# Ok need ideas...one more time...sorry and thanks:-)



## tamfitness (Aug 28, 2011)

Ok

Well having some concers about grain free not 100 % sold yet. My concern is with my oldest 13 years old...not sure if that is a good choice. 

Also TOTW LAmb has lots of potato...is this good.

What is another Grain free option and what is another non grain free but a GREAT option

Grain free or not?

Lab 4
Golden 13
LAb mix 12

They are not working dogs or not considered high active.

Thanks


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

What are your concerns with grain free? The only reason it's better is USUALLY it has a higher meat content. Other than that, there isn't much difference between potato and rice...


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

My friend has a pug that (after much nagging from me), switched from Science Diet to Orijen at 12 years of age. Now the dog looks great, shiny as hell, heaps of energy and his face just looks happy. My friend keeps commenting on how much better he's doing and how she wished she had switched him over years before now.
She resisted me for a long time, listening to the vet talking about protein levels and how the foods aren't that much different, but she's got a different tune now. 
Just give it a go, you won't know unless you try. 
Oh, almost forgot, he's also lost weight. 5lbs in fact. He was, um, pleasantly plump, but now you can actually see a waist. He just seems to have more energy.


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

I'm not a fan of TOTW but am a a fan of anything made by Champion, Acana being my favorite a little lower in protein than Orijen, great for dogs starting out on a grain free food and the process of how they use and get their ingredients.


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## tamfitness (Aug 28, 2011)

Thanks

Seems like the more I read TTW is not the way to go...and that is what I did.

So will tranisition to another

Acana...what one do you like?

Thanks


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

Before going to a Prey diet I fed the Acana grasslands which is the lamb. Good luck!


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

whiteleo said:


> Before going to a Prey diet I fed the Acana grasslands which is the lamb. Good luck!


That is what we fed Brody when we brought him home!:smile:

I would HIGHLY suggest Acana as far as a processed food goes!:smile:

He did as well on that as any dog Ive ever seen on processed foods....however he still shed pretty bad and then when we got Rhett he did HORRID on it(think Puppy Cannon Butt)!:wink:

(Now on PMR Brody hardly sheds and Rhett had nice firm stools EVERY time!:thumb


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

I agree, some dogs just don't do well on any processed foods but this was probably the only food out of many tried right before switching to raw that actually worked for my super sensitive B.T.


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

whiteleo said:


> I agree, some dogs just don't do well on any processed foods *but this was probably the only food out of many tried right before switching to raw that actually worked for my super sensitive B.T.*


Yep same with Brody(and Ducki)! When I lost my job we tried a few other slightly less expensive but still "high quality" for him...NONE of them worked for either of them!(So we got rid of EVERYTHING extra, no cable, no going out, etc...so that they could have their Acana!:smile


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## catahoulamom (Sep 23, 2010)

I like Acana as well (and Orijen, but my dog's always did better with moderate-protein kibbles). All of their formulas are great. I'd say rotate - the Grasslands is a lamb, duck & fish formula, Ranchlands is beef, lamb, and bison, they have a 3-fish formula (Pacifica) and also a chicken & fish formula (Wild Prairie). It's good to give you dogs a different variety of proteins. If you prefer to stick to one, I would pick the Grasslands as my dogs did so well on it.


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## tamfitness (Aug 28, 2011)

hmmm acana is out....

Called the place that has the BEST prices in town...they will not sell to him anymore...he turned them in for price fixing or something like that. A shame cause he is the biggest shop around...mom pop shop for example totw at other places around here 45 for a 30 lb bag...him 35 for a 35 lb bag...10.00 cheaper

What is another food you all like?

Thanks


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

Have you had a look at Fromm? Thats another good food with slightly lower protein.


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## meggels (May 30, 2010)

Earthborn Holistic's great plains feast (bison) and coastal catch (fish) are great grain free foods.

my dogs did phenomenal on them.


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## Javadoo (May 23, 2011)

My girls have done extremely well on TOTW....amazing, actually. 
Now they are on a rotation diet of all grain free foods and TOTW is still in there as their base food.
Grain free was definitely the way to go for us...all the changes I have seen in my girls since switching to grain free almost 2 years ago has been positive. Couldn't be happier.
BUT-grain free doesn't work for every dog.
I switched to grain free because grains *can* cause inflammation in the joints...Java had bilateral ACL surgeries, so I wanted to eliminate grains from her diet for that reason. I switched Moka to grain free because it would be easier to have both girls on the same foods.


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## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

TOTW is a good food. Whatever you read online, I'd take with a grain of salt. 

It is in the 90th percentile of good foods. 

In there with Orijen/Acana? I don't think so. But that doesn't make it a bad food. The ingredient list on most of the grain free's on the market are pretty stellar, thats why I feed them. I'm not hellbent on grains being bad... I'm not even hellbent on the fact that Corn is the devil that many think it is--provided your Dog isn't allergic to Corn. 

But overall, I think the Grain Free's are typically just better foods with more meat.


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## Javadoo (May 23, 2011)

MollyWoppy said:


> Have you had a look at Fromm? Thats another good food with slightly lower protein.


