I tried it and it worked great – going to try the Acana Grasslands Regional. I tried the Orijen Regional Red and my lab’s ears turned bright red and he started chewing his feet again. I figured it was the beek since I read that beef can cause an allergic reaction in labs (Morgan, 2005). She advises beef, wheat, and corn which I deselected from your great list (I was already aware of the wheat and corn).
We have used Acana for years but not any more! The last 2 bags are via KY plant and a big difference. About the last 1/4 of the dog food container is saturated with an oily residue ….they said it was because of the “process” they use at the end for the kibble and that it is harmless to the dogs….I am not even taking that gamble and i threw it out. The last bag was the mackerel and it was nasty looking and smelling. I posted a picture of the residue on their Facebook page under posts, You can also see their reply there too. For me it is so long Acana. My dogs deserve better that a pile of oily crud.
I looking for options for my English Mastiff. He’s eaten Acana for the past few years. I’m just not happy with the new stuff coming from the US. He seems to need to eat much more for him to be satisfied.
I just ordered a bag of Fromm’s “Heartland Gold Large Breed” to try. It would be nice to find a more affordable alternative. Although, cost is not the factor for changing. I’m just looking for a high quality food that brings out the best in my boy. The Acana just didn’t seem to be doing that any longer.
If the Fromm food doesn’t seem to work, I may try “Now Fresh” brand. There is no review about it here. Does anyone here use this?
Any other ideas?
Thanks
Dennis
I tried two small bags of the American made acana/orijen and that was the end of that.
Terrible stuff and Acana was my go-to brand for years.
I read on another forum that one member decided to call Me yucky game and fish. She asked how much fish from Kentucky people should eat and was told no more than six a YEAR. Clearly champion foods didn’t do their due diligence to make sure their ingredient quality stayed the same.
The only good that came from this is it is what lead me down the path towards home cooked food. My dogs are doing SO much better than they ever did on the best of kibbles.
I highly recommend home cooked or raw for those who have the time.
Dogaware.com is a great resource for dog diet and has a book review section so you can find dog food cookbooks that are actually made to meet NRC and/or AAFCO guidelines.
My dog has the following allergies and I am having a hard time finding an acceptable affordable dog food. He is allergic to:
Potatoes, rice, milk, barley, oats, pinto beans, wheat, beef, lamb, flaxseed, & yeast.
I was using Acana Pork & Squash Singles until the company changed its formula and added Pinto Beans. Even though it’s not one of the first five ingredients, my dog still reacted to it.
Any advice other than cooking for him would be greatly appreciated.
We have used Acana since we adopted our dog 7 years ago. He loved it and I felt so good as the food was from Canada with higher regulations especially with the clean water and ingredients. Since they switched to Kentucky I tried to find all the left over Canadian ones in the store.
Last weekend we went away and boarded him in his regular camp. He loves the place and plays with his friends. Unfortunately that time frame also coincided with us switching Heritage made in USA. When we came and picked our dog, he was feeling good. For two days he had soft stool which converted to diarrhea. Yesterday morning he started to vomit and followed with bloody diarrhea. As soon as I saw the bright red water coming from my poor boy I took him to ER panicking. They diagnosed him HGE (hemorrhagic diarrhea syndrome) which could be deadly if they are not treated immediately. I was so scared. Our boy stayed in the ER for 24 hour and had IV, antibiotic. I just picked him. He is so tired and warned down. I am praying he will be all better himself soon. My heart goes.
The vets said the cause could be anything (stress due to boarding, food, bacteria). Moving forward I don’t want to risk anything. No more boarding and no more ACANA.
I would love to hear from you which brands you chose after stopping ACANA? I am also considering home cook meal and maybe combination.
Any input is highly recommended. I really wish Acana stayed in Canada.
We left Acana because of the Kentucky switch. Our first switch was did not go well and we’re currently trying Open Farm Whitefish. I paid for a report from a dog food advocate and it was one of the foods on her researched list. So far my dogs are happy on it but I’ll have to look at specific needs on the label. I made sure the fish was not denatured and they confirmed that for me in writing.
