[Amy F]

Hi – I have 3 Large Breed Puppies and 2 Senior small mutts. My Large Breed Puppies are 1) Full Black Lab 7 Months (11/17) 2) Sisters – LabraDane Mix 4 Months (estimated age, abandoned, I adopted) 3) Senior Pups are Terriers Small 14 yrs and 6 years – Both under 20 lbs

I have been feeding the puppies a mix of 1/2 Orijen LB Puppy and 1/2 Acana All Stages Various Flavors. The Seniors get the Acana. I am following recommended feeding per the bag and vet says weight is fine all seem healthy and doing fine. Some Skin issues on the Labradanes around Collars but we live in AZ and I attributed mostly to heat. I have been leaving collars off when I can. Otherwise fine.

Here is my issue – I am spending almost 400 a month on Dog food. Its becoming a bit of a financial issue, we can manage it if there are no substitutions that are just as good but Im looking for suggestions. Comparable Foods/Quality maybe that might help reduce my month food costs.

Thanks for any input – Appreciate It

[danyelle b]

have been reading about this Champion Food lawsuit. From what I can see, the dog food is made in Alberta, Canada, but the lawsuit has been filed from the United States. I feed both my dogs Acana and they are doing fine.

For information purposes, you are welcomed to read these articles available from the Orijen/Acana (Canadian made) website. https://acana.com/library/

[Jason P]

I posted on March 28, 2018 Regarding our 2.5 year old American Bulldog, Neela passed away due to liver failure…well today, I announce her brother, who is a litter mate, has been diagnosed with T-cell Lymphoma.

We fed our babies from the start, Orijen. We only stopped feeding Orjien after we lost Neela. So, is this coincidence or just some pretty bad luck. Nonetheless, it makes me think of what we feed our babies, which is why I visited and joined Dogfoodadvisor.

I’ve began reading The Dog Cancer survival guide, and it gives instructions to feed our dog cooked meals, thanks to the fact that ‘agencies that regulate pet food do not consider carcinogens created by by-products of the manufacturing processes (like extruding kibble) ingredients. And because these carcinogens are not present in the food before it is processed, they do not need be labeled on the product label…and that the high heat temperatures used in the process to uniformly shape dog foods (kibble and treats) create carcinogens which remain in the food.”

I am not blaming Orijen, but the timing of this lawsuit is pretty ironic.

[Tony S]

Hello everyone my name is Tony, I have a 5 month old Fox Red Lab named Ruby. She’s quite the active pup and is currently on a Acana Pacifica Diet that I found good reviews for here. I was following the feeding guide lines recommended by Acana and found that Ruby was looking a little thin towards her back end, so I upped her daily food amount and she’s looking better. However she’s going through food like a horse. I was wondering if anyone could recommend another food that is more affordable but just as good as the current one I’m feeding her. Thanks for your help.

[BaileysMom86]

Hello, I have an 8 year old Lhasa/Shih Tzu mix (our best guess since he was a stray) named Bailey that we adopted him from the humane society 6 years ago. Bailey has licked his paws and everything else (the floor, the couch, us) since the day I adopted him and I have gone to many vets over the years, tried all different kinds of foods, etc. He has been on grain free food since a few weeks after I adopted him. We tried many brands over the years, but Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream was what we fed him for years because he would actually eat it (he’s very picky) and didn’t seem to bother him. He started to like it less and less and I had to coax him to eat. So at the beginning of August last year, I went to the pet store and asked if they would recommend a food that Bailey would eat and one that had very good nutrition to help my other dog shed a few pounds (she has no licking issues, she was just a little overweight that exercise wasn’t helping). He recommended Acana Singles lamb and apple. I transitioned him over and things went well at first, Bailey loved the food and I hadn’t seen him excited for meal time like that before. Then, at the end of August/beginning of September, things changed. One day, pretty much overnight, he went from licking his paws to biting them to the point they bled. He attacked all 4 paws and his “armpits” to the point they lost all fur and were a mess. We put an e-collar on him to prevent further damage and went to our vet. He was given medication for a staph infection, along with ketoconazole pills. His wounds healed, slowly, but he still attacked his paws every time we took the e-collar off. He would also contort and get to his back paw every now and then even with the e-collar. The vet pushed for hypoallergenic food and Apoquel. I told her I was going to switch him back to Taste of the Wild instead and she prescribed him a course of Temaril P to help with the itching, which did not help one single bit. I tried a lot of shampoos, olive oil in his food, Sulfodene ointment, seasonal allergy chews, basically anything I could find over the counter to help him so we could finally take the e-collar off. Nothing worked. I bathed him in Zymox shampoo one day and he broke out in red bumps down his back and extending to his belly and legs. They looked like hives and formed greenish/tan crusts. So I went to a different vet that was recommended by my mother in law. That vet recommended a Cytopoint shot so we had it done and it did absolutely nothing for Bailey’s itching. They also gave powder to put in between his toes to stop the itching and a shampoo to help his skin. Nothing helped and he was still having to live in the e-collar. So they thought it might be sarcoptic mange and gave him a Frontline injection, which did not help. Then they recommended Apoquel. I had a lot of concerns about that medication, but desperate for some relief for Bailey, I gave it to him. It helped a tiny bit, but not enough to take him off the e-collar and not enough to make me want to continue. Also, a small mass he had on his gums where he had lost a tooth swelled up to the point that I was very concerned so we stopped the Apoquel. Thankfully, the mass shrank back down to the size it was before the Apoquel and today it is gone completely. Then they recommended allergy testing and that was very far out of my budget given the pretty hefty bill I had already accumulated at that point.

