# Acana Chicken and Burbank Potato won out!



## mdinno (Nov 2, 2014)

We tried a many of dog foods before we found our "perfect dog food" that our dog loves and we love it's ingredients and trust the company that makes it. We started out with Nutro. Dog barfed it almost immediately. Next up was Fromm's Surf and Turf. Excellent product from a great company but unfortunately the kibbles were to small for her where she almost choked on them. We went to Petcurean GO! Excellent food as well but the kibbles were still a little small for her. Finally we went to Orijen and she really did excellent on it but just too pricey. We went back to Fromm but the Adult Gold. We started realizing she did fine on grains. We would have stuck with the Fromm Gold. Until we discovered Acana's Chicken and Burbank Potato. Our dog absolutely loved it and we like it's grains better than the Fromm's. I like the Oats over the Brown rice. Little richer in protein also. And it's affordable!! We mix her kibble with Fromm Duck canned food. After much research, we can't find another canned food that is as good as Fromm and she loves it. Although GO! is an excellent canned food. We use it once in a while. So there you have it. Hope it helps someone make a decision.


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## Georgiapeach (Jan 24, 2011)

Glad you found a winner! Once I start running out of TOTW Pacific Stream, I'm going to try slowly switching my boxer, Jackson, over to this kibble, as well. I tried adding some from a sample bag to his meals for a few days, and it didn't seem to bother him. I'm hoping it will help him gain a couple of pounds, too, since it's grain inclusive and higher in calories. On TOTW, I have to feed Jackson more than the suggested amount on the bag to keep him from losing weight, much less being able to gain weight.


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## mdinno (Nov 2, 2014)

Georgiapeach said:


> Glad you found a winner! Once I start running out of TOTW Pacific Stream, I'm going to try slowly switching my boxer, Jackson, over to this kibble, as well. I tried adding some from a sample bag to his meals for a few days, and it didn't seem to bother him. I'm hoping it will help him gain a couple of pounds, too, since it's grain inclusive and higher in calories. On TOTW, I have to feed Jackson more than the suggested amount on the bag to keep him from losing weight, much less being able to gain weight.


I'm sure you you and your dog will be happy with it. It's affordable and I tried real hard to find a brand with better ingredients and I couldn't. Fromm Adult Gold came close but the Oats won out over the brown rice. Really a win win. Ofcourse I didn't include any brand thats made by a corporation and the such in my research. No trust there.


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## NutroGeoff (May 15, 2013)

I'm glad that you found a good that works for your dog! I am sorry to hear that Nutro didn't work out for you.


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## mdinno (Nov 2, 2014)

NutroGeoff said:


> I'm glad that you found a good that works for your dog! I am sorry to hear that Nutro didn't work out for you.


That was when we first started to dabble in dog nutrition. We both eat organic and came to realize that dog food is no different. GMO's and chemicals in dog food also. She had our dog on a bog box, corporate owned dog food who i won't even mention. Well, we began with Nutro only because the pet store(in Oregon at the time) was pushing the brand. Obviously they had a deal going with them. Red flag for us It was better than the other brand but of course no where near the quality of Acana or Fromm.and the dog hated it anyway.


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## A&W (Apr 26, 2014)

mdinno said:


> I'm sure you you and your dog will be happy with it. It's affordable and I tried real hard to find a brand with better ingredients and I couldn't. Fromm Adult Gold came close but the Oats won out over the brown rice. Really a win win. Ofcourse I didn't include any brand thats made by a corporation and the such in my research. No trust there.


The food you bought is made by a company that is owned by an investment fund. Don't think it is family owned because it is not. It was sold a few years back.

That company has also had a series of serious recalls and other news items that don't portray the company in a good light.


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## Lisie (Nov 3, 2014)

hi! Sorry, I'm new so I still have to figure out how to quote people! Acana is an excellent choice. From what I understand from my research, Acana, like Orijen (which we feed our dogs) it is made from the freshest, locally sourced (regional) ingredients. I like that it is human grade. We often buy Acana when funds are low and we can't swing for the Orijen. 

It is owned by Champion, but Acana has *never* had a recall. A&W, I'd love to hear more about the investment company that owns these brands; I can't seem to find what you are referring to online. I would be very interested in any "news items" that are unsavory about the company. However, I think that Orijen/Acana has kept true to their principals, even if bought by a bigger entity. True, it would be nice to buy food from a "family owned" company, but I wouldn't know where to find such a product. Like human food, there is always that ire. For example, Kashi being owned by Kellogg, etc. Even Vermont's beloved Ben and Jerry's is no longer independent and is part of some big conglomerate. But I guess that is whole other subject for another day!


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## mdinno (Nov 2, 2014)

I read about that and I just don't see it on the same level like an evil entity like Nestle or P&G buy out. From what I gatherr, Champion family is still in control. Those recalls were mostly in Australia and so far no evidence of the ingredients being compromised or outsourced. Our dog is doing fantastic on it. But, will definetly keep an eye on things.


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## AngelaPrimanti (Feb 24, 2014)

mdinno said:


> I read about that and I just don't see it on the same level like an evil entity like Nestle or P&G buy out. From what I gatherr, Champion family is still in control. Those recalls were mostly in Australia and so far no evidence of the ingredients being compromised or outsourced. Our dog is doing fantastic on it. But, will definetly keep an eye on things.


Champion was sold to a buy-out firm called Bedford Capital. I would highly doubt anyone but Bedford Capital controls it.

There have been many recalls, not just the debacle in Australia. One for mad cow disease in the foods, one for sharp fish bones and then Acana was banned from import due to bacteria in the food. There were also reports of moldy bags of other formulas.