My long haired standard dachsie has a ph of 8 recently and my vet suggested switching to royal canin. He is on Acana ranchland Canadian. I don’t know what food to switch to, and don’t like what I’ve read about RC food. Any thoughts? Switch to Acana grasslands? Lower protein?
Matt,
You might try one of the Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diet formulas. I’m a pet sitter so I see how dogs do on different foods on a daily basis. Whenever dogs have issues with loose stool, I recommend they switch over to natural balance potato and duck formula. I almost always see immediate improvement after they switch over.
If you’re willing to go the dehydrated food
route, Honest Kitchen will likely do the trick as
well. Dogs on on Honest Kitchen always have solid poop from what I’ve seen
Other brands that are good for sensitive stomAchs are Orijen, Acana, and Nutro.
You can also try adding some canned pumpkin (no sugar) or cooked yams to the food to help bull up the stool.
Jan, I had the same issue with my young golden retriever. She had giardia, was treated, and I also bought the panacur online at amazon for two additional treatments. It’s been awhile now so I don’t recall exact timeline, but I know she actually started having diarrhea AFTER the treatments. She had it for 2-3 months. I took her to the vet several times because I thought it was very odd. Good news is, it just eventually went back to normal on it’s own, so I do think the treatment does something. I also switched her food a few times because I was always switching my other Goldens due to his allergies, and I would just put her on whatever he was on, and I also thought it was the food after the vet said take her off lamb.. She did get a little better when I took her off it, but not fully. Both my dogs get diarrhea on lamb. It is very rich. And no, there was no correlation with the diarrhea and switching foods. I still switch and she has firm poops on the right food. I also agree that royal canin is junk! She actually has diarrhea right now, but I switched her to Kirkland puppy food last week. It has 4.5 stars, but I think Kirkland is junk. I was in a pinch though when I got it. I had tried every food out there because of my allergy dog. If they don’t have good poops, it’s usually the food, except in our case with the giardia, I think it is the treatment for the giardia that caused it. I like Zignature, Acana (the chicken is cheapest), TOTW is good too (I started both mine on that as pups), but I don’t believe it is the highest rated food. Nutrisca is good. It’s on Chewys. Good luck, I think it will pass with time. Ps. The panacur on amazon is very safe, the metronidazole is not. People buy the panacur as a preventative maintenance thing for their animals.
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This reply was modified 8 years, 11 months ago by
Kristen L.
Thanks, yes I tend to favor the Acana and Fromm over the Natural Balance. I just had some leftover Natural Balance in the pantry from a while ago. I don’t like that Natural Balance uses over 50% potatoes/carbs. I still think Orijen is one of the best brands available.
The brands I used to try this were: Fromm four star line, Acana regionals and Natural Balance. The Natural Balance actually soaked up about 90% of the water which was really impressive. The other two soaked up about 60-70% of the water.
Hi, I just tried soaking several brands of kibble using 1/3 cup kibble to 1/2 cup water. I used hot water and let the kibble soak for about two hours. They all soaked up most of the water! I used a tablespoon of fruitables digestive supplement that u added to the water. The kibble soaked up more than half the water and the resulting water became like a pumpkin gravy. The brands I used were natural balance, Fromm and Acana. The natural balance actually soaked up 90% of the water, which was very impressive. The other brands soaked up about 60% of the water and then the rest of the water became like a gravy. Very nice results! I will be soaking my kibble from now on. Very happy with the results. My recommendation is letting the kibble soak for at least 45-60 minutes if not longer or even overnight. If you let in soak overnight I’m sure it will soak up almost everything.
