I don’t see much difference between these two. I have started the switch from Grasslands kibble to Merrick Lamb Grainfree kibble and two of my hairless of four seem to be having more allergy symptoms. Does anyone have any idea of what the difference is. Are there more preservatives in Merrick?
Thank you, BC. When I started feeding TOW last fall I was totally ignorant. Some how I slowly began to wake up and since then I have been HORRIFIED at what I have learned about kibble. (Had been busy working on a phd) Fortunately I have tended for 10 years to feed my sweet Golden “top” foods, relying on the owner of a Pet Food place here to guide me. I fed what he fed his golden. So you have helped. I keep going back to ZiwiPeak and am getting closer about feeding it, but now skeptical about the high carbs. DMB: protein is 40%, Fat is 31% and carbs are 21%. I would appreciate your input. Even the fat at 31 is feeling high to me. I have this GSD who had all that diarrhea in the spring, all which started with ORIGEN and ACANA! He is now doing well on Dr Tim’s PERSUIT but I think the 30% carbs is too high, so need to find something to replace that. The testimonials both at ZIWI site and AMAZON (Lots of reviews there), are excellent, usually 5 stars. The main complaint is the price, although most posters agree it is expensive but worth it. With all your knowledge I am interested in your perspective. Thank you!
I’ll maybe try one of those out then. Thus far within my “regulars” Earthborn GF would all be out if I go this route-the small breed would be ok, but a bit lower in protein. Fromm’s 4star same issue, the grain inclusives are low in protein. Simply Nourish-I only like source. Acana all have peas.
Could maybe switch to grain inclusive recipes and go half kibble half canned instead of toppers I suppose as well
Unless they aren’t being truthful, Wellpet severed all ties with Diamond. A food can be rated 4-5 stars regardless of manufacturer, as DFA rates based on paper alone. The Editor’s Choice and forums are where we get other tidbits of information
A few of my favorites: Simply Nourish Source, Earthborn Small Breed or the Grain Free (don’t love the the other grain inclusives outside of small breed), Fromm 4Star Grain Free, Acana Regionals-I’ve used others but those 4 are most often in rotation. Fromm’s is pretty easy on the stomach. You may try supplementing with some canned or raw to help get the pickier one to eat. You also may try out a dehydrated food-I like Honest Kitchen and Sojos, and one of the two of them will surely be available at your smaller pet stores
If you’re looking for a weight loss food-Wellness Core Healthy Weight has been praised on here, as has Annamaet Lean. I’ve never used either
I’m not super adverse to paying a bit more for brands that aren’t everywhere (read: PetSmart and PetCo, though I have things I buy from there) I use Acana, and Honest Kitchen, for some reason Nature’s Variety and Wellness’ prices just really bother me, haha.
Thanks all!
She is an English bulldog… And will be joining my existing crew of 2 pugs that are 5 and 6 years old. It’s been a while since I’ve had a puppy so want to make sure I start out on the right foot. My pugs have been on raw for years and stay healthy and lean on it. Back when I was a newbie dog owner I used to feed beneful so I’ve come a long way in dog nutrition.
I’ve picked out a few foods…..stella and Chewys raw, some ziwipeak dehydrated, and acana and Origen dry food. The breeder has her on Royal Canine mini starter and not sure if I should transition right away to new food. Any suggestions?
Should I be feeding 2 or 3 times a day….. ?
I saw a few products online geared to puppies, has anyone used Whollistic Pet colostrum, missing link for puppies, or Puppy Gold. They all seem like transition type products.
Getting excited….. I get her in 12 days!
How is Patch doing? I, too, have had experiences with Prednisone when my Amber had stomach issues. It does help get things under control, but sometimes with side effects. I have read that long-term use can cause Cushing’s disease. Amber developed a bladder infection that I believe was a side effect of the Prednisone. It took 3 lots of antibiotics to finally get rid of it. An ultrasound shows she still has thickening of the bladder wall after 2 months infection free. I did lots of research which led me to change her to a grain-free diet (Acana). Actually, I am now starting to incorporate Orijen. I have added probiotics, vitamins & minerals, krill oil, and a whole food supplement (all Mercola products). She had not had any diarrhea, gas, or anal gland issues since. Not to mention her coat has become soft and silky.
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This reply was modified 11 years, 5 months ago by
Small.
