[Anna S]

Does anyone know why this brand only receives 3 1/2 stars? I just purchased this to try on my sensitive allergic dogs switching from Acana Ranchlands.

[aquariangt]

I wouldn’t worry yourself over staying within the brand, that’s a bit of a myth. I switch between brands with every bag, and i don’t even bother to mix them unless i dont have enough left to give a full meal. Depending on how you switched though if your dog isnt used to a rotational diet, you may have switched Acana too fast, as that is a fair amount lower in protein than orijen (which i can’t use either) I do like acana, though alot if their kibble sizes are a bit big for my liking.

I don’t recommend blue buffalo at all-any line of them. sketchy company, if you nose about on the forums you will see a lot more in depth comments about tham

Some dogs dont do well on certain proteins, so that could have been the case with the beef there, though it could have been changing him too quickly if he isn’t used to it.

As far as that range of protein %, I would try out Fromm, especially the 4 star line, they have plenty of flavors to pick from. I also like Earthborn, and the small breed i use a lot in my rotation as I have one that has issues with peas so a lot of grain free blends don’t work for us (though sometimes I just buy her a separate bag and the other 2 can share) but the Earthborn grain free line is a favorite of mine as well, though it’s a bit higher in the protein than what you are looking for. Go! is manufactured by Now Fresh and they have Now Fresh and Summit you could look into. Nature’s Variety prairie is a bit lower and from a solid company, precise is a good company…you will find that in the 20%s for protein, you probably won’t be at 5 stars, but as long as the red ingredients are kept to a minimum, i wouldn’t balk at the food if it’s what you need to do for your dogs stomach

[Ly]

Oh, he can’t handle anything over 30%. I tried Origen and Acana (diarrhea) and Holistic Select (wouldn’t touch it) and Wellness Core (wouldn’t touch it) and BB, now I’m trying Go!. I wanted something with a few different flavors/protein choices so I can rotate within the same brand (I was told I wouldn’t have to transition then). The best poops he has is on BB chicken and rice puppy. But he doesn’t do well on the beef. And I was also told to not stick with one protein source b/c they can develop an allergy. So changing within the brand is ideal. It seems he does well around 27%. And with all the BB issues I just wanted something else. Researching I found that Origen/Acana was like the “best”, but that’s not an option for his tummy.

[Zanes Mom]

It’s interesting that you would say that about the kibble because about the time his problems started the dog food he was on ( not Acana) was suddenly unavailable for a period of time and the reason given was manufacturing issues. Hard to know of course.
When I first visited this site I could never imagine feeding raw but as I learn more I really want it to play a part in Zane’s diet so I appreciate your good wishes. Thank you again for your insight and suggestions.

[Zanes Mom]

Hi All! I have a 150lb. Bullmastiff that will be 2 in October. I have followed this site since we got him at 4mos. and the advice has been sooo helpful. Having said that I wish that I had done what someone said in the past and kept note cards for future reference. Zane has been on various formulas of Acana Regionals and the singles Duck with various toppers like eggs, sardines and kefir. I also use Earthborn Holistic tubs, Natures Logic and Hound and Gatos canned as light toppers. I would like to add some additional brands into his kibble rotation and have a small bag of Farmina chicken to try but here is my question/concern, do i need to be concerned about the fat level in foods and does anyone have suggestions? He is at a good weight but shouldn’t add any and his activity level is pretty low. We live in Florida and with the summer heat I try to get him out for early morning walks and again late in the day but the rest of the time he is happy to sleep and hang out. All input will be considered and appreciated!

[texasniteowl]

I thought I would come back with a brief update since it has been a while!

After the Orijen we went to Acana Singles…the Lamb and Apple and he did very well on that. We finished the 13lb medium bag. Now we are still on Acana but trying the Duck flavor and we are still doing well. We did a cold turkey switch from Lamb to Duck with no problem.

I am still not giving him a powder supplement, but he is getting “active culture” greek yogurt. His poo overall has been good…mostly normal…except for the day after obedience class usually when he gets a few more treats than normal!

I want to identify 1 or 2 more foods that he does OK with so that I have a 3-4 food rotation. We may try a bag of Nature’s Variety Instinct LID next as an option. Then not sure on a 4th. I may try the Orijen Adult again just to confirm whether it was the food or just the timing that caused him to not do really great on it. But we may just stick with foods in the 30-35% protein range.

[Michael L]

Hi Again,

So I think it was a little too early to call that success.

Based on this link /reports/editors-choice/
I decided to try Annamaet Grain Free Manitok however after two days my dog just stopped eating it. I mean he won’t even sniff it. At first I thought it was still his allergies but once I gave him some of his old food (Orijen puppy large) he finished that in 2 seconds.

I found this link:
/best-dog-foods/hypoallergenic-dog-foods/
That talks about Suggested Hypoallergenic Dog Foods
And more specifically I decided to try ACANA Duck & Bartlett Pear Singles Formula Dry

This food has limited ingredients and I figured it would be a good place to start as it’s based on duck and not chicken like the orijen one.

My dog loves it, I mean he chases me when I go get it, which he has never done before (very picky eater).

