California Natural (Dry)

Yes “because they may be contaminated with Salmonella.”

Many raw food contains salmonella too and it doesn’t effect dogs since their digestive tract is much smaller than humans.

The recall is really due to humans, which shouldn’t be a problem if you wash you hands after feeding kibble and you should being doing that after handling kibble anyways!

It’s time to take the tin foil hat off…..

We have a Novia Scotia Duck Retriever (some call them Yarmouth River Dogs). He is 9 years old and has been on California Naturals lamb and rice, low calorie, for at least 5 of those years and is doing fine. When was CL food recalled? We are still able to buy it at our local feed store. Also, I wonder which dog food was recalled or was it all of them?

Just check out which food you pick. California Natural has been recalled…

California Natural has been recalled……

I’m glad you found something that works for your dog. For some dogs, rice is a very bad ingredient, even for an upset stomach. And your right, potato isn’t any better, it a good thing that not all of the good dog foods have potatoes in them. Do you know that this company just had a recall?

My dog HATES this food. Not interested in eating it and stool comes out yellowish and very stinky. I’m going back to Newman’s Own. I think it’s interesting that Newman’s Own has a lower fat content than this food.

You obviously have better eyes or comprehension than me, I don’t understand half of what they said.

Are you saying your dog does not gain any weight, change the diet, dont give him raw meat, change to @natural Balance@ and give him Oel Capsules, Health and Shine from Dr. Foster, go online, plus you can boil or staem sweet Potatos, take the skin of, no salt, and mix it under his dry food N>B
@ShawnaW:disqus 

Maybe try going grain free with your dog. A lot of dogs can’t handle grain in their diet.

Hi. I feed my westie CN venison and add the flax seed but he still is itching!  Ugh, so stressful.  Already went to vet and between the new food and the bathing in medicated shampoo I thought  my little guy would be better by now but not so.  What to do, what to do?

To remain unbiased and impartial, Dr Mike is careful to use like phrases for like ingredients, products, etc.  You will find that many reviews are similar in some ways, some are similar in many.  Some foods are made by the same company but for many different companies, like Diamond, so they may have a lot of similarities.

True, they should

 ckoz – Why don’t you take your dog to an allergy specialist for a proper diagnosis.  It sounds like you are playing a guessing game and your dog is suffering.

Hi! So I have a four yr old pyreneese/collie mix who is allergic to pretty much everything (we’re not exactly sure what triggers his allergies). He has to be on a grain-free diet for sure. He was on CN venison for quite some time with no noticeable problems EXCEPT (and this is really weird) his stool became very dry, almost dusty–even with the addition of pumpkin to his diet every time I feed him, and he goes to the bathroom anywhere from 3-5 times on his first walk of the day. I changed his food after taking him to the vet and she pulled some stool out of him and it crumbled as she pulled it out. He’s since been on the kangaroo from CN, and some limited lamb ingredient (but I can’t remember which company). He had gas, vomiting, ear infections AND incesantly licking his rear from the other two foods. SO I put him back on the venison because aside from the weird stool, he’s okay on it. Has anyone else noticed this with their dogs being on the venison? AND does anyone have any advice on which food to try next? He can’t do poultry or chicken. I bought a bag of The Great LIfe anf read HORRIBLE reviews, so I returned it, then I picked up some samples of Taset of the Wild bison and venison, but then realized it’s manufactured by Diamond, which I’m not fond of. I will gladly take any advice…… 

Elizabeth-

I really have nothing to offer that has not been said, except, orange stool? I have never seen that occur with pancreatitis-it does however tend to appear with gastrointestinal bleeding and liver disease(or if the dog has been fed something orange-pumpkin etc) Definitely have boyfriend stop the table food.

During severe attack they used to recommend withholding food.  I think now they recommend giving food through a feeding tube. However once the crisis is over supplemental enzymes are recommended. 

Enzymes in the food we eat (when not overly processed) begin breaking down food in the first portion of the stomach (the fundus).  By the time the food gets to the small intestines it has already been predigested by enzymes within the food — sparing the body from having to produce all the enzymes required for proper digestion. 

Raw (with naturally occuring supplemental enzymes) is not counter indicated in pancreatitis so I’m not sure why a supplement would be?

