Canidae dog food is made primarily at the company’s own Ethos Pet Nutrition plant in Brownwood, Texas, which produces more than 90 percent of Canidae’s products.
Canidae is owned by Ethos Pet Brands, a company formed in 2023 when Canidae merged with fellow pet food brand Natural Balance.
Ethos Pet Brands is jointly owned by private equity firms L Catterton and Nexus Capital Management, marking a shift away from Canidae’s earlier decades as an independently run company.
This article covers who owns Canidae today, where its dog food is actually manufactured, its 2012 recall history, and its founding story.
So let’s get started.
Table of Contents
Who Owns Canidae?
Canidae is owned by Ethos Pet Brands, formed in 2023 when Canidae merged with Natural Balance pet foods. Current products are shown on Canidae’s official website.
Ethos Pet Brands is jointly owned by private equity firms L Catterton and Nexus Capital Management, giving Canidae institutional financial backing after nearly three decades as an independently run pet food company.
Canidae maintains headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, while its manufacturing operations remain centered in Brownwood, Texas, where the company built its own production facility more than a decade ago.
Where Is Canidae Dog Food Made?
Canidae dog food is made primarily at the company’s Ethos Pet Nutrition plant in Brownwood, Texas, which the company purchased and rebuilt in 2011 and 2012 to bring the large majority of its production in house.
The Brownwood facility produces more than 90 percent of Canidae’s dry dog and cat food. Some wet food production and select formulas are handled through partner facilities, including American Nutrition in Ogden, Utah, with a small portion of wet food production taking place in Thailand.
Canidae sources most of its ingredients domestically, including from its own Canidae Farms operation in Kansas, though certain vitamins and supplements are sourced internationally, consistent with common practice across the pet food industry.
What Happened During Canidae’s 2012 Recall?
In 2012, Canidae voluntarily recalled four dry food products that had been manufactured at a third party Diamond Pet Foods facility in Gaston, South Carolina, after Diamond confirmed salmonella contamination at that plant.
None of the recalled Canidae products actually tested positive for contamination, and the recall was described as a precautionary measure rather than a response to confirmed illness.
The incident accelerated Canidae’s move toward building its own dedicated manufacturing facility rather than relying on third party co-packers.
Since transitioning most production to its own Brownwood facility, Canidae has maintained a clean recall record for more than a decade, a track record the company has continued to highlight as part of its brand positioning.
When Was Canidae Founded?
Canidae was founded in 1996 by Scott Whipple and John Gordon, two pet food industry veterans who wanted to build a higher quality dog food brand focused on whole ingredients and all life stage nutrition.
The company initially relied on third party manufacturers, including a long standing partnership with Diamond Pet Foods, before opening its own Brownwood, Texas facility in 2012 to bring the majority of production in house.
Canidae grew into a nationally distributed premium pet food brand over the following decade, eventually merging with Natural Balance in 2023 to form Ethos Pet Brands under shared private equity ownership.
Is Canidae Good Dog Food?
Review sites geared toward pet owners, including Dogster and Dog Food Guides, rate Canidae highly overall, praising named meat as the first ingredient across most recipes, the absence of artificial preservatives, and the brand’s small batch, in house manufacturing with on site lab testing.
More technical ingredient analysis sites are more mixed. Dog Food Reviews rates some Canidae dry recipes as higher in carbohydrates and rice content than ideal, and flags the use of added vitamins and minerals as a marker that can indicate lower quality base ingredients in ultra processed kibble.
On safety, Canidae has a strong recent track record, with no new recalls in more than eight years as of 2026 following its move to in house manufacturing after a 2012 precautionary recall tied to a third party facility.
Most owner reviews describe dogs doing well on the food, making it a reasonable premium choice for healthy adult dogs, though owners managing a specific medical condition should discuss any food switch with a veterinarian first.
Frequently Asked Questions About Who Makes Canidae
Is Canidae made in the USA?
Yes, most Canidae dog food is made in the USA at the company’s own facility in Brownwood, Texas. A small portion of wet food production takes place overseas, including in Thailand.
Does Canidae own Natural Balance?
Canidae and Natural Balance merged in 2023 to form Ethos Pet Brands, so the two brands are now sibling companies under the same parent, jointly owned by L Catterton and Nexus Capital Management.
Has Canidae ever had a recall?
Canidae’s only recall was a voluntary precautionary action in 2012 tied to a third party manufacturing facility, and no Canidae products actually tested positive for contamination. The brand has had a clean record since moving most production in house.
Who founded Canidae?
Canidae was founded in 1996 by Scott Whipple and John Gordon, both of whom had prior experience in the pet food industry before starting the brand.
I am Jack Neel, a mechanical engineer, researcher, and writer. I created this website to share my knowledge about different brands and products with you. I research the manufacturers behind the brands and provide you with the information you need to make smart buying decisions.