# California Natural 51% filler?



## CrazyZane (Jan 28, 2013)

Today I was at our puppy training class and the trainer was complementing me on Zanes muscle tone and she asked me what food I was feeding. I told her California Natural puppy lamb & rice. She says Oh that's the worse food ever and her new helper, which is a Vet, says yeah and it has 51% filler. Worst food ever....51% fillers??

I said it's a limited ingredient food, it has 1 protein (lamb meal), 1 carb (brown rice / rice), sunflower oil and vitamins / minerals. There are no fillers in it. I said maybe it's 51% brown rice / rice but California Natural doesn't give out their meat percentages so who's to say? 

I wanted to ask what she though I should be feeding but she probably would've recommended Science Diet. :cookoo:


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## dogloverforlife (Feb 17, 2013)

Maybe she meant carbs?

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## CrazyZane (Jan 28, 2013)

dogloverforlife said:


> Maybe she meant carbs?
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


I thought of that too but from my math it has 37.23% carbs.


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## Ohiomom9977 (Jul 27, 2012)

If your dog is doing good on it I'd disregard. People have such strong opinions about foods. We loved California Naturals lamb & rice & only switched because of I availability from the recall. We are using Natural Balance lamb & rice now & he's doing fantastic.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

Funny how the actual dog got a compliment for muscle tone, but that didn't influence the trainer's opinion of the food...

People say dumb things about dog food all the time. It can be hard to separate out the facts from the passionately-held fallacies. I wouldn't sweat it if your dog is thriving.


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## CrazyZane (Jan 28, 2013)

tippykayak said:


> Funny how the actual dog got a compliment for muscle tone, but that didn't influence the trainer's opinion of the food...


That's what I was thinking too. They commented on his muscle tone and how his body looked overall weight wise. I personally think he's a little on the thin side but I guess it's better to be a little too thin than too chunky. 



tippykayak said:


> People say dumb things about dog food all the time. It can be hard to separate out the facts from the passionately-held fallacies.


You got that right!! :dblthumb2


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## Sheldon (Feb 27, 2013)

tippykayak said:


> Funny how the actual dog got a compliment for muscle tone, but that didn't influence the trainer's opinion of the food...
> 
> People say dumb things about dog food all the time. It can be hard to separate out the facts from the passionately-held fallacies. I wouldn't sweat it if your dog is thriving.


 I know Sheldon does not get no where near as much exercise as Zane, but he is getting very visually muscular.......Do you think its this "Option" food or hereditary? Its seems to have become more obvious in the past two weeks, as my neighbor who is a vet, thought I might be working him a bit to hard as a puppy........he agreed it was strange to see that kind of muscles on such a young dog, that spends most of his time inside.


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## CrazyZane (Jan 28, 2013)

Sheldon said:


> I know Sheldon does not get no where near as much exercise as Zane, but he is getting very visually muscular.......Do you think its this "Option" food or hereditary? Its seems to have become more obvious in the past two weeks, as my neighbor who is a vet, thought I might be working him a bit to hard as a puppy........he agreed it was strange to see that kind of muscles on such a young dog, that spends most of his time inside.


I'm sure food plays a big role but more so genetics...that's just a guess on my part though.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

Sheldon said:


> I know Sheldon does not get no where near as much exercise as Zane, but he is getting very visually muscular.......Do you think its this "Option" food or hereditary? Its seems to have become more obvious in the past two weeks, as my neighbor who is a vet, thought I might be working him a bit to hard as a puppy........he agreed it was strange to see that kind of muscles on such a young dog, that spends most of his time inside.


I don't think food can really put muscles on a dog. I'm sure it's easier to put on lean muscle as long as there's sufficient protein, but muscle on a boy dog is part exercise and part hormones. My guess is that it's part biology and part exercise.


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## Tuco (Jan 3, 2013)

I agree with tippy on the fact that food most likely wont put any more muscles on a dog. 

