[shirley r]

My lab has been eating Orijin and Acana on a rotational basis for the last 3 years and suddenly refused to eat breakfast or his evening meal, just picks at it. i subsequntly found out most of the flavors were now being produced in Kentucky, no longer Canada. Has anyone else had any similar problems? i am now looking for a new brand 🙁

[Laura M]

I had the exact same problem with Acana. I also found white spots on the kibble in a bag of the lamb. I reported it to the company and they seemed to take it seriously, sent me instructions to send back to them 4 cups of the kibble for testing and a coupon for a free bag. I have not heard back from them since and this happened a few months ago. The coupon does me no good because my dogs won’t eat it at all, both chicken and lamb. I switched to holistic select turkey and lentil and my dogs seem to like it and are doing well. Good luck.

[Jenn H]

I’m glad you contacted them. The more people who do that the more likely they are to fix what’s broken.

[Caryl R]

My 10 year old has been eating Orijen senior. I was happy with the food. Then we got a bag of Senior formula made in the USA. My dog is not picky so she ate it without issue, however, it gave her the nastiest smelling gas. It would clear the room and make me want to gag. Unbelievably bad. I had to switch her food.

My two younger dogs have done great on the Orijen Regional Red Canada formula. Anyway, I switched them all to Timberwolf Organics. I am very happy with the food. It is also a bit more economical which is always good. I have been happy with Orijen over the years and I hope that they work out whatever issues there are with the new US formulas.

[Alice M]

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.

[valerie b]

Acana “Free run Poultry dry food” …just noticed it contains chicken meal.
What is chicken meal?

[SummerRainAussies]

Chicken meal is in a sense dehydrated chicken. Chicken with all the water removed. Chicken meal is much more protein dense than fresh chicken because it weights much less, although it is a rendered meat. They were using all fresh meats and now they have added a “meat meal” im sure to cut down on costs.
Named meat meal is not strictly a bad thing. I would rather see named meat meal as a first ingredient than a fresh meat before lets say a brown rice. Simply means more of the overall protein in the food is coming from meat sources.

[shirley r]

Thanks all for your input, I couldn’t believe it when my lab stopped eating this great food. I’m so pleased others are in the same boat and it’s not just me being paranoid!! I have now switched to Natures Variety instinct. I add some primal frozen raw in the evenings and some freeze dried in the mornings. He seems to enjoy it.

[Michelle D]

Now I know why Toby is refusing to eat his Orijen. Thr last bag started making him sick. We threw it away and got a new one. This one he’s refused to eat it at all, and the few meals he’s eaten he’s thrown them all up. I’ve been on here for the last 2 days trying to find out what’s going on. He’s been eating Orijen for a year and a half.

I’m still taking him in to the vet to make sure he’s okay, because he’s been shaking, nauseated, etc for weeks. I hope it’s judt been this food and not somrthing else.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 7 months ago by Michelle D.

[Dana F]

I had my adult Collie on the Orijen Red and Six Fish (Canadian version) and he thrived on that food. I was so impressed and so was my dog. I did try the U.S. version of Orijen and I hate to say it but initially my Collie refused to eat it and when he finally did he suffered from stomach cramps and diarrhea.

Fortunately, I had ordered Horizon Legacy in anticipation of problems with Orijen since I had read so many reviews where owners reported both vomiting and diarrhea. As soon as I switched him to the Horizon Legacy, with no transition, his digestive issues stopped and stools were firm. Plus he loves the food!

He’s been on Horizon Legacy for several months now and his coat is still shiny, soft, no yeast smell in the ears and his allergies have not re-emerged.

I’m very disappointed with Orijen but I am happy to have discovered a replacement that is working well for my Collie.

[Ann S]

My Rottie refuses to eat the American made version of Orijen. As soon as the switch was made to the Kentucky plant, she stopped eating her food. Orijen is way too expensive not to have your dog eat it. So, after an extensive search for a new food with near equivalent protein levels and high quality ingredients, we chose Natures Variety Instinct. She loves it and we have left Orijen for good.

[valerie b]

Has anyone had trouble with the Free Run Poultry Acana dry kibble?

