# So, whose switching???



## 2maltese4me (May 8, 2006)

With all the hype about Merrick....how many of you have decided to change brands???

If you have decided to change, what are you going to feed??

I'm really torn.....I can't imagine that there is anything "really" wrong with Merrick food. Just because of a few isolated cases of "possible" hair being found. But I am upset and confused now that this has come out.

**IF** I switch, I will go to Canidae....it was actually my first choice in foods but no one carried it locally....but I just found a store that does have it....it'll be a bit of a drive....but it might be worth it. _I'm still unsure of what I'll do._ I'll have to do some more research and do some more thinking before I decide.


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## lillady (Jan 25, 2007)

I think it's mostly the whole rendering part that bothered me the most. And unlike you, Kosmo's poo wasn't good on the Merrick. I've just gotten the whole "better safe than sorry" thing in my head after this whole recall business went on. Kosmo really loves the Canidae-he just gobbles it up.














You have to do what you think is right-but let us know what you decide and how it goes.


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## Suz & the Fluffs (Mar 11, 2006)

> With all the hype about Merrick....how many of you have decided to change brands???
> 
> If you have decided to change, what are you going to feed??
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I think Canidae would be a great choice. I'm sure the dogs would love it. As my SaraBella is a picky eater but she has been eating it since Poptart got here. 

Did you look at the store locator on their site. 
http://www.canidae.com/company/storelocator.html 
You may be able to find a place closer to you. I was buying it at the local feed mill and now our Pet Supplies Plus is carrying it so I will be buying it there.


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## Tanner's Mom (May 27, 2005)

Tanner has become a picky eater, we rotate his food between Canidae Platinum, Ckn Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul Senior and Merrick Rocky Mountain Rainbows, all canned. The other 3 eat a variety of canned Merrick and I have never had a problem with any of them.


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## Krystal (Feb 3, 2007)

I switched Mia to Canidae because she had a very mushy stool on the Merrick. Her poopy now is hard and looks the way it used to be! Let us know what you choose and how is goes!!


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## Andrea&Luci (Jul 30, 2006)

I switched Luci too.. I can't imagine the whole rendered animal issue... It's sickening.







SO, She has been on Solid Gold Wee Bits for about a week now, and so far, so good! For the 1st time she has actually cleaned her bowl!!!!


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## Krystal (Feb 3, 2007)

> I switched Luci too.. I can't imagine the whole rendered animal issue... It's sickening.
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WOW! How great! Isnt Luci a picky eater??


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## bellasmommy (May 8, 2005)

Harley's still on the Merrick. I had just switched her to it when the hairy food post came to light and I was afraid to switch her again so soon. I'm watching and wating, Harley's doing so well on it I'm hesitant to switch her again. She had tried the wee bits but swallowed those little pieces whole and it just wasn't a good fit for her.

Bella, on the other had, had a choice between Solid Gold Wee Bits and Merrick at the same time Harley did and she chose the Solid Gold and ignored the Merrick. I had suspected all along one of the girls would like one and one would like the other, they like to confuse me as much as possible it seems, but they both are eating well.


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## Scoobydoo (May 26, 2005)

I was feeding the Merrick and switched for two reasons, one they had loose stools and the other was the rendering issue, that really concerned me a lot









Both boys are on Canidae and seem much better for it, their stools have settled and Koko eats both the canned Lamb & Rice and kibble willingly. Scooby has always been picky but seeing I spoon feed him since he was so ill he has no choice







but he doesn't spit it out so I guess it's ok with him too.
I like the Canidae because it has very good ingredients for both boys with added nutrients that are especially good for Scooby.








We bought our Canidae online as there are no stores even close to us that carry it


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## carrie (Aug 24, 2004)

> Did you look at the store locator on their site.
> http://www.canidae.com/company/storelocator.html
> You may be able to find a place closer to you. I was buying it at the local feed mill and now our Pet Supplies Plus is carrying it so I will be buying it there.
> 
> ...


omg, thank you, that's AWESOME!!









i had been looking to switch my kidz to a different food for a while, but there was no luck in finding a brand i was comfortable with that i was able to locate anywhere near me!!

thanks to your link, the handy dandy store locater, i may have found a place near me!! woo!

i'll be checking it out in the next few days....

thanks again!!


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## 2maltese4me (May 8, 2006)

> I was feeding the Merrick and switched for two reasons, one they had loose stools and the other was the rendering issue, that really concerned me a lot
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Can I pick your brain for a minute??? So you don't feed the "All Stages for Life" food, you feed lamb and rice???? Is there a specific reason or is it just your preferance??? 

If I get it, I'd have to use the all stages because Brody is still a pup. Do you think that is an ok choice?? 

