Acana Dog Food
September 30, 2008
Filed under Acana, Dog Food Reviews
Acana Dog Food Review
Looking for information on Acana dog food? If so, you have come to the right spot. We will give you an honest opinion of each and every dog food. If you would like to discuss proper dog food nutrition with other dog lovers, visit our forum at: http://dogfoodchat.com/forum Acana dog food is produced and manufactured by Champion Pet Foods. Acana dog food comes in 3 different categories. Acana produces some of the best dog food formula’s available and is highly recommended by our team.
In an effort to provide the required nutrients of pets living in today’s modern lifestyle, Acana pet foods are formulated to be high in protein and low in carbohydrates for better digestion and absorption in the carnivore digestive tract. Acana pet foods claims to fame include its fresh regional ingredients and pet food products which have been certified by the Government of Canada as having met every international regulation or standard set for pet food. The manufacturers of Acana pet foods claim that their pet food formulas are made from high quality ingredients are delivered each day and obtained only from reputable sources.
Acana’s pet food formulas are based on 5 natural principals—ingredient freshness and variety to match the natural diet, high in animal proteins, low in grains and carbohydrates, rich in fruits and vegetables, and tonic herbs to strengthen the body and spirit. All ACANA pet food formulas contain at least 3 of the best farm-fresh ingredients which are found in the region including free-run chicken, steel-cut oats, fresh whole eggs, russet potatoes, wild-caught flounder, organic sea vegetables, pacific salmon and fresh Northern walleye.
Aside from freshness, the manufacturers of Acana pet foods used a variety of meat proteins from several sources including small mammals, eggs, birds, and fish. Different sources of protein provide variety and better match the dog’s natural diet in the wild. Compared to carbohydrates, high amounts of animal proteins are much better metabolized by a dog’s digestive system. To provide for natural vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients which are required by different ages of dogs, 20% of Acana pet food formulas are made up of locally grown fruits and vegetables.
Acana dog food has several formulas designed to meet the variable needs of different ages of dogs. Whether the formula is designed for puppies, growing dogs, or adult ones, the first five ingredients of Acana dog food include plenty of meat with minimal amounts of grains.
Tonic herbs and botanicals are also incorporated in the feed formulation to help eliminate toxins from the body and preserve the optimum functions of organs and tissues.
In our opinion, Acana is one of the very best dog food brands available, we highly recommend it. Among the different dog food formulas, Acana Ranchlands Dog Food gained the highest customer ratings. Although the price is quite high, you get value for money quality with a total of 8 meats providing a total of 31% protein level. Another plus for some dog owners—their dogs often feel less hungry.
The combination of meat and whole grains in their puppy formulas has gained favorable feedbacks although chicken fat has been identified as a predisposing factor of bloat in large dog breeds. The amount of Omega 3 oils is just enough and many dog owners have reported that aside from having no problems finishing up their food, their dogs have beautiful hair coats.
There are dog owners who reported their pets having frequent bowel movement even though they had gradually changed their old dog food to Acana. In contrast there were also those who reported their pets experiencing constipation with Acana Premium Adult Dog Food. Some remedied this problem by giving a lot of water with the dog food.
Please visit the links listed below for Acana dog food reviews by formula.
Have a comment or question about our Acana dog food review? Want to share your experiences with others? We welcome your comments!
Acana Formula Dog Food Reviews:
Acana Puppy Diet Dog Food
Acana Adult Diet dog food
Acana Special Needs
Acana Balanced dog food
Acana Dog Food consumer ranking
Hey April, were you ever at Sand Point Navel Station? If you were, it has been given over to the city and one of the things they did, was build a really cool off leash dog park. We used to go there all the time until we were attacked by 2 pit bulls. Tony now gets a little aggressive towards dogs that even look like Pits. One of those attacking pits got me good, right below the family jewels. Thank god Tony was there and was as big as he is or I might still be in the hospital.
I don’t think that I was ever there, but my husband may have been. Yikes! Pits should probably be kept out of dog parks, since they tend to be other dog aggresive, or at least kept on a leash or muzzle. Glad that you are okay! I had a GSD mix growing up, and he was great! I was holding our pup at a local pet store, and a springer spaniel attacked us, we are both fine, just some bruises on my arm. You would think that people wouldn’t bring their aggressive dogs out around other dogs, or at least keep them under control. The owner was coming by us to pet my dog.
just a comment to April and Jess.. just wanted to say that you can not put the blame on the dog for much of anything it was a total lack of training by the owner. i have owned pits and they are the best dogs that i have ever had!! they just need responsible owners is all… my dogs have never been agressive towards any other dog.
I was using Acana Puppy large breed dog food but I will not buy it again as at least twice now we had mice in it. Mice in the dog food cannot be healthy for your dog never mind getting into your home.
