[Shannon K]

We are in the process of transitioning our dog from Royal Canin to Acana dog food. At first all seemed to be going well. One day last week my dog threw up almost every hour from 330am – 2pm. I brought him to the vet because we were worried he had an obstructions. Turns out he didn’t. He got a shot for anti nausea and some antibiotics. The next day I only fed him boiled chicken and white rice. With 12 hours you could tell he was feeling much better. By that afternoon we put him back on his dog food. He was fine for a day but then this morning was sick 3 times after his breakfast. I’m worried now it’s his food. Has anyone else experienced this? I was told Acana is high protein high quality food. Should I be making another transition to another food? All suggestions are welcomed. Thank you.

[anonymous]

skeptvet says:
April 21, 2019 at 1:23 pm
There is no perfect food, and a food that works well for one dog may not work for another, so the best you can do is choose a maintenance diet from an established company (one with veterinary nutritionists on staff to oversee formulation and quality control) and then monitor important signs, such as weight, stool quality, coat quality, etc. There are many good choices and only a few I would recommend against (raw diets, and BEG diets).
Above is an excerpt from :

FDA Webinar Discussing Dietary Risk Factors for Dilated Cardiomyopathy

http://skeptvet.com/Blog/category/nutrition/

Hope this helps!

What was wrong with Royal Canin?

Consider Fromm (grain inclusive formulas) Example: https://www.gofromm.com/fromm-family-classic-adult-dog-food

[anonymous]

I fell for the marketing ploys a few years ago too.
Both my dogs vomited after one serving of Orijen (similar to Acana)
Too much oily crap in it (imo) No thanks!

My dog with a sensitive stomach does well on this one https://www.gofromm.com/fromm-four-star-nutritionals-salmon-a-la-veg-food-for-dogs small kibbles

I use kibble as a base I always add a splash of water and a bit of chicken or scrambled egg…

[Bernice L]

I went through a similar incident with my dog Freddy for a number of years because all the vets kept telling me, despite his chronic pancreatitis and bilious vomiting syndrome, that he was on the best food, despite over $6000 in vet bills in 3 months, despite numerous hospital stays and consults with specialists, until finally one day I was at our local butcher, where I had not been before. He told me about all the things they sell, where their meat comes from, and that they make their own dog food — beef, chicken, brown rice, vegetables and ground bone for calcium; well my prescribed dog food was costing me $250/month (it was Royal Canin low fat gastro) so decided what the heck, try the raw food and within days I noticed a difference, within two weeks ALL of Freddy’s symptoms were gone, and now, 5 months later no vet visits or hospital stays since I switched AND instead of $250/month I am paying closer to $140/month.

Raw food isn’t for everyone, but I didn’t realize just how much of a difference food makes. For the record, every other dog I’ve ever had, over 40 years now, were fed Beneful and lived to be between 12 and 16 years old, never had a food problem, and it’s cheap. Wish that still worked! Good luck!

[pugmomsandy]

Maybe a slower transition is needed. Could even take a few months, not just 10-14 days.

[anonymous]

“He got a shot for anti nausea and some antibiotics. The next day I only fed him boiled chicken and white rice. With 12 hours you could tell he was feeling much better. By that afternoon we put him back on his dog food. He was fine for a day but then this morning was sick 3 times after his breakfast. I’m worried now it’s his food. Has anyone else experienced this?”

That was too soon to go back to a regular diet. Check with your vet but from my experience the dog should be on a bland diet for 7 to 10 days, then gradually add kibble and transition back.

I would consider a prescription/therapeutic diet if his symptoms continue.

Also more diagnostic testing may be indicated, there may be something else going on (not diet related) Was pancreatitis ruled out?

[joanne l]

Take him off Acana, feed him a bland diet like Anon said for a few days and try a grain in diet from a reputable company. Do it gradually, over a 2 or 3 week period mixed in chicken and rice. I hope your pup feels better. Obviously it is the food!! Why did you change his food anyway?? Was he doing good on Royal Canine?? If he was doing good on RC, then go back to it. Don’t get wrapped up in the “better food” thing, sometimes it is not better!! Just my pinion.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 6 months ago by joanne l.

[Jeff E]

Sickness to the point of hospitalization; Same experience as yours. I have 1 Red Heeler/Pointer mix, and 5 Dachshunds. Heeler and Dachshunds all vomiting. Saying that weeks or months to adjust doesn’t make any sense. This happened with a blended approach. Just like for people, I constantly vary the diet among a brand for the dogs sake and interest. This is not possible with Acana. My first purchase came at recommendation by feed store employee. It wasn’t the first bag that made them sick, it was the second bag…. What does that tell you? It was the Muscovy duck mix. I’ve since moved to Health Extension, and move from flavor to flavor with NO problems at all. Acana is also now suspect of contributing to heart disease in dogs. No thanks… My dogs are healthy and happy on Health Extension. Acana is way over-promoted.

[joanne l]

Thank goodness you stopped Acana, it seems like bad news, Health Extension is a good dog food. It just goes to show you even if the ingredients look great it doesn’t matter.

[GSDsForever]

Jeff,

Glad to hear your dogs are off the Acana and doing better with regard to the symptoms you mentioned (vomiting).

If you are concerned about the DCM-diet connection, I would still caution to avoid other grain-free/high legumes especially or potatoes formulas in other brands, along with other unusual/more exotic ingredients. It wasn’t just Acana, but many brands implicated including Health Extension’s grain-free formula.

I agree that Orijen & Acana (Champion Pet Foods) have been heavily over promoted as the most wonderful & perfect foods on the planet — for many recent years. They have great advertising.

Whatever brand(s) you choose, ask a lot of questions and do your research on the company, manufacturing, and formula — just to be on the safe side.

[Nick D]

Important forum.
We tried Acana on our three bulldogs with a similar resulting story to earlier respondents – on the SECOND bag all three dogs got sick; In particular, our 4 year old male required a one day emergency visit due to repeated bouts of vomiting, distress, and subsequent dehydration. Cerenia (anti-nausea), Omprazole (antacid), and metclopromide (anti-nausea) were prescribed, along with canned ‘low fat’ Royal Canin gastro food for him.
All three had been switched over from Royal Canin to Acana Lamb and Apple.
One week later and he continues to improve, but it has been a terrible ordeal for the poor fellow, and he is still on medication!

[Author]

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