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This reply was modified 11 years, 5 months ago by Small.
I have had great luck with Sophie my 120 pound Komondor on
Nutrisource Large Breed Lamb (she was on large breed puppy previously but now
she’s 15 months old).
It gets great reviews and reasonably priced especially compared to Orijen or Acana.
Before that, she did well on canine Caviar Lamb Puppy dinner but was very expensive
plus they had a labeling problem, where there was a misprint on the bags showing
the puppy formula calcium level over 2% and did nothing about it
(Oh, the food inside is ok, we just need to use up the bags!!!)
Another good one I used but don’t anymore is Artemis’s Osopure Duck and garbanzo beans
but the big bags are $70.
Personally, not into the “raw” diet for my pups;
I do supplement their diet (have 2 springer spaniels also) with a very lean
Hamburger or turkey burger—cooked—once a week or 10 days.
They love green beans, blueberries, cooked spinach.
It’s great to supplement with veggies, etc
GLTA!
I would like to re-nominate Farmina. My doberman has been on the low grain chicken formula since it became available on Chewy in early April. He has done fantastic. Previous skin issues resolved on Acana- but very gassy. Now no itching/scratching and best of all very minimal gas. Of course this is anecdotal but generally all reviews seem very good. This is a relatively affordable blend with very acceptable listed ratios of protein/fat/carbs and ca/phos. Only the grain free has been reviewed. The company, though, seemingly deserves SOME consideration.
Hi, Cavvie lovers! I have 3 of this beautiful breed. I have Laverne, a Ruby retired show champion who weighs around 17 lbs. and tends to have mild intolerances and trouble in the past with anal glands. She is 9 yrs. and has a murmur according to my holistic vet. No meds, though. She’s lived with us for 3 years now. Hazel is my 7 year old Black and Tan who weighs around 19 lbs., all muscle. She was born with a murmur but has never had meds. She’s been with us for 5 years. She and Laverne are registered therapy dogs. My newest is Rupert, a 7 year old Blenheim retired show champion who weighs around 19 lbs. I’ve had Rupert for 3 months now. He has a grade 5 murmur and MVD, asymptomatic, however he is on enalapril twice a day. Now that his health is pretty good for him (he came to me not so healthy) I plan on making him a therapy dog, as well.
I had to try many foods due to Laverne’s intolerances, which started with loose stool, rumbly tummy, not wanting to eat at times and of course the dreaded anal gland issues. We are finally (hope I don’t jinx us, lol) doing great with Wellness totally. I’ve always used Wellness cans and biscuits/treats but their kibble size was just too big for them, especially Laverne who I needed it to work for the most. So I used others, like Acana Singles, Merrick, Instinct LIDs, Zignature, Annamaet, Dr. Tim’s, Victors and probably others I’ve forgotten about. Some worked and I’ll still feed if needed…Annamaet, Dr. Tim’s and Victor, but a lot of others didn’t. I even tried premade raw, which was fine but too hard for my household to deal with. Foods like THK didn’t go over well. However, recently Wellness came out with new Small Breed formulas…YAY! So I tried them. I now rotate through Small Breed Senior, Small Breed Whitefish and Small Breed Simple Salmon along with their canned Stews for topping kibble and Yogurt biscuits for bedtime snack. I use their Pure Bites for training. Things are great, atm!! I do add a probiotic/enzyme supplement and a fiber supplement called Firm Up with each meal. It’s simply dried pumpkin and apple pectin. They also get coq10 for their heart. This has been working for us for 2 months now and I will continue this regimen. Sometimes I will use other canned toppers, like Simply Nourish, Fromm or Weruva for variety. All 3 have such soft wonderful coats and great skin. I did shave them down a little for the first time this summer and can honestly say that I love the haircuts! I kept their ears and tails long. I will keep them cut this way. I hope some of this info. gives hope for you guys with other Cavvies, my heart breed! 🙂 <3
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This reply was modified 11 years, 5 months ago by
Mom2Cavs.
Okay, I’m glad to learn that. He’s a little underweight at this point and he is 8.2 pounds (as of today) so the trial bag I have says for an 11 pound dog if they are active they should get 3/4 cup per day. And in small print next to it for a puppy his age (9-11 months) he should get 1 1/4 times the recommended adult amount. So that would be 15/16ths of a cup but since he’s not near 11 pounds is that still too much to feed him even though he is a bit underweight? I don’t want him to pack on pounds too fast and hurt him (is that possible?)