So, frustrated and desperate to find answers, I did a lot of research online to see if anyone else had experienced the issues Bailey was facing and learned about systemic yeast infection and correlation to food…which I have also recently (in the past 2 days) read many feel are unrelated. But anyways, in April this year, I put him a home cooked diet of ground beef (73/27), hard boiled eggs including the shell, Nupro Gold supplement, and an omega 3/omega 6 oil blend made by Ark Naturals. The changes he went through while on that diet were interesting to say the least. After about a week in, his white/cream fur turned dark pink in many places-down his legs, around his face, on his rear. This happened pretty much overnight and I was excited, thinking this was the yeast coming out (as I had previously researched). The fur color went back to normal about a week later. Then, his fur started falling out on its own (we had him in an e-collar still). It happened in patches. He didn’t get any ear infections since I started the diet though. In fact, his ears were cleaner than they had ever been since I adopted him, so that was a positive sign I held on to despite the loss of fur being a shock. Then, about 4 weeks in, he started getting a thick, green discharge from his eyes and some of the fur around his eyes fell out (but not all of it) and the skin was red. And all of the fur on his chest and neck fell out and the skin was red, hot and inflamed. He smelled terribly of Fritos and my house smelled terrible. All of this was very, very concerning but I told myself this was still the yeast and bathed him regularly with a holistic anti bacterial neem/tea tree shampoo and tried to keep him comfortable. A week later, he was still experiencing the fur loss/red skin and he also got a bad ear infection and his ear was swollen worse than I had ever seen it. The fur on the underside of his ear came off easily in chunks when I tried to clean his ears and put drops in. Then, the following day a benign cyst he had on his tail from the day I adopted him burst. I expressed as much of the black gunk as I could but was concerned about the bleeding and risk of infection (and everything else that was going on) so I took him to the vet again the next day. I told them about my systemic yeast theory, everything I was doing with his diet and everything he had experienced. They were concerned that he was possibly allergic to the eggs or beef I was feeding him and told me those were highly allergic foods. I was shocked and didn’t want to give up after being on the diet for less than 6 weeks, but I was very concerned about the state he was in. They gave him a steroid shot, more medication for his ear infection, a new chlorhexadine based shampoo and mousse, and a prescription for Purina Pro Plan Hydrolyzed food. They also sent me home with prednisone pills to use if the steroid shot didn’t help. I transitioned him to the new food. His ear infection cleared up with the meds. The steroid shot gave him some relief from itching for about 2 weeks, but it progressed back to him being very itchy. I called the vet and started him on the prednisone pills, but they didn’t help at all. Now, 5 weeks after I started him on the prescription food, he is absolutely miserable. He is still in an e-collar. He has been able to get it off a few times and he has chewed his paws bloody in a matter of seconds. I know he has not been on the food the recommended amount of time to truly evaluate it, but he is so itchy, rubs himself on anything he can, licks his e-collar constantly and will try to chew his paws the second he is done eating.

