Rating: 
Canidae Grain Free dry dog food gets the Advisor’s second-highest rating of four stars.
Currently, Canidae Grain Free includes two kibbles… both meeting AAFCO nutrient profiles for all life stages.
- Canidae Grain Free ALS
- Canidae Grain Free Salmon
Canidae Grain Free Salmon Dry Dog Food was chosen to represent both products in the line for this review.
Canidae Grain Free Salmon Formula
Dry Dog Food
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Ingredients: Salmon meal, potatoes, potato protein, ocean fish meal, canola oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), peas, tomato pomace, natural flavor, choline chloride, suncured alfalfa meal, inulin (from chicory root), lecithin, sage extract, cranberries, beta-carotene, rosemary extract, sunflower oil, Yucca schidigera extract, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus casei fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus plantarum fermentation product, dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, niacin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, papaya, pineapple
Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 3.3%
Red items when present indicate controversial ingredients
The first ingredient in this dog food is salmon meal. Salmon meal is considered a meat concentrate and contains nearly 300% more protein than fresh salmon itself.
Unfortunately, the controversial chemical ethoxyquin is frequently used as a preservative in fish meals.
But because it’s usually added to the raw fish before processing, the chemical does not have to be reported to consumers.
We find no public assurances from the company this product is ethoxyquin-free.
Without knowing more, and based upon this fish meal’s location on the list of ingredients, we would expect to find a notable amount of ethoxyquin in this product.
The second ingredient is potato. Assuming they’re whole, potatoes are a good source of digestible carbohydrates and other healthy nutrients.
The third ingredient is potato protein… the dry residue remaining after removing the starchy part of a potato. This product contains over 80% plant protein… so it will almost surely raise the reported protein of this dog food.
The fourth item lists ocean fish meal. This is another high-protein meat concentrate and subject to the same issues as the salmon meal (already discussed).
What’s more, this particular ingredient is generic. The term “ocean fish” does little to adequately describe the item.
The fifth ingredient includes canola oil. Most applaud canola for its favorable omega-3 content… while a vocal minority condemn it as an unhealthy fat.
Current thinking (ours included) finds the negative stories about canola oil more the stuff of urban legend than actual science.1
The sixth ingredient mentions peas. Peas are considered a quality source of carbohydrates. Plus (like all legumes) they’re loaded with natural fiber.
Tomato pomace is another controversial ingredient… a by-product left after processing tomatoes into juice, soup and ketchup.
Many praise tomato pomace for its high fiber and nutrient content… while others scorn it as a cheap pet food filler laden with pesticides found on the skin of the tomato before processing.
Just the same, there’s probably not enough tomato pomace here to make much of a difference.
From here, the list goes on to include a number of other items.
But to be realistic, ingredients located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to have much of an effect on the overall rating of this product.
With two notable exceptions…
The manufacturer appears to have applied friendly bacteria to the surface of the kibble after cooking. These special probiotics are used to enhance a dog’s digestive and immune functions.
This dog food also contains chelated minerals… minerals that have been chemically attached to amino acids. This makes them easier to absorb. Chelated minerals are generally found in better dog foods.
Canidae Grain Free Dry Dog Food
The Bottom Line
Judging by its ingredients alone, Canidae Grain Free appears to be a quality dry dog food.
But ingredient quality by itself cannot tell the whole story. We still need to estimate the product’s meat content before determining a final rating.
The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 44%, a fat level of 22% and an estimated carbohydrate content of 25%.
Together, the pair features an average protein content of 41% and an average fat level of 21%. Together, these figures suggest an overall carbohydrate content of 30% for the full product line.
High protein. High fat. And low carbohydrates… when compared to a typical dry dog food.
Yet when you consider the plant-based protein-boosting effect of the potato protein, this is still the profile of a kibble containing a significant amount of meat.
However, we believe it is unfortunate the company may be including ethoxyquin-laced fish meals in these otherwise superior recipes. That possibility prevents Canidae Grain Free from earning our highest rating.
Bottom line?
Canidae Grain Free dry dog food is a meat-based kibble using a generous amount of amount of poultry and fish meals as its main sources of animal protein… thus earning the brand four stars.
Highly recommended.
Those looking for a quality wet food from the same company may wish to check out our review of Canidae Grain Free Canned Dog Food.
