[Kimberly B]

Thank you Deb!

I totally agree with you! Wow 15 that is so wonderful. I feel we lost him too soon. Gunner was a hunting dog so super fit, it truly made no sense. I hate Cancer! Our vet mentioned Acana!

[Deb B]

Hi Kimberley! So sorry to hear about your sweet lab. We have a yellow lab on her way to turning 15…so we have been very very fortunate. One of the things I made sure of, was that she was never overweight, which I think has helped with longevity. She was on ProPlan a good part of her life, but we fed her the weight management formula from the time she was 2 ! She did fine on it, but in my opinion, it is not a great food. About 3 years ago, I decided she deserved a better formula, and after much research we chose Acana…love it, she does too. Yes, it is more expensive but I think worth it…I don’t know anything about labradoodles, but Acana has many different formulations. It might be worth a look…your new puppy will need a food with a higher fat content until at least a year old..but after that…not so much..I’d be interested to see what your vet thinks of Acana…good luck!!

[Samantha S]

We were feeding Acana Lamb and Okanagan Apple. Originally, it was an excellent quality food, but over time I saw a significant decline in condition and temperament. Specifically, my dogs were fence fighting constantly, my girls either stopped cycle or were unable to get pregnant, loss of muscle tone and dull dry coats. Finally, I looked at the food label: Acana added a load of phytoestrogens: whole green peas, red lentils, pinto beans, chickpeas, green lentils, whole yellow peas, lentil fiber, and more.

I switched food some one phytoestrogen-free, and we are back to our beautiful, sweet, large litter size kennel that we once were.

[Lewis F]

Heidi,
My dog (not a worker) has been on Orijen or Acana dry foods. Both are rated high and have many different types from which you can choose

Lew

[Eileen W]

Adopted rescue (Molly) in May and feeding Acana Heritage with my other dog. In the last 3 months, her anal glands have been expressed twice. Her poop is formed but not really solid. I have tried psyllium, pumpkin, pure form, glandex and no real change in stool. Vet has found no medical reason why they need to be done manually. I am seeking a dog food recommendation that is grain free, bird free (no chicken, turkey, duck,etc.), not Acana or Origen. Has anyone had gland issues, made a diet change and found a food that has really worked for them? I have read, on this forum, some correlation between allergies, diet and glands. So, wondering if anyone had an allergy test to help determine best food to try? Thanks!

[Sandra C]

Hi
I have been using Pinto Canyon Grain-Free Recipe With Sweet Potato & Salmon for Dogs for over a year now and am pretty happy with it.
I mix it with some Acana and Sojos, Honest kitchen and other stuff.

Is someone thinking about reviewing this dog food?
Regards
Sandy

[Bonnie M]

My 12 year old beagle basset hound mix is also a very picky eater and when I found this food Honestly Bare she gobbled it up just like you all have commented. As I was reading I noticed this product was made by Purina. My dog eats the Honestly Bare, Slow-cooked Tenders, the Chicken Apple & Sweet Potato formula, but it has “Beef Glycerine” & the “natural hickory smoke flavor” powder which are not good and is probably the reason why she gobbles it up.

I too have tried too many types and brands to even name including raw brands like Stella and Chewy’s, Darwin’s, etc, but she hated the raw and would refuse to eat for almost 2 days at a time. However, I was told to stay the course and when she gets hungry she will eat. I also had her on Acana and Orijen dry Foods but of course she only liked the ones that were too high in either fat or protein for her that gave her diarrhea. So I too have spent a fortune trying different types of dog food. I also tried Ziwi Peak and she liked it but it is too expensive for my budget.

I also put a request in to have this food reviewed. I just became a member about 2 hours ago and I am so excited to gain wisdom and insight about the dog foods on the market and hopefully find a food sooner than later that will be healthy for my dog as she has struggled with pancreatitis in the past years ago although she hasn’t had a problem with that now but she does have thyroid issues and is on medication twice a day for that and has recurring yeast infections in one of her ears which drives me crazy I’m not sure what to do about this so hopefully finding a food will help with all of this. I also will give her cooked chicken or beef or turkey with some of her dry food of which I cut the portion of dry food when I add the cooked meat.

Any suggestions or tips or ideas or recommendations are greatly appreciated and welcomed. Thank You, Bonnie M.

[kenneth b]

Hi!

Im working in a petshop and got a riddle to solve. A distributor is looking on a new brand of food which we don’t have in Norway yet. He didn’t say the name, but I could take a guess. Clues:
Single protein
Comes in cat and dog
Comes in wet and dry
Comes in veterinary series
High meat %. Along orijen/acana
Got some kind of coating around the nibbles.

Any guesses?
My thought was Merrick, but they dont got a vet series do they?

[Nancy W]

Hello!
I am new to the forum and was looking for information on Acana. My two boys are on Merrick Lil Plates and seem to be doing ok but I want to have an alternative just in case they get tired of it. I am in British Columbia, Canada and got a sample bag of the Adult Small Breed Heritage with Chicken and Turkey etc. This morning. I just read about the problems in the KY plant.
This food is from the Alberta, Canada plant.
Has anyone had products from this location? God or bad experiences?
Thanks so much for sharing so much valuable information!
Nancy

[Susan]