I can find a lot of information on yeast online, but very little on the symptoms dogs face during yeast die-off, only that it will usually get worse before it gets better. I know every dog is different, but I can’t find any personal accounts/experiences which is confusing. Then, I also recently read that many people say diet can’t create or eliminate yeast issues and that was a myth perpetuated by a vet on the internet. I’m so confused with information overload and saddened that my dog has had to live almost a year in an e-collar and is so miserable. Does anyone have feedback on the symptoms I described to determine if it was an effect of yeast die-off, or an allergic reaction to beef or eggs like the vet thought? I have been doing research on the internet this week trying to decide what move to make next in regards to getting my dog some relief from his itchiness and I’m trying to decide between keeping him on the hydrolyzed food, switching him to another food, going back to homemade, or doing something else. Thank you and I’m sorry this is so long!

[crazy4cats]

Aimee-

Thank you for your response. Glad to hear Jack is doing well. I have also seen Acana mentioned in a few of the articles I’ve read. I think their duck and pear and the lamb and apple recipes have been noted. They also use a lot of legumes as their carb.

Hopefully, they’ll get the source of the problem figured out!

[Jean D]

I too have a rescue part cairn terrier and part west highland terrier that has been on Acana Meadowland for months now. All of a sudden he has been refusing to eat. He was such an eager eater all along and would wait for his food excitably. Now he smells it and backs away. He has had gastric distress alternating between nausea and diarrhea. I took him to the vet and we put him on the boiled chicken and rice diet and he returned to his old perkiness and excited to eat. I put him back on Acana and he once again started with the same symptoms. I am going to change food and am very disappointed in Acana.

[Christine P]

Hi all,

I will be getting a Labradoodle puppy in August and am looking for suggestions for a hiqh quality kibble or canned food, or can I use both? Originally, I was planning to go with Acana or Oriijen kibble but now I’m reading there have been some issues with their food since Champion moved to Kentucky Eventually, I will transition to a more raw diet (or make my own). Heard Ziwi is a good canned food but expensive. Thank you.

[Charles B]

anon101, Im aware of the environmental allergies – the linked topic above is our other dog 🙂

Tex has the environmental allergies, Jake definitely has a food based allergy. I could move him back today to Acana Duck and all his itching would go away. That’s why we use it as our control. We will switch up his foods, and then use the Acana to level him out again and he’ll go back to having no allergy symptoms.

Last night we gave him the Annamaet Adult which we use for our other dog, and within 30 minutes he was violently chewing his front paws. So we will be switching him back to the Acana for the rest of the week to level him out again.

I remember that Fromm had a Duck, but I cant remember why we dont use it. We use to use only Fromm with him as a puppy but we ended up switching things up for some reason.

[Charles B]

Ok – Our one boy we have figured out his environmental allergies and are on route to controlling them.

Our other food, has a food allergy. He is 100% on Acana Duck and Pear, however our vet doesnt like how much legumes are in it with the Golden Retriever Taurine issues.

So lets say the Acana is our control. This was the food we settled on after a lot of trying and paw licking.

We have also tried Acana Freshwater Fish, Acestry Duck and Potato, Wellness Duck and Oat, Canine Caviar Open Plains, Farmina Cod and Orange, and Farmina Lamb and Blueberry.

Ive created a spreadsheet, which can be seen here: https://tinyurl.com/yd9yxmuo

After a lot of comparison, I determined the following are all shared between the foods, except the control. If their names slightly differed I included them.

Biotin 5/7
Choline Chloride 5/7
Copper Proteinate 4/7
Copper Sulfate 2/7
Manganese Proteinate 4/7
Manganese Sulfate 2/7
Pyridoxine Hydrochloride 5/7
Riboflavin 6/7
Thiamine Mononitrate 5/7
Zinc Proteinate 5/7
Zinc Sulfate 2/7

[L R]

Another 2 cents-
My dog just returned to normal stools after stopping Acana Meadowlands.
Ive never seen him refuse food the way he did this food. Ive been feeding him Acana since i rescued him, and though he’s gone from emaciated to robust, in the past 6 months or so he’s gotten random bouts of butt explosions.
The lawsuit + his refusal to eat the food + his horrible indigestion lead me to Nutrisource. He happily gobbles it down as though he hasnt been fed in months. Im happy to report that after switching he’s back to nice solid poops. The change was immediate once i ruled out ANYTHING ELSE.
There is something wrong with the Kentucky plant.
I am not an alarmist, and i dont give in easy to scare tactics.
I’m putting all of my trust into my dog’s nose.
If he’s telling me it’s bad food by refusing it like it’s a punishment, its not fit for consumption. Period.

