# Acana Ingredients



## meggels (May 30, 2010)

So, i think once this bag of Primitive Natural runs out, I'm gonna put my two guys on the different Acana formulas. Murph's coat is FINALLY getting nice and soft! He had a kinda brittle coat for many months, but I noticed the other day while petting him that it was nice and soft  He has more of a rough coat to a frenchie to begin with, so I know there's only so much I can do, but I'm excited to notice a difference  I've been making sure to give him fish oil each day (I didn't for awhile), so I bet that helps too.

ANYWAYS, I fed him the lamb (grasslands) formula of Acana before and he loved it and did well on it, but then I switched once I moved to PA because I could not find it nearby. Well, I'm gonna order from PFD if I must, cause I think it's a great food, and I like that it's got a somewhat smaller ingredient list. I like that the protein levels are a smidge lower also, since well, he's a lazy frenchie and doesn't do ALL that much besides little strolls around the block and some wrestling with the other frenchies. 

My question, Acana (and I think Orijen from what I remember) have a pretty unique ingredient list. What do some of these more unique ingredients do for dogs? 

Pacifica:

Salmon meal, russet potato, peas, fresh boneless salmon (source of DHA), fresh boneless herring, herring meal, *pumpkin*, fresh boneless flounder, salmon oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols and rosemary), ground lobster shell (natural source of glucosamine), *sun-cured alfalfa leaf,* red delicious apples, carrots, *turnip greens, organic kelp, organic bladderwrack, organic dulse, juniper berries,* cranberries, Saskatoon berries, black *currants, angelica root, chicory root, red clover, red raspberry leaf, dandelion root, peppermint leaf, marigold flowers, chamomile flowers, rosemary, *Lactobacillus acidophilus, Enterococcus faecium. Vitamins (vit. A, vit. D3, vit. E, niacin, riboflavin, lysine, thiamine mononitrate, vit. B12, pyridoxine, folic acid, biotin). Minerals (iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, manganese proteinate, cobalt proteinate, copper proteinate).

Prairie:

Chicken meal, russet potato, deboned chicken, deboned walleye, whitefish meal, peas, chicken fat (naturally preserved with vitamin E), sun-cured alfalfa, chicken liver, deboned Lake Whitefish, whole eggs, salmon oil, sweet potato, pumpkin, spinach, turnip greens, tomatoes, carrots, apples, organic kelp, cranberries, blueberries, juniper berries, black currants, chicory root, licorice root, angelica root, fenugreek, marigold flowers, lavender flowers, summer savory, rosemary, vitamin A, vitamin D3, vitamin E, niacin, zinc proteinate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, vitamin B5, iron proteinate, vitamin B6, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12, selenium, dried Lactobacillus acidophilus product, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product.

Grasslands:

Lamb meal, sweet potato, raw de-boned lamb, peas, fresh whole eggs, sun-cured alfalfa, sunflower oil, fresh de-boned walleye, pumpkin, fresh de-boned northern pike, apples, carrots, turnip greens, organic sea vegetables (kelp, bladderwrack, dulse), juniper berries, cranberries, Saskatoon berries, black currants, angelica root, chicory root, red clover, red raspberry leaf, dandelion root, peppermint leaf, marigold flowers,chamomile flowers, rosemary extract, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Enterococcus faecium.


I bolded some of the more "peculiar" ingredients that I was curious about, hopefully some of you know what kind of benefits/effects these would have on dogs. 

Also, this is a little uh, random...but I'm trying to figure out how long the 29.7lb bag would last my two guys if Abbie (35lb hound mix) eats 1.5 cups per day and Murph (20lb frenchie) eats 1 cup per day. Anyone know how to figure this out?


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## tem_sat (Jun 20, 2010)

Assuming *4* cups per pound of dry dog food (based on figure from the DOL Forum for Orijen):

Daily Consumption: 2.5 cups per day

29.7 lbs = 118.8 Cups / 2.5 = 47.52 Days

On average, without weighing the Acana, it should last approximately 47 days.


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

meggels said:


> I bolded some of the more "peculiar" ingredients that I was curious about, hopefully some of you know what kind of benefits/effects these would have on dogs.