Hi Ginger.
here’s the Honestly Bare link https://www.honestlybare.com/about-us/
I looked at the Honestly Bare, Slow cooked tenders formula’s, here’s the Chicken, Peas Carrots formula ingredients, {Chicken, dried peas, dried carrots, “beef glycerin”, salt, “natural hickory smoke flavor”, potassium chloride, preserved with mixed-tocopherols, choline chloride}, also the Chicken Apple & Sweet Potato formula also has the “Beef Glycerine” & the “natural hickory smoke flavor” powder, these are not good or natural ingredients…”hickory smoke flavor” is a powder type flavoring to make the food more appealing & the Glycerin is a binder & a sweetener…
Some dog treats also use the Glycerine, I avoid those treats, your dog probably likes & eats this cause of the salty hickory flavoring…
The Honestly Bare slow cooked tenders formula’s are not freeze dried, it’s made to appear like the natural freeze dried formula’s, the Honestly Bare “Wholesome Topper” formula’s are freezed dried, you’re better of adding the Honestly Bare Wholesome topper to his kibble, you add water & then add to his Acana kibble as a topper the Wholesome topper don’t have the Hictory smoked powder or glycerine & the ingredients look natural but it’s just a topper not a proper balance meal…
When you read the “Wholesome Topper” it does say freeze dried chicken & 100% natural when you read the “Slow Cooked” doesn’t say 100% Natural & says 75% chicken…

When I’m on the other side of DFA the “Comment” section a few people who have very Fussy dogs have been posting that their dogs are doing really well & love “Fresh Pet” pet foods there’s, Freshpet Select, Vital & Nature’s Fresh, here’s the Freshpet link
https://freshpet.com/our-foods/our-brands/
there’s their Fresh Baked grain free formula’s & their Loaf style rolls that you can cut in sections & freeze…
Another really good Air dried food is “Ziwi Peak” https://www.ziwipets.com/
send “Ziwi Peak” an email & ask for some samples, give your address etc so they can send you the samples, Ziwi Peak is air dried & propely balanced so can be feed as main meal, your dog will probably like their NZ Tripe & Lamb it’s for Picky eaters & the Mackeral & Lamb, Ziwi Peak also do their raw wet canned foods, I bet your dog will love Ziwi Peak then just roatae between the different meat proteins, my cat goes nuts when I feed her the Ziwi Peak wet & dry food, she inhales it & doesn’t chew, the wet canned food can be a bit expensive so best to buy when on special….

[Pat G]

I personally feed my four shelties Acana dog food which I consider to be one of the best foods. I dogsit a fair amount and two shelties I cared for recently were overweight with a small amount of dog food with dry coats and and very dry almost crumbly poop. They drank and had access to plenty of water. I didn’t know what they were getting until they left because the owners brought premeasured meals in ziplock bags. I am trying to get them to feed a better food and they are going to ask their vet first who is probably selling them that crappy Science Diet weight management food. Well I hope I can convince them to upgrade to a better food.

[Dan M]

Peter,
It started with him not wanting to eat although i knew he was hungry. He would go to his dish sniff a little back away and repeat that several times before he would actually eat. My vet said that it was the changes in the food supply, or something to that effect that was not agreeing with his stomach and digestive system. After he was on meds and the boiled chicken, sweet potato and pumpkin diet for a few weeks i started to reintroduce the acana food back to him very slowly. At that point i was not aware nor was my vet of the acana relocation deal. Once he was fully back on the dry food and nothing else, not even treats, cookies or anything that it started again. If he is only eating one thing in his diet and the problems come back its a very easy conclusion. Lets see, on acana from a pup till 5 years old no problems, they change and so does my dogs quality of life. Around the same time my vets own dogs started to experience issues. We put him back on the “special” diet for another few weeks along with the meds and slowly transitioned him to Merrick limited ingredients chicken diet which he absolutely loves and is having absolutely no issues with. I put it in his bowl and he cant wait to eat it, unlike acana. Two of my local retailers that sold acana have pulled all champion products from their shelves. I have not seen any hairs in the food like i have heard or and other foreign objects, so i can only say that it is my opinion that their quality control in this new plant is inferior to the past. If they say they are using local sources for their food there has to be some kind of dramatic difference for people to post so many complaints about their furry family members health problems, coincidence i doubt it. I have placed a call to Champion customer service weeks ago and have heard nothing yet and i believe i never will. Wish there was some sort of class action lawsuit against champion foods, trust me my name would be on it. Please feel free to keep me and the rest of us posted on if they contact you back or not.

[Kim H]

Hello. My 10 yr old “itchy” lab mix girl was transitioned to grain free Acana singles but 6 weeks later still noticing itching. Acana has “peas” and there are few that do not. Our pet store found us Nutrisource High Plains Select. Our dog is no chicken, no to any potato, no grains, and now no peas. She also has a mast cell tumor/lump that we have to put her on neutral/cooling protein and this selection met that criteria as well. Easy transition. And my other dog 8 yr old prefers the smaller nuggets of Nutrisource compared to the Acana singles Lamb/Apple. Hope this helps someone else for NO PEAS in GRAIN FREE

[Ginger F]

Has anyone tried this? (Honestly Bare dog foods). My dog is the pickiest eater in the world. I mix chicken or some other raw or freeze dried mix with everything he eats and typically use one of the Acana products but he is picking out the good stuff and leaving the Acana. it’s way too expensive to waste. I tried Honestly Bare and he actually will even eat it alone (which has never happened). It only has 24% protein and then other natural ingredients but I haven’t seen any reviews. I figure with the natural meat he gets added he is getting a fairly high protein meal but didn’t know if it was healthy. Here is a link to their products.

• This topic was modified 8 years, 1 month ago by Ginger F.