I am extremely disappointed in the Origen cat food made now at Dogstar in Kentucky. They not only have changed their formula from using bison as one of the ingredients to using goat meat. They have added two kinds of lentils instead of one kind as before. They have also added more vegetable matter, such as much more green herbs. I now see ingredients that cats do not use, much moreso than in the formula from Canada. I look at them as fillers. Seems now even though they claim that the meat content has increased, if you compare the ingredient list from Canada Origen to the Kentucky Origen from Dogstar it tells a different story. I can not comment on the dog food but I would bet it is the same with it also. The pet store in my town no longer carries the one from Canada. I used to love Origen (and Acana) but am now considering another one from Canada called “Open Farm”.
It is good that your dog refused to eat, Emmett B., since as we can all see the various sicknesses suffered. We have a new puppy now after the Acana mess and we are feeding her a combination of Honest Kitchen and Merrick grain free turkey. Honest Kitchen especially is human grade and very quality food. Best wishes with your boy and remember to gradually transition him to whatever you choose.
Well so it is not just me.. It turns out that our trusted stand-by Acana is making crap now. We bought a large bag of the Kentucky heritage beef late last year and much to our surprise our retriever, who is a classic food fanatic, would not touch it. He would run to his food bowl at dinner time and as soon as his nose got close he would freeze and then slink away. We tried adding all measure of treats which he would just pick out of his food leaving the Acana behind. We thought he was deathly ill but from this discussion it seems he was in fine health and wanted to stay that way. The conclusion once again:
Trust your dog!
Our pet food store nicely took the open bag back (they give it to a local pet shelter) but now I even feel bad about that.. Regardless of whether the technical analysis specs are unchanged, there is something about how they make the stuff in the US that makes it unpalatable and obviously potentially dangerous compared to the old Canadian food. very sad.
What alternatives have people found for wild prairie/meadowlands?
We have a retired MWD that came to us on Hill’s. Started to transition to Acana and Origen but it didn’t sit well with his belly.
He has skin issues as well and overall, he just doesn’t smell “good” when on the Hill’s. GI issues aside, for the few weeks that we tried the Origen and Acana, we noticed a night and day difference in his smell – not as doggy, if that makes any sense.
Recently my pack of two Corgis, mixed breed and JRT all became sick at the same time. I noticed my JRT had stopped wanting to eat and observed some other behaviors which I now know were signs of upset stomach (grass eating, gas) we had been feeding Acana but when production was being moved from Canada to U.S. I decided to change. Because my JRT has been allergy tested I went with Petcurean Go! Sensitivity & Shine Duck formula, at first everything went fine with the transition but I noticed a foul odor from the food for the past several weeks (my husband thought maybe that was duck because we are unfamiliar with it) but then a couple of weeks ago my mixed breed vomited blood and then the others started to vomit too. All of our dogs immediately saw our vets and we did blood, X-rays and other tests which all came back normal. I’m convinced it was the food and either something was off with the ingrients or it had gone bad by way of retailer storage. We order from Chewy.com and they refunded our purchase and once again I did some research and have switched to Open Farm Turkey/Chicken because of wanting more certainty of content but I’m not sure I have found the best thing for my dogs and it’s very important to me that I do. Can anyone suggest a top quality limited ingredient food with known sources of content? I feel desperate to keep my dogs well.
I continue to be greatly saddened to hear of ongoing dog illness with the Kentucky plant for Acana and Origen, so I have made the decision to file a safety report with the FDA. I’m not sure what will come of it, but their website does list official recalls that have gone through and I can only hope this will stop what is going on. I thank everyone for their honest feedback.
We had been feeding Acana Heritage (rotating between the chicken, fish, and beef) for a long time and everything was fine until the formula changed at the Kentucky plant. Now we have had nothing but PROBLEMS. The food is extremely oily as you get near the bottom of the bags…so much that I could not bring myself to feed it to my dogs. One of our dogs had an allergic reaction that caused her belly to turn bright pink along with a rash. Now it has caused loose stools with blood in it. It caused vomiting in my other dog. I wish the formulas would have stayed the same…at least they could have informed the pet boutique where I buy the food and I could have made a decision whether I wanted to continue feeding this formula change to my pups. Not happy with Acana at all!
