Rumor

[Annette]

A friend called tonight because she knows I feed my dogs Canidae.  She said a friend of a friend of hers just lost both of her dogs.  One died while she was gone for a short while and the second died on the way to the vet.  The friend said that the dogs were eating Canidae which was tested and found positive for something...she didn't know what.  This occured in Pennsylvania.  Is anyone able to confrim or refute this rumor?

[Annette]

My friend left a phone message for me today.  She said a collie breeder lost 2 dogs and that the Canidae was positive for melamine.  She said they determined the level of melamine was "too low" to recall.  Somewhere, Teric had posted that he had Canidae tested and it came back negative I believe yesterday for melamine.  FWIW.

[2cats2dogs]

If anyone has any information that could substantiate or disprove this rumor, please post.  After much research, I put my dogs on Canidae, and they are thriving.  This is the one brand I could find with all U.S. produced,  human-grade ingredients made in factories that are not affiliated with any recalls, that had an ingredient list that fit what I was looking for.  I am very confused by the statement that melamime was found in the food, but not in high enough amounts to recall.  I would think that ANY melamime would be enough to recall a brand of food, and how could melamime get in something made of only U.S. ingredients in factories that had not been contaminated?   If anyone could shed some light on this, please do.  I'm keeping my dogs on Canidae unless I hear solid proof of something being wrong with it, as everything else I've heard has been positive and I don't want to switch from a food that's working well for my dogs based on an unsubstantiated rumor.

[ally]

Teric did post yesterday on Itchmo's blog that h/she had both Canidae All Stage & Canidae Lamb & Rice tested for melamine.  Both tests came back negative.

I agree about asking for information to "substantiate or disprove this rumor." I don't base decisions on rumors.  I do base them on my research.  If you have the resources, get your product tested.  Also talk to the company and document who you spoke with, date, time, etc.  Get assurances in writing whenever possible.

I too feed my dogs Canidae dry & have encountered no problems in the week my dogs have been fed this food.  As I've posted elsewhere, I'm watching both dogs like a hawk.  So far, they remain their usual selves:  full of energy, great appetite (they love Canidae), shiny coats and no signs of lethargy, diarrhea or vomiting.

Until disproven or something recall related occurs, I'll continue feeding Canidae but have also begun learning home cooking to be prepared.  Thankfully, I know people who have fed their dogs Canidae for over a year.  Their experience, combined with my own research, helped me decide to try Canidae.  So far, I have not been disappointed.  If I have to eat my words later, trust me, I'll glady do it.

Please people - do not base your decisions on rumors or conjecture.  Whenever able, base your choices on substantiated facts.

[2cats2dogs]

Thanks, Ally!  I appreciate the additional info and am glad to hear that your dogs and your friend's dogs are all doing well on Canidae. 

[amira]

I'm starting on week two of feeding Canidae - so far, so good.  I had actually tried them on InnovaEvo but they hated it.  As a test, I put out a bowl of Nutro Lamb & Rice, a bowl of Innova Evo and a bowl of Canidae.  Canidae won hands down (or should I say "paws down"   )  I have returned the InnovaEvo to the store. 

[T. Eric]

I was just informed about the post on the Canidae and felt the need to post here as well. 

The results on the bags/products that I submitted in for testing of Kumpi, KumpiKat, Canidae Dry, Felidae Dry are as follows:

Melamine Non-Detected / Aminopterin Non-Detected :-)

My biggest concern is the Melamine and they were not detected in any of the products I submitted.

Please understand I can not in anyway say that because of the tests I had done, everything is safe & free of toxins due to the different batches produced.I know what I have is safe.

If Annette can get more info on what was tested it would greatly be appreciated.  Did they test the Canidae or did they test the urine on the pups?  Were the pups fed anything else?  Treats or Chicken?

When did this happen?  Any amount of Melamine is too much.  It should not be there period.  Even a low level is too much.

