometimes recommended as a supplement to make your dog’s waste taste bad to him so he won’t try to eat it. Otherwise, when a food has “natural flavor,” it usually has a lot of salt which isn’t good for your dog. However, in some cases “natural flavor” can indicate the presence of liver broth or beef broth. We just don’t know. But when you see this term listed in the ingredients, it usually sends up a red flag.

We also see flaxseed meal here. Lots of people like flaxseed and flaxseed meal for their dogs since it’s a good source of dietary fiber and a great source of omega 3 and 6 fatty acids (especially omega 3). However, flaxseed is also a significant source of phytoestrogen – these are plant-derived substances that mimic some of the effects of estrogen in the body. This can be especially true in females. Without going into the possible effects on humans, many dog breeders have reported that feeding dogs foods that contain flaxseed or flaxseed oil has interfered with conception and gestation. So flaxseed meal is something that should be viewed cautiously, especially if you breed dogs. If you have an intact female dog, especially in a house with male dogs, you may find that foods with flaxseed causes males to think the female is in season. The same phenomenon often occurs with foods containing soy.

The food also contains peas. Peas are a problematic ingredient in dog food for some dogs. Although they boost the protein percentage in food, containing about 24 percent protein, they are also a source of dietary fiber. Peas are not always easily digested by dogs and can result in increased waste and some gastrointestinal issues. They can also interfere with the absorption of vitamins and minerals in the food.

We also note that the food contains a number of beneficial ingredients such aschelated minerals (“proteinates”). These are minerals that have been bonded to proteins so they are easier to absorb. They are more expensive for the dog food manufacturer to buy so you usually see them in better dog foods.

The food also contains chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols). Chicken fat is an excellent fat for dog food. A named fat is more desirable since you know the source and chicken fat is a good source of omega-6 fatty acid. Mixed tocopherols are a form of vitamin E so this is a natural preservative.

We also note that the food features ocean fish meal. Canidae says that they do not use ethoxyquin as a preservative. AAFCO defines ocean fish meal as “the clean, rendered (cooked down), dried ground tissue of undecomposed whole ocean fish or ocean fish cuttings, either or both, with or without the extraction of part of the oil.” It’s an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acid. We don’t know what kind of ocean fish this is, but it’s still a good ingredient in dog food.

We also note the presence of a number of interesting ingredients such asinulin (a prebiotic), cranberries (an antioxidant), rosemary extract (a mild natural preservative), and other things. These are all ingredients that are often found in premium foods. They can be beneficial to your dog.

Finally, the food has papaya and pineapple. Papaya allegedly helps dogs with digestion and it’s a source of dietary fiber. Pineapple is sometimes given to dogs to discourage them from eating their own poop.

Guaranteed Analysis

• Crude Protein (min.) 24.00%
• Crude Fat (min.) 14.50%
• Crude Fib (max.) 4.00%
• Moisture (max.) 10.00%
• Linoleic Acid (Omega 6) (min.) 3.70%
• Vitamin E (min.) 200.00 IU/kg
• Alpha Linolenic Acid (Omega 3)** (min.) 0.50%
• Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C)** (min.) 50.00 mg/kg
• Lactobacillus Acidophilus** (min.) 100 million CFU/lb.
• Cellulase** (a) (min.) 100 CMCU/kg

**Not recognized as an essential nutrient by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles.

Calories Content

468 calories per 8 oz cup

Nutritional Adequacy Statement

CANIDAE® All Life Stages Formula is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for All Life Stages.

Dry Matter Basis

On a dry matter basis, this food contains approximately 26.7 percent protein and 16.1 percent fat. This is a moderate amount of protein for a premium dog food and a moderately high amount of fat. Fiber makes up about 4.4 percent of the food which is average for most kibbles. The food contains an estimated 43.9 percent carbohydrates which is a moderately high amount.

Summary

Although this food doesn’t contain corn, wheat, or soy, it does contain a lot of other grains and carbohydrates. If this is something that concerns you, you will need to look for a different food. It does contain some good meat proteins but you have to balance that with the carbohydrate content. Overall, this looks like a good food.

Canidae All Life Stages dog food has received our 4 paws rating.

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