So after three vet visits and two prescription medications trying to get our pups back on track, we will NOT be feeding Acana anymore.
Hi Krista-
Is there a particular reason for choosing such a high priced food like Orijen or Acana?
Hi,
I was like the idea of a rotational diet for dogs and favor feeding different forms such as kib ble, canned, and freeze dried. But due to budget issues I can really only afford plain dry food. I can afford any type of dry food such as Orijen and Acana because my dog is small and doesn’t eat a lot of dry food. But canned and freeze dried is more expensive and she eats more of canned because it’s less calories. So is it ok that she just gets dry kibble with no other additions? Is this healthy? She does get a fish oil, probiotics and a joint supplement.
Thanks,
Krista
And so it continues with the Kentucky plant’s inferior way of producing both Acana and Origen pet food. I am thankful to hear that Champion is better to deal for some than my experience, but the important thing is that they take this seriously enough to return to however the Canadian production process was for the best of all of our pets. If not, to me it lowers this company’s quality right back down there with those using “road kill” and other inferior and artificial or useless ingredients. It has all made us extremely vigilant in our family regarding ALL dog matters and since we now have a new puppy, for those interested, we have also been learning more about new standards for vaccinations. Over vaccinating can also be toxic (even deadly) to pets, just as dangerous as toxic food. Dogs Naturally has some excellent articles on this, which I pray will be beneficial for all reading this. http://www.yourpurebredpuppy.com helped us regarding anesthesia and meds when we had our puppy recently spayed as well. Blessings and Happy New Year to everyone. And thank you to Dog Food Advisor for making this blog available for those of us who really care about being quality pet parents!
I too have fed Canadian made Orijen and Acana for yeats and my dogs did well on these foods. Since the change to the Kentucky formulas I have had nothing but problems. I contacted Champion with all my concerns and urged them to correct the problem before someone’ s beloved pet died, before it was too late. Apparently it is too late. So sorry for your loss of Katie. I know how you feel, you know it was the food even though you can’t prove it. My dog almost died after switching to the new formula. He began to have episodes of collapse shortly after he began to eat his Orijen. This progressed to collapse and seizure. He almost died the last time. I feel like an idiot that it took me so long to figure out it was the food. I had used it for many years and trusted Champion. They don’t care that I almost lost my dog. In the bag that almost killed him I found some large clumps of something so hard you could not break them with a hammer. I sent photos to Champion. They thanked me for the photos. My dogs are all off Acana and Orijen and all health issues are resolving. They were all eating dirt and drinking large amounts of water and then having accidents in the house. My close friend who also fed Acana for years with no problem started to have similar problems after switching to the new formulas. Her dog also collapsed. I can’t prove any of this was related to the food, but I know in my heart it was. I hope Champion corrects the problem before someone else has to suffer such a horrific loss. In the meantime spread the word.
Hi Kathy, have a look at “Canidae” Pure Formula’s, Canidae use human grade ingredients & a lot of dogs who suffer from skin or food sensitivities do really well on the Canidae Pure range especially Canidae Pure Sea, also look at all their Pure formulas some don’t have the Lentils, Chickpeas etc Protein is 32% min depends on which formula..
Look for brands that have similar ingredients to the Acana formula he did well on… Zignature is high in cabs, salt & peas, pea fiber, pea protein, pea flour, lentils..