Issues Surrounding Champion Petfoods Orijen recall in Australia

The supplier of fish also released something saying they sell fish products to Champion that were thrown away before. There is a link below and you can read the actual document from the fish company.

Champion Petfoods and fish "waste" (by-products)? - YorkieTalk.com Forums - Yorkshire Terrier Community

What is also disturbing to me is that TruthAboutPet food did an article about Champion using Boar from canned hunts.

Orijen’s Canned Response or Supporting a Canned Hunt Farmer? | Truth about Pet Food

Canned hunts are very cruel and many places in the US don't allow them.

I think the company does a fantastic job of marketing itself, but until they submit country of origin data to TruthAboutPetFood I won't be convinced much of the ingredients actually come from Canada.

Another thing you should know, Canada has no regulations on pet foods or ingredients and plants are not inspected by the government. If your dog or cat gets sick, you cannot even file a case or complaint. 

I would certainly use that company's foods over others to be sure, but its mostly a marketing company to be honest.

There are better products and much better prices.

BTW, they will be making the foods in Kentucky soon, so after 10 years of being preached to about "regional Canadian ingredients" I guess the marketing will have to change.

Good Luck


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## mdinno (Nov 2, 2014)

Thanks Angela for the info. Right now our dog is doing great on it. So for now we will stick with it. You say there are better dog foods out there and affordable... But what are they? Every company has some kind of skeleton in their closet and marketing schemes. I did a lot of research like everyone else and have it narrowed down to Orijen/Acana, Fromm, and GO! I like the grains in Acana Chicken and Burbank potato. If there is another reputable dog food that uses Oats for it's grain source I'd like to know who that is.


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

Have a look at Farmina. Its the only one i will feed my cat. I feed raw to my dogs, but my cat refuses to eat it. After the melamine recalls in 2007, im very, very careful of what my animals eat. My cat use to get bladder crystals on other 5 star foods, but nothing with Farmina. No meals, no gmo's, proteins are from meat, not peas or vegetables, they use dehydrated meat instead of meals, no recalls. They are on facebook, ask them to send you some free 
samples.


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## A&W (Apr 26, 2014)

MollyWoppy said:


> Have a look at Farmina. Its the only one i will feed my cat. I feed raw to my dogs, but my cat refuses to eat it. After the melamine recalls in 2007, im very, very careful of what my animals eat. My cat use to get bladder crystals on other 5 star foods, but nothing with Farmina. No meals, no gmo's, proteins are from meat, not peas or vegetables, they use dehydrated meat instead of meals, no recalls. They are on facebook, ask them to send you some free
> samples.


Farmina N&D Ancestral Grain formulas with Farro & Oats are much better than Acana, and Farmina Grain Free is much better than Orijen.

Much simpler foods and much better value.

IMO


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## A&W (Apr 26, 2014)

Here is the USA website:

Farmina Pet Foods - Happy pet. Happy You. | Happy pet. Happy you.

https://www.facebook.com/FarminaUSA


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## mdinno (Nov 2, 2014)

Thanks...this is frustrating. We were set with Acana but now I'm a little nervous about it. You sold me. Even though our dog does well on it and I just stocked up on new 28b bag. I know for a fact that dog and cats in Europe live about 5 years longer than western pets due to their superior pet food. Plus GMO's are banned there so is most foods coming from the U.S. So Farmina it is. Thing is I have to get it from Chewy since out pet supply stores doesn't carry it. Whats the feeding for a 57lb dog? I want the grain formula. Now I'm kind of a jinx. How long before farmina sells out?


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## A&W (Apr 26, 2014)

mdinno said:


> Thanks...this is frustrating. We were set with Acana but now I'm a little nervous about it. You sold me. Even though our dog does well on it and I just stocked up on new 28b bag. I know for a fact that dog and cats in Europe live about 5 years longer than western pets due to their superior pet food. Plus GMO's are banned there so is most foods coming from the U.S. So Farmina it is. Thing is I have to get it from Chewy since out pet supply stores doesn't carry it. Whats the feeding for a 57lb dog? I want the grain formula. Now I'm kind of a jinx. How long before farmina sells out?


You can get the food in stores just use the locator map on the website. If there is nothing near you and you want to get the food in a store ask Farmina which company is the distributor in NJ and the store can order it. Just ask on Facebook "Farmina USA".

If not SportDogFood.com, Amazon and Chewy have it.

My advice is that you feed a 57lb dog 1.75 cups and adjust if you need to after about two weeks.

Farmina has been owned by the same family since 1965, so probably they wont sell out. Italian companies tend to stay family owned.


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## Georgiapeach (Jan 24, 2011)

If your dog is doing well on the Acana, don't worry about it. Don't overthink this, or you'll lose your mind. You could also rotate the two brands if you want.


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## dredges (May 18, 2012)

I agree, we switched our dogs to Farmina grain free and it's too rich or something. Bad poos and barfing-chug chuging tummies, bad farts etc... I was really wanting it to work out but now we have to cut the farmina in half with either 1/2 acana or 1/2 fromms for them to digest it


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## dredges (May 18, 2012)

I'm here trying to decide on fromms vs acana, my dogs do well on both, much better than on the Farmina. Sometimes the perfect good just doesnt work out


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## Georgiapeach (Jan 24, 2011)

dredges said:


> I'm here trying to decide on fromms vs acana, my dogs do well on both, much better than on the Farmina. Sometimes the perfect good just doesnt work out


You could rotate them or mix them. Then you don't have to decide!


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