[Dan M]

Hello to everyone, my name is Dan and i have a 5 year old Black Lab named Jaxson. He has been on Acana food since the day i brought him home as a puppy. This was on the recommendation of my vet, who also fed his own dogs acana. Everything was absolutely perfect until, for what ever reason Champion foods decided to move to Kentucky. At first i did not know this information and my dog developed severe diarrhea which after a day or so had blood in it. He would not eat his food which i just thought ok he’s not feeling well. As soon as i saw the blood in his stool i called and immediately got him to my vets office. After a exam they determined he had a severe gastro problem. Boiled chicken, sweet potatoes and pure pumpkin was his diet for several weeks along with medication. Once he started to “poop” regular again we slowly introduced his acana food back, still not knowing of the problem. A few short weeks later my poor dog was back at the vets doing more tests, more boiled chicken and basically a repeat of the first time. This time they wanted to test his pancreas since he was extremely lethargic. Thank god that was ok. To date he is still on his chicken and sweet potato diet and he is actually scared of going to his food dish as he knows something in there made him sick. Together with research and this site i realized it was just not my dog but so many many others with the same or similar problems. I STRONGLY advise each and every pet owner to stay away from anything made by champion foods. Jaxson will soon be slowly transitioned to Merrick limited ingredient chicken dog food, if i can ever get him to go back to eating normal after he has suffered so much. So has my checkbook, Champion foods has cost me thousands in vet bills. I hope they go bankrupt. They could and should have at least informed suppliers or some way of communication to the public of this change. I have noticed my local vendors will no longer carry the brand and they are not afraid to tell you why.

[a c]

I used to feed Orijen(for about 6 months)because almost everyone(this site and multiple pet store owners and employees) told me Orijen is the best one out there. Until I saw someone post on this site said they found hairs in the kibbles. He or She contacted Orijen and was told hairs are “biologically appropriate”?

I went to searched my bags. While I didn’t find any hairs in the bags, it really grossed me out. In addition, there was some bad reports on Orijen. So I decided to try something else.

I know Acana and Orijen are both manufactured by Champion out of Kentucky. But I really not familiar with Acana.

[Peter K]

Hello all,

I’ve been to this site a few times and it helped a lot when we were searching the perfect food for our Golden Retriever. Leo just turned 6 and is a lovable furball. We’ve been feeding him Acana for the past two years and we knew that they were going to start making it in the US instead of Canada.

Recently, I purchased a bag of Acana Regionals, Meadowlands and about half way through the bag, noticed that there was a small sharp white thing sticking out of the kibble. I searched through the rest of the kibble in the bowl and didn’t find anything else.

I contacted Acana immediately and waited patiently for a response.

The next morning, worried that the food may be contaminated, I checked through the rest of the food and found several other pieces of kibble with the same sharp white object. My initial thought was plastic but as I observed it more, it kind of looks like bone.

Acana customer service responded to my email after about a day or so and requested more information on the bag I purchased. I sent them pictures of the kibble and the bag information and have not heard anything back for a week.

So… here comes the question, have any of you experienced this recently with the dog food made at the new Kentucky plant? From my understanding, they made the switch sometime last year. I was hesitant on keeping Leo on Acana but figured since he’s been doing well on it we’d keep feeding it to him. Even after the change of ingredients, we were skeptical but now that quality control and customer service is an issue…. really debating on switching to another brand.

[Debbera S]

Hi Atlas, If your pup has IBD, it seems like the normal vet advice is the prescription foods that you tried. I’m going through the exact problem now with my 8 yr old Boxer. She hates the food and still has mucus/bloody soft stools. I was desperate and found this blog from a women that had a problem with her dog. She thinks it started with dewormers. Anyways, Here’s her blog:
http://bigpawberner.blogspot.com/2012/02/if-your-dog-has-chronic-diarrhea-please.html

I’ve been following her advice and have my dog on Orijen Six Fish, however the specialty pet store suggested ACANA – Freshwater fish formula, which was more reasonable priced, comparatively. It’s made by Orijen, and has 4 different fish proteins instead of six. I also purchased a prebiotic, which helps colonize their own good bacteria, unlike a probiotic, that is replacing the bacteria. I ordered some good digestive enzymes and probiotic from Mercola.com

Anyways, my vet is very open to trying and working with different diets. He had a client that switched to a fish based food and it worked, so it gave me hope.

Sometimes I worry that some vets that sell the prescription diets are pushing that to make money. So, since my Boxer was still experiencing the symptoms on the prescrip diets, I felt like I didn’t have anything to loose. However, getting a firm diagnosis is essential. We’ve done a full GI panel, and ultrasound to correctly diagnose my Boxer.

I’ve been dealing with this since August, so I feel your pain. Seems like my life has revolved around my dogs poo for a long time! Good luck and hope you find something that works, soon.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 2 months ago by Debbera S.

[haleycookie]

Consumer reviews is a silly sight. Most reviews are paid for. However I have heard totw is having some issues with their food. If you scroll down to the comment section here on dfa on the totw page you’ll see many ppl complaining. But it’s up to you if you try it. There are better foods. I like merrick, natures variety, and wellness core. I think those are some of the best foods. Orijen and Acana are probably some of the best as well I just don’t have as much experience with them as the others. There’s tons of options on chewy if that’s here you’re buying. If you have any questions about any other brands I’m sure someone will be willing to answer them.

[Lewis F]

We have a Cavapoo that is now on Origin Original which has an 18% Fat content; Orijen Senior has a 15% content. As for quality, Orijen is still rated very well. My little Poo has been on it since we brought her home.

If you want to stick with food made by Champion, you can also try Acana

• This reply was modified 8 years, 2 months ago by Lewis F.

[John L]

Our two lab mix rescues are about a year old now and have been doing well in Acana. We alternate between Appalachian and Regionals.

