Kibble (Dry Foods)

[arianwenarie]

I recently switched Wikus onto Acana (Chicken and Burbank Potatoes), which was the cheapest high-quality grain-free food I could fine. I would love to give him and the cat Taste of the Wild, but can't afford it as it is now.

Then of course, I aim to start feeding them BARF, but have no idea where to start, or where to store the food.

I believe Acana's Chicken & Burbank Potatoes is not grain free.. The 4 Acana dog foods that are grain-free include Wild Prairie, Pacifica, Ranchlands and Grasslands.

Corresponding Orijen to the above list of Acana is Adult, 6 Fish and Regional Red. I don't think there is a Orijen dog food that's predominantly lamb like Acana's Grasslands.

I spoke with a staff member at my local pet food store and she said that Acana might start adding lentils to their grain-free line as Champion Pet Foods has gotten feedback of dogs having loose stool in the Acana grain-free line. I've also noticed the 4 Acana grain-free kibble bag sizes have gotten smaller, but price remained the same -- this, I'm not happy with, but I like using Acana as rotational diet for my lab.

[Katlin]

Wylie has been quite pig-headed with what he likes and what he doesn't. I now have 3 bags of 5 kg puppy food that I can't use because he won't eat them anymore grrr! BUT good news is I found a mix he likes: NOW! Grain free - chicken and turkey formula (LINK) which I also mix with Novanimal grade 2 probiotics (he kept having runny poops and the vet suggested a probiotic, this was the best brand I could find) and fruitables (pumpkin, apple, carrots, and bananas ground up to a mush) all mixed together and he loooves it! I can't keep him away from the bowl.

[EssiK]

I prefer mostly raw, but because my budjet and 3 dogs, I'll have to settle for less, so my dogs are eating both. Basicly my dogs are eating kibbles (finnish Jahti&Vahti extra energy food) and at the same time little raw like fleshy bones (this is not excatly food its more activation), liver, kidney, fat, real meet etc and sometimes whole fishes, few eggs per week and also vitamins and oil. If my dogs are eating _lots_ of bones, then I'll keep one day without kibbles, because they are melting more faster than pieces of bone and if I'll give kibbles with bones, I increase risk to Intestinal Obstruction. Theres so many thing to remember in dogs feeding I like to read things about dogs and wolves feeding and digestive system, its like hobby to me.
Before Jahti&Vahti my dogs were eating, in my opinion - expencive foods, like taste of the wild and orijen and ofcourse Royal Canin and Eukanuba. My dogs liket taste of the wild really much, orijen wasnt so popular

[arianwenarie]

For those who are feeding Acana, they've added red lentils, peas and field beans to the ingredient list - all within the first 10 ingredients. I'm pretty sure the addition of these three ingredients at nearly the top of the list is skewing the nutritional content and there's not a whole lot of actual meat content anymore. I'm not happy about the addition of lentils and other fibrous beans/peas at all. I'd rather they had added chickpeas instead.

I might have to feed solely Orijen Adult now, unless I can find another grain-free kibble similar to Orijen. (I am very picky about my furbaby's food! lol. Yet, I had corn dogs and store-bought frozen dumplings for lunch and dinner, respectively, today. )

I've thought about mixing Orijen with Taste of the Wild, but I don't like to see peas in the ingredients since they're higher in protein and skews the protein content. Merrick was also a contender until I realized they use a lot of veggies to bring the protein content up as well; and the natural sources of joint supplements (to me) doesn't add up to the ingredient list, making me think that maybe they're using synthetically produced joint supplements rather than the natural stuff.

Raw feeding? I've thought about that too now that I have my own place and a practically empty freezer. I just don't think Abby's stomach can handle it. lol.

EDIT:
Looks like Champion Pet Foods changed all of their recipes to include lentils and peas. Super disappointed. I'm not sure if I'd be happier seeing potatoes (carbs) in the food or peas & lentils. Can anyone chime in on the pros and cons of each ingredient (peas, lentils and potatoes)...?

[EssiK]

Im not happy seeing potato, sweet potato or corn or any grains. Dogs digestsystem dont use or melt starch and like we all know in those ingridient theres lots of starch.. :/ Hilihydrates are also in my "hate" list, adult dog doesnt need it almost non, except pregnant or lactatin bitches..
And i dont like that when theres like potato, potato flour or corn, corn flour etc are specified in product description. Using that they can put some other ingridients higher in the list than those non wanted ingridients.... but the percents are telling the hole truth.

[Katlin]

Orijen is coming out with freeze dried. I may give a bit of that a go with Wylie.

[Balto]

we are using Brit Care Salmon http://www.brit-petfood.com/products/do ... on-potato/

[kcyin1569]

Orijen is coming out with freeze dried. I may give a bit of that a go with Wylie.

At the shop I work at, we sell Orijen, and it's honestly a fantastic brand. Everything is very well packaged and the food smells fresh every time. It also smells like the meat that was cooked in it, and for a food-snob like me, it's important to not only know what's in the food, but to be able to identify it without having to read the label. Everyone who has bought this brand has always come back to the shop and tell us how much they and their dogs love it. My dogs absolutely love the freeze dried stuff, and I'm happy to report that my poodle with a highly sensitive stomach hasn't reacted to any of the treats or food samples!

[freshbake]

We have been feeding Zoey Taste of the Wild High Prairie Puppy, and she has been having soft mushy stool ever since we transitioned her over to it. She also seems to only eat it when she is absolutely hungry. So yesterday, we went and bought a bag of Orijen Puppy and mixed a bit in with her old TOTW. She absolutely loves the Orijen so far, hopefully it firms up her stool too.

[kcyin1569]

We have been feeding Zoey Taste of the Wild High Prairie Puppy, and she has been having soft mushy stool ever since we transitioned her over to it. She also seems to only eat it when she is absolutely hungry. So yesterday, we went and bought a bag of Orijen Puppy and mixed a bit in with her old TOTW. She absolutely loves the Orijen so far, hopefully it firms up her stool too.

I hope everything goes well! Please tell me how it works for you and Zoey!

[freshbake]

Thanks, so far it's getting better! We are still mixing the food about 1/2 and 1/2, and already her stool has firmed up a lot and she doesn't need to go as frequently. We'll see how she does once she's fully over to the Orijen.

[kcyin1569]

Thanks, so far it's getting better! We are still mixing the food about 1/2 and 1/2, and already her stool has firmed up a lot and she doesn't need to go as frequently. We'll see how she does once she's fully over to the Orijen.

That's really good to hear! I'm glad she's doing a lot better!

[Katlin]

Just switched Wylie to Orijen Large Breed Puppy - Wylie seems to like it! (Wish I could afford raw more often )

[chelle784]

Just switched Wylie to Orijen Large Breed Puppy - Wylie seems to like it! (Wish I could afford raw more often )

This is what we use too! It seems to be the only thing that doesn't make Pepper's stools soft.

[Katlin]

Wylie started to vomit every morning on the Orijen, so we're back to the drawing board. I've discovered a brand called First Mate which seems to be a very good quality. They are actually the first company to specialize in grain free but are so small I had never heard of them until recently. This is the food Wylie will be on until the bag is done (http://www.firstmate.com/dog-food/grain ... ish-puppy/) then we will buy 3 bags of adult in different flavours and go from there. It was a hit right off the bat and he finished all 2 cups of his breakfast (unheard of!) so I think it's showing promise

[StormWolf10]

Any reviews on Canagan foods?