# Help me out on fish based dog food



## nash_try (Jul 26, 2010)

Hi guys,
am planning to buy dry dog food with only fish as the meat product.
Saw reviews for 6 star and 5 star foods on dogfoodanalysis.

Was planning to buy a 30lb bag and a 15 lb bag of different brands.
shortlisted these:
Canidae Grain-free Salmon Meal formula -5*
Tase of the Wild Pet Foods TOTW Pacific Stream -5*
orijen 6 fish -6*
innova evo Herring and Salmon Dry Dog Food -6*
wellness core ocean -6*

Now comes the real part :smile:
Am importing this foods. For 30lb bag, orijen, wellness core cost me about 150$. evo for 170$. Canidae around 145$. TOTW for 100$.

as u can guess budget is an issue. Am going to buy these every 2 months. So have settled for TOTW pacific stream for 30lb bag and orijen 6 fish for 15lb bag.

So have i made a proper choice? Any suggestion on other brands of low grain , fish based dog food ?


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## buddy97 (Mar 29, 2010)

TOTW Pacific Stream is one of their two formulas (along with the Sierra) that has very low protein levels and calories per cup for a grainless food. my opinion is that it does not have much meat in it.

my experience has been that i will feed a fair amount less of the Canidae grain free Salmon (as it has around 100 calories more per cupthan TOTW) and i see that food a a better value. they state what % of the overall protein level comes from animal product. TOTW will not state this.

TOTW still may come out a bit cheaper, but not as much as the prices make it appear....and i think the canidae grain free is a step up in quality over the TOTW.


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## Dennis Wang (Oct 28, 2010)

Hi Nash_Try.

My name is Dennis and I work for a dog food producer, Freshpet. Came across this post while I was browsing.

My company has just recently launched a Grain-free line called Freshpet Vital - which is 80% meat based. One of them is purely fish based (ingredients below).

Just one caveat, this is a more premium line which as always is a bit pricey, so....might not meet your budget issue. 


_____

_*** Unauthorized advertising removed by Moderator - RFD ***_


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## chocolatelabguy (Nov 17, 2009)

I can't speak to the other foods mentioned in your post, but I can say that I've had wonderful success with TOTW. I've noticed remarkable improvements after switching from one-star foods. Certainly, as Buddy mentioned, there are many foods available with higher protien levels out there, and I have not ruled out moving further up the line in the future. But for now, I am very happy with the TOTW. I rotate between all four TOTW varieties, and use the Pacific Stream every other time, as my lab seems to like that one best, although she jumps for joy at mealtime for all of them.


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## ann g (May 6, 2010)

Can you get Acana Pacifica(all fish based) little bit lower in protein (33%) and price, made by same company as Orijen.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

I vote for Acana pacifica as well, Totw is very low protein/calorie, so you may end up feeding your dogs more then you would of Orijen or Evo. 

The reason I dont like Canidae is because the bulk of their protein comes from potato and not fish.


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## SamWu1 (Oct 15, 2010)

Aside from the above mentioned, Great Life Wild Salmon Grain and Potato Free is excellent as well.


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## m&mluvpugs (Feb 7, 2010)

+1 for Acana Pacifica


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## buddy97 (Mar 29, 2010)

Unosmom said:


> I vote for Acana pacifica as well, Totw is very low protein/calorie, so you may end up feeding your dogs more then you would of Orijen or Evo.
> 
> The reason I dont like Canidae is because the bulk of their protein comes from potato and not fish.


i dont understand how you came to this conclusion. do you realize how much potato they would have to use to get to a 40% protein level? there is no way to know the ratios of the ingredients. just because there is only one meat source before two potatoe products doesnt mean it is potatoe heavy.....based on the protein % coming from fish, it is likely that first ingredient makes up a substantial portion of the food.

it is stated (on their site and the bags) that 80% of the protein comes from fish and 20% of the protein from fruits/vegetables. that is just as much of the protein coming from animal product as in EVO.

i would agree with others that id choose acana pacifica over canidae salmon. from purely a budgetary point of view, however, the canidae may still be the better buy.


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## josh83 (Oct 24, 2010)

I feed my dog the Orijen 6 fish formula and it is excellent she loves it. I highly recommend it. I do understand it can be pricey though.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

I cant know for certain, but the fact that the 3rd ingredient is potato protein before ocean fish meal makes me question the true meat content. I may have to email them and ask to be sure.


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## PUNKem733 (Jun 12, 2009)

Acana Pacifica all the way.


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## RCTRIPLEFRESH5 (Feb 11, 2010)

buddy97 said:


> i dont understand how you came to this conclusion. do you realize how much potato they would have to use to get to a 40% protein level? there is no way to know the ratios of the ingredients. just because there is only one meat source before two potatoe products doesnt mean it is potatoe heavy.....based on the protein % coming from fish, it is likely that first ingredient makes up a substantial portion of the food.
> 
> it is stated (on their site and the bags) that 80% of the protein comes from fish and 20% of the protein from fruits/vegetables. that is just as much of the protein coming from animal product as in EVO.
> 
> i would agree with others that id choose acana pacifica over canidae salmon. from purely a budgetary point of view, however, the canidae may still be the better buy.


actually ithink they only state it on their site that the grain free contains 80 percent meat..which i find odd...its not on the bag


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## buddy97 (Mar 29, 2010)

Unosmom said:


> I cant know for certain, but the fact that the 3rd ingredient is potato protein before ocean fish meal makes me question the true meat content. I may have to email them and ask to be sure.


their website already states that 80% of the protein comes from fish. the food is heavily front loaded with salmon meal. there could be a food that lists the first 4 ingredients as named meat meals, it wouldnt mean it has more meat than a food with one named meal because you wouldnt know the ratios and quantity of each ingredient.


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## cast71 (Sep 16, 2010)

This looks like A good replacement for TOTW pacific formula in my rotation:biggrin:


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## ruckusluvr (Oct 28, 2009)

i have only used TOTW pacific stream as a fish based food.
i am happy with the results (skin, coat, stool) BUT
i have to feed MORE of it than i do when i feed Blue buffalo adult chicken and rice!
sometimes when money is tight i use diamond naturals or Kirklands from Costco. my guys eat the same amount of that cheap grain heavy food as they do TOTW.

so although its cheaper, you feed more of it, so perhaps its not as cheap after all


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