[L R]

My dog is refusing to eat his Acana Meadowlands food. He’s had terrible loose and drippy poops for about a week now.
Now with this lawsuit, him refusing to eat the kibble, and his poor gut health, i am looking to switch foods.
I have chosen NutriSource as a replacement.
I’m adding my comment to add a voice to the online concern of champion food and thier kentucky facility.

[Anonymous]

I think your dog should use dog food for weight gain. As far as dog food my choice is Acana dry, introduced by my friends: https://pawpawlover.com/best-dog-food-for-weight-gain/

[Sheri N]

Recently, we have switched dog food for our dogs from Acana to Annamaet. (Since Acana switched to their American plant, their formula changes haven’t agreed with our dogs). One of our dogs, a Berger Picard, has always been a terrible eater all her life with a high metabolism and it has been a struggle to keep her at a healthy weight. I have tried fresh meats, fresh eggs (from our chickens), various toppers, etc…. Since switching to Annamaet, we have been much more successful in getting her to eat, but she still won’t eat enough, so I wanted to add a quality, high calorie supliment that wouldn’t add physically more food.
Long story short, does anyone have any experience with Annamaet Impact supliment?

[Charles B]

Our boy has been on Acana duck for quite a while. We went through several foods and settled on it.

Chicken just makes him gassy, period. So we tried to focus on red meats and went with Fromm Heartland GF. He couldn’t keep on weight and was a pooping machine getting 4 cups a day. Switched to Acana duck and he’s weight leveled, he pooped less, and was eating 2 cups daily.

Our vet has brought up taurine deficiencies in dogs and requested us to look elsewhere. Tried to sell us on Hills or RC, but said at the end of the day to try and focus on a diet that didn’t have legumes and had meat as the protein source.

So at the end of the day, we’re looking for a new food. I’m not looking to get into debates about it, it has us concerned so we’d like to switch. Switching makes for a stronger stomach too, right? Lol.

We’ve had him on Farmina Cod and Orange Ancient Grain but that made him super itchy. Rebalanced on the Acana and tried the Farmina Lamb and Blueberry. He’s not as itchy, but he is licking his front feet pink. I don’t think it’s the grain.

I really wanted Farmina to work, but he’s sensitive to something in it. Its affordable and has great looking ingredients. I believe the itching is fish related as he couldn’t eat the Acana fish foods we tried.

Suggestions? Most of the foods that meet our criteria have chicken in them. We haven’t had him on a chicken diet since we started fostering him 2 years ago, so maybe he’s fine on it now.

I do like Fromm, but he just poops so much on it, and has to be fed so much it doesn’t seem like a good pick.

Annamaet Venison and Salmon gets him itchy as well, our other dog is on that.

[Kenneth A]

I went to the Pet People Store today to purchase Acana Heritage and the store manager convinced me to purchase Farmina Grain Free instead. Arrived back home and to my relief Dog Food Advisor rates it with 5 stars. Certainly hope Earl likes and does well on Farmina. If not I will purchase Acana next.

Ken

[Kenneth A]

Sue:

I live in Raleigh, NC and Pet People is a local pet store that only carries what I would classify as quality, higher rated pet foods. Pet People carry Fromm, Zignature, Acana, Orgin, etc.

Good luck!

[Kenneth A]

I posted a question approximately two months ago about food recommendations for my English-Style Male Labrador. Thanks for all of the feedback I received and I decided to switch food from Pro Plan Focus to Acana Heritage. I must admit to having this nagging feeling that I am trying to fix something that is not broken (dog has no skin allergies, coat looks great, no digestive issues and no gas) but I want to feed him a higher rated food (better quality ingredients). So, I am going to try him on Acana Heritage.

I currently feed Earl (Lab) 3 cups of Pro Plan per day. Some pet store employees have told me I will feed less of the Acana but I wanted to reach out to the folks here to determine your experience. How much Acana would you recommend I feed Earl to replace the 3 cups/day of Pro Plan? He is at a healthy weight of 80lbs and I do not want more weight on him.

Thanks,

Ken

[mojoh]

So, who can you trust? Which products provide enough transparency on their manufacturing process? Apparently origen and acana did: https://www.championpetfoods.com/wp-content/themes/champion-petfoods/res/research/Champion-Petfoods-White-Paper-Heavy-Metals.pdf . Is anyone feeding their large or giant breeds that?

Also, I’ve spoken to a couple vets about dog foods and they tend to say keep the puppy on puppy food til about 4 months then go to an all life stages food as the puppy food tends to be too rich.