Dr. Becker recommends them “After the crisis has passed, the very best “insurance” that you can buy to lower your pet’s chances of having a repeat episode is to supply them with a rich source of digestive enzymes.”  http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2009/12/16/dont-let-this-organ-ruin-your-pets-life.aspx

thank you all soo much! The only symptoms she has are a little bit of gas, which is mostly gone, and very few bowel movements, with soft orange-ish stool when they do happen.  She seems to have no stomach pain, even when touched, and she seems pretty happy and energetic.  I am hoping we got lucky and found a problem before she develops any severe symptoms. We did a pretty comprehensive blood test, and the vet said all of her other organs/levels looked OK. 
The vet said probiotics and enzymes would be beneficial for her, and suggested I add some plain yogurt to her diet for now.  I will certainly look more into all of the information you all have provided, and speak with my vet about our long term plan for her.  I try to keep her well taken care of though, only homemade pumpkin treats and some benedryl for her allergies, so I am thinking that my boyfriends table scraps are the culprit. I’ve been battling with her to lose weight, and although he denies it, I’ve caught him giving her table scraps, especially cheese, often.  I’m sure the hundreds of dollars in vet bills and new food will help him remember to stop though..
I really appreciate everyone’s input, it’s hard to find a place to start looking when stuff like this happens, and you all are definitely helping me facilitate a long happy life for my fluffy baby Thank you.

I love it when you two get together on a topic.  You each bring something else to the table…and a lot of it!

California Naturals Senior is a lower fat food — however, quality fat does not cause pancreatitis.  Rancid fat could and fats go rancid when exposed to air (free feeding, sitting in a warehouse too long, air leaks in the bag etc).

It is also a carb heavy food and as the others have mentioned — some feel that carb heavy diets cause the pancreas excess stress to produce enough amylase to digest all the carbs.  Since enzymes are made from amino acids, having a higher carb and low protein diet seems like a double whammy..  Others disagree with this line of thought but many (including vets) blame carb heavy diets on some cases of pancreatitis.

The other thing that they know is that senior dogs need MORE protein then adult dogs as they are less efficient at digesting it.  The 24% in California Natural Senior is pretty low

Many of us share our dinners with our pets — mine always get a little.  But it depends on what is shared.  Little pieces of meat or low glycemic veggies is great.  While carbs and highly processed foods are not the best to share..

Oh, thank you Shawna!!!

Here are some more recognized causes of pancreatitis that I’ve been reading up on… (And I recall seeing that information on lectins causing it, but can’t remember where).

“Pancreatitis is caused by autodigestion of the pancreas thought to begin with a decrease in secretion of pancreatic enzymes in response to a stimulus,[6][7] which can be anything from table scraps to getting into the garbage to drugs,toxins and trauma.[3][8] The digestive enzymes are released too quickly and begin acting on the pancreas instead of the food they normally digest.[2][8][9][10] Once the process cascades, then inflammatory mediators and free radicals are released and pancreatitis develops, causing amplification of the process.[9]”

That’s the part I’m sticking on. If this is true, in this kind of scenario could giving extra enzymes cause more problems?

“There are no approved treatments for canine pancreatitis. Treatment for this disease is supportive, and may require hospitialization to attend to the dog’s nutritional and fluid needs, pain management, and addressing any other disease processes (infection, diabetes, etc.)[15] while letting the pancreas heal on its own.[3][11] Treatment often involves “resting” the pancreas for a short period of time by nil per os/nothing per os (NPO)/nil by mouth (NBM), in which the patient receives no food or fluids by mouth, but is fed and hydrated by intravenous fluids and a feeding tube.[8][12] Dehydration is also managed by the use of fluid therapy.[13][14][15]

Canine pancreatitis is complex, often limiting the ability to approach the disease.”

Some of the other things that could lead to pancreatitis,

“The medications most suspected of causing pancreatitis include azathioprine (Imuran Rx), potassium bromide (used for seizure control), l-asparaginase ( a chemotherapeutic agent) and zinc used as a dietary supplement. There are a number of other medications that are sometimes mentioned as possible causes of pancreatitis but the relationship with it is less clear for most of those medications. Pets living in areas in which scorpions occur may develop pancreatitis after scorpion stings. Naturally occurring hypercalcemia ( too much calcium in the blood stream) can lead to pancreatitis and it is likely that over supplementation with calcium or calcitriol could also lead to pancreatitis ” http://www.vetinfo.com/dpancrea.html

“Drugs / toxins

organophosphates, azathioprine, thiazides,
oestrogens, furosemide, sulphas, tetracycline,
procainamide, asparaginase, bromide steroids,
propofol?
(Infections toxoplasma ± parvo,,toxoplasma ± parvo FIP cats)”
http://www.bva.co.uk/public/documents/07congress_pancreatitis_watson_pp.pdf?oo=0

And I’m throwing in this link to
EPI
http://www.ask.com/wiki/Exocrine_pancreatic_insufficiency

Incase it s a blocked duct. :-}

Hi Patty,
From what I can tell, and I’m no expert on pancreatitis, there are a lot of things that it could be. In some forms, boosting enzymes is exactly the right thing to do, and it does “rest” the pancreas. But some of the others, SMH, that’s not what they recommend. They simply don’t know enough about it. I have trouble with my pancreas, but a high fat diet makes it feel better. So, shrug, there’s a lot that I just don’t know. I wish Shawna would weigh in!!