My boy does excellent on “Holistic Select” Adult/Puppy Salmon, Anchovy & Sardines grain free, “Taste Of The Wild” & the “Canidae” formulas… also make sure the Omega 3% is 1/2 or a bit more then 1/2 of what the Omega 6% is, a lot of kibbles are not balance properly & the Omega 6% is too high & the Omega 3% is too low causing skin problems with dogs.. Baths-weekly baths are the best you wash off ally allergens, pollens & dirt…I use “Malaseb” medicated Shampoo excellent for their paws…
http://www.canidae.com/dog-food/products
I’ve been reading reviews for the past hour on chewy and also the german shepherd forums. This Zignature stuff looks really good and I have a couple of sample packs here, so I will see what she thinks. Nutrisca also looks like a good food. I did feed her some of the First Mate a little bit ago and she gobbled it up. I don’t like the fact that the stuff is so calorie laden though. It has less protein and more calories per cup (> 500 kcal/cup). Nutrisca has the highest amount of protein (32%) which is similar to Acana. It’s also the closest in terms of kcal per cup, although it’s more than Acana. Zignature seems to be somewhere in the middle there. So I think I have some good options to try. Sorry you’re having such a rough time with your pup, Kristen. I hope you can find a solution soon.
Kathy, I have tried absolutely everything, and I mean that, and even though my dog still has at least a couple symptoms on everything, I can tell you ones I liked. My dog just finished the nutrisca salmon, and I do like that one, but he still chews his paws like crazy and seems itchy all over. I do think the zignature is a high quality food. I have the salmon on it’s way now from chewys. But I am going to try something different because he is still really itchy on the Nutrisca. I have no idea if it’s the salmon or chickpeas, or what, but I think it’s a good food nonethless. We’ve tried all flavors. I judge it based on my dog’s poop and if they seem super excited to eat, and my research on this website. I try to stick with the low glycerin foods, but honestly, I’ve run out of foods to try. I liked Earthborn, Zignature, Nutrisca, and Acana. Good luck.
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This reply was modified 8 years, 11 months ago by Kristen L.
Thank you for the reply, anon101. I did see the kangaroo and thought that was interesting. I could see perhaps trying it. I’ll also look up Nutrisca products while I’m in this search mode. Another thing I’m worried about is getting her set on some food and then having it mutate again or go away. Some of these foods I don’t know how long they have been around. It would be nice to find another food supplier that has been around for the long haul. I thought that was Champion Foods (Acana/Orijen) and look where that got me. 🙂
My german shepherd has thrived on Acana Regionals (Grasslands and Wild Prairie) and Orijen dry foods until they changed to their Kentucky plant. She got really sick on the Meadowlands, which has replaced Wild Prairie. Compared to the Wild Prairie it smelled rancid. I am so mad that they moved their plant and changed what food they source. So now I’m trying to find a new grain free food that is similar to Acana/Orijen. I tried Fromms game bird dry formula but she seems to get itchy on it. If you recently and successfully changed from Acana or Orijen to something else, what food are you feeding? My local pet store gave me samples of First Mate’s specialty dry foods (chicken meal with blueberries and australian lamb meal), Zignature lamb, Zignature duck, Kasiks free run chicken meal formula as well as their lamb formula, and Carna4 green free duck and also their chicken. I’ve also considered trying the Kirkland brand (Costco-Diamond) as I’ve had some friends have good luck with it. I am aware they had a recall back in 2012. Most importantly I’m trying to find a high quality food for a sensitive eater with sufficient protein for a working dog (she’s my guide dog). Thanks for the feedback!
I’ll second Acana. If I fed kibble, that’s the brand I would choose.
I’ve seen many dogs do well on Orijen (their sister brand), however some do not as it seems to be a bit “rich.”
It’s just my own opinion, but I am not a fan of ProPlan even though certain dogs do well with it.
Best of luck!
I had my morkie on Blue for a while. Switched her to Acana after checking out this site. I’m happy with it. She seems to like the food.
So sorry Ann C that you too are experiencing a sick dog from food that came from the Kentucky plant where both Acana and Origen are now manufactured. I really believe being rancid from their production process is the main issue, for whatever reason and whatever that’s worth. The best we can hope for is that if enough people speak up, changes will be made for the positive for our precious pets. Our new puppy can never replace the loss of our Katie, but we are happy to say that she is thriving on a combination of grain free Merrick Turkey and Honest Kitchen chicken, which is human grade food, and selected from a ton of research…and prayer. Blessings to all.