I’m about to buy Acana Chicken & Burbank Potato as that is what they have been eating at one of the feedings per day (evening) and they seem to be doing really well on it. No excess itching, no new skin irritations, etc.
Acana does not offer puppy food and I know my two dogs really like Acana so we will eventually switch to it when Dexter is fully grown but I need a puppy food for him he is only 7 months old. We recently rescued him and he was emaciated when he was rescued by the orginzation and he was still quite underweight when we adopted him just a few weeks ago. He is doing much better now and is only still slightly underweight but he is growing well (rib cage is actually looking more normal instead of very thin and small). Dexter appears to be a Scottish Terrier+Poodle mix. I haven’t weighed him recently but I know he’s at least 8 pounds.
I am only buying high quality food such as Acana, Orijen, Wellness Core, etc. I am going by the rating system here on DFA and am choosing 4+ star dog foods only. It seems odd though that all of the 5 star foods that DFA has reviewed do not offer puppy foods. Is this common?
I’d prefer to have a dog food that is completely gluten-free as I myself have Celiac Disease and am very sensitive to gluten so handling the food and receiving doggy kisses puts me at risk of having a bad reaction if they are eating foods with gluten in them.
So I’d prefer a grain-free OR one with Rice/potato/sweet potato, etc but no other gluten-containing grains.
Dexter and Bentley (who is 6 years old, Yorkie) both itch a lot and have atopic dermatitis. Dexter’s is on his face and I have not seen any spots anywhere else, and Bentley’s is mainly on his back but he did have it practically everywhere on his body (just not a full blanket rash). We switched to Greenies Pill Pockets Allergen Formula and it does seem even better now with much less itching for Bentley. So he also may have an allergy to wheat (gluten) as one of the main ingredients in all of the pill pockets minus the allergen formula is wheat.
So I think I need:
1) gluten-free
2) 4 or 5-star rating from DFA or one that hasn’t yet been reviewed but is on the same level quality-wise as 4 or 5 star foods DFA has already reviewed
3) Prefer smaller kibble as my dogs are small/toy size.
Kind of off my own topic but Bentley (6 year old yorkie) vomited whenever he ate Orijen 6Fish so I think Orijen itself is too strong somehow for Bentley so I tried Acana and they both ate it without any issue. Maybe the Orijen is too protein-rich for Bentley?
I am hopeful you (all) will be able to help me narrow down a puppy food to give to Dexter. I prefer kibble over canned only because it is more cost effective and less work to prepare and we won’t have to worry about how long that can was in the fridge.
I look forward to your responses. 🙂
In other words by 2016, we won’t be getting the Canadian version of Orijen/Acana. We’ll be getting the Kentucky version of it. Which defeats the whole “from Canada” taste/quality aspect. Which means I’ll be switching brands as of a minute ago.
Hello Case,
Your trust means everything to us. We understand your concern regarding our new Kentucky Kitchens and want to openly discuss that with you.
We don’t make pet foods like other companies do. As a leader and innovator in making pet foods, Champion works to our own standards. These are our standards, not USDA, not FDA, not CFIA. These agencies set minimum standards which we exceed exponentially. Why? Because our Mission and our Values dictate that we do, and that’s what pet lovers expect from us.
Our standards and values require that all of our ingredient partners, team members, quality and safety protocols and kitchen facilities are focussed on upholding and advancing our Biologically Appropriate mandate, and earning the trust of pet lovers day and in day out.
We choose our ingredient partners carefully, and we set quality and nutritional standards to meet our own food standards. In Kentucky, we will be engaging regional farmers, ranchers and fishermen whose values that match our own, that we can be proud to name. These suppliers will be providing fresh and custom ingredients that are sustainably and ethically produced.
Building brand new, custom-fitted kitchens in Kentucky provide us a tremendous opportunity to advance our BAFRINO mandate of making Biologically Appropriate foods from Fresh, Regional Ingredients, in our own Kitchens. These three key philosophies have built trust in our brands worldwide, and we fully intend to continue to build on this foundation.
Champion is different. Our custom Kentucky kitchens will produce ORIJEN and ACANA foods that set a new standard for the foods that we feed to our companion cats and dogs, we guarantee it.