I do think that anything that stresses the endocrine system should be addressed, which will in turn support the pancreas and reduce inflammation.

Grains are highly inflammatory, so that’s another good reason to omit them from the diet. We’ve both mentioned that the pancreas has to work harder to produce amylase…

I didn’t say earlier that I have some reservations about interpretation of test results, cause it will muddy the waters. I went through a period of extremely high blood cholesterol & lipid levels and my doc freaked. But I’d already done the research on that. High blood cholesterol is a healthy response to toxins. It accompanies the bodies mechanism for trapping and excreting them. I resisted my doctors response to artificially lower them, and stayed out of my bodies way. It ended up that I made a dramatic improvement. But I just don’t know enough about all the forms of pancreatitis. The more I read, the more I need to dig. :-}

Toxed will catch me if I’m wrong, but my understanding is that the enzymes are elevated because the pancreas is working that hard to deal with what she ate.  Adding enzymes means the pancreas doesn’t have to do that additional work. 

By the way, dogs weren’t designed to handle a lot of carbs anyway.  They normally don’t produce much amylase so a carb heavy diet can put a lot of stress on a dogs pancreas. Some dogs seem to handle it OK, others don’t.  I don’t know specifically about CN, but a lot of senior and diet dog foods cut protein and add carbs when a senior and/or an overweight dog usually do better with more high quality protein.

Supplementing enzymes may help… But some forms of pancreatitis are a result of elevated amylase, the enzyme that the pancreas excretes to help digest starch and glycogen, or lipase, the enzyme for fat digestion. Did your vet do a blood test for elevated enzymes (amylase or lipase)?

So if he did, and its amylase that’s elevate, you might want to restrict carbs, especially grains, as they are the hardest to digest, and generally highest in sugars.
Not all pancreatitis is due to too much fat.

Here’s a great link to an overview.

http://www.ask.com/wiki/Canine_pancreatitis

I see you’re already on top of the “table scraps” issue.

Try Mercola.com  I would definitely keep her on digestive enzymes and pre/probiotics.  Taking the weight off might help and getting her on a low fat/high quality protein might help.  I think the one everyone here recommends is Wellness Core Reduced Fat.  Anything you can do to reduce stress on the pancreas ought to help.

 My dog is on Prescription Royal Canine as well and i am trying to switch him to a high protien high fat puppy kibble as he was undernourished and had bad coccidia and giardia. Can the parasite damage last  for several even if  he recovers from treatment? Can that cause formed but mushy stools.?

Perhaps adding a pro/pre-biotic with enzymes, which you can add to foods like Whole Earth, instead of bouncing around different foods. They’ll help the dog digest the food better, so that you don’t have issues with gas and diarrhea.

Maybe you give me some advice? I have a rescue dog who seems to have a sensitive stomach/intolerance to something. He was on whatever the rescue could get so he had terrible gas and diarrhea. Then I put him on Whole Earth Farms and he still has kind of loose stools and horrible constant gas. Also his coat is kind of ragged/rough and dull. I want to try and figure out what is going on with him, but I don’t know what food to go to. Obviously Brothers is good but I can’t afford that. I have two other dogs (plus it seems a small zoo) and would like to be able to feed them well too! I need some help and advice on what food to try.

 Bryan-

My dogs are fine with grains and had the same result with the cali Natural chicken variety(not grain free)

To address the question of which formula, for my JRT, the culprit was CN lamb meal and rice adult small bites. Wish I could specify more, like with an exp date, but we returned the bag and I no longer have it. Store was great, and we are trying another brand…so far, so good.

No we haven’t tried lamb/rice.  I’m scared to give her anything other than the prescription Royal Canin food at the moment.  It’s taking a while to get her back to normal.  We have a follow up vet visit today and I plan to discuss what food we should change to.

I just thought I’d share my experience with Cal. Nat……at one time I needed a limited ingredient diet.  At the time I was using Natural Balance LIDs.  They worked fine, but I wanted another brand to rotate with so I tried California Natural.  First off, the dogs really didn’t care for it (I used the Chicken & Rice and the grainfree Chicken) and secondly, they had loose stool that I just couldn’t get to change.  I always thought this was weird seeing as how it’s supposed to be a hypoallergenic food, but oh well.  Another funny thing is that they like and do fine on the Cal. Nat. Chicken & Rice canned food and I sometimes use it in their rotation.  On a side note, my cat doesn’t like the brand either. 