[anne c]

Please help. I can’t take the breath with the salmon based food my dogs have been on, and the stool being soft. They have been on it for years, health Brittany’s, average exercise amounts. Spay female a little chubby (but that’s my husband’s doing:)
Thinking Acana Appalachian
I only use dry.
Suggestions please

[Jeff S]

So I have a 14 week old Australian Labradoodle puppy who I was possibly transitioning to raw or at least mostly raw—want to keep some kibble to make it easier for travel and friends watching her. Anyway started transitioning her to Raw about a week ago. Have been using a sample pack from Darwin’s as well as some Primal Raw frozen–both chicken. She seems to be doing generally ok, although it seems that for about 1/2-1 hour after she eats, she gets very hyper–sometimes running in big circles with her tail between her legs and/or being very restless. Spoke with Darwins’ but they said they haven’t heard of this. has anyone experienced this? So far I have been only giving her commercial raw, except for yesterday when I gave her a piece of raw turkey wing (which she enjoyed and chewed up pretty well). Yesterday about 3 hours after eating the turkey wing she did regurgitate with much of the turkey looking undigested (she re-ate it). She then seemed fine. After playing for a bit and taking a nap she seemed very hungry so gave her a handful of kibble (Acana). About another 2-3 hours after, she threw up agin–mostly partially digested kibble. She was good the rest of the night (slept through until morning). Fed her kibble this morning and she was good most of the day. Fed her some more raw (Darwins chicken at lunch) got a bit hyper again but was good most of the rest of the day until after dinner–which was some more Darwins and a bit of Allprovide. Again shortly after eating she got very hyper, racing around the yard picking up sticks, etc.

So, is this normal? Am I transitioning her too quickly? is the hyper ness possibly an upset stomach (she sometimes seems to run and sit quickly–once and a while dragging her butt a bit (has been dewormed plus saw a tapeworm before i stated the raw and she was dewormed for that as well).

Also, since we’ve had her she has been a bit itchy/biting around the base of her tail and back legs, although the vet could not find any fleas and didn’t think it should be any more worms. Since starting the raw nothing has really changed with the itching (I realize it is kind of soon to expect any change in that–just bringing it up in case it’s a sign of something else).

Anyway, anyone have any thoughts. Not while I’m writing this, she has been panting a bit heavily and looked like she was going to vomit again although nothing happened.

Thanks

Jeff

[Susan]

Hi Dina,
I live Australia & alot of foods that are NOT American made will not be on DFA review site…
DFA is an American pet food site….
Google “UK Pet Food Reviews” & the UK pet food site comes up, I just put in “Unipaws in the “UK Pet Food Review” site & nothing comes up, so a UK pet food company must just make the Unipaws specially for dogs in Indonesia & it’s not sold in the UK or its sold under a different name…
Can you get any Australian or American pets foods in Indonesia?
can you get American brands “Acana” “Merrick” “Canidae” or here’s a few Australian & New Zealand made brands “Meals For Mutts” “A La Carte” “Ivory Coat” ” Ziwi Peak” K-9 Natural” “Barf Dr B’s” that are sold overseas…

A good dry kibble will have 2-4 meat proteins as 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th ingredients followed be a carb, the meat protein should be followed by a meal, cause when they write the ingredient list the ingredients are raw & after these ingredients are cooked they shrink & move up the ingredient list & are not 1st or 2nd no more…..

Here’s an example of a 5 star kibble…
“Canidae” Pure Sky” formula, Duck, Duck Meal, Turkey Meal, Sweet Potatoes, Peas, Chicken Fat, Potatoes, Suncured Alfalfa, natural falvours, minerals & vitamins,
Protein-32%, Fat-16%, Fiber-4%, Carbs-30%
What are the first 5 ingredients in the Unipaws formula your feeding?

[Susan]

Hi Jenny,
Acana is very rich dense kibble, my boy wouldn’t be able to eat Acana, it has organ meats & Lentils, Acana is excellent if you have a dog who can handle all these ingredients…She might be sensitive to an ingredient as well,
Have a look for formula’s that have sweet potatoes, potatoes after the meat proteins, do not feed any formula’s that have chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans) or Lentils as these ingredients can cause intestinal stress like they do in humans…

My boy has IBD, Food Sensitivities & Skin Allergies & finally I tried “Taste Of The Wild” Sierra Mountain, Roasted Lamb formula, people in the EPI & IBD Face Book groups were having really good results with TOTW & it has been excellent with my boy IBD, TOTW Roasted Lamb is my go to kibble if my boy starts doing sloppy poos while eating another brand kibble, also “Canidae” Pure formula’s & Canidae’s new All Life Stages, Turkey Meal & Brown rice large breed limited ingredient formula… https://www.canidae.com/dog-food/products

But first if your near a “Tractor Supply” shop get a small bag of “4Health” Special Care, Sensitive Stomach, it has a GSH picture on the front of the white kibble bag, the 4Health Sensitive Stomach formula has limited ingredients, Egg & Potato really good when a dog has stomah/bowel problems & then rotate & slowly introduce “4Health” Special Care, Sensitive Skin formula it’s Hydrolyzed Salmon or try the 4health Turkey & Potato it’s in the brown kibble bag, just make sure you read the ingredient list as all formula’s have different ingredients…. the fat is around 14% & protein is around 24% it depends which formula you get, start with a formula that has the least ingredeints cause she may have food sensitivies….read the ingredient list to the Acana formula she’s eating & try & aviod some of those ingredients when you pick a new formula’s around 15%-fat & 26%-protein no higher.
https://www.tractorsupply.com/landing-pages_brands_4health-special-care.html

[Alice M]

Hi,

I switched my German Shepherd to Now Fresh and no problems. She didn’t do well on Acana. Hope this helps.

[jenny p]

I have a 60 lb German Shepherd/ lab mix who is having loose stools with Acana. I was told that maybe she needs a lower protein lower fat food. Any recommendation on a kibble ? She also has has a bout of pancreatitis and UTI issues.

[jenny p]

I have a 60 lb German Shepherd/ lab mix who is having loose stools with Acana. I was told that maybe she needs a lower protein lower fat food. Any recommendation on a kibble ?