[Annette]

The friend who informed me knew I had decided to switch to Canidae and was concerned for my dogs when she heard the news from her friend.  My friend is a simple pet owner but she is quite bright and detail oriented.  She is an accountant ;-) She has a sheltie puppy and that puppy's breeder told her that a friend of hers who breeds collies lost two dogs.  She came home to find one dog dead and one dying.  The second dog did not make the trip to her vet's office.  They decided to test the food.  I specifically asked her if she was certain that it was melamine and she said yes.  I agree - any melamine is too much.  But I doubt the FDA agrees.  Like so many others, I chose Canidae for many reasons.  The most important one was that I thought it would be at a very low risk of contamination.  I wrote to ask the company but have had no response from them.  My friend is in another part of the state of Pennsylvania so we have been chatting long distance.  I will ask her to find out the collie breeder's name.  I am still feeding my four setters some Canidae and have not seen any obvious signs of disease even though two are geriatrics.  I was wondering why Teric chose to test the Canidae.  Was there a specific reason or were you just being ultra safe?  I am very sorry if I have alarmed anyone for no good reason.       

[2cats2dogs]

Annette,

Do you know if your friend fed her dogs dry food or canned food? 

T.Eric,

Did you have the dry or the canned Canidae tested (or both)?

Right now, my dogs are on both dry and canned.  I'm trying to figure out what to do, as no other brand available in my area seems nearly as good as Canidae, and they both love it, but if there's any chance of it being contaminated, it's a big concern....

[eternaljester81]

T.Eric,
When do hear back about the rest of the testing (cyanuric acid, etc.)?
Thanks!

[Annette]

My friend's friend said the collie breeder is too distraught to talk right now.  But she plans to post to the boards as soon as she feels better.  She said that there is a list where foods that have tested positive for melamine but not (yet?) been recalled and she will post there.  Does anyone know what the url is for such a list?  I have been unable to find it.

[Danielle]

Just came back from the vet. My boxer was in to have two small moles removed and biopsied as a precaution. Anyway, his pre-surgery blood work was clean as a whistle. His kidney values were great. I've been feeding him Canidae lamb & rice for a month now, with Canidae canned and Evangers duck & sweet potato or beef with beef chunks canned. We are in Rochester, NY so possible close enough to PA that we might have the same distributor?  Anyway, just thought I would post his results for any Canidae owners who are concerned about the food.

[ally]

I was just informed about the post on the Canidae and felt the need to post here as well. 

Please understand I can not in anyway say that because of the tests I had done, everything is safe & free of toxins due to the different batches produced.I know what I have is safe.

T. Eric (teric), first off, I really appreciate your taking the time to stop by.  I absolutely agree with your caution above & think most people have the common sense to do their own research.  Though they weren't my own, your testing results do help me feel better regarding Canidae even if my variety (dry Chicken & Rice), was not included on your list tested.  Please know I will not hold you or anyone else sharing information re: Canidae, accountable should there be a recall or problem.  Each day I chant this will not come to pass.

As I stated above, per teric's post at Itchmo, he had the Canidae All Stage & Canidae Lamb & Rice tested.  He also had the Canidae Felidae Cat & Kitten tested.  Follow the link I just added and scroll down to this post:

teric Says:
May 5th, 2007 at 12:07 am

There, you can read his reply yourself.  There are other replies teric posted including his hopes for his final test results for other contaminants (amilorine, amiloride & cyanuric acid ), to be available hopefully by Tuesday.

[2cats2dogs]

I just called and talked with someone at Canidae.  She basically said that their food is safe, she feeds her own dogs Canidae and "don't believe everything you hear on the Internet..."  When I asked if the food had been tested for melamime, she said that they were in the process of testing but it's complicated and time-consuming. I recommended that the results of the testing be posted on the website.  She spoke about how other pet food companies are trying to mislead people and spread things that aren't true.  Then she said she wondered how many of the reported pet deaths had actually happened and that all of this may be a coincidence, that melamime has been around for ages, isn't proven to be harmful to animals, and maybe people are trying to connect dots that aren't there (i.e. blame the food when their dog died from something else.)  When I told her about a dog I knew of that had gotten sick immediately after eating one of the recalled brands and died the next day, she said that kidney failure takes a long time to happen and it must have died from something else!  She seemed to be in denial that there is even a problem with pet food.  She was quite defensive.   Either I caught her on a very bad day, or she is largely unconcerned about PR......

[Annette]

Someone wrote:  "She spoke about how other pet food companies are trying to mislead people and spread things that aren't true."

Please be assured I have no ties to any pet food company.  In fact, I am a retired small animal veterinarian.

My friends's friend said results came back Friday night.