However I’m not sure about the dosage and/or if it’s suitable for large breed puppies. My golden retriever is 9 months old and weighs about 83lb.
The label says that there’s 1.3% calcium which I think should be okay (as per my understanding as long as it’s less than 3.5% it’s all good). Can someone confirm that?
http://www.acana.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/ACA-SINGLES-WEB-PDF-2014-DUCK.pdf?20c636

Can someone confirm that?

Thanks in advance.

[Shawnna G]

I have a Irish Wolfhound mix who is epileptic and we are in the process of switching over his food.
Our vet warned us about three things when switching his food over – Turkey (which can effect the seizure threshold), Rosemary (which can cause seizures in some epileptic dogs) and salt (because if interacts with his medicine).
I was looking at Natures Variety – however be careful because most of their products have Rosemary in them. I decided on a homemade diet (we may do raw after he fully adjusts) and Acana limited ingredient dog food. (About 3/5 homemade and 2/5 Acana).

[crazy4cats]

Hi Sandra R-
Congrats on the new pup. I think frenchies are adorable. I believe you are on the right track. Variety is even important for dog’s health. I have never fed Acana, but I think it’s a great kibble. Rotating kibbles would be beneficial. I also like to supplement my dog’s meals with add ins to their kibble. I use canned, dehydrated, fresh and even a little raw foods to boost up the nutrition and protein. The fresh foods are typically eggs, sardines and healthy left overs. This is the link that I downloaded a small book with tips on making kibble healthier.
http://www.seespotlivelonger.com/home/sll/page_41/see_spot_live_longer_the_abc_way___electronic_down.html
The author, Steve Brown, also has some books with recipes. The download is $2.95. Following this advise has made me a little more interested in feeding home made. So I bought the pre-mix from the site just recently. You just add either raw or lightly cooked meat to it to make a meal. I am very slowly and gradually improving their meals. It sounds like you might just be ready to jump right in with the home made or raw route. Which ever way you go, I wish you success!

[Sandra R]

I have a two months old french bulldog and I’m feeding her for now Acana for puppies. For now she is doing Ok, but I would like to know about your opinion about rotation diet and how to do it
And if i can give her a raw diet or should I wait until she is an adult? What is the best dry food for French bulldog puppies?
Thank you so much for your help.

[james m]

The trrouble with that calculator is that it then below says you should use a factor of 3 for puppies under 12 weeks so that is too much?

This calculator warns:
The Dog Food Calculator was designed for adult dogs only — not for puppies.

Typical calculators multiple the ideal weight in kilos by a factor of 70x.75 and then times 3 for a puppy ration.

The Acana package is the problem, at 150 to 300 calories perday

[james m]

I have a question, on required calories. Jerez is an active 3.6 pound Havanese who is 10 weeks old. We wexpect that he will get to about 12 pounds.

Most guides seem to indicate 600 to 700 calories per day for our breed of puppy ( ie. Bruce Fogles books)

We are feeding him Acana Puppy small breed, it indicates 454 calories per cup on the back of the package.

Acana indicates 2/3 of a cup per day for our size of dog and puppy, that is equal to only 300 calories per day. This seems low to me and Jerez who is really hungry.

[Case]

If this was the case, why would Acana, Evo, Orijen, Timberwolf, Victor, etc, etc print the info on their bags?

[Nancy C]

A couple of thoughts: My 10 yr old Golden R will eat about anything but not in a gobbling it up sort of way. HOWEVER, I have just lately been adding TO the bowl some sample packs of The Honest Kitchen flavors (which they sent for free in a box) and I have mixed that tog with Fromm’s Four Star Salmon, Dr Tim’s Kinesis GF, and Acana Grasslands, and she has LICKED every food molecule out of THE BOWL every time! Each pack has about 100 calories, so I reduced the calories in the dry kibble to make room for the HK food. THK food is wet such that it will coat all the kibble in a nice way if you stir it. also, I have added Coconut Oil to the food, putting little dollops on top of the food. Both my dogs LOVE coconut oil and it is SO GOOD for them. (The substitute mailman just commented yesterday how beautiful the Golden’s coat is — that it is noticeably thicker and prettier. I told him I’ve been giving her coconut oil. He said it has made a difference.) Dr Becker recommends 1 tsp per day for every 10 to 20 pounds of weight. It’s like CANDY to them and I think makes contents in the bowl more interesting and tasty. I sometimes snip large fish oil capsules and drop the drops on the kibble. Also just bought some very high quality Norwegian Salmon Oil. The woman at the pet boutique said several pumps of this on top of kibble really upgrades the flavor.

[Nancy C]

I have a GSD who had acute diarrhea from eating Origen and Acana. Both have lentils and chick peas so I would NOT recommend that. AFter weeks of working with a vet we finally got him onto a sensitive stomach food which he did well on. That was Purina Pro Plan for Sen Stomachs. Hated the THOUGHT of Purina but it worked well. (I have heard that their boutiquey higher end brands are much better but I do not KNOW that this is true). This food is NOT in the Groc Stores. We fed that for a month. Then the vet said move to a regular kibble. I chose DR TIMS PERSUIT and he has done beautifully on it now for 3 months. It is for an active dog. You might want to move “down” to KINESIS which is what my Golden Retriever eats and likes. But I rotate. Dr Tims has a website. his food is NOT GMO or Organic but it is made in a facility that meets European standards which are higher than the US. Try the website and read about it. I am planning to move him in Sept to RAW, simply because I am convinced it is healthier. Brothers Complete is another excellent brand to consider. Can study that at DFA and their website. And VICTORS. I have no experience with either. Just putting it out there. The best of luck to you.