[Lewis F]

As promised in my post above, I brought Sophie in for her 6 month check-up and Bordello vaccination. The Doctor drew blood and the results will be back tomorrow. We did not draw blood for the determination of metals, but the broad scan to see if any of the levels would indicate there was a problem “brewing”. I will share the result shortly after I receive them.

I did ask the Doctor if he had heard of the Class Action suit against Champion and of course he said yes. In fact, he said a quite a few patients that were either using Acana or Orijen and was familiar with the charges. His view has been the same to all of his patients, and that is if your pet is showing no signs of a problem with either Acana or Orijen over time (Sophie being 16 months), then monitor the suit, get blood work done at your pet’s physical and stay the course. If there is any indication of a problem with the blood work we will do further testing and then evaluate a course of action. He did agree with Mike Sagman, that there too many unknowns in what is driving the the accusations.

[Marla G]

The internet will always be lit up with opinions and gossip. However, I know several dog friends that had been having issues with Orijen and Acana. There dogs are now off the food and problems have been resolved. I think that speaks volumes. I started showing dogs over 30 years ago. During that time I have seen dog food companies come and go and obviously seen many problems too. It’s through my vast experience that I’ve made my choice not to continue using Acana. The dog show community is large and we depend on one another for information. We know by sharing our personal experiences it may help other owners. My show dogs have always been my companions first and foremost. The amount of information you collect through knowing many vets/specialists over the past 30+ years and also reputable breeders can’t be bought or learned on some forum. It’s an invaluable education. The breeder of my 2 Collies has been doing so for 40 years. She’s a wealth of knowledge. So, my decision wasn’t frivolous to discontinue Acana.
I’ve written a few posts recently and they haven’t shown up. I hope that’s a coincidence.

[Christos A]

Hey everybody.
I feed Acana to my dogs for two years now without any problems. I live in Greece and we get our Acana products from the canadian kitchens. Recently this lawsuit came to my attention and has me worried a bit. I did a bit of google searching nad am I right to understand that said lawsuit only refers to the foods produced at their new Dogstar Kitchens situated in Kentucky and not to the foods produced at their canadian Northstar Kitchens that supplies their rest international market? I mean is this an issue only for U.S. consumers or should we international consumers be worried about it?

[Pamela B]

You are correct. It is not a recall. It is a class action suit. After testing, some not very desireable elements have been found in certain varieties of both Arcana and Orijen. If you have no problem feeding your pets any of the foods listed in the link I am providing, then that is a personal decision.
https://www.animalhealthfoundation.net/blog/2018/03/lawsuit-filed-against-champion-pet-food-acana-and-orijen/

[Lewis F]

Pamela. Acana and Orijen did not have recalls, read this post on this website “Pet Food Lawsuits and Other Internet Noise”

[Cathy D]

I subscribe to dog food advisor three weeks ago to get the list of the top choice of dog food . We took the list to the store and I bought Acana single ingredient . Just had the dog at the vet yesterday for allergies to something ears are swollen she’s biting, scratching more than usual and whiny. She doesn’t feel good and today I read this .

When this happens maybe the food should be placed on a watchlist so somebody can read the article and decide for themselves . it shouldn’t stay on the “best list “?

Years ago I gave my lab Nutro. Her ears swelled up so bad and the vet said it was an allergic reaction to the food. I can’t believe I didn’t see this .

Thank U all for posting , you saved my girl, Carla Chanel, 1.5 y/o in training for service.
God bless you all

[Yousaf S]

To tell you the truth, I used to feed my dog Acana.
It’s a high quality kibble, but I often found myself asking for that price is there anything better to feed my fur babies.
After all, Acana ain’t cheap!

That’s when I made the switch to a raw diet. It actually works out to be cheaper than Acana. But if for any reason I run out of raw meats, I have an emergency bag of ACTR1UM just sitting in my kitchen cupboard.