Just returning to say no parasites, no giardia, so it really is looking like the food was the issue. We’re on the hunt for something new. She’s doing great on boiled chicken and rice, but not a long term solution (though she loves it!).

Reading old comments, the incidence of diarrhea have me wondering if the CN is the cause of our littledog’s recent bout. She’s been on CN for over a year, started a new bag Tues, and by Sat she had horrible diarrhea. Put her on chicken & rice only, got better and we reintroduced the CN … Diarrhea returned. We’re going to vet in morning to have her checked out (parasites or other cause?), but now reading the issues people have had, I really wonder if it is the food.

help -

Dogs are carnivores, feeding them a low protein diet makes no sense as it’s not species appropriate. It is a myth that high levels of protein put stress on the organs, here are several studies:

http://acana.com/sites/default/files/Myths_of_High_Protein.pdf

http://acana.com/sites/default/files/Pet-Food-Safety-Dietary-Protein.pdf

http://acana.com/sites/default/files/Effects_of_High_Protein_on_Renal_Function.pdf

Senior dogs actually need MORE protein than adults:

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/05/05/surprising-findings-from-tufts-study-of-37-senior-dog-foods.aspx

Also if your dog needs to lose weight a high protein food would be a better option, high carbs promote weight gain in dogs:

http://jn.nutrition.org/content/134/8/2087S.full

I have a 3 month old puppy, a 1 1/2 year old adult, and a 7 year old senior they all eat the same diet – about 50-55% protein, 30-35% fat, 15-20% carbohydrates.

help –

Try mixing some extra water in with the kibble and canned food and see if that helps. Generally, I would recommend avoiding senior formulas as they’re generally lower in protein than the adult formulas but in this case it appears the CN senior actually has more protein than the adult which is a good thing. Personally if I had to feed CN – just a suggestion here – I would feed the puppy formula to any age dog.  The puppy, adult, and senior formulas are all too low in protein (imo) but the puppy formula has the most protein of the bunch.

I recently switched my 12 yr old retriever mix from Diamond hi energy dog food and canned gravy train to canned CN (California Naturals) and dry CN.  I am waiting on a CN senior formula, as no stores in the area carry it, but currently she is eating the Herring and Sweet Potato.  I switched the canned food about two weeks ago, and about a week ago began gradually adding in the dry food to her Diamond dry.  Since adding in the dry food, she is drinking more water.  I don’t think it’s necessarily excessive (she usually doesn’t drink very much at all), but after noticing I tried only feeding the canned CN and dry Diamond and the water consumption went back to normal.  The next day I added back in the dry CN, and the same thing, more water consumption.  I am wondering if this is normal, or something to be concerned about.  It seems that the protein of the two foods in the guaranteed analysis’ supplied on the packages are very similar.  She had blood work done a few months ago, kidneys were normal and one liver enzyme was a tiny bit high (vet says nothing troubling).  I switched her foods in an effort to better her health, not hurt it, so any suggestions would be helpful!

we love this dog food but it looks as the store near us is not going to continue in carrying this we hope to be able in 
 buying this on line. are they not going to make this
anymore? PAUL FROM INDIANA

 Doggone-

Okay, now that is funny! : )

Brag,
Sorry I just saw your comment…Yeah you would think that they would know about it, but I’ve been so busy dealing with meds and finding a new food that I haven’t contacted P&G about it. I found a couple of foods that meet her sensitivities (VerUs L&R and Holistic Select L&R) so I’ll give them a try. Good luck to you!

 doggonefedup-

why would you choose a name such as herpes? really??

Hey Labs,
AHH HA HA HA some people like to change their ID’s so they can argue even if its with themselves…

Kjknkl-

Posting it once will show up for all. No need to post 4 times. Also, why did you change your ID to post the x4 spam? Your first message shows your true ID WeimsSince67. Changing your ID is not cool w/out stating that you are a previous poster-oh, then you got rid of the Disque ID of Kjknkl so if one  clicks on the profile, its non existent.

 The only way CN will know is if you contact them — so please do!!!  1 800 532 7261.  They say they’ve run tests since I contacted them but they keep repeating it must be something else since no one else has complained to them.  Let them know!  And see if they tell everyone that no one else has contacted them; then we’ll know if they just don’t know… or are trying to convince each customer it’s not their food.