[Deborah M]

Hi Nancy,

It really wasn’t a difficult transition. I was given a sample from the pet store and took it home to try it. My dogs went so nuts for it (I had never seen them eat with such gusto) so I thought I would try it. I have had VERY successful communications with the folks at K9 in Australia. I just email them with my questions, and they email me right back with a personal email. I have even struck up a friendly rapport with “Shane”… very helpful “Kiwi” as he calls himself 🙂 He suggested to me that when making the transition, that I might want to try to start with the Lamb Green Tripe, which I did. It has the most HORRIBLE smell in the world, but its ONLY ingredient is Green Tripe and very digestible and VERY good for them. They gobbled it up, despite the disgusting smell. I started adding in the venison, and they gobbled that up too. I don’t get the beef b/c it’s too high in fat. I noticed a difference in their stool immediately. Much smaller, and on the dry side. Sometimes, I add a little straight pumpkin so help keep their stool from being too dry. Now, I feed them only the venison, and add just a little of the tripe to aid in digestion. I’ve read ONLY good things about green tripe. Believe me when I say my dogs were finicky. I coaxed, begged, and added topper after topper – wasted a lot of money on high end kibble, Orijen, Acana, etc.. They didn’t like anything. Now, they eat like regular dogs, and on cue, so that I don’t have to leave food out for them when I leave for work. I purchase through Chewy.com – in bulk – it’s cheaper. Sometimes, Amazon. I’m sure there are other brands of freeze dried raw that are good, but I like the ingredients of the K9 Natural and I’ve had nothing but success. It will be pretty expensive for a large breed, however. That’s the downside of raw. I’ve priced all of the better ones out, and they all seem to be very similar in price. Good luck!

[C W]

Acana is not available in my area, bummer! We also move just about every 2 years, so it’s always a struggle to find good foods that are widely available or that ship from Amazon.

Sue66b, I haven’t tried any wet foods but I think that would burn out my wallet pretty quick with a large dog and other “toppings” (or even just plain boiled chicken) I’ve offered her haven’t helped.

Your comment about the fat content does get me thinking though… We started out on NV Prairie Chicken (~13% fat), switched to the Lamb (~14%), then went to TOTW (~19%). She mostly ate the TOTW well, give or take a bag here and there. The Pedigree & RC Gastro were both low fat and she ate them immediately. Maybe the fat is bugging her… The Blue Buffalo she refused had about ~16%, so mid-range I guess, but it was also the Chicken flavor and I have a growing suspicion she might also be sensitive to chicken.

Thank you all for your thoughts & suggestions so far — lots to think about!

• This reply was modified 11 years, 4 months ago by C W.

[aquariangt]

Acana regionals are biggish too. Actually too big for my crew so I’m not using it much anymore

[Nancy C]

Sounds interesting. Dogs are all unique and we have to find what works for each dog. My Golden Retriever likes the Fromm and is okay with it. I noticed that her poops are particularly large after eating Fromm. She gets soft stools if I give more than 50/50 Acana OR Origen (I am quite sure it’s the Lentils and Legumes ) I’m trying to use up the Champion food I bought earlier which my GSD ate and got very sick from. Your experience with K9Natural sounds inspiring. And Tripe is a home run. Good luck!

[Naturella]

I did feed Blue Buffalo Wilderness with great success for 4 months to my terrier mix. It made a lot of difference for him, coming off of Purina One (what the people who rescued him fed him), and Nutro Natural Choice Small Breed Puppy (what we were initially advised to feed him at PetSmart the day we got him). His coat got shiny, he had good appetite, good stool, no problems whatsoever. I do know people who feed Blue in rotation, and some who feed it exclusively, day in and day out, so far no problems.

I think for us, I will keep an eye on it and the cases surrounding it, but maybe in 2 years, when I have had a bunch of other foods I want to rotate Bruno through, I may go back to it if I get a good sale on it, lol. If not, I will stick with some favorites – Victor, Dr. Tim’s, Annamaet, Earthborn Holistic, and hopefully Wellness, Wysong, Canidae, Fromm, Orijen, Acana, 4Health (yet to feed those in our rotation).

[aquariangt]

I did some googling (very difficult as I can’t read most of these websites) and found this site mentioned on another forum:

http://www.lacasadelasmascotas.com/b2c/index.php?page=pp_productos.php&tbusq=1&ref=PSPe&md=1

seems like they are based somewhere down there, and Acana/Orijen are both great foods. Taste of the Wild is made by Diamond…not sure if i’d go with a diamond product that looks good on paper or something that is a poorer product. Nutro Ultra is fine I suppose, I think I’ve heard of people using Applaws in Europe. I’ve never heard of the other two brands

[DogFoodie]

I just started looking myself last weekend and haven’t found a lot so far. I’m more limited because my dog is fish intolerance as well. I’ll share what I’ve found, although none are fish based, and maybe you can check their other proteins: Annamaet, NVI LID, Canidae Pure Sky, California Natural Large Breed Lamb Meal & Rice., Acana Pork & Butternut Squash.

Oh, here’s a couple of good ones, Orijen Six Fish and Annamaet Aqualuk.