I’m not a huge fan of feeding my fur babies kibble, but if I absolutely must, I have this brand in my arsenal of dog food. 🙂

[Tiffany A]

My husky is 8yrs old and we just figured out she has hypothyroidism. On top of that she has slightly elevated liver enzymes(we still dont know why) and high calcium (which we strongly believe is her parathyroid). She has not eaten a consistent meal for over 2wks now and I am stressing the heck out. She is on antibiotics and thyroid meds(theze only a week now) a pain killer for her back legs which we believe she has arthritis. I am completly tapped financially from the past three weeks of tests and buying her any food I can think of she might eat. I am at my wits end. My vet is stumped. She is normally very very food motivated. I have tried the following foods.
Northwest naturals (her original diet which raw isnt the best right now with her body going through so much)
Hills i/d (she ate ok for 3 or 4 days)
Vitality (ate for 2 days)
Pet pantry(cooked stew)
Koha(canned cooked stews)
Acana meadowlands(she was on before raw)
Boiled chicken and beef with rice(chicken one meal beef the other ate for a couple days)

She will beg for my food even thougb she knows I wont feed it to her I know she is hungry. She wont touch tripe I have tried gravy tricks,toppers,etc. Maybe I am switching to much but with all these meds she needs to eat something. She is already dropping weight from the thyroid meds and her energy is now through the roof. Its early but my vet agreed to lessen her does a bit because she has been panting and tanking water.

I know no one here is a vet her anything but I just dont know what to do anymore 🙁 am I supposed to just medicate her and wait until she is hungry enough to eat here or what? She hasnt fought me on food like this since she was a puppy.

[Marla G]

Acana Duck and Pear caused an upset to my dog in regards to stools. I put him on another food and a day later he began to straighten out. The Acana didn’t agree with him at all. He’s not a dog with a sensitive stomach, but something in that food made him sick. He’s been fine and back to normal ever since I took him off.

[Cathrine H]

Wow, just been reading about this and I’ve been feeding my Jack Russell Orijen, and a bit of Acana, for about three years now. Living in Norway these news haven’t exactly been covered. Should I really be concerned and switch?

[Tammy C]

My dog is eating Acana and not having problems.

[John W]

I had been feeding Acana to my GSD for a few months. When I learned of the lawsuit I contacted Acana via Facebook and they would only direct you to their white paper. Problem is the white paper does not address the allegation of BPA being in their product. They will not discuss the question of acrylamide being in their food. They just will not provide any sort of mind settling response. So I contacted the legal firm suing them and what they said was the foods that have tested positive for the heavy metals and BPA are the foods made in Kentucky. Hundreds of people have joined the lawsuit so far, and I will have to call them back to get confirmation but he made it sound like they have had the food tested and I do not believe they are relying on results from the C L Project if I can put it that way. I stopped feeding it becsuse I would rather be safe than to just blindly trust a for profit corporation who disrespects its consumers by not even trying to alleviate their concerns and worries. I think a company can and should want to do better.

[Lorena]

Suzanne, I stopped using Costco food after my Frenchie had anemia and died. She also had a uti and other issues. Both my Boston Terrier and Frenchie were throwing up at least twice a week on Costco food (kibbles and canned) and unfortunately I didn’t switch foods soon enough. Marylou, dogs know when the food is bad as they can smell a lot better than we can. My daughter’s cat does the same thing, sometimes the canned food she opens, the cat will sniff and walk away even though it’s the same food he goes crazy for. She then knows it’s a bad batch and opens a new can. If all the cans have the same lot # then most likely they’re all bad. You should return the food to Costco and get your money back! They require at least 50% but if you tell them it got your dogs sick they should take it back regardless.

My 10 yr old Boston Terrier is doing well on her new food (Acana duck and pear and I top her food with 1/2 patty of Duck Duck Goose raw freeze-dried dinner patty from Stella & Chewy’s). I’m spending more on food now but it’s worth it if it saves me on vet visits and illness. I’m also feeding my Vizsla puppy the same food because it’s for all stages (it has DHA and Glucosamine). I don’t buy canned food anymore as mix in, the freeze-dried patties are enough as my dogs love these. They tried the lamb patties, but they prefer the duck. I highly recommend Acana, Orijen, or Fromm.

[Nan L]

Similar experience with my gsp
Not interested in eating he was transitioned from Iams puppy to avoderm to acana
Acana literally made him sick bloody stools etc
I want them to stop making dog food
This company could’ve costed me my dog
On science diet now, excited to eat and gaining the weight back
Go away acana you suck as a company

[Charles B]

With our now 2yr old golden, we couldnt get him to put on weight. We were feeding him almost 4 cups of Fromm a day when he was around 16months old. I ended up switching him to Acana Duck (he gets the farts on Chicken) and after a few weeks, at only 2.5cups a day, he stared to fill in. He was hovering around 59lbs but he’s taller then out female. Now hes at 66lbs and solid. Can easily feel his ribs, but he doesnt look starved.

