Why I love Champion Petfoods (Orijen/Acana)

[PrincessDiana]

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!

[cally930]

I just recently switched to Acana - and so glad I did. Unfortunately this product is not carried by anyone in my area and I need to order it online- but that's okay - actually better. I get it delivered right to my door. Its good to know that all the ingredients are good and wholesome foods - no fillers and no by products. Hey..... we can even eat it - HAHAHA!

[mkbartz]

I love it--sometimes I wish I could eat it!

[Wylie's Mom]

Have you ever read their White Paper on canine nutrition? To this day, it is one *the* best papers on canine nutrition, in my opinion.

I too have a lot of respect for Champion. I've emailed w/ a couple of their nutritionists before too - and they're great.

{I too feed raw, btw}

[Britster]

Totally 100 percent agree. Champion is the only pet foods I'd currently feed for kibble, except for Petcurean pet food (Go!/Now!).

[YipeeYorkie]

Acana is good. Never switched to any other pet foods. I'm afraid my yorkie will lose his appetite if I change it. He loves Acana and never leaves his bowl with anything.

Sometimes, I do not need to clean the bowl anymore. Haha! Just kidding!

[Wylie's Mom]

Here is Orijen's (aka Champion) White Paper on canine nutrition, for those who have interest. It's such a great read !

http://www.orijen.ca/orijen/ORIJEN_White_Paper.pdf

[TresCutePiggies]

I switched to Orijen Regional Red from Evo Red Meat small bites (after P&G bought Natura), and I'm so happy to hear even more good things about Champion.

I, too, feed raw in the evenings.

One of my girls just had struvite crystals found in her urine and the vet recommended that she not have any fish protein, which I found is unfortunately still in the Regional Red variety, though it is one of the last proteins listed.

I just tried to get on the Orijen website, but I'm getting a weird error message. Does anyone happen to know off-hand if they have a kibble that does not contain fish? I don't think they do. I'd like to at the very least keep the Orijen has a back-up kibble, even if we switch to the raw full time.

[YipeeYorkie]

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

Here is Orijen's (aka Champion) White Paper on canine nutrition, for those who have interest. It's such a great read !

http://www.orijen.ca/orijen/ORIJEN_White_Paper.pdf

Such a nice read. Thank you for sharing.

[Britster]

Originally Posted by TresCutePiggies

I switched to Orijen Regional Red from Evo Red Meat small bites (after P&G bought Natura), and I'm so happy to hear even more good things about Champion.

I, too, feed raw in the evenings.

One of my girls just had struvite crystals found in her urine and the vet recommended that she not have any fish protein, which I found is unfortunately still in the Regional Red variety, though it is one of the last proteins listed.

I just tried to get on the Orijen website, but I'm getting a weird error message. Does anyone happen to know off-hand if they have a kibble that does not contain fish? I don't think they do. I'd like to at the very least keep the Orijen has a back-up kibble, even if we switch to the raw full time.

I'm pretty positive all of the varieties contain atleast one fish ingredient. Have you checked into Go! or Now! Petcurean Pet Nutrition

[Melcakes]

I initially thought that if I did fed kibble this would probably be my 1st choice to try - the only downfall is that the kibble is pretty big IMO for a small yorkie. Zoey is only 4.5 lbs and has a small mouth, so I'd have to cut it (PIA though). I also found this online and was a bit troubled by it "Sharp bone shards found in Orijen food." Granted this was over 2 years ago and it seems there has not been any incidents since, but it was a bit disappointing to hear. You can read about it here if you care to.

Orijen concern(please read)!!.

[lukes]

It was a long time ago, we had bags with bone shards/fragments in it. The company refunded all the customers with the affected bags.

It's been perfect ever since. We love it, it's a great food. When there was a fish shortage, the refused to source it from a different place to meet the demand for their product. They said they won't compromise the ingredients.

[LoALAnna]

Totally sold on Orijen! It will be my "base" food for my boys and if I can get Acana , I will feed it, also!

[kdhawks]

We love Orijen and Acana. We've tried them both and Levi seems to prefer Orijen, so that is what we are going with now!

I was initially a little concerned with the kibble size, as they seemed so big for Levi's little mouth! But he has no problem breaking them down - it may take him a couple of chomps, but my concerns about kibble size have definitely subsided.

[TammyJM]

My guys are also on ACANA and doing well.