Hey Robin
Been using Acana for a long time and never had a problem. Maybe you have mice in your home and that’s how they got in the bag. Or, maybe in transit.
I’m curious as to why the other grain-free Acana products aren’t listed on this site?
I have a husky puppy,she was eating puppy chow from the breeder,and i switch it slowly over to acana,but this is the beginning of nightmare,eversince I feed her Acana ,she starts to have diarrhea,it’s been 2 weeks,I finally decide to switch it over to something else.
I was thinking abt switching to Orijen since it has such high value online,but they both are from the same company and both are high protein,so decide to try something else.
right after I switch to wellness,she stops having diarhea,guess champion dog food is not the best for every dog!!!
Have been feeding Acana to my June 2011 pups from the get go, starting with it soaked in water, then dry.
From the moment the dry was introduced (and the nursing was stopped), the pups have had diarhea. After 3 days of that (and a full health exam with negative stool samples), I switched them to ground beef with brown rice (both cooked). Bms started looking great. Started adding Acana again (want to be able to hand over pups that are easy to feed to the new owners!), and again – diarhea. Constantly.
Back to ground beef and rice and things right themselves…
Despite the impressive and wholesome ingredients list, there must be something in the Acana that puppies – at least my Papillon puppies – cannot tolerate!
Any advice is more than welcome.
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I too am feeding my Standard Poodle Acana Large Breed Puppy food. I too went through the runny stools and the clean-ups, however after a few weeks it all cleared up and I have to say it’s one of the best dog foods I have ever encountered. The meat and grain content is of very high quality and is made by Champion Foods, the makers of the Critically acclaimed and award winning Orijin brand. However Acana is a little bit better priced. All natural ingredients – even human grade!! My Jasper loves the food, has high energy, great coat and is growing like he should. I highly recommend this food to any true pet lovers out there, and remember any change to another type of dog food will present problems in the stools if the transition isn’t made gradually and consistently.
My 2 year old Pom loves Acana grain free, her favorite tastes are Pacifica and Ranchlands she does wonderful on that food much better than on Orijen probably because is slightly lighter and easier for her tiny stomach to digest. I certainly recommend the food to anyone interested particularly the grain free formulas
I’ve been feeding my 16 week old mix breed pup (Boston Terrier, Beagle, Pug mix) Acana Wild Prairie since he came into our home at 8 weeks. Initially his stools were a quite loose, but after 2 weeks or so, they firmed up and became much smaller. Maybe it’s too rich for some dogs? This is my first experience with feeding a dog a “premium” food, and I have to say I don’t know why I never looked into it before. Acana is not that far reaching economically speaking, and my pup looks wonderful on it. You can tell the quality is there as soon as you open the bag. The food just looks and smells fresh and tasty (if I were a dog, mind you…).
I tried my 17 month old lab on Orijen when he was just a puppy but it was too rich for him. Don’t give up on their products — you won’t be sorry! I’ve recently tried again with the Acana Pacifica and he’s doing great. He had some loose stools at the beginning, but nothing major and it subsided in a few days of mixed food. When I brought it home he went crazy and even scratched at the closet where the food was stored because he could smell it. His coat looks great — shiney and he seems to be shedding less, although it could also have to do with the season. I would highly recommend it.
We’ve used Acana Ranchland dog food for 6 months now.
I’ve tried every grain free food plus others. Have to say that my girl has done the best on this food.
Her stools are always perfect, less gas and less itchy on this food than any other. Took me awhile to realize red meat was her best protein source.
I tried the Orijen Red right before this but it was too rich for her and gave her gas.
She loves every food, so my input isn’t worth much there.
So good to see a food that doesn’t use canola. An extra star for that in my book.
I’d give this 9.5 stars. Only negative is price but it’s worth it.
the reason only grain free acana is sold in the usa is because of milk thistle. for some reason this ingredient is not approved here so you will only find the grain free variety until this ingredient is removed from the others. to bad as i wanted to feed my bulldog the lamb and apple i believe it was.
I transitioned my Golden Retriever puppy from Puppy Chow to Acana Large Breed Puppy. At first he did great on it. After a few weeks he developed loose stools for over a week. He was put on antibiotics for 7 days, and during the treatment, stools were normal again. After treatment, he did okay for about a week. I increased his amount from 1 cup to 1 1/4 cup per feeding due to his age and projected size according to Acana’s chart. Right away…loose stools again. I reduced his amount immediately with no success. I put him on hamburger and rice for a few days and slowly re-introduce the Acana until he was able to eat 1 cup a meal with no issues. I also added a tbps pumpkin and a pro biotic to every meal for about two weeks. He is doing wonderful now. After reading many reviews and comments about Acana…I think the recommended portions are too high for this food, and the loose stools are caused by overeating.