Good question!! Pumpkin is a stool hardener. Kelp provides iodine. Don't have a clue bout the others.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

I have a brochure from Champion somewhere where they describe the benefits of certain botanicals, like natural mineral source of seaweed(dulse, kelp), antioxidants of berries and soothing flowers like marigold and chamomile(for upset stomachs). 

The main reason I feed Acana is due to the quality of ingredients and higher meat content, the rest of the stuff is mostly marketing, I dont really believe that theres enough of the particular botanicals to make significant difference in dogs health, particularly for dogs that may need supplements, this is not a substitute. 
I also dont know how the kibble is manufactured, are these plant extracts, or just plants (extract are more potent), are they heated at the same temp. as the rest of the mush? In which case, they would lose majority of their nutrients. 

My point being is that I would still feed it if it didnt have any of that stuff in it, besides enzymes and probiotics (which are sprayed on kibble after the extrusion). 

The measuring thing is a little confusing to me (I'm terrible at math) because cups are measured in fluid oz and dry food is measured by weight. According to smartpak canine, Wellness Core has 114 cups in 26 lb bag. I dont know how comparable it is to Acana.

heres a link with similar question
Answers.com - How many cups of pet food are in a 20 pound bag


Uno is 60 lbs and the big bag lasts him 2 months, he eats 1.5-2 cups a day(based on activity level). This of course depends on individual dog.


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## sassymaxmom (Dec 7, 2008)

The bag may also tell you how many grams are in a cup measure, usually it is about 125 grams. I use a dry ingredient measure, not a liquid one as my dogs have never gotten full cups of kibble per meal.

I weigh the food Artie gets. Right now I am very slowly increasing it as it is new to him. I started at 75 grams which is clearly not enough and he is now getting 80 grams a day. It turns out 40 grams is a 1/3 cup measure for this particular food so a full cup would be about 120 grams. 

If Artie's kibble bag is 16 pounds then it is 7.27 kilograms [16/2.2=7.27] and if he ends up getting 100 grams a day that bag would last for 72 days. If 80 grams is a good amount then the bag ought to last for 90 days.


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## meggels (May 30, 2010)

sassymaxmom said:


> The bag may also tell you how many grams are in a cup measure, usually it is about 125 grams. I use a dry ingredient measure, not a liquid one as my dogs have never gotten full cups of kibble per meal.
> 
> I weigh the food Artie gets. Right now I am very slowly increasing it as it is new to him. I started at 75 grams which is clearly not enough and he is now getting 80 grams a day. It turns out 40 grams is a 1/3 cup measure for this particular food so a full cup would be about 120 grams.
> 
> If Artie's kibble bag is 16 pounds then it is 7.27 kilograms [16/2.2=7.27] and if he ends up getting 100 grams a day that bag would last for 72 days. If 80 grams is a good amount then the bag ought to last for 90 days.


that just confused the heck outta me lol


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## sassymaxmom (Dec 7, 2008)

Tell me about it. It is so annoying that cup measures and weights don't add up the same way and these confusing conversions need to be made to try to estimate how long a bag might last. It sure would be nice if the bags just stated the number of cups of food inside. I am guessing the stuff settles and they don't want unhappy consumers complaining about a shortage of a couple cups.

It is better than it used to be. I have a scale now. They do often have the calories per cup listed now. Back when Max was on kibble I hadn't a clue as to how many calories he ate per day.

For Grasslands there are 4200 kcal per kg and 420 per cup. The bag is 29.7 pounds or 13.5 kilograms. 135 cups per bag as apparently 1 cup is .1 kilogram or 100 grams. Divided by 2.5 cups fed per day the bag might last 54 days.
10 cups per kg 13.5 kg per bag. 135 cups per bag/2.5=54 days the bag might last.


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## RCTRIPLEFRESH5 (Feb 11, 2010)

wouldnt there be two cups in a pound since 8 oz is a cup and apound is 16 oz..so 60 cups i nacana


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

RCTRIPLEFRESH5 said:


> wouldnt there be two cups in a pound since 8 oz is a cup and apound is 16 oz..so 60 cups i nacana


Different kinds of ounces. :smile: One is volume and the other is weight.


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## RCTRIPLEFRESH5 (Feb 11, 2010)

ahhhhhhhhhh


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