[K Michiel C]

I have three Pembroke Welsh Corgis. They are known for their sensitive stomachs. I have been feeding Acana Regionals (Meadowland) for the last four years without any issues. That is until they switched the manufacturing to the US. I don’t know what they changed, but all three have had recurring bouts of vomiting and diarrhea since they switched. I have spent over $1000 in vet bills. Being Corgis, they would never turn their noses up at anything, so getting them to eat it has not been a problem. Until I found this forum, I didn’t think to connect it with the food. Now after seeing others with the same issues: poop starts out normal then turns to very loose followed by diarrhea; and vomiting the food much later, undigested. I realize their problems all started about the time of the US switch. I am very disappointed. I just called my dog food supplier and they said they can no longer get the Canadian version. So, I need to switch and have been reading every dog food review on DFA and the new Editor’s Choice site. I need to make a choice…soon.

[Bernie O]

So happy for all the info. on Orijen – Acana made in Kentucky. My 3 1/2 month Golden was doing great on Wellness Core puppy and all of a sudden he has developed diarrhea,, when we slow reintroduce the Core puppy again after he became stable the softness began again. I’m thinking the Core puppy and it’s higher protein made be to rich. Was thinking about changing to Acana ,, but now now after what I just read. Any thoughts or suggestions on another high quality large breed puppy food ? Thanks to all !

[Seamus H]

I called Champion Pet Foods today since I am really considering putting my 10 week old GSD on Orijen Puppy Large. I’m in Canada and was told that all Orijen sold in Canada is made in Canada in Alberta.

[Seamus H]

I called Champion Pet Foods today and was told all Orijen sold in Canada is made in Canada (in Alberta) and all Orijen sold in the USA is made in the USA (in Kentucky).

[Seamus H]

I called Champion this morning and was told all Orijen food sold in Canada is made in Canada and all Orijen food sold in the US is made in the US.

I hope this helps as I was a little dismayed as I want to start my 10 week old German Shepherd on Orijen Puppy Large. I am in Ontario, Canada.

[Seamus H]

I called Champion Pet Foods this morning and was told that all Orijen foods sold in Canada is made in Canada and that all Orijen food sold in the US is made in the US.
I’m in Canada so I am happy that manufacturing for Canada isn’t in the Kentucky plant due to the number of negative reviews of the Orijen food from that plant.
I decided to call since I want to switch my 10 wk old German Shepherd over to Orijen Puppy Large from the Holistic Select Large Puppy.

[Seamus H]

I called Champion Pet Foods the other day and was told that Orijen sold in Canada is made in Canada and that Orijen sold in the US is made in the US.
I hope this helps as I am wanting to put my 10 week old German Shepherd on Orijen and was concerned about some of the comments in this thread.
I’m in Canada so my understanding is that the Orijen I will feed my pup is produced in Alberta.

[David K]

All I can say is when Acana switched to the Kentucky plant my three dogs, 2- labs, 1-Siberian Husky have had no problems with this food at all. I was feeding the Canadian product with no problems. Feeding the Acana Heritage meats formula. They love it!

[Karen B]

We fed our lab Orijen Six Fish for at least six years. She had never been sick at all except for once a year having to have her anal glands expressed. The last order of Orijen we got had some bags that were vacuumed packed and others that were not. All of a sudden her white platelets plummeted way down and the blood vessels popped in her eyes and her gums bled.
The emergency vet ruled out everything and finally said that sometimes the immune crashes with no reason. Well, I don’t believe an immune system crashes for NO reason. It is just that the reason it happens wasn’t discovered. After heavy doses of Prednisone, Birdie was miserable and aggressively hungry all the time. She had a huge amount of fluid in her belly. As the Prednisone was tapered off (this whole process took WEEKS), the fluid went down and she started perking up. She was on her way back to health then suddenly started vomiting uncontrollably one evening. That was stopped by the emergency vet and we were sent home. She couldn’t get comfortable at home so we started back for the emergency vet again. She died on the way. I didn’t want an autopsy done but the vet had seen plenty of Birdie’s ultrasounds over the past few weeks. Her liver and pancreas were horribly inflamed. We believe the Orijen killed her. It was just all of a sudden that she stopped wanting to eat it. Symptoms that she had corresponded with other reports we have seen on the internet. I think it was the bags that were not vacuumed packed and from Kentucky that were the killers. I think some dogs are just more vulnerable to poor quality dog foods.

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