I’ll post as I find others.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Brenda & Linda –

Pregnant bitches should be fed a high quality food appropriate for puppies or all life stages. All of Orijen’s formulas would be acceptable, all of Acana’s formulas with the exception of the Adult Large Breed, Senior Dog and Light & Fit would be appropriate and all of Natural Balance’s foods with the exception of their Fat Dogs formula, their Vegetarian formula and their Ultra Reduced Calorie formula would work as well. Personally, however, the only Natural Balance formula I would feel comfortable feeding to a pregnant or lactating bitch would be the Synergy formula – the other are all too low in fat and protein for my liking and I feel it would be difficult to maintain body condition on those foods. I would also highly recommend mixing in a quality canned food with high levels of protein and fat with whichever dry food you choose, this will not only aid in further increasing the protein and fat levels of of the kibble but will also increase the moisture level in the diet helping to keep her hydrated and increase the palatability (many bitches tend to not eat enough to support the high energy demands of pregnancy and lactation so this is important).

[Brenda C]

Hi Linda

I am searching for the same info, for a newly pregnant French Bulldog. She has been on Natural Balance Rabbit because of a very mild allergy (the stud has no allergies what-so-ever), but i don’t see a puppy/pregnant bitch formula in any of their range.

I swear by Acana and Orjen for all of my other dogs, but would still appreciate also hearing from other forum members for food recommendations for pregnant bitches.

Can anyone out there tell us your reproductive food faves?

Thx

[Melissaandcrew]

Hi Jennifer-

I am going to agree with your vet on the cause-Pig ears are a huge no no for many breeds of dogs that are prone to pancreatitis, so definetly would be for one who had an attack. Very high fat content. What was the fat content of what you were feeding him before? You may have said and I missed it. Right after an attack, one does need to heavily restrict the fat etc in order to allow the pancreas to rest and reduce inflammation. Most vets will say restrict the fat content from this point forward to 10-12% MAXIMUM, not minimum. Good luck finding foods that report a guaranteed minimum, lol.

As an owner of mini schnauzers for 25 plus years, I have dealt with it more times than I wished to. Schnauzers are very prone to pancreatitis and severe attacks at that. I was a good sheep and followed the protocol. And what that got me was a bunch of schnauzers who were more fat sensitive than ever. I only had one that continued to have fat content issues, and we went with Blue Buffalo Wilderness Healthy weight for her, with some other brands mixed in for variety. The rest of the crew were transitioned SLOWLY to various brands, and types and they are “safe” up to about 16.5% total fat in a meal. If I wish to feed them say Acana grassland which is 17% fat, then I mix it with Lamb/Apple which is 15% fat. You get the idea.

These days, I feed a combination of dry,canned, dehydrated and homemade raw(they did well on Natures Variety Instinct raw as well-but like anything else watch the fat content) When I make raw, I use lean meats-skinless chicken, lean beef etc and so far, no issues. My point being while you have to be conscious of fat content, each dog has an upper threshold and it may take a bit of research to find yours. Just remember to do everything very slowly, and don’t go crazy and think Milo can have 17 or 18 percent fat because other dogs do. good luck-Melissa

[andy c]

Dogswell – on paper looks close to Orijen. Have heard from two different local pet stores that carry Orijen/Acana that Champion is treating them badly and forcing them to raise prices to a minimum retail price. If they don’t, then Champion will drop them. It’s not the money, but more that I lose trust in a company that plays hardball with its partners. If they treat their retail partners this way, what about their suppliers and will that affect the quality of their food over time? For now, have switched for to Petcurean Go Fit & Free (also on Editor’s choice list), but it’s a little less protein with fewer flavor choices.

[DogFoodie]

I’ve used Orijen and Acana and most of the formulas didn’t work for my dogs. A food is only great if it’s great for your dog.

I still have my fingers crossed that you might take a look at Victor, Travis.

I saw quite a few local dealers in Central Oklahoma. ; )

Victordogfood.com

[Brenda M]

Hi there. I have a 4 yr old Cavalier King Charles/Papillon mix. He’s been on California Natural Grain Free Venison for a couple years & was doing great on it. And now California Natural has changed the ingredients on this food. We’ve tried other foods b/c of recalls, etc. I’ve found that my dog is sensitive to certain dog foods, his stool gets soft if the food is too rich, possibly high in protein (Acana, Orjien, Blue Buffalo Wilderness). Soft stool then seems to cause issues with his anal glands not emptying as they should. The new formula for CA Natural is making the stool softer. Anyone have any recommendations? He isn’t a picky eater & while I’ve always gave him grain free, I really have no reason for that…

Thank you!

[Kathy L]

Save yourself a lot of trial and error and just go straight to the very best. Acana or Orijen from Champion foods out of Canada. Amazing! I order mine from chewy.com. A great company to deal with that stands behind all their products.
Kathy Laven

[aquariangt]

If you live in the states, you won’t be able to get Acana Classics

Maybe Earthborn Puppy?

[ab1028]

Acana has a small breed puppy one in their classic line. Their kibble in that one is really small if you want to try.

[Dawn R]

Does anyone know which 5 star dry foods have small kibble? I bought Orijen and Acana and it’s way to big for my new puppy, she stared at it confused after eating Stella and Chewys dehydrated for a few days. I want to be able to feed the new puppy as many types of food as possible ( raw, canned, dehydrated, dry).