Also when we switched to Acana, the poops dropped from 3-4x monster ones daily down to 2 normal sized ones.

[anonymous]

“I feed her Acana and Orijen mostly but I remembered when she was a pup she mostly ate raw and didn’t have any issues at all”

That’s because allergies don’t tend to show up till later (age 1-4) and they tend to get worse with age.

Diet has nothing to with yeast, yeast is caused due to a breakdown in the immune system, same with the skin infections and ear infections.
I’m not a scientist, the dermatologist can explain it more clearly.

[Lorena]

I’ve been a Costco member for many years but I will no longer buy pet food there. Good food manufacturers (e.g., Origen, Acana, Fromm) will only sell to specialty stores. I have a Vizsla and a Boston Terrier and they do very well on Acana duck and pears grain free. I also make homemade kefir for my dogs. Read the ingredients for this food, it’s amazing. I also buy raw freeze dried duck patties (Stella & Chewys) and crumble half patty on top of the food as mix in because I no longer buy wet food. If you want kefir grains I can send some rosarina2008 at gmail

[Kenneth A]

Mike:

Thank you very much for writing solid advice about the dog food lawsuits. I have conducted a lot of research about Dog Food to include joining this site as I want to feed my Earl with a top quality food. After making the decision to switch to Acana the news about the lawsuits broke and yes it made me feel uneasy, questioning my decision to switch. Your message puts things back into perspective.

Thanks again,

Ken

[Lewis F]

Karen:
I think each dog will react to certain foods differently. I have a Cavapoo that is 19 months old that has been on Orijen Puppy and Original for all of the 19 months without a problem. Orijen is owned by the same company as Acana; Champion Foods. I also believe the talk on the internet is regarding the alleged Class Action suit against Champion. There are many postings regarding the suit,one of which by Mike Sagman that you might want to read.

Lew

[Karen I]

There is alot of talk on the internet about this dog food creating diarrhea. Just happened in March 2018. What do you know about it?

[Reese B]

I don’t like that dog food companies base their standards of heavy metal limits by the NRC. The NRC regulates live stock, not pets. They regulate animals that will not live long enough to feel the effects of toxins in their food. I would like to find a dog food company that holds their standards to what would be acceptable for a human to eat.

Maybe they aren’t doing anything illegal, but it doesn’t mean it’s right for our pets. I worry about feeding any commercial dog food to my dog. I still do, but and I rotate the brands and feed home cooked when I can.
With all the re-calls and allegations out there, it’s scary to feed any brand…but I’d rather be safe than sorry. I haven’t feed my dog orijen or acana for a long time and after this, I don’t think I can ever again.

[chris c]

I am about to get my first really big dog. He’s an 18 month old Anatolian/GP/Maremma cross. Currently I feed Acana to my Border Collies, but I’m not sure what to feed these bigger dogs. He’s being fed Kirkland chicken & rice (uuuggghhhh). I have been trying to research the best diet for this guy, but have found every opinion under the sun. One breeder I know, stated that you just can’t feed these dogs grain-free diets, their guts can’t handle it. And another just feeds Kirkland because it good and affordable. My motto is, if you feed junk you get junk. It is my opinion that dogs just do better when they are fed better diets and there is less waste.
The lists seem to limit the options to large puppies not large dogs.
Please help me find a dog food for my new big guy.

[Ashley M]

Hi Mike,

I recently switched my dog to Zignature Salmon Recipe. He has a really sensitive stomach and Ive been trying to find a good fit for him for months. He is a 2 year old lab. I also have a 1 year old lab who can eat practically anything and be fine. I am worried because I don’t see zignature listed under your editors choice. I wanted to try Acana but its really expensive and I am afraid that its too high protein for my dogs (they sometimes can be in the crate for up to 6 hours/day about 2 days a week)

I also noticed you seem to list a lot of pet foods with duck or chicken or turkey. I have heard its best to stay away from anything with feathers. I also heard its good to avoid potato. I am just curious to hear what you or anyone else has to say about this topic.

Ashley

[Mike Sagman]

Click here to read the actual lawsuit. The document refers directly to the same controversial “study” mentioned in numerous articles, including the ones I previously referenced in this thread.

[Charles H]

I tried to chase down the links in the article. But I did not find any specific reference to the specific study mentioned in the article about Orijen and Acana. I suspected it was part of the cluster you were talking about. Just making sure.

