Medi-Cal

By on December 26, 2010 in Main, Medi-Cal

Medi-Cal Dog Food

Medi-Cal and Royal Canin have both been involved in a lot of buzz among pet owners. Medi-Cal has been accused of influencing some pet health problems. Is Medi-Cal dog food a good choice for your dog? Why was Medi-Cal involved in a class action lawsuit? Learn more about Medi-Cal brand dog food in our review!

Who is Medi-Cal Manufactured By?

The company who makes Medi-Cal dog food is called Royal Canin. Medi-Cal is one of Royal Canin’s veterinary diets. Royal Canin was founded in a village in France called Gard, though the headquarters of the company have since moved to Aimargues, France. In the year 2002, Royal Canin was purchased by Mars, Inc. – a company that owns many different types of pet food companies. Medi-Cal was one of the formulas cited in a class-action lawsuit by pet owners, due to the accusation that the marketing of the formulas was mis-represented, as was the quality of the ingredients.

Medi-Cal Dog Food Recall

Medi-Cal dog food is not listed on the FDA’s pet food recall website, and has not been involved in any recent recalls. However, many of Royal Canin’s veterinary diet formulas were involved in the 2007 pet food recall due to contamination with melamine.

In order to make sure that your dog’s food is safe, it’s always highly recommended that you check the FDA’s pet food recall website. This will help you to stay updated on the latest pet food recall information.

Medi-Cal Reviews

Medi-Cal Ingredients

Though many Medi-Cal dog food formulas contain a meat meal as their first ingredient, many of the formulas are fairly heavy in carbohydrate content. Some examples of the carbohydrate sources in Medi-Cal dog food include corn, wheat, corn gluten meal, rice and oat flour. Tomato pomace and powdered cellulose are also included in some formulas. Some of the Medi-Cal formulas also include added salt.

Medi-Cal Allergies

Some of the Medi-Cal dog food formulas do contain potential allergens, such as corn, corn gluten meal and wheat. Soy is also included in some Medi-Cal formulas, which means that these formulas are probably not best suited to dogs with allergies to these ingredients. It’s always highly recommended that you read the ingredients of a formula if your dog has a specific food allergy.

Medi-Cal Consumer Info

Where can I buy Medi-Cal?

You may be wondering, “Where can I buy Medi-Cal Dog Food?”. To assist you, we have included links on the specific Medi-Cal formula pages to purchase Medi-Cal dog food.

How much Medi-Cal should I feed my dog?

A common question that many pet owners have, is “How much Medi-Cal dog food should I feed my dog?”. Since the answer is dependent on several factors (such as your dog’s age, weight, activity level, etc) always follow the specific instructions on your formula’s packaging.

Medi-Cal Dog Food Coupons

Sometimes, pet food manufacturing companies will offer us coupons to share on our site. Are you searching for Medi-Cal dog food printable coupons? We will let you know when they are available!

Please check back soon for Medi-Cal dog food coupons!

Medi-Cal Ratings

Customer reviews of Medi-Cal dog food are mostly negative. The fact that Medi-Cal contains wheat, soy and corn ingredients was a negative factor for many dog owners. Also, Royal Canin has been involved in many issues with food quality, which makes many pet owners wary of any of their formulas. Some pet owners claim that Medi-Cal veterinary dog food formulas caused their dog to develop serious health problems.

Have you fed your dog any of the Medi-Cal dog food dry or canned formulas? Do you have feedback that could help other pet owners? Please share your review of Medi-Cal dog food!

  • D

    Medi-cal has been tested, double blind studies, not just formulated. Read the bags. Some dog foods are the same ingredients whether for puppies, or seniors. Someone presses leavers and “formulates” how much of what they will put in. Medi-cal goes a lot further than that. I even heard that they test the railway cars of food in multiple places for disease, and quality before it even gets into the plant. Sometimes I wish human food was cared for so much.

  • 4yr old rotty

    My dog a 4 year old rottweiler had diarrhea with just about any dog food we gave him. At 2 years old he was visiting the vet every other month to have his anal glands released because his stools were so soft. The vet switched him to medical gastro-intestinal fiber response and he has had regular stools since, and no trips to the vet to have his anal glands released. The food is expensive, but less than the vet bills we were racking up. TOTALLY worth it!!

  • chaka

    I got my puppy at 9 weeks, he had giardia, was on medication for many weeks, had him on same food as breeder, but had diarrhea every day, he is now 6 months. Has had a battery of tests done, can’t find anything wrong, has tried many different kinds of food, including raw. Nothing was working, I was set against trying the medical hypoallergenic food as 2 different vets felt he had food allergies, and should try it. As my pup was loosing so much weight and getting scared, I finally tried it 2 weeks ago, and am in shock that for the first time he has good perfect stools. Now to figure out how much to feed him as its an adult food, which says 2 3/4 cup food, he is 52 lbs, but still growing. the protein is 17.5%. I am not happy about having to feed this, but am happy its working, got to feed what works. Any advice on how much to feed an x large breed pup on this food would be great