There is a FAQ on our website regarding the kitchens in Kentucky, which I think that you will find helpful.
http://www.championpetfoods.com/kentucky/ThinkKentuckyThinkFAQ.pdf
You can use both my email and the link to the FAQ’s for your message board.
Kind regards,
Diana
Customer Care
Champion Petfoods LP
I recently changed all my dog from science diet to wellness, my 2 month old peke puppy eats wellness small breed puppy, my 5 year old rescue eats wellness small breed adult with wellness turkey stew as a topper, my 8 year old mini dashhound eats wellness small breed adult too, and my mother 11 year old chihuahua eats wellness turkey stew. I had been struggling with which food to pick and concidered the core fish but opted not to pick that one because of some youtube videos demostrating the bones in the kibble, however I still wanted wellness because it was a very good, its was available to me in comparison to orijen, acana, and other 5 star foods, and it fit into my budget to be honest. The foods that I give my fur babbies do contain salmon but I have not seen any bones in them, and belive me Ive looked, also in comparison to the bones white fish have, salmon bones are much smaller and less harmful so if they were to be present the would most likely not cause any harm.
Hi,
Thanks for pointing out that GO! is made in Canada….
Leo has been on the P&J for two weeks.
He was getting 1/4 three times a day to start for 5-6 days and them increased it too 1/3 cup. He’ll be 11 weeks this Tuesday.
Yesterday I picked up the Acana Pacifica on the recommendation of the employee at the store. He had his first serving of 1/4 cup at lunch and 1/2 cup at supper. I did mix in a teaspoon pumpkin at both feedings. All went well last night. He had 1/2 this morning and all was well when he went out this morning. We want to gradually eliminate the lunch feeding over the next few weeks. He weighs 9 pounds.
He’ll likely sleep all day today as he was romping around with his older brother (11 months old) last night. It was priceless watching the two of them play, and crash next to each other in the grass.
Betsy – I agree. My GSD 18 mo old puppy has suffered several months after transitioning to ORIGEN and ACANA from Taste of Wild High Prairie. I moved off TOW due to recalls. did not want to take a risk. He was doing well on TOW – no problem EXCEPT it took 5 cups a day to keep his weight stable. Calorie count on TOW is low.
On ORIGEN and ACANA — OMG diarrhea beyond belief, Metronidole, VET BILLS, Hills’ Rx WD food for 6 to 8 weeks, OMG it has been awful. Vet thinks those were too rich for him. ? He did fine on both UNTIL we got to 50/50. Lots of things in TOW, so I think it must have been the chickpeas/ Lentils in O and A. Both have it. Even Acana Singles have it as one of prime ingredients!
I have switched to DR TIMS Persuit and so far he is doing beautifully. DR TIMS is a great food. And Victor’s Professional (PURPLE BAG) is on my list. A GSD Breeder of 20 yrs wrote in about it and she swears by it. Gives it to ALL her GSDs. Also Brothers complete – but is very pricey. However, after a bad bout with Diarrhea my theory is you either pay up front with good food or PAY THE VET.
Best of luck!
I hear you. And sympathize! Zolli, I do not remember you being in any of the posts when I had HUGE gastro troubles with my GSD who came to me in PERFECT SHAPE and HEALTH.Was delivered in Jan age 16 mos. I decided to switch him to ORIGEN from TOW. due to recalls. (I had told the trainer from whom we bought him that I wanted him on TOW). At 50/50 Loose stools, diarrhea. so switched to ACANA and same thing at 50/50. A mystery. Both are great foods but not for him. After the ACANA he had so much diarrhea the vet had to treat him w Metronidazole and that (poisonous) HILLS Rx WD Formula). He at that from March til May. Lots of troubles. And there were no parasites. He lost from 70 pounds to 63 pounds! In 6 to 8 weeks! He was on Purina Pro Select Sensitive Stom for a month “to let the digestive tract calm down” (vet’s suggestion) the month of MAY. But I wanted him OFF of that too.