This is why I registered as a member. Thanks a lot!!

[Mike Sagman]

Yes, I would. Please be sure to take the time to visit each link mentioned in my comment above.

The Acana/Orijen lawsuit appears to be based on the same dubious “study” described in numerous articles… like the ones I referenced above.

Ignore all the sensationalized articles that serve to needlessly frighten dog owners and create fear, uncertainty and doubt.

Don’t panic. Don’t overreact. Wait for the facts. Look for 3rd party laboratory test confirmation or for an FDA-mediated recall.

[Charles H]

Would you include the recent suit against Orijen and Acana in the same group as the other suits?

Lawsuit Filed Against Orijen, Acana Claims Dog Food Contains Heavy Metals & Other Toxins

[Dawn F]

Long response …I too have been very concerned about both Orijen and Acana food as they seem to be amazing products. I wrote to Champion customer service and received the following response. It has set my mind at ease and I will be continuing using the product for now:

“Thank you for taking the time to write to us.
On March 1, 2018 a Class Action Complaint was brought in California against Champion Petfoods alleging that our dog food contains levels of “heavy metals and toxins” that might make the food unsafe. The claims asserted in the lawsuit are meritless and Champion Petfoods intends to vigorously defend itself in the litigation. There are no recalls for ORIJEN or ACANA as we are 100% confident that our foods are safe for pets and the people who care for them.
For your peace of mind we want you to understand that monitoring heavy metal levels is an important control point for us, and has always been a part of Champion’s food safety and HACCP program. We systematically test ORIJEN and ACANA products for heavy metals (arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury) at two third party laboratories using the Official Methods of Analysis by Association of Analytical Communities (AOAC).
We share statistically analyzed data from over the past 3 years in comparison with NRC standards for heavy metals and the MTL’s (maximum tolerable limits) listed in the FDA Target Animal Safety Review Memorandum in a White Paper on our website. ORIJEN and ACANA Foods in Comparison to Pet Food Safety Standards
I have attached the White Paper – Heavy Metal and Pet Food for easy access.
We have been assured by our supplier that all Champion Petfoods packaging is BPA free.
All Champion packaging is in full compliance with the CFIA in Canada, FDA in the USA and applicable packaging food additive regulations. In addition, the raw materials (including resins, additives and processing aids) used in the manufacturing of our food packaging are cleared for food contact and processing applications by Federal regulations.

I understand that you may be concerned about this lawsuit, our pets are family to us and we all want to ensure that we are doing the very best that we can for them. I want you to be confident in the safety and quality of our products, and I hope that this information I’ve provided is helpful. We will be sharing more information as it becomes available on our social media platforms and our websites.
Should you have any other questions please feel free to contact us.”
Diana
Customer Care
Champion Petfoods LP

[Maureen T]

Hello,

My 9 year old Boston Terrier was just diagnosed with CHF. We were told to find a low sodium dog food. I have found it very difficult thru the years to find a dog food for her that doesn’t upset her stomach. I finally started using Acana and it agrees with her very well but I don’t know how to read the sodium level. Any help would be appreciated.

[Tyrionthebiscuit]

I would do a kibble plus freeze dried raw or a simple homemade mix. My dogs do fantastic on Orijen/Acana, Fromm, Petcurean, and Farmina. I like Merrick but have one dog that gets very gassy on all formulas except for the rabbit and the venison. For the mixers, I’ll use Primal mostly. I try to keep to the poultry formulas or the rabbit. The ones that are beef inclusive tend to be very hard in comparison so it’s hard to mix in or rehydrate easily. There are some good canned foods as well. Scrambled eggs, chicken thigh or breast, and other home prepared meats are a good option as well. Sometimes you just need to see what your dog likes.

[Susan]

Hi Patrica,
If you know a bit about dog foods then you go with your gut not what DFA rates a food, DFA wont even let me post link for Pet Foods that are high in Toxins & Contaminates….
In Australia our dog food review man lets me post the link & name of the company in America that is doing the study on American dog foods they have done 3 study in 1 & 1.2 yrs & I think it is making a difference cause the expensive brands like Orijen & Acana who rated very high with toxins 1st & 2nd study has done better in this 3rd study…

We have a recall in Austrlia our Police dogs & pet dogs are dying within 2 weeks of being fed “Advance” Democare these dogs are dropping like flies, vets are saying its Megaesophagus but further reasearch say it looks like the kibble is high in toxins…