[John L]

We were doing the same with our two, trying some of the top brands to give them the best we could. Besides the Orijen issue they wouldn’t touch Merrick, did like Nulo, and we had mixed results with some others. Being Acana is made by the same company as Orijen we’re pretty confident it was a good choice and they devour it.

We lost our almost 13 yo lab a year ago in August. She had been on Blue Buffalo for the last few years and did very well on it, but they had some issues in recent years so we looked elsewhere this time.

[John L]

We had the same issue with our two lab mixes and Orijen. It wasn’t an allergy or anything so extreme, just too much protein. We switched them to Acana (a bit higher carb and less protein) and they have been fine ever since. I thought of the allergy thing at the time but they have had no issues with chicken or any other proteins. In fact some of the Acana selections we’ve fed include several meat and fish proteins in the same kibble. Do have the vet check them out, but keep trying different foods until you find one they will eat and they produce proper stools on. Another tip – measure food by grams with a kitchen scale, not by the terribly inaccurate “cups”! You want them to get the recommended amounts of the kibble.

[William L]

I would like to nominate : Nutro WHOLSOME ESSENTIALS, (Farm-Raised Chicken, Brown Rice & sweet potato recipe) manufactured by Mars Pet care, Franklin, Tn.

2 Cocker Spaniels thrive on it. A new product but never had a problem with a Nutro product. Not so with Acana, Blue Buffalo, Orijen and From. Acana and Orijen, Changed their formula when they relocated to the US. but did not notify customers (diarrhea), Blue Buffalo when the Life source Bits separated and ended up as concentrated in top of bag during shipping (diarrhea again), From have tried Beef/Salmon/and chicken. Dogs quit eating them after 2-3 bags. So far no problems with NUTRO. Have never had digestion problem with a Nutro product through the life span of 2 Black Labs, and a Golden Retriever. Would guess u would rate it as a 3.5-4.0.

[Kathy B]

I found this post while researching food to help my dogs’ fur healthy. I feed my pets raw. One of the more difficult aspects of raw is making sure your pet gets enough keratin in their diet. Believe it or not the best source is hair and feathers. What you really need to be asking Acana is what percentage of their food has hair/feathers. When our dogs on the farm ate gophers or mice they also ingested the hair. Keratin is a form of protein that is both needed and digestible. I know it sounds disgusting to us as humans, but in the right proportions is both safe and healthy.

[Susan]

Hi Lori, I just posted a post about “Clean Label Project” click on link & look at all the 5 Star foods, Canidae & Under the Sun, Nutro, Purina, I & love & You all got 5 stars, & Acana, Wellness & Orijen got 1 star they are very high in Toxins. Wellness has a lawsuit at the moment for false advertisement saying their dry kibble is high quaility but Clean Label Test tested a few of Wellness formula’s & they tested very high for toxins…..
If you can cook then freeze meals, home cooking is heaps better then feeding a dry processed kibble, Ted will probably start to feel & get better especially at age 10 Ted would probably love a nice cooked meal, I buy tin salmon in spring water & tin Sardines in spring water & add a few sardines to one of the cooked meal or some Salmon to 1 of the meals a day, Salmon & Sardines will help balance the meal with Omega 3, Vitamins for his joints, bones, heart, brain, skin & coat,.. I buy tin Salmon & Tuna slices in Spring water & drain all teh water & I boil some sweet potatoes & mix 1/2 & 1/2 & make a meal, it’s healthy & probably wont have any toxins like the dry kibbles have.
If your not happy feeding a Chickpeas & Peas diet then take the food back & say your dog won’t eat it, most pet foods are money back guaranteed for palability…

[Susan]

Finally Clean label project has released their 2nd study on dog & cat foods & have also added a few more brands…..
These brands below got 1- 2 stars for being high in Toxic Metals & Acrylamides & BPA/BPS. but it’s only certain formula’s that got 1 star not all their formula’s got 1 star, some brands did have a few of their formula’s with 1 star, this might explain why some pets were really sick this year, look & see did the brand/formula you were feeding your dog get 1-2 star?…
click on link below
read then scroll back up, look to your left & click on “Dry Dog Food” to find out which formula’s got 5 stars & less.
http://www.cleanlabelproject.org/pet-food-study-2-0/

Brands that got 5 Stars- I & Love & You, Nutro, Canidae, Canidae’s cheaper brand “Under The Sun”, Purina, Trudog, Simply Nourish, Eagle Pack…

Brands with 1 & 2 stars are on pages 11 to 16, you can also click on “Brand Report Cards” link down the bottom …..
I was VERY surprised “Fromm” had 4 formula’s with 1 star & the rest of Fromm formula’s only got 2 & 3 stars, People are always posting how good their dogs are doing on Fromm but I wonder how good their dogs will be doing after just eating Fromm for 2-4 years?…. This is why it’s best to rotate between a few different brands so your dog isn’t eating the same food 24/7…

*Brand formula’s that got 1 Star.
TOTW, Merrick, Acana, Orijen, bbf, Timberwolf, Earthborn Holistic, Fromm, Greenies, Holistic Select, American Journey, Kirkland, High Tek, Natures Variety, Blue. Only Natural Pet, Natures lodic, Special Kitty, Lotus, Wet Nose, Primal, Old Mother Hubbard, Castor & Pollux, Open farm, Milk Bone, Halo, Natural Balance, Nutri-Source, Solid Gold, Diamond, Petcurean, Racheal Ray-Nutrish, Meow Mix, Trudog, Pup-Peroni, Nature’s Planet-Organics, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Dog for Dog, Milos Kitchen, Dogswell Nutrisca.
http://www.cleanlabelproject.org/brand-report-cards/

[Susan]

Hi Susana,
Stop feeding the Acana, Acana is probably too rich for a dog with intestinal stress, it has organ meats, Acana is excellent for a healthy dog that doesn’t have intestinal problems.