Please let me know if you have suggestions. Thanks….

Dawn

[Susan]

Hi Barb, try to find another premuim quaility kibble that has the same amount of fat% & protein % as the R/C Gastro has, My Patch was always vomiting early hours of the morning 3 times a week & 11am once a week, he was put on a vet prescription diet (Eukanuba Intestinal) Im now so slowely adding the the Wellness Simple Duck & Oats kibble to his vet prescription diet kibble, the Wellness Simple has limited ingredients but the fat is min-11% max-11.98 & his vet prescription diet fat is only 10% the protein is lower in the Wellness Simple Duck & Oats then his vet prescription diet kibble, where the last premium kibble I tried the protein % & the fat % was much higher then the vet diet & he was being sick still, so far everything is going real good on the Wellness Simple kibble….. The last premium kibble I tried, I didnt think about the fat% or protein % …I was buying him kibbles that had min-13% max-15% fat & he was still sick of a morning…..so now I bought the Wellness Simple its as closest I can get to the Vet diet kibble that he’s on…just try to match the fat % & protein % you’ll have the good ingredients of the premuim kibble but the % will be nilly the same as his R/C prescription diet, also there could be an ingredient in the Acana kibble that doesnt agree with her & gives her acid or makes her feel sick..I hope you understand what I’ve written…

[Naturella]

Hey, Barb, my terrier mix Bruno is a year and 4 months old. He is a vacuum dog, meaning he sweeps the floors and eats anything off of them and the ground. Sometimes that gives him loose stools, and sometimes vomiting. It usually lasts 1-3 days, with 4 or so instances of vomiting. I have tried many remedies – plain boiled brown rice, plain boiled brown rice with cooked chicken, plain canned pumpkin, plain yoghurt rich in probiotics, bread, even uncooked rice. For loose stools bread seems to work the best on Bruno. For vomiting, his regular kibble and yoghurt/pumpkin do the trick. I don’t know why the difference in reaction, but that is what I’ve noticed for my dog. All of the above are possible remedies, and also boiled pasta could be a way. What I do for vomiting is introduce the yoghurt/pumpkin first, like give him a teaspoon of it (he is 14-15lbs), and then I mix half his normal serving of kibble with some more yoghurt/pumpkin and a bit of water to make it soupy and coat the kibble evenly. And he eats it. You can also dip some plain white bread in yoghurt or kibble and give that for a meal or 2, until the tummy is not upset anymore. Or just bread. You will just kind of have to experiment and see what your dog responds well to.

I don’t think the RC is a better food than Acana, it may just be a coincidence that no vomiting has occured. Good luck!

[Barb D]

Hi, I have a 4 year old chocolate Labrador that I adopted after my friend passed away last year. She is healthy and happy but periodically she throws up for no apparent reason. When she does, it will usually last a few days with vomiting 1 – 3 times, total. No other symptoms. I feed her (and my 2 yr old black Labrador) Acana Pacifica Regionals dry food.
My vet has suggested it is the food and has put her in Royal Canin Gastro – dry.
I am not sold on this product and not totally sure it’s a food allergy as she will throw up one week then be fine for a few weeks.
I am wanting to wean her off of the RC and put her slowly back onto the Acana. (note: she has not thrown up since being on this food and completing meds to settle her stomach)
Any suggestions or help is appreciated…Maverik and Shelbi are our babies and my first dogs.
Thank you!
Barb

[Anna S]

It did not work out with my pack. Back to Acana Ranchlands/Grasslands. I was uncomfortable about the little bone fragment I found in a kibble, but oh well. There is no such thing as a perfect kibble.

[texasniteowl]

Thank you all for the replies so far. I had seen most of them when I stopped by the pet store on my way home. I ended up essentially taking Melissa’s view. We have done OK for the last 4 days with the sample of Orijen, so I bought the 15lb bag to continue. Still working slowly in. We are at about 1/4 cup now so I will begin increasing that and see how it goes.

Depending on how things continue to go with the poultry based Orijen, my next bag may be a novel protein just to see if there is a noticeable difference or not.

In future, I will rotate between other foods…once I identify some! I do have a feed store that carries Victor so Victor, Nature’s Variety, Acana, Orijen and Wellness and Fromm’s could all be in the mix.

I do want/need to add some probiotics. My feed store carried one called probios? The woman there said she gives it to both her cattle and her kids! However, if I remember right, one of the first listed ingredients was sugar! So not sure about that.

[Valerie M]

http://petfoodtalk.com/dogfoodreviews/merrick/

I have been feeding the Merrick grain free Buffalo and sweet potatos. Not sure I like it. Dogs did better on Innovo The below quote may help regarding gastro issues. One of my 3 has loose stools and now I think I know why.

link quote >> The only negative thing that people have to say about this food is that some dogs suffer gastrointestinal problems after eating it. This may be a result of adjusting to a new food brand. Overall, this food is highly recommended.

Read the posts that go with the link. I am looking for another food after reading the comments on th link I attached. , and was looking at Wellnes bc it is made local for me, and is organic and no GMO’s. I think I’ll look at Acana too. Its hard to find around here but I am not happy with what I am reading now about Merrick, and your comment that your dog seems to be having more allergies lines up with my experience. I wish this was easier. My dog was way more energetic on Innovo. Huge difference when we switched to that from Solid Gold, but it was recalled and pulled so we switched to Merrick. That has been so so for us. I have a labradoodle, a mini schnauzer and a border collie hound mix.