Hi mary-
If you actually read the article attatched to the calcium calculator Dr.Mike says the calculator does not work off of as fed or dry matter. You need to obtain the numbers found in a “typical analysis” as those numbers are on a energy basis which is more accurate. A lot of companies (because they do not have a nutritionist) do not understand how to provide those numbers.
Raido-
Yes it is possible that Acana may be even more off balance than that when you get the average or max values from the company. I’d still contact them.
But as I understand for the Acana food, 4.1g per 1000kcal is already quite bad, so even if the average or maximum is higher, the resulting ratios will also be even worse? So this food should be out of the question?
I will try and ask for the max % values from Orijen then.
Hello
After reading through half of this website and the forum posts I’m still a bit confused. I am currently choosing between Acana or Orijen for a large breed puppy (swiss shepherd, 4months). I read that Acana has updated their LBP food to meet a better calcium ratio, but on the website it already says calc min 1.4, phosphor min 1.0 and the ME being only 3375/kg. This showed results from the calculator as:
Calcium = 4.1 g per 1000 kcal
Ca to P ratio = 1.4 to 1
Orijens minimum claims are 1.3 calc, 1.0 phosphor and ME at 4080/kg. resulting a
Calcium = 3.2 g per 1000 kcal
Ca to P ratio = 1.3 to 1
Can this be accurate as they are both supposed to be premium foods and belonging to the same company? And those are just the minimum ratios.
As a side note, would anyone happen to know anything about a “Tundra” brand?
Acana “Free run Poultry dry food” …just noticed it contains chicken meal.
What is chicken meal?
I agree with you, I think rotating brands is great for almost any healthy dog. Have you heard of Orijen? They only have 20% starch. My dog has done well on this food, I think it’s great. The Acana lines are also great. They have about 25-30% carbs. I think no food should have more then 50% carbs and preferably lower (about 35% max) I like Fromm a lot too! There are many great brands out there.
Ok yes that’s what I thought too. So is it ok to feed two different brands in one day? That’s what I’m doing now. I’m feeding Fromm and Acana. Do you do that or just use one brand at a time?
Yes I defiantly love Acana!
I have been using acana for years. I’ve only switched products within the brand. Eg. Puppy to adult to lean and fit. I only switch up the fresh food I supplement with.
Hi,
For the people that feed a rotational diet, how many brands do you use? I was thinking 2-4 is good. So far I’m thinking of using Acana and Fromm grain free and maybe one or two more. My dog has done really well on these so far. What are your thoughts?
I have a 7 month old Irish Soft coat Wheaten. Brought him home July 22 – stunk to high heaven, but oh well – he’s cute. I’ve always thought he has a worse than normal dog odor. I don’t normally mind dog smell, I get that they’re not humans. But Oscar Stinks! I noticed his first yeast infection in Sept (ear). It dawned on me then, that his front paws are all pink/rusty from yeast as well. Vet doesn’t seem too concerned, but I am. He said try to change food – so I did.
IAMS puppy was what we were sent home with. Slowly changed him to Simply Nourish – chicken. Then, I changed him to Acana Grasslands mixed with Simply Nourish LID lamb because so many people told me to stay away from chicken. He has been on this only a short while (Nov 2nd). In the meantime – once a week baths with TeaTree oil shampoo and vinegar rinses. I dry his feet when he comes in the house. Seems to help.
Still has yeasty paws and another yeast infection in his ear. (noticed yesterday) Also, the groomer said his coat isn’t as full as it should be. She does think that he is going through “greasy teen” change right now, but that his coat should be more thick and healthy.
He licks his paws and groin area often. Doesn’t really bite much, just licking.
I feel comfortable with the food he is on now. What is my next step? My husband thinks I have an over-reactive nose and that he smells fine…..
At what point is seeking a diagnosis necessary – I don’t want to wait until it’s “too late”. I am not sure what to consider as far as why he gets these yeasty flare ups, so I am not sure what to ask the vet.