 Contact Natura Pet at 800-532-7261 and tell them you just had trouble — I called them and they said they haven’t had any other complaints; I suggested they hit some dog boards like this, and they just said they didn’t have any complaints but mine.  They did send me a coupon for a free bag, and now they’ve decided to have me send them a sample of the problem bag, they’re sending me a box and label for it.

I use Fromm and love the food.  Currently, I’m feeding their Gamebird grain free.  I’ve used the following with very good results:  Salmon Tunalini (grain free), Chicken (grain inclusive), Duck (grain inclusive), Whitefish (grain inclusive), Pork (grain inclusive) and the Salmon (grain inclusive).  I plan on trying the Beef grain free in the future.

It must be a bad batch somewhere, because I’m in Columbus, OH and have sold quite a bit of it without any issue. I actually recommend the grain-free varieties quite often.

I have a purebred GSD. I first used Innova purchased only through specialty stores whose products were primarily holistic and organic. They deliver! However, because I am of the mind that canines are inherently carnivores I am not comfortable limiting his meals to dry food so I add meat. Innova was high in protein so staying with Natura products, I changed to California Natural which, as explained above, as a less meat ingredients.  I cook chicken breasts and thighs, break them up and add to his food. This has always been his diet. He is 5 yrs old and stays around 95lbs.

Simply because this thread is active- But-

Has anyone heard of foods starting to use Canola meal? I was looking at the Petco site which I do on occassion and saw they had a new line “canyon Creek”- I clicked on one of the formulas and was a little surprised to see canola meal as the second ingredient. I know this has been used in livestock feeds, but was unaware it was starting to be used in dog food?

Thanks for the info and suggestions Sandy. I will give some of these foods a try….No I haven’t heard of the test you mentioned. I’ll have to ask my vet about getting it done. 

Yes she has had problems in the past with other protein sources besides lamb and I had to change her from her last food Avoderm L&R when they changed their formula and added tomato pomace. She’s pretty sensitive so I originally chose CN L&R because of the limited ingredients but now I’m not sure what to try with all the sensitivities. Any suggestions? Any feedback on Nature’s Select L&R or Advanced Pet Diets L&R? Others? Thanks.

my dog ate CN too and the new bag did her in with diarrhea.
CN must know about the problem??

I posted the same thing!  I couldn’t believe it.  There has to be something wrong with this batch of CN.  I switched!

Does your dog need to be on a lamb and rice food permanently?  Or are you looking into other options?

My dog has been on CN Lamb and Rice for a year
now and done fine….until I bought a new bag and she started having diarrhea.
I thought it was just her so I went to the vet, got her on meds & vet food
and she was ok. Then I fed it again and she had more diarrhea. She’s now back
on meds so we’ll see what happens. The most interesting thing is that she is
NOT a picky eater, but has refused to eat it since buying the new bag. This is
actually what led me to check the comments here lately, and unfortunately they
match our situation. I may try to exchange for another bag from a different
location and see what happens. If nothing changes it looks like I’ll be
searching for another food. With all of these comments, with the same
complaints, in the same time frame, it does seem suspicious. If Proctor &
Gamble did change the formula or sourcing (not saying they did, just IF), don’t
they realize how much business they will lose? Oh well, on the up side at least
I’ve got DFA to help me find a new food.  

MY Cairn terrier  had been on CA Natural Lamb & Rice  kibble for  over five years without any  problems.  Last week I opened a new bag, fed him, and within four hours diarrhea started.   Gave him  only rice  and some chicken for the next few days, and then added some  kibble to the mix.  Diarrhea back and this time he was really distressed, panting, etc., so took him to the vet.    Stool test negative for parasites, vet thinks  the dog food was to blame.  I was traveling at the time and had purchased a large bag of kibble for my time away from home with him.  Very  dismayed to read  about  the problems dogs are having with CA Natural.  Shame on you P&G

I decided to try CN Puppy Lamb Meal and Rice; fed it last nite, diarrhea this morning. Fed it this morning, diarrhea t/o the day. It’s funny how the same food can affect some dogs and not others.

I have 2 shih tzus that have been on CN for several years and for the last 5 days have had explosive diarrhea. I just opened this bag, so I am starting to wonder if CN is the cause. Especially since blogger, brag641 is experiencing the same issues.

I’ve used Canidae, but abandoned it b/c of the recall.  She never had a problem.  I’ve used Innova too with no problems.  But now need to change b/c of illness.

Help! I bought a bag of California Natural and my dog had terrible diarrhea. I fed her rice and chicken and She went on meds from the vet and was better. She just went off the meds and has diarrhea again.  Could it be CN? She was on CN for 6 weeks before I bought the new bag, so it wasn’t a new transition. I’m scared she is sick from the food.
Can you recommend another brand?