[Linda C]

I could not find this topic, but please guide me if I missed. I usually feed my CKCS Acana, and I am looking for help determining the best food for a female that is pregnant. Not just before whelping, but lactating as well. I am trying Nature’s Variety INSTINCT RAW BOOST which has 38% protein and 20% fat. In the past, I have always felt most dog foods were too low in fat for this situation.

[texasniteowl]

Thanks for the reply…and the reminder about Acana. I really wish the Classics were available. I liked the look of the Light & Fit and Senior products. And I guess I just wasted some time reading ingredients lists for those.

And no, I haven’t really seen any weight gain so I will ignore fat % for now I suppose.

As for novel…I know there are some out there, but finding novel and limited is tougher than I thought it would be. I picked up one brand’s “rabbit” kibble and the 2nd ingredient was salmon meal! And several beef or venison foods also contain lamb.

So, for novel I need to look for: beef, venison, rabbit, pork.

He has had: chicken, lamb, duck, fish. I’m also presuming turkey is close enough to chicken and duck that it would not be novel. His Fromm’s Salmon Tunalini also had sardine meal in addition to the salmon and tuna, so basically, most fish is out.

The new flavor Acana Singles Pork & Butternut Squash is a possibility…but only 31% protein.

The Nature’s Variety Instinct LID Rabbit is a possibility also.

I may go ahead and stick with poultry for a full bag…well, like a 15lb bag…which should last 3-4 weeks and then rotate through some others even if they are not novel to see how he reacts. A 3-4 week supply will give me a good idea of whether something works for him or not.

[aquariangt]

If you aren’t in Canada, all those Acanas won’t be available to you-none of the Acana Classics, just Singles and Regionals.

With over a mile a day and some fetch, I wouldn’t be super concerned with fat unless you are seeing a lot of weight gain. Not only has high protein % been proven, it’s recommended for senior dogs. So if he is fine on the high protein, keep it up.

I would try out a novel protein, and I would try rotating through proteins that he works just fine on, it will help keep him healthy. Of the things you listed, the acana you may not be able to find, and in my opinion, Taste of the Wild and Merrick have too many company issues to bother with, especially with a dog you are trying to pinpoint some stomach issues, it may throw off your findings unnecessarily. Wellness is nice, Acana and Orijen are Nice, Earthborn is nice-and they have the primitive naturals that is poultry based and over 40% protein as well

[texasniteowl]

Short story: we’ve been on chicken and rice for a month and need to get back on a kibble.

You can skip to near the bottom about what kibble to go with or you can read…the long story.

Long story:

My dog Wilson is about 7 and 1/2. We have had him for about 19 months. He came to us on Purina lamb and rice. I first switched him to Fromm’s Duck and Sweet Potato and then later to Fromm’s grain free Salmon Tunalini. He also with every meal got a tbsp of yogurt, usually Fage Greek Plain but sometimes other brands. He was on the Salmon Tunalini for about 7 or 8 months.

In late April, he started eating a lot more grass than usual. Prior, he ate grass maybe once every 2 or 3 months. But he started going out in the a.m. (mostly a.m.) to eat grass about 4 times a week. But no other symptoms really presented. At first.

By mid to late May he was still grass eating but poo had started changing and not for the better. But we would have days were it was fine and then days where it was bad and then days when it was fine again. He still ate his food and still loved his walks, etc. But we also did have a few days where his interest in his food in the morning was not present. Then finally, after seeing some blood in his poo, we went to the vet.

Fecal test #1 was negative for parasites/giardia. Fecal test #2 showed a bacterial overgrowth of the bad, rod shaped bacteria. So vet put us on a 5 day course of amoxicillin, metronidazole, and pro-pectalin. We stayed on his kibble during this course. Finished the 5 days and on day 6, we had not only very liquid, essentially water, diarrhea, we also had vomiting. Called the vet…another 5 days of amox, metro, pro-pec. This time, went to chicken and rice.

The chicken and rice was meant to be short term!

After the 2nd 5 days, we kept on the chicken and rice and waited to see what would happen. It initially seemed like his poo started to improve. So I started mixing in a little kibble. Like less than 1/2 of 1/4 cup.

And things got worse again. So called the vet again.

The vet suggested that in spite of the parasite fecal being negative that we do a dose of panacur. And that if no improvement, our next step would be to take blood and fecal samples and send them to the vet school at Texas A&M to be evaluated. So we did the Panacur.

At first, didn’t see much improvement. But then about 4-5 days after his last dose his poo started to improve. Still on the soft side. And worryingly, a bit orange even though he wasn’t getting pumpkin. But firmer than we had seen in a while.

So, I went by a local boutique pet store who gave me a sample of Orijen Adult and I started mixing in some. Just a little.

And the poo got even better.

Nearly normal! Using the Purina fecal scoring model, we’re up to a 3 where 2 is ideal. We had been averaging a 4.5-5 at one point with some individual poos even worse!

So, I want to slowly increase the amount of kibble. And at some point, I plan to re-introduce probiotics (maybe powder instead of yogurt) and maybe add enzymes.

(I also bought the $3 book about supplementing kibble with fresh stuff…and would like to do that…eventually. First things first.)