Sounds like your boy has a few food intolerances & there’s an ingredients in the Hills I/d formula & Acana formula he’s sensitive too, this happened with my Patch when I rescued & adopted him 5yrs ago, he had rumbling, grumbling LOUD bowel noises, I’d hear him in another room, these loud noises are gases rumbling thru the bowel & can be painful, Patch would do the same eat & eat grass, then his vet said only let him eat about 2 mintues worth of grass then stop him eating grass, the long pieces of grass can tangle together & cause a blockage or the grass can cause diarrhea…
I have found a dry bit of white toasted bread is best to give when these noises are happening, dry toast seems to settle the stomach also liquid Mylanta, 1 teaspoon 5mls seems to settle the stomach & bowel aswell & stops the loud rumbling bowel noises..
Once you work out what foods he is sensitive too these rumbling bowel noises will stop…
Patch also had streaks of blood thru his poos some days, this was cause he was eating an ingredient that he was sensitive too & I didnt know it was irratating his bowel then 1 night he had diarrhea that turned into blood water, I rushed him to the vet 8am his vet said looks like he has IBD cause I had been there a few times before with stomach/bowel problems. Patch was put on a Hydrolzed vet diet Royal Canine HP & Metronidazole for 21 days the bowel needs to heal & rest but he cont digest the Royal Canine HP vet diet ended up causing other problems….
Patch hasn’t had no more problems as long as Patch doesn’t eat Chickpeas, Lentils, Barley, Oats, Beet Pulp for his bowel & Chicken Tapioca & Carrots cause itchy smelly yeasty paws ears & skin problems… Food Sensitivities/Intolerances can cause gas/wind, farts, sloppy poo, diarrhea, smelly yeasty ears, paws, skin, itchy skin, bum rubbing on ground, just depends on the dog….

Both of the vet you saw have given the Metronidazole which was good to heal his bowel but the vets should of prescribed him a limited ingredient kibble that was chicken & grain free either the Hills D/D Potato & Venison or the Potato & Duck limited ingredient formulas or the Royal Canine Select proteins, Potato & Rabbit etc…

Go to “Tractor Supply Co & look for the “4Health” Sensitive Stomach it has Egg & Potato very easy to digest limited ingredients & will help his blowel rest & heal…

Don’t feed any more kibbles that are higher then 27%-protein or high in Kcals per cup no higher then 380 Kcals per cup & don’t have too many ingredients cause there will be more chance that he’s sensitive to an ingredient the more ingredients there is & he’ll react…

then when he’s doing really well try the “4Health Sensitive Skin” it has limited ingredients & has Hydrolyzed Salmon & Pea flour very easy to digest ingredients, the Acana might have been too high in protein & very rich high in Kcals per cup, when a kibble is high in Kcals over 400 the kibble is more dense & harder to digest & when a dog has a sensitive stomach bowel it’s too hard to break down….
His smelly breath sounds like his stomach bowel is not working properly the Metronidazole will fix ths problem, my vet writes out a few repeat scripts of teh Metronidazole & I just take teh scripts to a chemist & get out, my boy still takes Metronidazole on & off if he starts getting his smelly fermenting breath, acid reflux or if I see he’s starting to do sloppy poos for more then 2 days I re start him on the Metronidazole 1 x 200mg tablet every 12 hours with food for 10-14 days then the next 10 days just give him 1x 200mg tablet with his dinner that’s for a 40lb +18kg dog but since he’s been eating the TOTW Sierra Mountain Roasted Lamb he’s been doing really well, I do rotate & feed other brands but this has taken me nilly 4 yrs to get Patch gut healthy again & if Im feeding him another brand kibble & he starts getting stomach/bowel symptoms I put him back on her TOTW Roasted Lamb kibble & he goes good again….finally after 2 yrs of trying all the vet diets I had joined a few face book groups for Canines with IBD, EPI & dogs were doing really well on ” 4Health” formula’s & “Taste Of The Wild’ Sierra Mountain, Roasted Lamb formula, TOTW Lamb has limited ingredients only has 1 meat protein Lamb, Sweet potato. potato, peas, egg, very easy to digest….

Always read the ingredient list before buying a new kibble, read what ingredients are in the Acana & the I/d formula & try & aviod these proteins & ingredients for now.. Continue with the Metronidazole stop the Acana take it back for a refund, only feed a very bland diet like the 4Health Sensitive Stomach or Sensitive Skin formula’s for now… or try the TOTW Sierra Mountain Roasted Lamb these formula’s do not have Chickpeas or lentils as these ingredient are harder to digest when te dogs stomach & bowel isnt working properly…
Good-luck keep me up dated with what is happening, hopefully he’ll be doing firm poos in a few days..

[Lori J]

I just bought a bag a the Zignature Lamb to try out but still not happy w peas in there. Would Something like Orijen, Acana or Wellness core be better? I wouldnt mind making home cooked meals for my 2 if it is easy. I dont think I can do raw.