It’s only three stars because it’s wayyy too low in protein.

I trust this means you don’t sell any brands owned by Diamond or Menu either right?  Because if you do, you’re being extremely hypocritical about having a moral issue with P&G.

And while I understand not wanting to support animal testing, it would be to your credit to NOT spread rumors and lies about a brand. Otherwise it just makes your business look bad and other brands will be hesitant to support your store if they know you are fine with libel.

There is no law suit against P&G for a formula change. You obviously heard this from a competitor or from someone who read it on the internet or heard it from someone else. It’s a complete fabrication and IMO you would be wise to not repeat those sorts of rumors on the internet where they’re there in black and white for all to see.

And as a customer, I would not want to shop at your store knowing that you are so quick to believe any little rumor you hear and also that you might discourage me from feeding a food that works for my pet simply because of a rumor.

 Hi, I cannot confirm that unfortunately. But if you’re concerned I recommend calling Natura to ask about the sourcing of the meat. Sorry I cannot be of more help.

The owner personally told me that he only sold Innova to P&G and kept him on for a year. I asked him about the other varieties such as CN and Evo, and he said, “NO” he still owns them. That was a couple years ago so he may have sold out the other varieties by now. 

Thank you so much for confirming that P&G has no plans to change the recipe. That was a wonderful bit of reassurance you have given. My question is not so much aimed at the recipe but the source of the meat. I spoke with the owner several years ago and he said that he and his wife use free range meat raised in the U.S. He didn’t say if the cows/chickens were raised on his farm by him or if he outsourced the meat. That is my issue with P&G taking over – that they will change the source of the meat from USDA free range to USDA slaughterhouse non-free range.  Just because meat is USDA does not make it high quality or human quality. Same goes for grain. Can you confirm? 

The formula was changed after Proctor & Gamble bought the company.  We used the herring and sweet potato recipe for a number of years due to food allergies and the simple, limited and high quality ingredients. Sweet potato used to be one of the first 3 ingredients and now it is much further down the list. They have added barley and rice. Sweet potato used to be the only carb in that particular food. So now that P&G have added cheap fillers, they should lower the price.  I have stopped buying it.

I believe you are mistaken. California Natural, Innova and Evo are all Natura Pet and P&G bought Natura Pet- a few places in the Atlanta area stopped selling all em. Murray, my now 1yr lab is having allergy type issues again- itchy flakey vomiting up food ear problem which he’s never had before so yes we are going to the vet before assuming his calif natural grain free venison did it to him. Hard to say- but we do watch everything he eats- all same ol grain free no chicken or eggs or any sort of

Traci – the buy out was not the California Natural recipe, it was the company’s Innova product. The company still exists as it did before. California Natural is made by Naturapet. Innova is now owned by Proctor & Gamble (who kept Naturapet on for the first year to maintain the formulation.)

Tried it, but my sensitive girl got a rash after about a week. Have changed to another high grade food and she is back to normal. Don’t know why that happened but it did. 

Got a 4.5 year old 60 lb.Terv Rescue at Thanksgiving and the bag of CN Chicken & Brown Rice came with him. He’d just started on it, so I have kept him on it to not upset him more. He’s doing well although I’ve had to add yogurt occasionally for constipation. It gave my other Terv diarrhea but she has a a finicky stomach and I only tried it a couple of times last spring.
At the moment I have no complaints with CN for my male Terv and he adjusted quickly to it and is looking much better. I do rotate food and am researching where to go next. 

Has anyone tried their new grain-free limited-ingredients dog food – http://www.rotatewithconfidence.com/ . They have several formulas: kangaroo, venison, lamb, salmon, chicken. Great for those who like to rotation diets.

Laura-

Your dogs may have a virus-

I just added California Natural chicken/rice into my rotation as Acana Grasslands proved to be too “rich” for my dogs with pancreatitis issues “solo”-they were fine when the GF was mixed with a lower protein/fat food, but the moment I took it out-7-8 days later issues. I was able to add the Cal Natural in “cold turkey” at the rate of 50 percent(in a hurry to cut their fat intake) and voila-no stomach issues what so ever. I also added it to my rescue with skin problems, so will see how her skin responds to this food.

I have 3 dogs, all cocker spaniels. Since switching to California natural I now have 3 vomiting cocker spaniels. No other changes in environment but switched to California Natural about 1 month ago and this week everyone is vomiting. Just what I wanted from a dog food that I spent $75 per bag for.