As I mentioned in my first post.....*I did find 2 stores near by that carry it*







...and its actually cheaper than the Merrick. I spoke with the store owner in detail last night and he felt Merrick and Canidae were equally as good.







. He said they were both family run and hadn't ever heard a negative thing about either one. He said he tried to feed his dogs Merrick and they didn't like it, so he uses Canidae.

I may go up later this week and buy a bag....and switch them over.....not because of the hair thing, but because of the rendering thing.....*AND* because I've wanted to try Canidae for yrs and yrs and could never get my hands on it. To ship it, it would cost me $20.....I can't afford that when needing a 30-40lb bag every 3-4wks.


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## THE GiZ&THE CHAR (Dec 14, 2006)

> > index.php?act=findpost&pid=390412
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They're Lamb and Rice formula is for all life stages as well.


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## 2maltese4me (May 8, 2006)

Ok, I didn't know that the lamb and rice came in all stages too. 

My husband went and picked up a bag of Canidae last night....so we'll see how it goes. Going to take the next few weeks to switch them over.


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## carrie (Aug 24, 2004)

i took a ride yesterday to check out the place near me that was listed as a retailer... 
i was so sad to see it no longer exists!! 
it's now a mini storage buisness in the back and a tattoo shop in front.









i'll keep looking i guess..


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## Gemma (Jan 19, 2006)

I switched to home cooked. I haven't bought any dog food or treats. the only thing that is packaged that I buy is the missing link. I think he has been on home cooked for 3 weeks and no puking so far. I make chicken jerky, peanut butter cookies ( well I burnt them this time, but I'll get it soon ) for treats. I'm kind of nervous but we will see how it goes.


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## 2maltese4me (May 8, 2006)

> I switched to home cooked. I haven't bought any dog food or treats. the only thing that is packaged that I buy is the missing link. I think he has been on home cooked for 3 weeks and no puking so far. I make chicken jerky, peanut butter cookies ( well I burnt them this time, but I'll get it soon ) for treats. I'm kind of nervous but we will see how it goes.[/B]



Thats awesome!!!









If it were just the 2 Malts...I would home cook also...but I don't think I can do it with the bullie....he eats a TON! I don't even cook dinner every night for my family...some nights we get take out or we just have sandwiches....so I can't even do table scraps. For me this is going to have to do. I do make home made dog treats though....







.


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## Gemma (Jan 19, 2006)

> ....he eats a TON![/B]










he is too funny and cute. Let me tell you it's not easy to cook. we make a lot and it only lasts 10 days. and then in between we do the treats . it seems like we are always cooking. me and my hubby eat McDonald's every other day


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## 2maltese4me (May 8, 2006)

A little update....

Well, this is interesting. Brody has gone from poo'ing 6x a day down to twice a day and its gotten much harder since we've introduced Canidae...and we're still in the process of switching. Cooper and Gracie's poo has gotten darker and harder, although I was fine with it before. I just assumed that Brody was going so much because he was a puppy. So far we are very pleased with our choice to switch over.


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## beckybc03 (Jul 6, 2006)

You know I wasn't planning on switching Lilly from Merrick but now that I hear all of these positive changes after switching to Canidae I may have to change my plan. Lilly does poo a lot. She always poos small little pieces at a time and she goes about 4 times a day AT LEAST, sometimes more, and sometimes even 2 times on one walk. I just assumed that the reason she pooed so much was because she was pee pad trained and never felt the need to get it all out at once. Anyway, I have part of a bag and another 5lb bag left of Merrick so I think I may just use that up and then try to switch her over to Canidae. 

See this is one of the reasons that I love this site because we get real life experiences and opinions and not just someone at the store saying "this is the best."


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## lillady (Jan 25, 2007)

> You know I wasn't planning on switching Lilly from Merrick but now that I hear all of these positive changes after switching to Canidae I may have to change my plan. Lilly does poo a lot. She always poos small little pieces at a time and she goes about 4 times a day AT LEAST, sometimes more, and sometimes even 2 times on one walk. I just assumed that the reason she pooed so much was because she was pee pad trained and never felt the need to get it all out at once. Anyway, I have part of a bag and another 5lb bag left of Merrick so I think I may just use that up and then try to switch her over to Canidae.
> 
> See this is one of the reasons that I love this site because we get real life experiences and opinions and not just someone at the store saying "this is the best."
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> ...


If you're anything like me-you will be pleasantly surprised. I seriously take Kosmo out more than I have to now because I was used to him pooping so much and he just kind of looks at me like "why are we out here?" He honestly goes usually 2 times a day-sometimes 3 now.