Thanks from a first-time-dog-owner.
Oh…also – can the yeast live long on his brushes? I groom him often – how do I clean his brush/comb?
I am working on a similar issue, with a new dog 6 years old. Sled dog to pet dog.
The professional at the pet food store I go to who I find to be quite knowledgeable in the dog food arena suggested Orijen was too rich, went to Acana, still to rich am now trying Taste of the Wild at his recommendation. And the foods with Lamb have been always recommended to me as easiest on the tummy. So if even if you stick with your brand try the one that is lamb based.
I have a 6 month old Golden who has been on Orijen large breed puppy since I brought her home at 8 weeks. Her stool has always been like soft serve ice cream – sometimes a bit better. I’ve given her probiotics, rice, pumpkin and it helps a little. I want to switch her to a great food that will firm up her poo. And from what I’ve read, she is probably old enough to go to an adult food soon. I’m just not happy with the potato and legumes I’m seeing in even Acana foods.
I also have an 8 year old German Shepherd mix on Orijen Senior. He had the same issue as the Golden on Orijen Adult, but does GREAT and looks amazing on Orijen Senior. It would be super convenient to feed them both the same food, but like I said, I really like the Orijen ingredients better than any other food I’ve seen.
I’ve been doing a side by side comparison of the Orijen adult to Orijen senior. It really isn’t that different except less fat, more fiber. Acana is quite far off in comparison – more calcium than I’d like too.
So, if the food is good, the nutrients are there, and the calcium levels are not too high (they aren’t I checked using the calcium/phosporus calculator on this site) would there be any harm in trying Orijen senior for my 6 month old? What do I need to consider?
Here’s the comparison. Sorry the formatting is wonky.
. Orijen adult , orijen senior, acana
Crude protein (min.) 38% 38% 29 %
Crude fat (min.) 18% 15% 17 %
Crude fiber (max.) 5% 8% 6 %
Moisture (max.) 10% 10% 12 %
Calcium (min./max) 1.3 / 1.6 % 1.2 / 1.5 % 1.70%
Phosphorus (min./max) 1 / 1.3 % 0.9 / 1.2 % 1 %
Omega-6 (min.) 3% 2.50% 2.10%
Omega-3 (min.) 1.10% 1% 0.8 %
DHA (min.) 0.60% 0.60% 0.15%
EPA (min.) 0.30% 0.30% 0.15%
Ash (max.) 8% 8% 9 %
Glucosamine (min.) 1400 mg/kg 1400 mg/kg 600 mg/kg
Chondroitin (min.) 1200 mg/kg 1200 mg/kg 800 mg/kg
Microorganisms (min.) 120M cfu/kg 120M cfu/kg
pH 5.5 5.5
Vitamin A 30 kIU/kg 16 kIU/kg 50
Vitamin D 3 2 kIU/kg 1 kIU/kg 3500
Vitamin E 470 IU/kg 400 IU/kg 250
Vitamin B12 0.5 mg/kg 0.5 mg/kg 0.15
Thiamine 70 mg/kg 50 mg/kg
Riboflavin 55 mg/kg 45 mg/kg
Niacin 390 mg/kg 450 mg/kg
Pan. Acid (B5) 64 mg/kg 50 mg/kg
Pyridoxine (B6) 52 mg/kg 38 mg/kg
Folic Acid 4.7 mg/kg 5.2 mg/kg 1.3
Choline 2400 mg/kg 2700 mg/kg 1900
Sodium 0.30% 0.40% 0.3
Chloride 0.60% 0.64% 0.5
Potassium 1.00% 0.77% 0.8
Magnesium 0.12% 0.10% 0.13
Manganese 25 mg/kg 27 mg/kg
Selenium 1.2 mg/kg 0.9 mg/kg
Iron 230 mg/kg 240 mg/kg 180
Zinc 240 mg/kg 200 mg/kg 255
Copper 26 mg/kg 26 mg/kg 20
Iodine 3.6 mg/kg 1.8 mg/kg 2.7
Lysine 2.40% 2.45% 2.08
Tryptophan 0.40% 0.38% 1.2
Threonine 1.60% 1.50% 0.46
Tyrosine 0.98% 0.98%
Methionine 0.80% 0.80%
Isoleucine 1.50% 1.50% 1.15
Leucine 2.90% 2.90% 2.2
Valine 1.90% 1.85% 1.5
Arginine 2.50% 2.20% 2.15
Phenylalanine 1.60% 1.60% 1.38
Histidine 0.90% 0.80% 0.71
Cystine 0.40% 0.35% 0.32
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This topic was modified 9 years, 1 month ago by