  • toto

    my 12 year old german sherherd recently went for a health assesement. it was found he had the teeth, body, and energy of a 2 year old dog, however they felt he was under weight and asked for him to be put on a medi cal dry food diet. Well, let me say this my dog has never been sicker. He has been having green diarriah all day long, and his stomach is full of gas, he is extremely unconfortable. He was fed a mainly raw diet of chicken and beef added with rice and beef liver. The raw food has kept his teeth in extremely good shape. Although, a little low in carbs as a result he is on the skinny side, he has always had tons of energy. Now since the vet which is use to seeing fat dogs they wanted to sell me their brand the medi cal brand, which was very expensive. and like I said my dog has never been sicker in his life. Now I have fed my dog different brands of kibbles in the past but he has never had the type of diarria he has been having, its almost like he was eating grass. Well, I dumped the bag of med cal in the garbage.

  • Eric Leduc

    My dogs (2 x 7 year old great pyrenees) get severe diarhea from just about every food we give them. The only one that does not seem to be Medi-cal gastrointestinal fiber response. They poop a lot but at least it is solid and they do have more energy than they used to. Expensive but worth it.

  • Rachelle

    I have had both my pugs on Medi-cal for 12 years, I just lost my 12 year old Chyna to congestive heart failure. I have 3 – 15 kg bags of Hypoallergenic food for sale. She loved it, if your interested email me at rwilliams_juiceplus@yahoo.ca

  • Davis Repuski

    Medi cal is owned by Royal canin but it was origanly a Canadian company . The food is still made in Guelph Ontario and is a high quality food developed with the University of Guelph wich is a highly respected university . The ingredients are different for each type of food as they are specific to the malidy they are aimed at . I have had no issues with the product in fact it is the only food I have found that my dog can eat .

  • mommadogi

    My greyhound just went through a battery of tests as well as ultra sound and xray. All were normal ( no sign of anything wrong) except her one pancreatic screening..its not pancreatitis nor lack of absorption but a raised level..I have been home cooking for a long time with a bit of wellness canned salmon and a couple of other bland canned foods.( highest quality with nothing but one ingredient) She stared to lose weight and my vet wants her to go on the medi cal gastro for 30 days and then re test. After reading the ingredients I am really horrified..and will not do this to her. I am SO picky and careful about what I feed her ( lots of white fish/ some salmon no skin./white meat from chicken..and a few veggies..( all very low in fat) how could this canned expensive food be good for her pancreas:( ?

    • Sam

      I cannot say for certain, but I do know that my dog was diagnosed with lymphoma gastro intestinal, I have been told there is no known cause. She, like your dog had gone through tests, x-ray, ultrasounds, cbc, She was clear on the pancreatic test. It just showed her B-12 was low. She was vomiting and had diarrhea. When she started vomiting blood, she went in and had surgery and there was a business card size sore that was removed and biopsies were done on her intestine. The intestine was OK. But the one in her stomach was lymphoma. The first vet she had seen, seen since she was a pup, put her on Medi Cal Gastro Intestinal High Energy. I don’t know how many bags and cans of that _ _ _ _ we went through and every time she ate it she vomited it back up. So I thought it was the dry food. Canned, came back up too. Second vet, same product but at least she ran tests. I AM SO MAD. IF I FIND OUT THE FOOD WAS BEHIND IT. LOOK OUT. THIS IS ONE SAD AND MAD MOMMA.

  • sandee

    Shame on me!!! I took my vets word for it that Medi-cal was the very best choice in wet and dry food for my 8 year old Schnoodle. Shadow has never been sicker. I have tossed all the medi cal dry and wet in the trash. Still looking for a better food. Would appreciate any suguestions….
    Sandee

    • marlene

      Forget the Medi-cal and try Orijen. My OES has been on it since a puppy and not only still loves it after 5 yrs., but does well on it. Ingredients sound great and fresh- Canadian made. Buy a small bag and try it.

  • Reub

    Some of these comments are typical of Medi-cal and like deception of pet food customers. A bi product is just that. There is no denying the fact that organ meat is extremely nutrional, but as a bi-product u have no idea what organs and in what quantity are present. If medi cal wants to claim how good organ meat is (and it is)than it should be listed as individual ingrediants such as Liver, Kidney etc etc.not as a single bi-product.

  • Irene

    I have a 8 year old pomeranian who is on media-cal weight loss due to his surgery he had a year ago.
    My dog had crystals in his bladder which blocked his ability to urine.

    Now the doctor tells us he has to eat this food and nothing else if we dont want the crystals coming back.

    Overall, he is back to himself now and is a happy dog :)

  • Alice Pollard

    I have a 12 year old German Shepherd female and I have had her on Medi- Cal since she was a puppy, and change to the adult food when she became old enough…In the 12 years I have found that this is the best and have proved to be a healthy food for our dog….

    • maralevine

      That is great, Alice. It is also nice that you did not have to do a lot of experimenting. You were lucky to find a food that works for your dog right away.