Anyway, props to anyone who made it thru all that.

The main question:
Which kibble to go with for now?

A friend of mine who has a dog with severe IBD suggested that maybe a food intolerance started the whole cycle to start with, but I don’t know that I buy that. She suggested a novel protein. But, he’s been on chicken and rice, and the Orijen Adult is chicken based and his poo is improving right now. Is it possible he has a food intolerance of some kind? Sure. Allergies? Yes. In fact, he seems to have a grass allergy. Since I know he has had chicken and duck and lamb and fish, if we start looking at a novel protein, I’d be looking at pork or venison or rabbit. But I don’t know what else he might have had before we adopted him. And in terms of amount paw-licking, etc. I don’t think it is much different than any other time. He can get itchy ears too, but the vet attributes that to mostly seasonal allergies.

The qualm I have about the Orijen Adult is mainly due to the high fat content. 18%. We are mostly inactive. He is a lap dog most of the day except for our daily 1.1 to 1.2 mile walks. And a little bit of fetch with a tennis ball. But otherwise he loves nothing more than snuggling in my lap in the recliner. And he is 65lbs! And, as mentioned he is 7 and 1/2. Should I start watching the fat %? Though his weight last time we were at the vet was within 3 lbs of what they called ideal. So we are doing pretty good so far.

Then there is the matter of grain free vs. grain inclusive. In the best scenario, I prefer grain free. But I’m not sure I’m crazy about all of them going to lentils for fill. Though, the Orijen Adult has lentils and I have not seen a problem so far. But it has only been about 4-5 days and he is getting a limited amount.

I do like that the Orijen Adult is a higher protein level. His previous food was only 31% protein and the Orijen Adult is 42%. Maybe it was the fact that he has been on chicken and rice for a month that made the higher protein level an easier switch? It’s been proven now that a higher protein percent for senior dogs is OK, right?

Orijen Senior is similar to Adult except uses pea fiber also. The fat is 15% instead of 18%. And fiber is 8% instead of 5%.

Some other mostly chicken or at least poultry based foods I was considering are:
Taste of the Wild Wetlands
Wellness CORE Original
Wellness CORE Reduced Fat (37% protein, 11% fat)
Acana Adult Large Breed (37% protein, 14% fat)
Acana Light & Fit (39% protein, 10% fat)
Acana Senior (37% protein, 14% fat)
Earthborn Holistic Great Plains Feast
Merrick Grain Free Chicken & Sweet Potato

Anyway, I’m really at a loss here. Novel protein or not? Fat %? Protein %? Lentils? Other food suggestions?

[Melissaandcrew]

I love Champion products as I have said many times. I have not bought it recently as I am rotating other brands right now, so it was a surprise for me to read that the Singles have gone down to a 25lb bag. When they reformulated them before, I was told by the customer service it was for uniformity amongst the bags-Acana had been bigger than Orijen and that did make sense to me. However, if the new bags are 25lb, then based on that previous statement, I expect all to drop to 25lb-and that alone may be a deal breaker for me. At some point, I think they are going to price themselves right out of them market in the US, and then the Kentucky plant really won’t be needed, lol.

With that said, I will wait and see if the quality appears to drop, or if there appear to be issues. I will not judge based only on production location. I have no reason to believe that a company would invest 85 million to make lower rated foods in the US, but who knows?? If Champion wants to keep me as a customer(and I buy a ton of food) they will have to keep quality and formulation right up there on par with the Canadian produced foods-I am not interested in redesigned products with less meat content etc. Only time will tell.

[Melissaandcrew]

I love Champion products as I have said many times. I have not bought it recently as I am rotating other brands right now, so it was a surprise for me to read that the Singles have gone down to a 25lb bag. When they reformulated them before, I was told by the customer service it was for uniformity amongst the bags-Acana had been bigger than Orijen and that did make sense to me. However, if the new bags are 25lb, then based on that previous statement, I expect all to drop to 25lb-and that alone may be a deal breaker for me. At some point, I think they are going to price themselves right out of them market in the US, and then the Kentucky plant really won’t be needed, lol.

With that said, I will wait and see if the quality appears to drop, or if there appear to be issues. I will not judge based only on production location. I have no reason to believe that a company would invest 85 million to make lower rated foods in the US, but who knows?? If Champion wants to keep me as a customer(and I buy a ton of food) they will have to keep quality and formulation right up there on par with the Canadian produced foods-I am not interested in redesigned products with less meat content etc. Only time will tell.

[mountainhound]

So we just got the new recipes couple days ago to the store I work at and I’m seriously unhappy with the changes.
They took out the oats and made it grain free, but they replaced them with 5 types of plant proteins including lentils, peas and garbanzo beans, which to me says that the bulk of the food is made up of plant protein instead of meat. The fiber content jumped from 4% to 6.5% which means a lot more pooping and they also made bags smaller, from 28. 6 to 25 lbs while the price stayed the same.