OKAY — He is now back up in New Hampshire getting more training. I am in NC. The trainer, who is beyond wonderful, and very knowledgable is transitioning him to DR TIMS PERSUIT and he reports so far so good. I have had numerous email dialogs with Dr. Tim and his wife MARY — they are wonderful too. I think this food is going to be great for him and my fingers are still crossed. In looking at Dr Tims ingredients it appears to me that there is nothing in there but the basics/ essentials. That’s it. I commented on that to him and he affirmed with a big “yes.” My own thought is that the more ingredients the more chance of trouble.
Good luck. You are trying hard and doing your best. Your pups know that.
Thanks, guys. Sorry I wasn’t more specific. I have two 1 yr 2 mo old AmStaff mixes. They’ve been great on Orijen Dry Puppy Food (adding NutraMax Lab’s Cosequin DS for glucosamine much later). I used to mix in Horizon, Merricks or Acana for some zing; that was until I started doing major research on ingredients/hi end fillers, recalls etc. The Giardia & Campi was diagnosed with only 1 of my pups (the one that always had a digestive issue). At that point, I started mixing in Orijen 6 Fish with a crumble of Dr Foster & Smith’s Omega 3 chews. After the Giardia was taken care of, his behavior went down the tubes, I cried during that time thinking was it me, was it his brother, is he dying of something? After $600 doing the full bloodwork panel, fecal float, fecal ELISA & the fecal culture, it was the culture that found the Campi bacteria. 2 shots later & a slew of antibiotics per dog, it was time to add some “help” to their tummies. I got the Purina Veterinary Diets FortiFlora (not knowing that animal digest & Enteroccoccus faecium was bad) & Nzymes (which has soy sprouts). I stopped immediately after four days of small doses/horrifying results, thus initiating the deeper ingredient research I should have done before. I’m now waiting for my new order of Nusentia’s Probiotic Miracle & Enzyme Miracle. During this wait, the pups are switched to Nature’s Balance Synergy Dry Dog Food (has prebiotic & more fiber). AND ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ELSE ADDED & no treats. The rice & boiled chicken routine doesn’t sit well with them either. I DO add tons of kisses & hugs as to how sorry I am for making them worse.
The new formulations of the Acana Singles are now grain-free and white potato-free.
Thanks for the replies. I have tried the pumpkin, it has helped some, but the end of day poops are not pretty. Going to switch to a grain free food today. The breeder had them on GO food. Will give it a try. I was really hoping the Acana would be the right choice for him. I liked the fact that it is made in Canada.
My Bouvier had stomach issues as well. Any food with grain is a problem and I also find that he seems to have problems with chicken and duck. He did really well on Annamaet Aqualuk but its very expensive! He also did well on Victor’s (can’t remember which one though) and Great Life Grain Free Buffalo. Not so well on Wellness Core or Avoderm. I think I’ll give Orijen or Acana a shot now that he’s almost a year and calcium shouldn’t be an issue anymore.
Oh gosh! I just am finishing up our Acana Grasslands and purchased Merrick Lamb grainfree. I hope I don’t have any problems with it. We were doing good on Grasslands until I found a bone fragment in the kibble.
Hi,
Our 10 month old puppy has had continuous itchy skin since we brought him home: licks/ sometimes bites the inside of both groin areas, and his front paws, one more than the other. When we got him from the breeder he was IAMS (chicken protein), then has switched to Orijen LBP (chicken protein), and is currently on Acana Pacifica (fish protein.) He started Acana about a month or so ago, and is still itchy. This week was his second time visiting the vet for antibiotics, antihistamines, cream, etc (not prednisone this time, as he was prescribed that in April for the same issue.) Our vet believes it to be a food allergy as per his age, she wants him to continue on Acana Pacifica and give it some more time. However, she mentioned possibly trying venison or rabbit if Acana Pacifica doesn’t work out.
I researched a bit and found Natural Balance LID, it has high reviews in regards to relieving allergies, but the ingredients are listed to average- below average according to this website. I would like to switch him over to another dry food that is highly ranked with a different protein that he has not tried: venison, rabbit.
Anyone have any feedback related to this? Recommendations for a dry food?
Thank you in advance!
Thanks for the advice… I live in a relatively small town, so i don’t have the best selection to choose from… the ‘high end’ pet food store (singular) typically only stocks acana, orijen and Fromm’s gold, which is why i was particularly interested in those brands. I live in Canada, so shipping rates are astronomical and some companies, like Chewy’s, won’t even ship to Canada. And I’m not about to go and buy Ol’ Roy or something from Walmart.