A Final Word
Remember, no dog food can possibly be appropriate for every life stage, lifestyle or health condition. So, choose wisely. And when in doubt consult a veterinarian for help.
Have an opinion about this dog food… or maybe the review itself? Please know… we welcome your comments.
Notes and Updates
12/06/2009 Original review
07/17/2010 Review updated
- Mikkelson, B and DP, Oil of Ole, Urban Legends Reference Pages (2005) ↩
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Still hesitant to feed this, with all the fears of ethoxequin.
Taken from their website:
Fish Meal (concentrated meat protein)
A unique blend of middle ocean swimming Herring and Menhaden Fish.
http://www.canidae.com/ingredients/thefinest.html
“Our fish is FDA inspected and passed residual free of ethoxiquin.”
http://www.catster.com/forums/Food_and_nutrition/thread/397664
Hi Rico… Thanks for calling these issues to my attention. You’re right. I did find the statement naming the kinds of fish contained in the ocean fish meal ingredient on Canidae’s website. But since many consumers do not spend much time researching their dog food purchases on the Internet, I base all of my reviews on what I find on the actual product labels only.
I will correct my review immediately.
However, I prefer not to use third party websites (in this case, the catster.com forum) for critical information of this nature. So, I called Canidae myself and learned the fish meal they use does indeed contain ethoxyquin. They informed me the heat used to produce the meal product itself destroys much of the ethoxyquin before the meal is added to the dog food.
Since we don’t know how much of the remaining ethoxyquin is truly safe, I’ve decided to leave the precautionary statement in my review… and the warning that ethoxyquin may be present here still stands.
Thanks again for your sharp eye… and for taking the time to share your comment with our readers.
Curious if anyone else using Canidae ALS dog food has noticed a change in the odor of the food on or about Feb 1,2010? It has always had a rich flavorable smell when feeding but this last batch smells like “rotten garbage”.
Our great dane, age 14 months, has had a hard time transitioning from puppy large breed food to adult large breed food. With her sensitive stomach, she has had vomiting with several brands of food, including Science Diet Adult for Large Breeds. We just finished our first bag of Canidae Salmon and she is doing wonderfully! No more vomiting.
My mini-schnauzer is prone to pancreatitis and needs a food with low fat but not low calories. I decided to try this one based on the reviews on this site and what was available at our local store. He loves the food! I am a little concerned about the potential toxins in the fish though and prefer not to feed him things with “meals” as the primary ingredients. I might keep looking for something organic.
We used Canidae for years, until they changed the formula. After a couple of weeks of feeding 10 dogs the Canidae ALS, our dogs started to scratch more and more until we stopped using it and went to another brand name made by the Diamond company. Our dogs continued to scratch. Then we went to a brand not made by the Diamond Company and after a few days they were scratching less. After about 2 weeks the scratching had almost stopped. Our oldest dog had sores and bald spots from tearing out his hair. We told the Canidae Company what happened, and we got a canned response. Nothing about looking into the problem. We will NEVER use Diamond Company products again.
I’m stocked that is product is now available in Australia. I have ordered a small bag of the Salmon formula for my Mini Schnauzer x Mini Poodle. He is only 17 weeks old and already having throuble with his skin. I’m hoping the higher levels of the essential fatty acids in the kibble will help him. I’m still waiting for it to arrive, so fingers crossed he likes it.
Hi Laura, was it the Grain Free ALS you were feeding? I’m curious to know, as my boy also scraches a lot at the moment. I know I’m looking at the Grain Free Salmon, but I would hate to make it worse for him.
Hello,
I have two bitches… One is a brown Doberman of 1 1/2 years and the other is a half-sized mutt of 7 months. I was giving them Pro-pac Large breed puppy and large breed adult.
One friend recommended me Canidae all life stage formula, all of a sudden the doberman started to loose weight and her coat lost the bright it had while i was giving her Pro-Pac. On the mutt, she was really skinny, but i guess that’s part of growing up.
I then transitioned back to pro-pac formula as my vet recommended me, and both has been great! they are both shinyy and lively, which is antoher thing that happened while she was fed with Canidae: they were more quiet and less joyful.
Is there something wrong with Canidae? although it was highly recommended, didn’t work on my case.
Hi Sergio… I’m not sure I can give you a reliable explanation for your experience, but thanks for sharing it with us. Maybe another reader knows something more.