I was doing some research on some different foods for another thread and I can't believe how blown away I am by Champion Petfoods.
As most of you probably know, we feed prey-model raw. However, I have decided to slowly introduce kibble back into their diet for emergency/travel/convenience purposes. Before raw we fed Wellness and Nature's Variety but now I am
total Champion Petfoods convert. I have nothing but the utmost respect for and confidence in this company and I will until I am proven wrong.
We still mainly feed raw but I know a lot of people post on this forum asking about pet foods and I thought it would be helpful to have a detailed thread on why these are the only kibble brands I would feed. (I'm sure there are other companies with comparable merits, I just haven't done the research on those yet!)
Here are the (wonderful) reasons why:
1. Their feeding philosophy (for the most part) follows mine - a biologically appropriate diet that mimics what a canine would eat in nature. High protein, low carbohydrate, and NO grain. While I don't personally feed fruits and vegetables, I am comfortable with the small percentage of them included in this food.
2. Quality ingredients - fresh, never frozen locally sourced animal products. You can literally go to their website and see exactly where all of their products come from, and these local sources use sustainable and ethical farming practices. Their meats are produced exclusively from animals passed as ‘fit for human consumption’ and are all certified free of antibiotics and growth hormones. Their ingredients include free-run chicken, turkey & ducks, whole Grade A eggs, free range wild boar, bison and heritage pork, grass-fed lamb, and a variety of wild-caught freshwater & saltwater fish.
3. Champion manufactures all their food in their own facilities which are certified by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the European Union. All ingredients are produced in human grade facilities.
4. Orijen has been named "Pet Food of the Year" for two years in a row by the Glycemic Research Institute, an independent company that analyzes pet food according to overall health, taking into account ingredients, anti-aging factors, diabetes-response, arthritis, glycemic and blood glucose and insulin response, as well as the biochemical needs of the animal. They are a non-profit organization that accepts no money from pet food companies for the award.
5. The ONLY animal testing they practice is ethical. The tests they do are tests they would run on their own animals and are non-invasive tests, which including palatability (taste), urine pH, and digestibility (through stool analysis only). These tests are never performed with dogs or cats kept in a laboratory environment (cages).
I'm sure I have missed some things but I just wanted to share why I (and so many others) love Orijen/Acana so much!