[haleycookie]

You don’t need a vet to understand what those words mean and you obviously already know what they do mean Kathy. However it’s really irrelevant in my opinion. Find a food that has the first three or more ingredients as meat. Those will be the foods that are most likely superior. Also it kinda just depends on the dog. If you want to feed kim something like acana/Orijen and he does great on it then great. Those are some of the best most meat based foods you can buy. But maybe a little extra if your dog is sensitive. If he can’t handle rich stuff like that then maybe try fewer protein sources. You can still find a meat based food with a smaller amount of sources. This site also explain if the dog food that is rated is “meat based” or “plant based” at the bottom of the review. But yes if you see potatoes or peas as the second or third ingredient and maybe just “deboned chicken” as the first ingredient it’s fair to say it’s going to be a plant based food. Whether or not you’re ok with feeding it is really up to you and your dogs taste/tummy. 🙂 good luck

[Therese M]

We finally found a couple dry foods that our very picky eater will eat. Bil Jac picky eater and TOTW High Prairie. We don’t like the quality of Bil Jac and didn’t realize TOTW was Diamond, and there have been recent complaints about it. We dont want orijen/acana until the new plant formulas get straightened out, unless there’s additional information on that I’ve missed.
We’ve had some samples that she hasn’t liked but she’s starting to open up to more choices so we might go back to those (zignature turkey and fish- she hates all fish flavors).

I have a coupon for a free bag of zignature so especially one of those flavors would be great. I also have a buy one get one free for fromms. In the end I don’t care about the coupons, just finding her a food she likes. So, what is out there that is high quality that might have comparable tastes to those two foods? Chicken/chicken liver and buffalo/lamb. We’ve also had luck with wet food containing beef and duck. We only have a enough food for today and tomorrow so I need something I can pick up today and am willing to order something else later.

[Linda C]

I had read this on some of the reviews so was very hesitant to order from the Kentucky kitchen! I hope the reviews were untrue. I always read reviews before making a final decision. My girls have been on Canadian Orijen or Acana for 4 yrs. I ordered a different food but they eat whats in their Acana bowl. I free feed, neither has a weight problem due to a fenced yard so they get to do lots of running and playing. I would love to hear your views!
Linda

[Carol Y]

Just curious about how you say Acana USA made in Kentucky is getting dogs sick. I just started my 10yr maltese on Acana GRASSLANDS made in Kentucky. It is listed as an editor’s choice. Please confirm. Thank you, Carol Y

[Chris S]

Thanks Susan, yes she was doing ok on TOW but she is also picky so she had started only eating it if I added some freeze dried salmon for smell 😊. I have never had picky eaters before our two now are pretty picky. They liked Merrick for a while but I think they changed their formula and they started rejecting it.
I bet you are right about the TOW we have. We normally buy locally but our store was out so we bought it from Amazon so no telling wheee it came from.
I did some research and bought the limited ingredients Acana and mixed a little in their food today. Really hope this one will be a keeper.

[Chris S]

I am trying to transition our dogs from TOW to Acana. Part of the reason is that with the last bag one of our dogs has been having frequent diarrhea and some vomiting. I just found out that there has been some issues with the TOW yellow bags which exact food I am feeding so I really want to get her off quickly but avoiding even worse upsets. Any chance I could just switch and maybe add some pumpkin to help .?

[Avia M R]

Champion (Orijen & Acana) has stated that Amazon is not an authorized dealer, but they have little control over sellers on Amazon, so it is a buyer beware situation. I imagine the same applies to at least some of the other companies leaving Chewy.

[Susan]

Hi Heather,
Daisy needs a diet high in Omega 3, have you tried a salmon/fish diet yet? you write you give her Omega 3 but what brand are you using, is it a New Zealand brand? in America they tested a heap different brands of un opened fish oils supplements off the shop shelves & 70% of them were no good, a waste of money, then they tested the fish oil supplements from New Zealand & their fish oil capsule were of better quality, the whether is cooler in NZ, so there’s no damage while being made.. Oxidation occurs when unsaturated fats such as omega -3 fatty acids EPA & DHA are exposed to heat, light or oxygen…how you’ll know if capsules are rancid/oxidized the smell is awful, smells real fishy smell & the gel capsules may have discoloration… store any fish oil in fridge…
same as oils in a kibble as soon as you open bag of kibble & the oxygen hits the kibble the oils start to oxidize, they say you have 2 weeks life on a kibble, so make sure its put in an air tight container & stored in a very cool place in the house, alot of people put their dog food in the garage or hot shed…
Cause you don’t know if the fish oil capsules are good or bad, best to buy tin sardines in spring water or olive oil, take sardines out of the tin & put in a glass air tight small container, store in fridge & give Daisy 2-3 sardines a day either as a treat or as a topper on her dry food….
I would start looking for a Salmon dry formula but not Orijen or Acana, Orijen & Acana tested high for toxins & contaminates….
Have a look at “Canidae” Pure Sea formula, alot of dogs with skin problems do really well on the Canidae Pure Sea formula, ingredients are good, its high in omega 3, feed for 2-3 months then rotate & feed the Canidae Pure Sky it has turkey meal & duck meal, turkey & chicken are cleaner meats, or rotate with the Canidae Pure Elements also the wet tin foods are really good to use as a topper, read thru the ingredient list see which formula you prefer but make sure you rotate with the Pure Sea especially when Spring & Summer is coming start back on the Canidae Pure Sea, https://www.canidae.com/dog-food/products

or try a vet diet try Hills new “Derma Defense” wet & dry, it’s a vet diet for Environment allergies, skin problems, with high levels of Omega 3 & 6 fatty acid, the Omega 3 is high at 1.80% the Omega 6-3.96%, the Omega 3 should be around 1/2 of what the Omega 6% is, alot of pet foods aren’t balanced properly & are very low in Omega 3 & very high in Omega 6, they’re not balanced properly & cause skin problems….
Hills Derm Defense helps strengthen skin barrier, formulated to help soothe & nourish skin & coat, helps skin recover naturally, supporting a healthy immune system, works with proprietary complex of bioactives & phytonutrients, antioxidants, including vitamin E, high levels of Omega 3 & 6 fatty acids….
I know I lot of people don’t like the ingredients in vet diets, but they’re formulated for certain health problems, you could give the Derm Defense a try for just 3 months & see does her fur start to grow back, you’ve got nothing to lose also Hills is guaranteed to work or money back, contact Hills speak with one of their Vet Nutritionist & see what formula they recommend… I rotate & feed the Hills D/D Venison & Potato Skin health & Stomach, my boy has IBD & Skin Allergies or try the Canidae Pure Sea & Pure Sky formula’s first & see how Daisy goes…. Canidae will be cheaper then the vet diet… Canidae gets 5 stars on American consumer affairs site, Canidae grow all their own vegetables, Canidae is a family run business…. what your feeding at the moment isn’t helping, so you have nothing to lose..
also shampoo what are you bathing Daisy in to moisturize & nourish her skin?
Start bathing Daisy weekly with Malaseb medicated shampoo to wash off any allergens on her skin…

