New food for dogs
 

There is another new concept of food coming out. I really like the sounds of this one. It is so new that the web site isn't ready yet. "Carna4". It's organic chicken with sprouted food. No added nothing........all the vitamins are in the natural state of the food. Cooked on very low heat. It's out in about a month I was told, and it's very expensive.

Has anybody heard of this food yet? What do you think?

I haven't yet heard of it. I do wonder if "natural state" is a marketing gimmick though...even cooked on low heat alters the natural state of any food :shrug:. I'd be interested to see the ingredients and nutritional analysis so please post it here as soon as you find out.

I was also told it was (ready for this) $159.00 for 25 lbs, and it's a canadian that developed it but it's made in the states because of better qualitly control. The whole concept is not to add any nutrients after the fact instead keep it natural. I'll post as soon as I hear more.

Who is the manufacturer Marty?

found a few articles on it, hope its ok to post them.
the owner is in Toronto and it will be manufactured in PA, I have a feeling its PetValue that will be selling it, its the same symbol on the web page as Brina's food bag.

[url]http://carni4.com/[/url] (nothing there yet)

(this is another forum but it has a guy who tested it, not sure if this is allowed to be posted, please remove mods if its not allowed, thanks)
[url]http://bulliesinneed.fivepixelmedia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=89255&sid=53ee1fc3e41e96971c3f17dd905b03de[/url]

That's pretty stiff compared to costs for raw feeding. I've emailed and asked for details. Not sure how bio-available lentils are to dogs though ~ will need to look into that.

[B]Thanks for the links Melinda![/B]

if it is petvalue, I'm going to ask them this weekend when I'm there and have them let me know when samples are available...not that I could afford that much. its more than I spend on groceries for 2 or 3 weeks!!

Is it kathryn or hedgiemama who works in a pet store now? They might also have access to that kind of info.

No, it's way off the radar for me too cost wise. I think it's marketed / intended for people with a few bucks to spare who cannot handle the raw meat aspect of food prep.

It really looks like there is a strong link to Pet Valu. I came up with a man's name for the carna4 (why is the url carni?) food and the same name is "Sr. Vice-President Merchandising at Pet Valu Inc." At Linked In it says he is the founder of Carna4.

Some impressive education but nothing mentionned about nutrition, animals or anything to reassure about the food. Not bashing Pet Valu, I buy one one of my dogfoods there.

my last two dogs have been/are on their food, I now have my vet recommending it to new owners. I really like it for Brina.

Haha, $159.00 for 25lbs, never.
Seems like quite the gimmick honestly.You know how many people think... the more expensive the food the better it is... isn't that how Eukanuba suckered most people in???
As mentioned earlier anything cooked no matter how slowly or low heat is altered from its natural state, many nutrients are lost during the cooking process.
I'll gladly stick to my raw which costs me mere pennies a day even though I need 18lbs of it a day, the QC that goes on here I trust far more than any where else.

I did receive a reply from the Carna 4 folks a few days ago but...I'm still trying to figure out this Mac (and who the heck has time for a learning curve :rolleyes:). I have a pdf that is too big to attach and if I try to copy and paste I mash up the info/ table. Any suggestions?

[QUOTE=mummummum;1004713] I have a pdf that is too big to attach and if I try to copy and paste I mash up the info/ table. Any suggestions?[/QUOTE]

Maybe try uploading the pdf to [url=https://www.google.com/accounts/ServiceLogin?service=writely&passive=1209600&continue=http://docs.google.com/DocAction?action%3Dupdoc%26hl%3Den&followup=http://docs.google.com/DocAction?action%3Dupdoc%26hl%3Den&ltmpl=homepage&hl=en]Google Docs[/url] and link to it in your post?

(I've never actually done it myself, just accessed other people's stuff that way).

Yeah I have too but not sure how to do that within the Pets framework / with a Mac Sugarcat... :shrug:

I did send an email to marko some time ago but being the bizzy-boy he is... :)

Hmmm... Mods?

I'm about to "report" my own post. :D

Couple of easy mac options to do this:

In mac utilities there is a 'grab' tool that you can use to highlight extract the table, the other is in Adobe > Tools > Select & Zoom > Snap Shot Tool. Highlight the table which will automatic copy; open a draw program (on in it's absence, power point will work), paste and save as an image (you may need to resize boundaries of image or split it into two parts to maintain exact table look without smushing the text. Upload as normal.