I don't know where he would have gotten info on how much rice is in the food, in my experience when asking dog companies ammount by volume they are very distant, exept Fromm, lol. However that 51% measurement wouldn't particularly surprise me either


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

If you click on the variety of Cal Nat you're feeding and then the nutrient analysis, the carb amount is listed. Natural Dog Food, Cat Food and Puppy Food for Pets With Food Sensitivity


Carbs can be determined also by subtracting the % of protein, fat, moisture, and ash from 100. The remainder is the carb %.


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## CrazyZane (Jan 28, 2013)

Tuco said:


> I don't know where he would have gotten info on how much rice is in the food, in my experience when asking dog companies ammount by volume they are very distant, exept Fromm, lol. However that 51% measurement wouldn't particularly surprise me either
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


I wouldn't consider rice a "filler". It's a limited ingredient food so there's going to be one protein and one carb. I won't even get into other premium foods that use all kinds of non-sense ingredients just to appeal to humans. 




Penny & Maggie's Mom said:


> If you click on the variety of Cal Nat you're feeding and then the nutrient analysis, the carb amount is listed. Natural Dog Food, Cat Food and Puppy Food for Pets With Food Sensitivity


I know but I'd rather do it by hand.....

100 - protein - fat - ash - moisture = carbs


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## Tuco (Jan 3, 2013)

RichsRetriever said:


> I wouldn't consider rice a "filler". It's a limited ingredient food so there's going to be one protein and one carb. I won't even get into other premium foods that use all kinds of non-sense ingredients just to appeal to humans.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Honestly I go as any starch or carb as a filler because its not needed, nor do I see it as providing any benefits beyond binding a food. Wether it be rice in a barf raw diet, corn in science diet, tapioca in b2b or chickpeas in Orijen. Beyond maybe stabilizing a very sensitive stomach (which is the beauty of bone in a raw diet) and allowing for the binding of kibble, all it's doing is taking space where meat and organs that are more bio available, often more vitamin packed and nutritious than the grain or carb that is replacing them. That's why I mainly recommend evo (not so much any more since the string of recalls) and Orijen, because they don't use those starches beyond that of a binder.

All that being said, dogs are living trash cans and if they can live 12 years on a practically meat free food like pedigree it's not going to affect them as much as a sedentary vs active lifestyle, but it still makes a difference


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## CrazyZane (Jan 28, 2013)

Tuco said:


> Beyond maybe stabilizing a very sensitive stomach


And that's what I need it for.


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## Tuco (Jan 3, 2013)

RichsRetriever said:


> And that's what I need it for.


Bone works better  . Nah I'm kidding, use what works for now especially while he's a puppy and more sensitive to food changes 


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

Personally I think the 51% comment was just an inflammatory statement made by someone giving an unsolicited opinion.  Like tippy, I find it amusing that it was preceded by a compliment on his muscle tone. People really do say dumb things all the time. (I'm currently 8 months pregnant and get really stupid comments directed toward me on a regular basis these days  ) If Zane is thriving on the food and you are happy with it I wouldn't let it bug you.


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## CrazyZane (Jan 28, 2013)

goldenjackpuppy said:


> If Zane is thriving on the food and you are happy with it I wouldn't let it bug you.


Nope doesn't bug me one bit. He's doing great on this kibble. I ordered another 15lb bag earlier today from Chewy.


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## CrazyZane (Jan 28, 2013)

I emailed Natura and asked what percentage of the puppy lamb and rice formula is meat and they said it proprietary, which was no surprise, and that the first ingredient is the most and so on. 

I also asked about the protein / meat percentage. They said 80% of the protein (26%) comes from a meat source.


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## Tuco (Jan 3, 2013)

Hmm so only 20% protein from meat. I try to keep that number above 27% in higher carb foods


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

Tuco said:


> Hmm so only 20% protein from meat. I try to keep that number above 27% in higher carb foods
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


I thought you fed raw? 

I'm also curious how you arrived at 27%?


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