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## CrystalAndZoe (Jul 11, 2006)

<span style="font-family:Comic Sans Ms">I only had Zoe on Merrick for a SHORT time. 1) Little Miss Picky didn't like it and 2) She pooed tons both in amount & frequency...and it was really soft. She has been on Solid Gold Wee Bits for over a month now and it is by far the best she has ever eaten! She poos twice a day again, and the amount is smaller than it has ever been. We were walking in the park the other day with a friend and her dog when Zoe needed to ummm... "take care of business". My friend joked that I didn't even need to pick it up it was so small! Well of course I picked it up and had to say...I wasn't gagging while holding the bag as far away as possible! LOL In fact I didn't smell it at all the whole time we were walking to find a trash can! Not that may little princess' poo would ever stink!







</span>


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## schatzi's mom (May 13, 2007)

You guys are right! I just switched Kadie from Merrick to Canidae and no more stink!!!







For the first time I don't have to get up in the middle of the night to pick up her poop because I smell it in the bedroom FROM THE LIVINGROOM!!!







And to top it off, she's eating it compltely dry without canned and she loves it!!!


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## 2maltese4me (May 8, 2006)

> You guys are right! I just switched Kadie from Merrick to Canidae and no more stink!!!
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I really love hearing all these *GOOD* things about Canidae, makes me feel that much beeter than I switched over!!!!!


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## lillady (Jan 25, 2007)

> You guys are right! I just switched Kadie from Merrick to Canidae and no more stink!!!
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Yay! So glad everyone is having great experiences with Canidae as we are!


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## gottagettamaltee (Dec 1, 2005)

ok am i the only one with a little problem???It's not really a problem, just stinky and lots more to pick up now!

I was homecooking for Bentley and I decided to start him on Canidae because with me feeding him food, the kids were starting to feed him whatever they were eating and it was frusterating me (I have a roommate with a toddler and they BOTH feed him when I'm not looking) and Bentley was having runny poo. So He LOVES Canidae, gobbles it all up but now he's been going poop like 5 times a day, it's dark, soft sometimes mushy, and VERY VERY smelly!!!!!!!!!!!!
My dad and stepmom feed canidae to their dog and cats and they told me to wait a week or two that the food was probably cleaning out his system and he's stop pooping so much and it wouldn't smell. They said their animals did the same thing for the first two weeks and now they don't go poo as much and it doesn't smell strong, just a little smell, of course. 

Did this happen to any of you when you first switched? The smell is just awefully strong compared to what it was like before. plus he goes in piles like 3-5 times a day since i switched. He's been on CAnidae for 4 or 5 days now.


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## 2maltese4me (May 8, 2006)

> ok am i the only one with a little problem???It's not really a problem, just stinky and lots more to pick up now!
> 
> I was homecooking for Bentley and I decided to start him on Canidae because with me feeding him food, the kids were starting to feed him whatever they were eating and it was frusterating me (I have a roommate with a toddler and they BOTH feed him when I'm not looking) and Bentley was having runny poo. So He LOVES Canidae, gobbles it all up but now he's been going poop like 5 times a day, it's dark, soft sometimes mushy, and VERY VERY smelly!!!!!!!!!!!!
> My dad and stepmom feed canidae to their dog and cats and they told me to wait a week or two that the food was probably cleaning out his system and he's stop pooping so much and it wouldn't smell. They said their animals did the same thing for the first two weeks and now they don't go poo as much and it doesn't smell strong, just a little smell, of course.
> ...



Did you _gradually_ switch him over, like over a few weeks time???? From reading your post, it sounds like you kind of just put him right onto Canidae.....which would be the cause of the problem. Like your parents said, give him time to adjust.

I'm still switching over....I like to take it slow so there are no tummy issues. I figure the whole process of switching is going to take me about a month. So far, like I've said, I have seen great results....no issues at all. Nice hard firm poopy's with really no smell at all...swear to God. Brody had an accident (he's still a pup) and I walked right past it, didn't even smell it. Normally, I would have smelled it through out the whole house.


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## gottagettamaltee (Dec 1, 2005)

> Did you _gradually_ switch him over, like over a few weeks time???? From reading your post, it sounds like you kind of just put him right onto Canidae.....which would be the cause of the problem. Like your parents said, give him time to adjust.
> 
> I'm still switching over....I like to take it slow so there are no tummy issues. I figure the whole process of switching is going to take me about a month. So far, like I've said, I have seen great results....no issues at all. Nice hard firm poopy's with really no smell at all...swear to God. Brody had an accident (he's still a pup) and I walked right past it, didn't even smell it. Normally, I would have smelled it through out the whole house.[/B]



yeah i didnt gradually switch him because i was homecooking and i made him some food and when i was done it didnt smell good for me to eat so i threw it away and bought him some canidae. i gave him some raw veggies throughout the day and i also got a can of merrick to mix with it for a sort of homecooked meal feel so he'd eat it but i only mixed in a little of it with the kibble. i feel bad now that its my fault and it may be upsetting his tummy


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## bruinkoala (Aug 18, 2005)

i'm going to purchase canidae tomorrow. mocha is on artemis small breed puppy food and her poop is stinky! when bruno was a puppy he didn't have this stinky poop problem regardless of the food he was on (his poop was fine with merrick and wellness). i think mocha's tummy is a bit more sensitive since when we introduce her to something new, her poop gets a bit softer. hopefully i'll see success with canidae also.