New Synthetic-free Food for Dogs
 

I'm an independent marketing consultant and the new food you're discussing is one of my clients. I will try to answer the questions raised in your discussion to be helpful and offer clarity but hope this will not be perceived as promotion or violation of the forum's policies.

This new food will be sold in Canada by Global Ryan's Pet Foods (in Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia & PEI) to start and is scheduled to launch and arrive in store shelves by late May.

The company's owner did work for the pet specialty retailer you mentioned in your discussion, before forming this new company, which is independent and not affiliated.

We are not heavily promoting the product until we launch in mid-May but you can read about it on the website, which is now live, and will answer many of your ingredient and other questions. The correct name is Carna4 and the URL is for a .com domain. It's also on Twitter & Facebook if you want to field questions there, as well.

Carna4 is outstanding
 

My two coonhounds have been on Carna4 now for two weeks. I was looking for a high quality food with lower protein then Orijen (also a good food in my opinion) as my dogs are less active and one is over 6. I was battling loose stools on Orijen. My dogs love to eat but always prefer treats to their food - not with Carna4! They love it and their stools are much better. The food is not inexpensive but I love the simple ingredients (all human grade) and the fact that it is comprised of whole foods. I think I am spending about $30 more a month then Orijen Regional Red. So far I am very impressed with Carna4.

I've never seen a dog eat sprouted vegetables on their own...think I'll stick with my raw/Orijen combo.

[QUOTE=Etown_Chick;1019325]I've never seen a dog eat sprouted vegetables on their own...think I'll stick with my raw/Orijen combo.[/QUOTE]

I really wish I could do raw, but unfortunately, I can't :(
I'm using The Honest Kitchen now. I ran it by Dr. Marsden, who I respect greatly and value his opinions. He was fairly impressed and said he has no problem with me feeding it to both Thorin and Nookie as long as they will eat it (which they do!). He said it looks like a "very well put together food" :D

Carna 4
 

Results using carna4 are better then I had anticipated. The staff at global pet foods were great. The offered me numerous options (free samples)before spending the big dollars associated with carna4. I was having stool issues and a weird rash on other foods, my vet has been pushing medi-cal which she hated, so I did what we used to on the saskie farm. Homemade stews, dog loved it, but difficult to keep up. carna4 has been great, less poop, dog thriving and no rash. Don't care about cost, is worth the extra 50/mth.

Ok... had to make a change in diet. Thorin got to where he would not eat at all and Nookie was pooping 3-4 times a day, and much was undigested. I know The Honest Kitchen is a great food, but it isn't working for Nookie. He just has too many digestive issues. A guy who has been studying (and selling) dog food for 25 yrs talked me in to trying a baked kibble and said it has done wonders for many dogs, including his own. So I checked out the ingredients and thought I'd give it a try. I ran it by Dr. Marsden and he said if we wanted to try it, to go ahead. Well, he and Thorin have been on it since Monday night. Last night the both had the runs so bad!! Soft poops started about 3 1/2 days in to the new food. So I decided to check more reviews and actually found a few I hadn't seen before, which included an ingredient list with questionable items in red print... ONION! How could I have missed that when I read the bag?! I was horrified to see I had been giving them food with onion, and especially so high on the list! It was higher in content than the berries and fruit. Needless to say it is going back today. This morning, Nookie left a pile of this thick, tan with "pinkish" mucousy looking stuff (almost looked like little chunks of meat, not bloody, just pink). I thought he had puked, so I wiped it up and was feeding him breakfast. While he was standing there eating, it just started leaking out of his bum :eek: :eek: :yuck:
He seems to be feeling ok, just having tummy issues. Unfortunately, Dr. Marsdens office is closed until Monday.

We're going to give Carna4 a try. With all the reviews I've read, it seems to be really good for dogs who have sensitivities and tummy issues.The cost is around $80 for a 26 lb bag. Well worth the money if it works. I'll let you all know how he and Thorin do on it!!

I hope Nookie is better soon, Rgeurts! :eek: Hope the Carna4 works for them, too. Man, nothing is easy for you guys, is it? :( :grouphug:

I'll be watching for your response. I may give it a try next as well for my itchy dog.