Hi Justin K –
None of Acana’s formulas are appropriate for large breed puppies. Orijen’s Large Breed puppy formula was reformulated recently and the the new formulation is only slightly above the recommended calcium guidelines (the old formula was much too high in calcium). In my opinion, with an all meat topper as 20% or less of the meal Orijen’s Large Breed Puppy formula would probably be acceptable.
Hi HDM,
I reviewed your list posted at the beginning of the thread was curious as to why the Acana or Orijen brands were not listed? I’m particularly interested Orijen LBP for a Rottie pup that we’ll be picking up at the end of this month. The analysis specifies a calcium min/max of 1.2/1.5% which seems to fall within the recommended intake. I’m looking to feed a high protein, low calcium dry kibble without supplementation throughout the rapid growth stage (as recommended in Dr. Lauten’s paper).
Any thoughts/recommendations?
Forgive me if it was already answered, as this thread has grown quite large. I admit that I did not read the entire thread front to back.
Thanks!
I’m so glad to see this question! I am about to order food for transitioning from a not so great food (thanks to finding this site!) to Acana or Orijen for my couch potato 7 yo toy poodle. So Robert R I’m glad to see your poos are doing well on this food!
I have been feeding our male Wheaton terrier this food for about 10 days. He will have some normal movements but mostly soft or loose. I thought it may be the oats, so I tried some of the Acana Grasslands as it is grain free. I did start out with only small portions mixed with the P&J. Well that didn’t go so well, doggy gas and explosive poops!
I’m looking at other foods as I am wondering if he is sensitive to some of the ingredients.
Anyone experience similar results with your puppy?
Hi Paige,
I’m looking for the email, but I asked NV a while back about the source of the rabbit in their kibble and it’s sourced from France. They also source rabbit from China and Italy. Like BCnut said, they’re trying to eliminate all sourcing of rabbit from China, which would be a great move on their part!
Some other “limited ingredient” foods to check into might be Acana, Back to Basics, Simply Nourish and Wysong. Nature’s Recipe (Del Monte) has a new line of limited ingredient foods that haven’t been rated yet, but are probably OK foods that would be very budget friendly.
Edit: Found it!
Here’s the response to my email that I received from them on 10/15/2012:
Dear Betsy,
Thank you for e-mailing!
The rabbit protein we use in our raw diet is from China. The rabbit in our canned is sourced from Italy and China, while the rabbit in our kibble is from France. We employ a U.S. educated food scientist in China to oversee our rabbit sourcing. All rabbit protein is tested before shipment from China and again after it arrives in the U.S. for processing into our raw diet. We are very confident in how we handle our sourcing from China. We source most of our ingredients from the U.S. and turn to other locations only as needed. We are very stringent on our sourcing and have good relationships built with our vendors for quality ingredients.
Thanks for supporting our products!
Sincerely,
Shannon
Consumer Relations
Nature’s Variety
1-888-519-7387
http://www.naturesvariety.com
We just started a new bag of Acana Grasslands. So far it looks fine, but I’ll double check it each time I feed.
I’ve been using Wellness Core wet food to fill my dog’s Kongs. Both dogs love it. I haven’t used the Wellness dry yet, they are on Orijen/Acana/Fromm.
No. I sent them an email since I am at work, but I will call them. I am researching a new food. Looking at Merrick’s right now. My dogs were doing really good on Acana though.
This IS a friendly forum Anna. I have no clue what Case meant by that…
Did you ever hear back from Acana on that issue with the kibble?
Hmm, Acana LPB is not sold in the States. Initially my local pet supply store said they could have it ordered. So I guess I’ll stick with Farmina a little longer and see how things go. His poop seems to get a little better, very slowly but surely.
I find it hilarious how poop-obsessed I have become and how poop has become an acceptable conversation topic with people you just met at the park 🙂
Mimi, thanks
My Sophie is so sweet too; I knew the importance of socialization given the protectiveness
factor as an adult and I think I went too far.
If she sees anyone walking towards her or across the street, she will sit and “smile”
and wait to greet them. Impossible to take her/walk her anywhere lol
but I don’t mind, She is just starting to form her “cords”
I didn’t read your post carefully. Sorry, didn’t realize you had been on raw.