I tried a few samples of ca nat’l venison on my 11 month black lab w/ grain allergies and intolerances with chicken, turkey, and egg products- once I decided to buy a bag, the pet store recommended that I not buy due to p&g buyout. I reluctantly went elsewhere to buy out of frustration trying to find suitable food that he can tolerate that was not too high in protein. There’s not many choices left! I’m still feeding him ca nat’l venison and he’s been doing soo good… shiny coat, no digestion issues and very happy & healthy. Of course if I notice adverse effects, I will address at then but I think p&g, even with the past reported animal testing and changes to iams, has hopefully learned not to mess with a good thing. Some dogs live hearty long years eating Ol Roy- but some have issues- IMO, it depends how each indiv dog is. Before my lab, I had 2 other dogs that ate eukanuba and lived until 14 & 15 yrs.. if it weren’t for all of the issues my lab had with allergies and intolerances, I’d probably be feeding him the same.

My puppy’s stools have finally firmed up after switching her from Diamond Naturals ALS to California Natural Lamb and Rice puppy formula. I am so happy!

I will be transitioning my pups the the Lamb and rice puppy formula.

A class action lawsuit may affect your rights if you purchased Innova, EVO, California Natural, HealthWise, Mother Nature, or Karma dog or cat food products during the time period from March 20, 2005 to July 8, 2011

The lawsuit claims Natura made false and misleading statements about the human grade quality of its food.

http://www.petproductssettlement.com/EN/

My lab-shep mix had terrible skin allergies until I put her on California Natural’s Herring and Sweet Potato. Total turnaround in just a week or so. I just adopted a very skinny stray, and am feeding her this as well. She’s gained weight and health quickly. I wrote to the company (Natura) about P & G and they swear nothing will change–so far, so good. so maybe nothing has.

my dog has pancreatitis so food choice is very tricky. This food (the lamb & rice large kibble) has been a HUGE saving grace. He does great on this. The low fat & relatively low (in comparasion) protein seems to be the trick. He also has a gluten allergy so this helps that too. I highly recommend this one to someone with a sensitive mess like I have in a dog. Good stuff.

I understand the company sold this brand, so time will tell if the recipe gets changed, but so far so good.

Cool mann you got this rated. my pit bull loves tis food. and she doin good on it!

Hi Mike,
I have a nine month old English Bulldog…We are thinking about phasing him out of puppy food and into regular adult food. So I have two questions. (1) Do you think this is too soon (2) Would you recommend a California Natural product for this breed. We hear some many different things from owners/”experts”, we are just looking for something healthy for his skin, insides and weight. Thanks

Hi,
My 4 month old GSD puppy has downed pasterns and I’ve read that he should be on a lower protein (less that 23%) and lower calcium diet. which of your foods would you recommend for him? thanks!

Here is part of an e-mail that I received yesterday from a VERY reliable person: “I know someone who lost her dog to CA Naturals recently – the sweet potato diet. She’s been fighting through all the testing and worry. Trying to do the right thing for her dog. It’s just sad”.
P&G is all I am going to say, don’t ever trust this co.

—–Original Message—–

Mike,
What would you recommend for a dog with Irritable Bowel Disease?

Our Australian shepherd had horrible allergies to dry food as a puppy, we tried multiple brands and his skin allergies and diarrhea never got better until a friend recommended California Natural puppy food to us. Within a week our puppy was no longer scratching and our diarrhea nightmare was over. I would recommend this food to any dog owner/lover that has a dog with allergies or is overly sensitive to dog foods!

WOW. I am shocked! In one month, the rating for California Natural went down from 4 stars to 3 stars!! What made you decide to change the rating? Proctor and Gamble? The low protein levels?

I also noticed that you bumped up more positive ratings for Healthwise. Right now, I am feeding my dogs Healthwise, and they are doing well.

I have a 3/1/2 yr old shitsu w/diareah problems. I have tried at least 6 different kibbles in the last 2 yrs and he always winds up w/diareah. He cannot tolerate grain-free he gets diareah by the 2nd or 3rd day. The one he did the best on was calif natutral herring & sweet potatoe. He was good for 3 mos, ( I was told that ad the least ingredients) and then he fot diarea. I always go back to Purina EN in the can (beef)
but they now have changed the formula to chicken. I think i once triedinstinct – rabbit & tapioca and he did go on that for a while then diareaa. I don’t know if he just can’t have kibble, but he did have kibble for those three months w/a little EN also. What do you recommend? Do younthink I should just look for a fish in a canned food ?Or is there a certain food you would recommend? I have had him to3 different vets and they all say nothing is wrong , he might ave ibs and i just have to find the right food? any suggestions?