I agree...look into Fromm. I rotate 2 flavors of Fromm (Beef Frittata and Surf & Turf-both are grain free) and my girls LOVE it. They have done great on Fromm and it's a great company. One of the few dog food companies that has never had a recall. I also rotate Nature's Variet Instinct Duck & Turkey Meal.


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## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

meggels said:


> Earthborn Holistic's great plains feast (bison) and coastal catch (fish) are great grain free foods.
> 
> my dogs did phenomenal on them.


Murph! Trying Ginger on Earthborn next!


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## meggels (May 30, 2010)

inkedmarie said:


> murph! Trying ginger on earthborn next!




marieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee<3


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## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

meggels said:


> marieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee<3


LOL! I found this forum when someone on DF gave me a few links to NV using denaturant in their raw, I see you here, Brit with Jackson and the gal with the windhound!


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

InkedMarie said:


> LOL! I found this forum when someone on DF gave me a few links to NV using denaturant in their raw, I see you here, Brit with Jackson and the gal with the windhound!


Im here too!!:wave: (Im abi88!:smile


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## truthdog (Sep 10, 2011)

whiteleo said:


> I'm not a fan of TOTW but am a a fan of anything made by Champion, Acana being my favorite a little lower in protein than Orijen, great for dogs starting out on a grain free food and the process of how they use and get their ingredients.


Why are you such a fan of Champion? Have you visited the plant? What makes Champion so special? Didn't Champion have a BSE-related recall? And recently wasn't allowed to import food to the US due to Salmonella?

I hear people talk about this company all the time and frankly I know people near there that say the plant is a dump and not 
even close to US standards or ISO.


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

Truthdog, have you introduced yourself? Yes, Champion is leaps and bounds better than most foods out there and yes, grains do cause allergies and digestive upsets and diarreah in a lot of dogs, mine being one of them.


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## truthdog (Sep 10, 2011)

whiteleo said:


> Truthdog, have you introduced yourself? Yes, Champion is leaps and bounds better than most foods out there and yes, grains do cause allergies and digestive upsets and diarreah in a lot of dogs, mine being one of them.


Ok sure I believe you. 

Since you made the statement grains cause allergies you should provide the evidence. The truth is that, in aggregate, 
grains cause about 5% of food allergies. That is when you add rice, corn, barley & oats together.

And since you said Champion was great, you have to tell me why. Have you been there? Who is the nutritionist? Where do the
ingredients come from?


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## PDXdogmom (Jun 30, 2010)

Some dogs definitely do have intolerances to some grains; but certainly not the majority of dogs. I think it sometimes seems that way; because a lot of dog owners come to dog forums to try to solve problems with their dogs. I have not heard of diarrhea (Whiteleo's comment) being a typical symptom of grain allergy/intolerance. 

Truthdog: I think if you read through very many threads here you will see that there is a certain contingency of the members who hold Orijen in extremely high esteem as the #1 dog food. They like the very high percentage of protein and think that Orijen's "white paper" (available on their site) is excellent because it references how raw food is what is natural for canines. Sometimes, the large number of different meat sources seem a plus to some people.

I find myself somewhere in the middle. Orijen formulas are above a great many of dog foods on the market in terms of meat protein and probable quality of some of the ingredients. Is Orijen for all dogs? Not by a long shot in my book. They are very complicated formulas - kind of a "kitchen sink" formula as the old expression goes in terms of adding in everything under the sun. And some dogs simply don't do well with that much concentrated protein.

Apart from the actual formulas, yes, Champion Petfoods has had some bumps in the road. It doesn't take much googling to find their long protracted battles with the city in terms of their role in unsavory air quality. They also allowed food to go into Australia even after being told by Australian officials that they would be radiating the food first. To be fair, it was the Acana Grasslands that was held up at the U.S. border for about 4-5 months because an initial sample tested positive for salmonella. Further testing showed no other positive tests. Champion acknowledged the fact only after repeated questioning by some consumers. It seems that retailers weren't even told of the possibility of salmonella. So, while they did nothing legally wrong, I wasn't impressed with evasion of the questions for so many weeks.

All in all, I view Orijen/Acana as an upper tier food that works for some dogs. I don't think it is a great value for the price though. Turkey meal, chicken meal, some slurried "fresh" meat bits in low proportion: that's all pretty typical for many kibble brands. And the dozens of fruits and vegetables are there for window dressing. The company should be pleased that their marketing has created so many ardent supporters. I think that's where they excel the most. There are certainly many other high protein grain-free kibbles that people could feel just as good about if their dog did well on them: Go Natural Grain Free Endurance, Fromm Surf & Turf, EVO, Wellness Core, and the list goes on. Everyone has their favorites and could just as easily tout the others I listed as "the best".


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## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

Scarlett_O' said:


> Im here too!!:wave: (Im abi88!:smile


oh cool, another person I know!


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

truthdog- I'm not sure what rock you crawled out from under, but MANY dogs have issues with grains. I help owners with grain intolerant dogs almost EVERY day on the job.

http://dogfoodchat.com/forum/raw-feeding/1724-back-vet-visit-undoubtedly-sealed-deal.html


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