I found it much too expensive and kibble has come a long way (Acana, Orijen, etc)
and you can always supplement it with a tablespoon of a good canned lamb/duck/etc.
or in Sophie’s case last night, a big extra lean, Hamburger!
I forgot to mention Evangers!
They’ve done research for decades on large breeds
They have a meat lovers with Rabbit, not real expensive, my dogs loved!
mimi and William
see my post above yours.
NOW also has an adult formula
I learned the hard way (diarrhea, loose stools) that many puppies/dogs have a chicken
allergy and have stopped feeding it (the kibble, that is) to my dogs.
I have a Huge breed (Komondor) and 2 Springer Spaniels right now.
Lamb is easily digestible and my Komondor is on Nutrisource large Breed LAMB
I think it’s about $49 for a 30 pound bag
Acana Duck and Bartlett Pear is good and low calcium levels for the large breed puppies
although it is expensive.
It’s really trial and error until you find something that works
Oh, and also, I only use grain free, although there are some good foods with low
glycemic grains such as oats, millet, alfalfa.
Also, for diarrhea, I’ve used canned (unspiced) pumpin but find that a baked
sweet potato (with skin) is better
I have been using this kibble for my four hairless dogs for about four months. I was shocked when I found a 1/2 inch sharp object protruding from a kibble. It appears to be a bone fragment and is sharp like a toothpick. My little dogs could have been injured biting into this or swallowing it. I sent Acana an email but no response. Has anyone else had this issue?
I am not familiar with Carna4 Gold, so I just looked it up on here. To me, it looks to be a very good food. A couple of other foods I would recommend if you are interested in rotating foods, is Now! Fresh small breed and Acana. Now! has a nice small kibble size, and I definitely trust the company. Acana’s kibble size ranges. Some of the ones in the original line can be small or large and the one’s in the regional line tend to be large (about the size of a nickel). I have a poodle myself and he doesn’t have a problem with the large kibble size, but all dogs are different!
Orijen and Acana both have fish-based kibble that smells disgusting. ;).
Ziwi Peak fish and venison is a big favorite around here and doesn’t smell quite as bad.
Thank you for your reply, Sue!
I think you are totally onto something. I just realized while reading your reply that a factor that might have contributed could be that I use Ziwipeak Lamb as training treats. They, too, are very rich. I did cut down on his regular food intake to level it with the Ziwipeak, but I guess in the end having two rich foods together could have been too much. For the last three days I used a different training treat for variety and while still mushy, his stools seem to have a little more form.
So I think I will end up making the switch to Acana and use lighter training treats.
Hi, my 6 month old Belgian Malinois pup has had three bouts of giardia. Every time he was on Panacur, he lost interest in his food and it stayed that way after, preferring to starve himself rather than eat. In his short life I switched him from Blue Buffalo Wilderness LBP to Fromm LBP, and then after his last bout switched to Farmina LBP.
He initially went nuts over the Farmina, so I was surprised he lost taste for that as well (he always found the BB and Fromm a bit ‘meh’ to begin with). Before the giardia he also had beautiful solid, dark poops after switching to Farmina, though it hasn’t solidified since (although he was tested negative at the last fecal checkup).
I was hoping it would change with a strict feeding schedule (it’s there for 15 mins, then I take away), but it has been a month and a half and he still dislikes the kibble, only eating a minimum. I now mix it with a bit of wet food because he was getting too skinny.
Any people with similar situations or advice? I feel stuck between wanting to stick it out or switching yet again (I was considering Acana LBP).
Our trainer suggested he might be allergic to chicken, but he has no symptoms other than mushy poop and a dislike for his kibble.
New to the forum, so please forgive if this has been beaten to death. I couldn’t find much for a response to an older topic of Acana replacing the oats in their Singles line with lentils. Two of my dogs don’t do well on chicken, so Acana Lamb & Apple was wonderful. One has had numerous urinary problems in the past–Cal. Nat. seemed to send her ph off the charts. That’s when I switched to Acana Singles, and she’s been doing really well for the last year. The addition of lentils has me concerned and looking elsewhere. Are others concerned about this change? And, how will the change affect their rating on Editor’s Choice?
