# california natural chicken and rice



## erinself (Jan 20, 2013)

Any thought on this puppy food? I saw it is only 3 stars after I bought it but the store guy said it would be a good transition to a high quality food from pedigree. Should I just return it and get taste of the wild?


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## KrystalLeigh (Aug 17, 2011)

I haven't looked up the ingredients but just the fact that there's rice in it would encourage me to return it. If you want to transition, just mix your dog's current food with the new food and increase the amount of the new food gradually if they do well. 


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## AussieLass (Mar 1, 2012)

Huh, the guy at the Pet Store is an absolute Wally suggesting 3 star before transitioning to something decent. YIKES, if your Pedigree over there is the same as our Pedigree over here, I wouldn't feed it to feral pigeons!

Start with the best you can afford & keep it that way, why transition from one crap food to another? To my mind, the first year is the most crucial for development, growth etc.

Personally I only feed ZiwiPeak, & Raw Meat & bones - I would never feed anything else - what extra it costs I know I'll end up saving in vet bills & meds down the track.


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## erinself (Jan 20, 2013)

I am going back today and switching to taste of the wild. Thanks for the comments.


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## lulu'smom (Jan 4, 2012)

Taste of the Wild is definitely better than California Natural, and there is no need for transitioning from a 1 star to a 3 star to a 5 star--go straight to the 5 star. Take it from someone who researched food last year until she almost was so beside herself she had almost snatched all her hair out! lol Ziwi Peak is going to be one of the best foods you can feed her. Ziwi Peak is dehydrated raw. Most stores don't sell it. You usually have to order it online, and it will be delivered to your home. It is not much more expensive than other dog foods especially for the small amount that is fed, and like Dee said-cheaper in the long run for your savings in heath benefits for your dog. If you do not choose Ziwi Peak, Acana is a great 5 star dog food as well as Fromm. I prefer Acana Limited Ingredient Diet food personally. Usually, to get a dog food with all the ingredients you would want and none that you wouldn't and manufactured by a company that has not had recalls, you have to order your food online. It is very hard to go to your local pet store to find this unless it is a specialty pet store. Again, this is just my opinion based on much research. BTW, Taste of the Wild is made by Diamond Pet Foods which had many recalls last year, and had had recalls in years past.


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## erinself (Jan 20, 2013)

ok thank you for the input. I will take a look at acana and fromms. Do they make cat food as well? My fur babies are on science diet right now. I had no idea it was such poor quality. Trust vets? I guess not...


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## susan davis (Mar 25, 2011)

I'm using Fromm right now. I'm trying not to use chicken, as my 3 are really itchy. Dandruff 4+ and I've tried all kinds of oils to put into their food. Even the vet prescribed one, and it didn't do anything. Now I'm feeding a fish based Fromm.


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## pupluv168 (Mar 7, 2012)

Toby has an extremely sensitive tummy and does very well on Fromm. I would definitely recommend it. And they do make cat food as well. 

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## CHITheresa (Apr 30, 2011)

I agree take it back


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## lulu'smom (Jan 4, 2012)

erinself said:


> ok thank you for the input. I will take a look at acana and fromms. Do they make cat food as well? My fur babies are on science diet right now. I had no idea it was such poor quality. Trust vets? I guess not...


Lulu was on Science Diet for the first 3 1/2 years of her life with me very ignorantly (and I use that by the very definition of the word-not as a cutdown) feeling "just a little bit superior" as I bought my baby the very best food I could be buying her *sarcasm* wondering why everybody didn't buy Science Diet for their dogs and cats--I had a cat on it also--after all, vets said it was best! Trust me, vets can be bought and most are with trips and kickbacks. A vet is great with a medical need, and I take mine to the vet the minute there is a problem, but most vets truly know very little about nutrition. I did not know this until I joined this forum and started learning about dog food. I have a cat that is also on Ziwi Peak. All our food is delivered to our door. It looks expensive when you just look at the price and the size of the bag, but a 2.2lb bag of dog food last us 4-6 weeks depending on how much I feed (I also have a Maltese, and I tend to feed more than I should). Most people that 2.2lb bag will last them 2 months with one chi. I don't know if Acana has cat food I haven't looked at it in so long, but you can google it. They have a website that tells all about their foods.


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## intent2smile (Dec 4, 2011)

Acana does have a cat food. Jaxx was on Acana for a while and he did really well on it. 
I saw the price of Ziwipeak and thought wow I could never afford to that since it was $30 for a 2.2 pound bag. Then I found out how little of it you have to feed because it is such a high quality food and we switched Jaxx over.
Just remember when you are switching from a low quality food to a high quality food there will be a difference in what you feed. I can't remember what Jaxx got when I was feeding him Acana but it wasn't a lot. I would use Dog Food Calculator  as a starting point for figuring out the amount of food needed and then adjust by if weight is being lost or gained. The first time my hubby saw how much food Jaxx was getting on high quality food he kept trying to sneak him more because he thought it wasn't enough until I explained about the quality of the food.
Acana is a great kibble and I am sure your chi and your cat will do great on it!


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## erinself (Jan 20, 2013)

The Ziwipeak looks awfully hard to chew for a 7 week old pup...


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## lulu'smom (Jan 4, 2012)

I don't think it would be. It is like beef jerky, but not hard to chew at all. We add water to our, but the water doesn't change the consistency like it does with kibble. Although my dogs never leave it in the bowl long enough for me to see if it would change in time. lol


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## KrystalLeigh (Aug 17, 2011)

The ziwipeak would be easier to chew than kibble. It's really soft.

Both of our cats and Odie eat Acana. We're lucky here because it's made in the next province. I feel more comfortable feeding something that is made in Canada, plus it's found EVERYWHERE. I don't think there is a pet store in the city that doesn't carry it. 


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## erinself (Jan 20, 2013)

Wanted to let everyone know I went with fromms puppy food which I will switch to adult food when she is big enough. I was afraid I would over feed the ziwipeak. Thanks for all the input!


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## lulu'smom (Jan 4, 2012)

Good choice and good luck! Keep us posted on how she likes it. I think you will see a difference in her coat although with her only being 7 weeks you might not be able to fully appreciate how great the difference a good dog food will make in her physically, but I'm so thrilled for you that she has started on such a good food practically at the beginning of her life.


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