[a c]

Pet food stores need to stop telling people that Orijen and Acana have the best dog food because inexperience pet owners most likely will buy what pet food stores tell them to. Not everyone know about this website and the Clean Label.

I addition, you will think pet insurance companies will be jumping on those toxic pet food manufacturers. If those dog food are making dogs sick or die, pet insurance companies will be paying.

[BooPacerKing]

Our vet was quite literally floored when we started describing to him what we gathered from this thread and began to suspect. The vet feels terrible because he’d had us giving our dog allergy medication, acid-control medication, and probiotics, not realizing that the only thing those meds were doing was allowing our dog to tolerate the Acana that may have something wrong with it.

After the Kentucky Ancana, not only did our lab start vomiting up the food (and eventually wouldn’t eat it), but he had also started drooling excessively and having a runny nose.

Turns out the dog quite literally needs none of those medications or dietary supplements. Those meds were merely masking the basic problem. Perhaps some owners would’ve switched foods earlier (and we would’ve if the vet had even hinted at this being related to the food in any of the many times they looked at the dogs for any of these snowballing symptoms), but we had fallen for all the marketing, etc. indicating that Acana was one of the best foods out there. And it remains the best-selling food carried by our local pet store.

When the lab refused to eat the food, one of our other dogs (a small dog who is fed a science diet brand food) grabbed several mouths full. Isn’t it fascinating that the small dog threw up later that day. Different dog, same result. Hmmmm.

As it turns out, the lab would’ve been better off eating any grocery-store brand than the Acana. We now have small bags of three different high-end foods (not Acana or Orijen) that he is currently testing. We have not seen this Labrador this happy and perky in years. No meds or supplements. And seems to be completely symptom free.

Without the science, though, we cannot definitely blame this on the Acana. But the coincidences and the severity of the symptoms on the Acana are too great. If there is something wrong with that food, we can’t just let people feed it to their animals.

My fear is that even if the science says that there are elevated levels of something bad in the food, we will be told that the ingredients are within industry-accepted levels. But it sure seems like there are some dogs not tolerating it and that it is actually causing injury or worse to others. That? Is not ok. But it could be that dog food manufacturers may shrug it off. After all, there must be thousands of dogs in the U.S. eating this food.

But we shall see. The university scientists have already jumped on board to get to the bottom of it, and they themselves will be doing the reporting to the FDA if the tests turn up something untoward.

Someone asked where they could send their dog food to be tested. I believe that Caroline C listed the name of the laboratory that tested her food.

[C C]

AC, please don’t take a chance on Origen or Acana, whether you believe you need specific detailed information from Clean Label or not. The testimonies of those who have had terribly sick, even losing their dogs, can be enough when there are other quality dog foods available. Please compare what Dog Food Advisor recommends WITH Clean Label and make a wisdom decision yourself even over and above opinions of others. As stated, we lost our precious Sheltie so nothing is worth going against your heart instincts and personal gathered insights. When she was dying I also asked in prayer for wisdom. Also as stated by many, even vets don’t always know and some can even advise their “prescription food”, which can be literally full of road kill in many cases. Many vets just aren’t trained regarding food issues or other ways to treat disease, just dispense drugs like our human Drs do. It takes a special vet, perhaps a holistic one in your area, that can be well informed of all these matters to help you. I now have a new Sheltie that also has special issues (we call her our “rescue” even though gotten from a breeder) and I thank God for our new vet. Our first visit there was a full hour getting background on her, clear understanding of her daily habits and issues of concerns, gave great suggestions on how to help her, not just drugs. Even assigned a special mild mannered and patient tech to do her first nail clipping. Amazing experience that was best for our girl because things like stress, poor training/handling, lack of socialization, etc. can also make dogs literally sick. Thanks for listening and best wishes in the times ahead.

[a c]

This is very scary. My puppy has been on Orijen(same manufacturer as Acana) puppy food for about 2 months now. I hate to think I am feeding him the poison. Where can I take the food to get it tested? I wish Clean Label Project would publish their findings in detail info.

I never use Orijen made in Canada, so I don’t have anything to compare to.

[Nata T]

Thank you, Caroline C.
I am very sorry, everyone, whose fur kids are having issues with the commercial dog food (Acana in particular) and hope your babies recover and get better soon.
I am also sorry for those of you, who lost precious pups. 🙁

Personally, I am fully transferred mine to raw diet and love it. Before I fed Millies Wolfheart from Austin, TX. It was the best kibble for us.

[Caroline C]

Below are the heavy metal results from a bag of ACANA Wild Atlantic dog food that was purchased in February. My dog died from kidney failure in July caused by an immune disease. I can’t help but think that feeding her food tainted with heavy metals did not help.

Acana Wild Atlantic Dry Dog (special project)
Pet Food Test
Heavy Metals by ICPMS

Lead (ppb) 289.7
Arsenic (ppb) 3257.7
Cadmium (ppb) 99.0
Mercury (ppb) 45.6
Nickel (ppb) 1172.6
Chromium (ppb) 400.8