I do rotate foods. Right now he is eating Orijen adult, and he has also eaten Acana Pacific, Wild Prairie, Grasslands, and Now! Fresh. I am wondering if it is seasonal allergies as well. There is also a strong possibility that he is getting bitten from mosquitoes. During the winter, we were supplementing his food with fish oil and he was definitely not as itchy. Not perfect, but not bad either.
Thank you so much for the links!
Hi Jess.
It can be reaaly exasperating to see your dog so itchy and trying everything without seing that much of a result.
You could try to feed him Acana Lamb and Apple. It does not state to be an hypoallergenic meal but it is completely chicken, beef, pea and grain free.
You should also relieve her discomfort with antihistaminics at least just for a few days until her skin lesions start to get better. And regular baths normally improve the condition since they remove the allergens from the skin.
Hope she gets better soon.
Yes the vet gave some anti-histamine pills. When its really bad, I give the dog 1 pill and he’s fine (& very sleepy). But once he’s off it, its scratchy-scratch.
I feel the same about the oatmeal shampoo. It worked great with my previous Chi (passed last year at 14yr), made her all fluffy and soft feeling, smells great!
On Happy (the JRT-CHI mix), it seems to have the opposite effect – makes his fur dry and smells more ‘dog’ after 1-2 days of the bath.
Just wondering:
Canned vs Kibble. Canned is better (thanks for the Mercola link to Dr Karen Becker). Would canned food be less likely to cause allergies although it may have a similar ingredient make up as the kibble? I have been feeding grain free kibble with the exception of the Acana & Lamb. Could it be possible that the way kibble is processed just isn’t very good on the whole for dog with allergies, regardless if it is grain free or grain inclusive?
And would an allergy to a certain protein mean the dog would be predisposed to be allergic to similar proteins for example:
Chicken -> Duck, Turkey (all birds?)
Beef -> Bison, Kangaroo, Lamb (all red meats?)
I ordered the Mercola Probiotics. Hopefully some probiotics would help.
Hey guys! This is my first time posting. I have a 15 pound schnoodle that I adopted almost three years ago. I’m not entirely sure how old Wilson is as his surrender paperwork had a few different ages on it but I think (as does his vet) he is between 6 and 8 and in good health.
He’s always, always, always been a picky eater. He’s my first dog and I honestly didn’t know anything about feeding a dog beyond kibble and canned at first. I fed him Vet’s Choice Health Extension for a while and then Acana but they took inordinate amounts of coaxing or soaking in water or additional treats (i.e. cottage cheese or some eggs, etc.) to get him to eat. Meal time would become sometimes a 15-30 minute exercise in who was going to be more stubborn. He would also occasionally throw the kibble back up (anywhere from 30 minutes to hours after he ate). Clearly, this didn’t seem like the best possible diet for him anymore.
I had considered transitioning him to raw, using a commercial raw diet like Stella and Chewy’s or Primal. Well, we tried for about a month and he really struggled with it. A) he hated the Primal with a passion and B) had trouble keeping both of the diets down. I instead decided to try home-cooked and use Grandma Lucy’s as a pre-mix. We’ve been doing this for about three weeks and it has been super successful so far which is a huge relief to me. I want him to have the healthiest life possible! I’ve been rotating him through several kinds of protein (chicken, ground turkey, ground beef, eggs, salmon, tuna) and it all seems easy enough to combine with the pre-mix. I give him 4 oz of the pre-mix and 6 oz of protein (I’m using Primal’s recommendation to give protein between 2-3% of a dog’s weight) split across two daily meals. I haven’t been following Grandma Lucy’s pre-mix recommendation (they recommend 1-1.5 cups per day for dogs between 10-20 lbs) because that seems really, really high to me in contrast to the protein. Any thoughts there?
Here’s my question: do I need to add any additional supplements? Like I said, this isn’t raw meat and it’s making me nervous that I might be screwing something up with the calcium and/or phosphorus. I’m assuming I should also add some sort of fish/krill/flax oil as well and would love some advice! So far, I had looked at Wysong’s Call of the Wild as a possibility but wasn’t sure if that was overkill (Grandma Lucy’s pre-mix has 1% calcium). Any advice would be much appreciated!
Acana and Orijen are both made by Champion pet foods. I think they would definitely be worth a try.
I hate when a good food gets discontinued! I do rotate foods because my older poodle is so picky, but it takes time to select appropriate foods and when a go-to food is no longer sold it takes work to find a good replacement.