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## gottagettamaltee (Dec 1, 2005)

I stopped mixing the Merrick canned with the Canidae and just gave Bentley the Canidae by itself for a couple of days. His poop was firm and not so stinky and very very dark. Then I thought, Oh shoot! I have that can of Merrick and there's only a little so I should finish it! Well I mixed in some Merrick yesterday with the Canidae and when Bentley pooped, oh boy could I smell it in the other rooms! It was lighter in color and not firm enough to pick up without smooshing it.

So I think it's safe to say that Bentley's tummy doesn't agree with the Merrick canned. That must have been what was making his poop radioactive!


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## lillady (Jan 25, 2007)

Yep-I'd agree. All dogs are different, but if you didn't slowly switch...I'm thinking the runny poo is associated with that. I bet it will firm up once his tummy gets used to it. Good luck-let us know.


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## The A Team (Dec 1, 2005)

So I'm just reading this thread now....missed it before. My kids eat Solid Gold Hunden Flocken and Merrick Turducken. Life is good. Would it be better with this Canidae?? Is it kibble? Sorry, I don't mean to sound so dumb, but I usually run into the store and pick up a case of Merrick Canned food and a couple of bags of Solid Gold and haven't been looking around.


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## Levy & Lany's Mom (Jun 26, 2007)

Hi! I'm new here, and so far I love it. Where can I buy Canidae? In a Petshop? I have two finicky eaters. Levy is months old and Lany is 3 months old. Right now they are eating, Hollistic (organic food) but I have to mix it with rice and chicken baby food.


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## Bailey Luda (Feb 14, 2006)

Goodness... I don't get on here a lot anymore and look at all the great info I missed.... I am near the end of Bailey's first bag of Merrick and although he eats it right up... the increased frequency & amount of poop which is light colored and softer than usual had me wondering about trying something else AGAIN!

Grrrr all these food issues the past 6 months!







Luckily the same store that I got the Merrick from has the Canidae also... its a little bit of a drive but my fluferbutt is worth it... I was originally going to opt for the Canidae after the recall issue started but then was persuaded to Merrick since that got the most buzz on here for a bit... but trial by error I guess









I am so grateful for the info here... your babies are so adorable... wish I had more time to chat here more often!


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## 2maltese4me (May 8, 2006)

> Hi! I'm new here, and so far I love it. Where can I buy Canidae? In a Petshop? I have two finicky eaters. Levy is months old and Lany is 3 months old. Right now they are eating, Hollistic (organic food) but I have to mix it with rice and chicken baby food.
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<span style="font-family:tempus sans itc">You have to call around for Canidae, its not sold at all pet stores....which is the reason I've waited so long to put my babies on it....I just could't find it locally. As it is, I'm driving 36 miles round trip just to get it....but thats ok, I dont mind. Anyway......Canidae is a holistic food and you don't have to mix anything with it, unless you want to. It does come in canned as well as dry.</span>


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## LoriJo (Jul 19, 2006)

> Hi! I'm new here, and so far I love it. Where can I buy Canidae? In a Petshop? I have two finicky eaters. Levy is months old and Lany is 3 months old. Right now they are eating, Hollistic (organic food) but I have to mix it with rice and chicken baby food.
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I get Canidae at Pet Supplies Plus. If you have one of those nearby, you should be able to get it there.


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## lillady (Jan 25, 2007)

If you go to their website-there is a store finder where you put your zip and it will tell you stores near you-if there are some. Here's a link and just click on your state:

http://www.canidae.com/company/storelocator.html


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## 2maltese4me (May 8, 2006)

> If you go to their website-there is a store finder where you put your zip and it will tell you stores near you-if there are some. Here's a link and just click on your state:
> 
> http://www.canidae.com/company/storelocator.html[/B]



<span style="font-family:tempus sans itc">Duhhhh, how did I forget that....thats exactly how I found where to buy it.... </span>


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## Levy & Lany's Mom (Jun 26, 2007)

Thanks but I finally found something they like, Royal Canine. i bought it last night and they loved it. At least I can find it here in Puerto Rico. thanks


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