Hi, 10 month old american bulldog puppy had a bowel ostruction last month. He’s been on the dry large breed puppy innova since we got him, but after his surgery we fed him the low residue i/d that the vets told us, and eventually went back to his innova. The problem now is that he throws up once in awhile, and when he does it doesn’t look as if he digested his food, and he tends to throw up a lot- it looks like atleast 2 cups of the food. this may be a motility issue and have nothing to do with the innova but incase it is related we were thinking of switching to a different brand. Is there anything you can recommend? Is innova too good a food for him? (i know that sounds counter-intuitive, but we thought maybe he needs something easier on his digestive system. thanks!

I use to buy CN until a few years ago, Solid Gold on their advertisements, were stating that sunflower oil is bad for dogs. Do you happen to know why & how many different types of sunflower oils are out there that companies can use in dog food?

We have also had issues with episodes of diarrhea while on California Naturals Chicken and Rice–and vicious gas. Since switching to Fromm Gold Large Breed we have noticed a HUGE improvement in stools, gas, and my show Rottweiler actually EATS it–before it was difficult to maintain her show weight but now she’s holding steady at 88 lbs, looks wonderful, and has a brilliant coat!

Hi Mike. Let me start by saying…wow…your website is so informative. I truly appreciate the work you’ve done.

I thought I would share my experience with this brand.

We feed the Sweet Potato and Herring formula to our dogs. We have great danes and feeding them a low protein diet is important to us. We also had some skin issues with previous foods but this one really seems to work well for us. No more doggy acne!

We also have dachshunds and I do get concerned that this food is too low in protein for them. We’ve tried switching but the logistics of feeding different foods was challenging and we really couldn’t find anything that the doxies loved as much as the CN. It must be that stinky fish smell . Fortunately their recent blood work indicates that they are very healthy pups so we’re sticking with this formula for now.

Hi Mike, I was wondering if you could review the new grain-free versions of California Natural kibble (chicken, lamb, and venison varieties)? I bought a small bag of the grain free chicken, primarily because I noticed on the label that CN excluded potatoe as a binder (lamb and venison included potatoe). I would really appreciate your thoughts on this product. Thanks!

Thanks Mike – So is it okay to give my female who doesn’t have allergy a limited ingredient diet?
Again thanks so much!
Kellie

Mike – I love this website and can’t believe you have done all this for us dog owners!
So my question / advice needed is as follows:
I have a 93lbs. male, 3 year old English Choc. Lab and just recently rescued a 45 lbs. petite female, 9mo. old Lab mix who had a bad break that mostly all better.
My male has horrible allergies (egg (highly), lamb, rice soy, corn, a bunch of grasses etc.) and has been on Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Fish Dry and most of his life. I recently switched him to California Natural Fish Dry because I thought it was better. I give both dogs kongs with frozen wet food (Cal. Natural Fish) as a treat when I leave in the am so they get 1/4-1/3 can of wet a day.
My female is on Before Grain Chicken mostly because her foster mom wanted to make sure she stays nice and slim because of her break and she felt grain free was better all around.
Soooo here’s what I need help with – I’d prefer one food for both dogs and want to stick with the Dry food with a kong full of frozen wet for treats.
I see Before Grain gets 5 stars, but I’m worried about Chicken for my allergy male even though it didn’t show up on his allergy tests, but eggs did. I like the California Natural but after reading a lot on your site not sure if it’s a bit too low in protein and it has 4 stars vs. 5.
I’m open to other brands as well and have thought about Wellness Core Dry, Orijin, etc. but am a bit confused as to what to do.
I want the best food for both dogs with the right balance of protein, fat, carbs etc. and would love your thoughts on picking the hopefully perfect one (or maybe the top 3 choices).
Oh and also use small treats for training (Nat. Balance Sweet Potato & Fish).
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!
Kellie

Just found out Natura (maker of Innova, Evo, California Natural , etc) sold out to Procter and Gamble earlier this month

Hi Mike,

Thanks for replying. Yes, the reason is for weight loss. My pug is 26 pounds (about 6 pounds over weight). I’ve had him on different weight loss and mangement foods. He gets fed 1/2 cup twice a day of dry. Since these servings are already so low, I wanted to put him on something you would rate at 4 stars for chubby dogs (seems like the highest ratings I’ve found was 3 stars)

Hey Mike,

Would you rate the California Natural Low Fat ones at 4 stars too? I’ve been looking for a high rating low fat or low carb one

would you say it is safe to feed the puppy formula to adult dogs to take advantage of the higher protein content? the ingredients are almost identical between the adult and puppy formulas.