[QUOTE=hazelrunpack;1034506]I hope Nookie is better soon, Rgeurts! :eek: Hope the Carna4 works for them, too. Man, nothing is easy for you guys, is it? :( :grouphug:[/QUOTE]

He is still his spunky, bratty lil self lol, so I think he's ok. I just have no idea what that was that came out of him!! And thank you :) :grouphug:

[QUOTE=Marty11;1034512]I'll be watching for your response. I may give it a try next as well for my itchy dog.[/QUOTE]

Marty, I'll let ya know how they do on it. I was SO wrong on the price though... when I called, he said the big bag was around $80 and the website shows the big bag as being 26 pounds. When I got there, the "big" bag was only a 13 lb bag :eek:. He is the only one in the city that carries it and he didn't know they make a 26 lb one. So it was just under $95.00 with tax. BUT... if it works and they do well on it, it's worth it. And still cheaper than feeding them THK and baked salmon. Nookie eats 5 cups of cooked salmon per day along with 4 cups rehydrated THK and 2 cups rice, and was still losing weight :confused:

Well, so far so good! Both Nookie and Thorin are back to have solid poo's :D
I gave them some rice and salmon yesterday and today with a little Carna4 mixed in. They LOVE the new food, but that doesn't say much for Nookie because he loves ANY food :laughing:

One thing I have to say is it smells great! The guy was right when he said it smells like crackers. Hopefully they will both do well on it. The owner at the pet store keeps it with the raw and dehydrated food. He said it's the closest thing you can get to raw/homecooked, and because it's slow baked with no additives at all, it keeps most of the nutrients. I'm hoping to see improvement in tummy troubles and itchies.

Marty, have you tried Dermoscent Essential 6? We have been using it on Nookie for 5 weeks and have noticed a huge improvement in his coat/skin. He does still get the itchies, but nothing like he was before. We took him off beef completely, and oats and he is on Benadryl, so I don't know what calmed his itchies, it could be a combination of all of it. But I know the Dermoscent has definitely helped improve his coat. He's really shiny and the dry/frizzy fur is softening up really well. They say it take 3-4 weeks to see the difference, and that's about what it took us. Maybe give that a try?

Nookie and Thorin have been on the Carn4 almost a week now. Nookie is having better poo's than he ever has, so I think it's definitely helping him! And Thorin isn't struggling to have little "rabbit" poo's. His are actually looking normal for the first time in a few months! One thing I find a little strange (but I'm not complaining!!) is the fact that he has settled down a bit. He's not so whiney and hasn't been pacing or chasing his tail, and he has been sleeping through the night. He just seems much more relaxed :shrug:
Dr. Marsden switched one of the herbs a couple of weeks ago, so I don't know if it's the new herb or the food. He told us to use it up, then switch back to the previous herb and see if his behavior changes. If so, then it's probably the herb. If not, the only other thing it could be is the food. Do any of you know if food can have an effect on behavior in that way?

[QUOTE=Rgeurts;1034803]Do any of you know if food can have an effect on behavior in that way?[/QUOTE]

If the food or an ingredient in it was causing a minor upset stomach or slight cramps then definitely it will cause such behaviour.

Glad they both are doing better now :fingerscr :goodvibes:

Just a bit of an update for anyone considering Carna4. It didn't work for our 2 at all. The "off" behavior came back when we switched herbs on Nookie, so we refilled the one that we think calmed him, and his behavior is starting to settle down again. His poo's however, are not. He has been on the Carna4 almost 2 weeks. His poo's were like soft ice cream until 3 days ago. Now he has diarrhea. We thought he was allergic, or at least had a sensitivity to chicken previously, but were told it was more likely the source of the chicken, not the chicken itself and to at least try the food. I don't know if it's a sesitivity, an allergy, or knowing our boy, both :rolleyes:
Either way, we have taken him off the Carna4 and will be trying First Mate Ocean Fish Large Breed.

Oh, and not sure if this says anything for the food, but Thorin's poo's were small and firm, but the same color as the food and looked entirely like mushed up, undigested dog food. Could be because of the cancer, but highly doubtful as anything else we feed him comes out digested and normal looking.

Oh, 1 more thing... he's SO itchy again since he's been on this food. Just thought I'd share that, Marty, as you seem to be dealing with the same issue!