[aquariangt]

affordable is somewhat dependent on your opinion of “affordable”

Authority Grain Free (4 stars)
Simply Nourish Grain Free (4 stars)
Simply Nourish Source (5 stars)
Earthborn Holistic (5 stars)
Victor has been mentioned-I will say ordering victor online gets a bit more expensive that finding a retailer

all can be a bit cheaper than some other options you’ll find out there

SNS and Earthborn are both brands I use-Fromm’s 4 star grain free as well, also cheaper than some other options. I also use Acana-while not super cheap, you don’t need to feed as much as some other options so it cuts down the price a bit. Authority I don’t particularly like, and simply nourish grain free is too low in protein for me

[NectarMom]

I would agree with Ann M. I have been calling around all my local Stores that carry Acana and so far none have it in the Store but I know it has been out in the US for a couple of weeks now but just not in my State yet and I am waiting to give it a try.

[Ann M]

I would love to see an updated review on the Acana Singles line. It appears that they have modified their ingredients since the last review done in 2013. It’s looking like their changes could make this a 5-star product now.

[Terri M]

After several skin scrapings to rule out sarcopic mange, demodectic mange and yeast (all negative), my vet wants us to try an elimination diet. Royal Canin specific protein -Rabbit/potato was what they wanted him to try along with wet rabbit food to mix with the dry. Have any of you had success with this food regimen? We’ve been asked to do this for eight weeks. I have two other frenchies (both brindle) with no skin/coat issues. This sweet boy is honey blonde. We also have him on omega-derm which I put on his food once daily. We have also done the corticosteroid injection followed by antibiotic and steroid therapy which worked for a while, but the skin condition came back. Prior to this, I had switched him to Acana a Grasslands grain free with wet food. I also use a special allergy anti-shampoo. I’m at my wits end trying to help my little guy. Any suggestions/advice are welcomed!

[Katie J]

A little over two weeks ago, I brought home a new pup for my boyfriend. He’s a Shiba Inu/Akita Inu mix and coming up to 4 months old. I have very little background on him as he was a pet store pup that I bought second hand. It’s a long story for another thread. I know the stigma with pet store pups as well though I have a 13 year old English Springer Spaniel that was purchased at a pet store that has never had anything but a routine vet visit and lives on Purina of all things. Anyhow back on topic. My little guy is little. He weighed at 7 lbs about a week ago at the vet’s office, but I am guessing he’s sitting closer to 8-9 now. Yes, I know he is shockingly small for his supposed breeding. But everyone that meets him guesses either one of this mix, but no one knows why he’s so small. We’re guessing that it could have a lot to do with his pet store past.

Now that that’s out of the way, time to talk food. I got him with a bag of Eukanuba puppy. He ate that fine until he caught wind of the Purina. Our adult dogs (the spaniel and my terrier mix) are free range because we lead a very busy and random life at the house. This is something I plan to change for my terrier and this pup when my boyfriend get our own place. I knew that I didn’t want the pup to eat adult food as he has special puppy needs. I nearly just bought the puppy formula for Purina until I food this website. Since then I have done more reading than I would care to admit on dog food. I decided to pick a food that wasn’t going to be a big jump in quality or price and bought 4Health Puppy. I know some people are leery of Diamond. But at the price and star rating, I grabbed a bag along with one of each of their rice free cans. My plan was to do kibble and a can topper. He licked the bowl clean for three meals. Meal four, he ate half and walked away. I switched the topper to a new flavor. Same result. We were trying two meals a day but broke it down to 3 thinking that I was trying to feed him too much at a time. No change. Though I was able to get him to finish if I spoon fed the last half of his food.

Three days ago I stopped by a local dog boutique and came home with several samples and goats milk as a probiotic. His stools had been soft too pretty loose due to the changing in foods trying to find something he liked. After the milk thawed I gave him a little in his nornal meal with the same result: ate half, spoon fed rest. Stools have firmed up since. The night before last we started samples. I have a lot of Earthborn as I had went to another store and got even more samples most of which was Earthborn. I think it was the prairie formula first that he nearly finished on his own without the milk. I only give the milk once a day. Apparently he nearly finished his next two meal with my boyfriend. I wasn’t there as I was working. But I know that he will not spoon feed. With fireworks last night, the pup didn’t get his dinner. It was too late, and he had a late lunch. I expected a hungry puppy today! Nope. Same result with goats milk. This was his second feeding on a new flavor of Earthborn. I forgot the flavor. But it was blue packaging. I still have the primitive flavor left to try from Earthborn. I also have Halo, two flavors of Fromm, Acana and Orijen puppy. I wanted to get through all of the cheaper stuff first in hopes of finding something he likes.

A few extra things to add, I am feeding him separately from the spaniel who is very food aggressive. But I feed him with my terrier as I want to start transititioning my terrier to a better diet as well for when we move out. Sometimes the pup seems distracted because the terrier gets something different (4Health adult and the same topper the pup gets). But he does want to eat the terrier’s. He gets awfully burpy when he eats. I am looking to add sardines and perhaps switching to plain Kefir for the probiotic. Switching to raw right now is not something I want to do. I am unsure about getting the right balance, and his puppy stage is far too important to screw up. I do plan on introducing him to all the raw elements I want to use in the future, and at around a year old, we may make the switch. And I cannot afford to do commercial or dehydrated food. I love the guy, but I can’t justify spending as much to feed him as to fees me not to mention it’s not in the budget.

Boy that was long just to get to what I wanted to ask. Is he training me to spoon feed him? It seems like all of my meals with him end with me begging him to finish so much so that I grab the spoon. His nutrition is so important to me. I can’t stand him missing a meal or wasting that food! Any ideas?