T. G..
Andy, I switched my dog from Acana ( Duck & Pear ) back in July to The Honest Kitchen and so far no issues. It’s more expensive but I like the quality of ingredients and my dog likes it. You can ask them for free sample and also they sell 2 lb box, which is big enough to see if dog will tolerate/like the new food before spending much more money on bigger box.
First let me say I have no personal experience with your breed. I own Boxers and they tend to stay lean up until about 3 years old. Lean is preferred over heavy.
Does he have loose stools or does he throw up from time to time? It is not uncommon for hooks not to show up in a fecal,most of the time the vet does a floatation fecal and they are less than effective,always ask for direct and floatation. I’ll get back with you as to another very accurate test for parasites.
Did you see his parents? Did their sizes meet breed standard? Was this pup a smaller than average pup in his litter?
Many times higher protein and a grain free food will make it difficult to put weight on a dog. Although overall I am not a fan of a LOT of grains,it seems that oats are easier than most digest and they add calories and can soothe the gut too.Do you give a good probiotic?
Alana makes nice foods, several people I have talked to lately are having success with Acana Regional Red (beef). I like Canine Caviar Free Spirit Holistique and First Mate chicken and blueberries. I don’t know if any of these are available locally in your area. Can you order from Chewy or PetFlow? They are fabulous
Very sorry for your loss CC. I started Acana (Pork & Butternut Squash) maybe a year ago at the recommendation of our local pet food chain (won’t mention) because I’d been unable to resolve a skin rash my dog was having. Amazingly it worked! But many months later the rash came back. When I went back in they just suggested I try another single protein since dogs can develop more allergies. Well for awhile now I’ve been alternating all the single protein versions with no success and been very frustrated. I FINALLY came across this forum and it made sense. When I went back into the pet store they said “oh yeah, we’ve had so many customers having issues”. I can’t believe this switch was made and they never mentioned it. Really disappointing and now I really don’t know what to try. They recommended a new brand with Kangaroo…but I don’t think it’s the protein that’s the issue….it’s all the new ingredients in the Kentucky version.
I was also feeding my German Shepherd Acana and Orijen for the past 4 years. With the new formula change in Kentucky, She is no longer able to eat it. Extreme itching and inflamed ears with the new formula. I am now searching for another food.
Panacur will get the giardia or protozoa first round and then a follow up round to get any repopulating ones and much safer than antibiotics which don’t kill the protozoa they just strip the gut and make things worse. As far as a quick solution that seems to work for diarrhea for every dog is SLIPPERY ELM, 1/4 capsule for 20pounds, get one that is good guaranteed brand like Solary. Mix with food to make sure stool get firm. This is the best quickest solution but it doesn’t kill the protozoa so you still need to use Panacur. As far as a great kibble with a probiotic that would be Acana SINGLES (meaning one protein). And yes miracle probiotic is great but don’t follow the directions DOUBLE/TRIPLE it while treating the dog for diarrhea and protozoa.
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This reply was modified 9 years, 1 month ago by
S G.
All I can very sadly say is that my Sheltie has now passed away. Can I prove it was the toxic bag of Acana? No, and I only wish I would have saved some to be tested. I am devastated, to include the indifference of the Acana company with all I have been through.