  • Jackie

    Since adding canned Medi Cal Gastro Low Fat to my dogs food (Wellness) it has made his poop firm but not dry. He absolutelty loves this food and always apears to eat when he would not eat regularly before. I would have to add chicken stock or cheese on top of his food to entice him to eat. He runs for it now!!! It is expensive but he also has more energy then before. I am very pleased with the product, I understand many have conserns with the ingredients but my dog is healthier and happier then ever before and I only gave him top of the line foods before.

    • maralevine

      It is great to do research on food, but we have to keep in mind that each dog reacts differently to each food. It is great that you found what works for you and your dog. That is what is important.

  • Courtney

    For the first 6 months of my Shetland sheep’s puppyhood, he was eating Taste of the Wild. His stool volume was increased, his coat was dull and he developed a high oH in his urine, concentrated Uribe and urinary crystals. Disappointed and frustrated with these issues, my vet suggested switching to a different dog food formula (Medi-Cal Development). Within weeks, my puppy looked better, felt better and was no longer having accidents in the house or needing to go outside every hour to urinate. I wanted to feed grain-free and did that route, but the consequences for my dog outweighed any benefit of doing that.

    After my poodle mix ruptured her cranial cruciate ligament, we medicated her with daily Meta-cam. Since switching to Medi-cal Mobility Support, my dog is happier than ever and using her leg like she had no issue at all. Medi-cal has made all the difference and I could not be happier.

  • Sabrina

    After many expensive trips to the vet due to skin allergies (itching and bald spots) and several bouts of diarrhea and vomiting over 2 years with my shepard cross, the vet recommended Medi-cal gastrointestinal moderate calorie dry dog food.
    Prior to giving this food to her, I was feeding her expensive high-protein, organic meat/veg/fruit dry dog food (i tried a few). After giving her the Medi-cal gastro and pro-biotics, I have no longer had these issues and even after more than a year she still enjoys this food.
    While it is expensive, it has saved me costly vet and medication costs, not to mention the hours cleaning up after my dog has been sick.

  • Tina

    I have had my dog on Medi-Cal gastro cans for awhile. Recently, Medi-Cal changed their “gastro” to “gastro intestinal, low fat”. Sounds similar, right? Let me list the first ten ingredients of both..
    Original Gastro: water, chicken liver, chicken, rice flour, cornmeal, cottage cheese, mackarel, dried egg white, dried egg, oat bran

    New, “improved?” Intestinal Gastro: water, PORK BI-PRODUCTS, corn grits, rice flour, powdered cellulose, dried beet pulp, guar gum, natural flavour, potassium phosphate, calcium carbonate.

    It has gone from chicken & fish proteins (six proteins in the first ten ingredients) to pork bi-products (one protein and a whole lot of filler)

    How is this any better than going and buying cheap dog food at the pet shop?

    • care gill

      I have stopped feeding Medi Cal Gastro canned due the change in ingredients/formula. I have written them with the same concern you mentioned. I know feed my dogs Wellness Simple Duck & Rice canned food. I am much more comfortable with those ingredients. Shame on Science Diet Medi-Cal Gastro Canned food changes.

    • Hayley

      Hello, hope this info helps
      AAFCO the governing body for pet food establishes the terms used on pet food labels. The deffinition for BY-product: includes organ meat which is very nutrient rich. Filler is defined as something with no nutritianal value. Which most BY-Products are nutritional but unfortunately has been associated with ground up bones, feather, and other crazy things. I can not say for all food companies out there. But know that when Medi-Cal says BY PRODUCT we are talking about nutritional rich oragan meat. Which in most areas of the world is consumed by humans on a regular basis.

      In the end we have to trust the company that makes our pets food. I can honestly say i trust MediCal. Medical is owned by Mars but is run seperately. Not something i love about the company but the positives have outweighed it for me.

      interesting fact: if you look at your bag of dog food and read the AAFCO statement. If the statement says FORMULATED for ALL LIFE STAGES. Formulated inplies that no feeding trials were done. And all life staged means they have to meet the requiredments for a puppy. Essentialy you are feeding a puppy food even if the bag says senior. Crazy but true!

    • Kelly

      Just wanted to clear up some confusion – Gastro diet branched out into several products – the Gastro Moderate Calorie is the one comparable to the previous product. Gastro Low Fat is formulated specifically for fat intolerant conditions such as pancreatitis and should not be fed to a healthy dog.

  • Hayley

    I have fed my pet Medi-Cal Dental fromula for years. They have wonderful teeth. I recently put one of my dogs on Mobility and have seen a great improvement with his arthritis in his knee. He is no longer limping and may go for longer walks. As for grain, corn and wheat is a very rare allergy for animals and my animals have never had a reaction to the Medi-Cal. Have a great day

  • Eileen Lugossy

    We travel to the States every winter and for the last 20 years have taken Medi-Cal canned dog food with us.(for our Maltese dogs).
    This year the American customs told us we had to have a letter from your company showing the origin of all ingredients in the cans.
    We could not believe it…Pretty silly but please forward to me a list of ingredients and where they originated for the next time we cross the border to the States.
    We buy Medi Cal Weight Control Mature.
    Thank you,
    Eileen Lugossy