Best dog food?

[ktw1016]

Hi, I have 3 months old puppy currently fed Canidae. I was planning to feed him Earthborn next but I'm convinced to switch the food to Acana because of the Glucosamine and Chondroitin Sulfate in the kibble. Would the amount of Glucos and Chondroitin in the food help at all with his joints?(because he's a little puppy, I am hesitant to give him any supplements) If it doesn't I probably will feed him something else..

Secondly, I do not want my puppy to gain weight. In fact, I was told it's better for his joints to be little skinny. And from what I heard, Orijen will make puppy gain more weight so I assume Acana would be similar? What are your thoughts on Acana about this? Could I just put food in the bowl like how I'm doing right now?(because he just eats good amount himself)

Also, I've seen lots of articles that Orijen poop smells the worst. How about Acana's?

Finally, if i was to get Acana, which one do you recommend for this little guy?

If you don't recommend Acana, anything else you recommend?
I'm still considering Earthborn, and TOTW

[bjh]

Why don't you like the Canidae? I think it is a very good food and if the puppy likes it I see no reason to switch him at this point.

[ktw1016]

Well there is nothing wrong with Canidan ge but not so much more expensive, I figured I caet just better quality foods so I thought why not?

[bjh]

Each dog is different so what works for one dog might not work for another. It does not hurt to check around to find something better but just use caution. Whatever new food you get you will need to switch him over slowly.

[Teresiana]

I agree that each individual dog responds to food differently. My Yorkies eat Orijen Regional Red. My Lab eats Science Diet. It really depends on the dog. From what I've heard, Canidae is an excellent food. If your pup is thriving on it, I wouldn't change. But that's just me.

If you really want to change food, I wouldn't rule out Orijen because you think it will make him gain weight. He's a puppy. He's supposed to gain weight. You'll be feeding less Orijen than Canidae because it's more dense & there's more nutritional value packed into each little kibble. The difference between Orijen & Acana is that Orijen is 80% meat-20% veggies...Acana is 60/40. The protein levels are higher in Orijen. Acana is more carb heavy. So it all depends what you're more comfortable with. I've fed both Orijen & Acana and neither one gave my pups stinky poo. The kibble size of these 2 foods can be large for a smaller dog. Some do okay with it. But I cut the kibble in half for my little 3 pounder.

Earthborn Primitive Natural is a good food too. We keep that in our rotation & my finicky one likes it. It also has a pretty high protein content compared to other foods out there.

They're all good foods. Personally, I would prefer to feed Orijen, Acana or Earthborn over TOTW. It really depends how the food works with your particular dog.

[KathyKelben]

Originally Posted by Teresiana

I agree that each individual dog responds to food differently. My Yorkies eat Orijen Regional Red. My Lab eats Science Diet. It really depends on the dog. From what I've heard, Canidae is an excellent food. If your pup is thriving on it, I wouldn't change. But that's just me.

If you really want to change food, I wouldn't rule out Orijen because you think it will make him gain weight. He's a puppy. He's supposed to gain weight. You'll be feeding less Orijen than Canidae because it's more dense & there's more nutritional value packed into each little kibble. The difference between Orijen & Acana is that Orijen is 80% meat-20% veggies...Acana is 60/40. The protein levels are higher in Orijen. Acana is more carb heavy. So it all depends what you're more comfortable with. I've fed both Orijen & Acana and neither one gave my pups stinky poo. The kibble size of these 2 foods can be large for a smaller dog. Some do okay with it. But I cut the kibble in half for my little 3 pounder.

Earthborn Primitive Natural is a good food too. We keep that in our rotation & my finicky one likes it. It also has a pretty high protein content compared to other foods out there.

They're all good foods. Personally, I would prefer to feed Orijen, Acana or Earthborn over TOTW. It really depends how the food works with your particular dog.

I just saw on Facebook that Orijen just started with a freeze dried food. Have you seen it in stores yet??? I would like to try that if it isn't too expensive.... Horizon has some good choices too.

[Britster]

Food is... complicated.

There really is no "best food" but I will say that I have learned that companies and where their sourcing, what their manufacturing facilities look like, their testing, their quality control, etc, is more important than simply reading an ingredients list.

Personally, I have found my dog has done best on Acana. We switched away from it for a while, because frankly, I don't think Champion is all it's hacked up to be, but with that said, I can't deny it's what my dog does best on and we always end up back with it. He's eaten it for the longest time out of any food. Approx 2 years, then we stopped for a bit and now he's been eating it again for about 5 months? We do the Singles line tho (Lamb & Apple, Duck & Pear) and rotate between the 2. I prefer them to their GF line (especially with the new additions of all the lentils, chickpeas, etc).

I don't think most pet dogs will need a food like Orijen and wouldn't recommend it.

Canidae is in the process of moving away from Diamond (Thank God for that!) and they have a new GF line coming that will be made at their new Ethos plant. The line actually looks really decent and I will even consider feeding it in the future.

I'd stay away from most Earthborn GF's (too high ash content, their calcium/phos levels are too high for my liking, even though it's a bigger concern for growing large breeds, I still wouldn't choose it for any pup). Their grain inclusive line is much better IMO. They also make Pro Pac.

Btw, the amount of glucosamine in the food is probably miniscule. I wouldn't worry about it or even think it's helping with anything.

There's a lot of really good price friendly foods that probably 80% of pet dogs will thrive on. My pup seems to get bigger/softer poos on chicken, and a little bit more eye gunk, otherwise I'd probably be feeding a more 'plain' food from a company like Precise or Royal Canin, but a lot of the grain inclusive options all include chicken.

I also really really like Annamaet, amazing company with loads of expertise, but my dog doesn't like the taste of the food.

[Teresiana]

Originally Posted by KathyKelben

I just saw on Facebook that Orijen just started with a freeze dried food. Have you seen it in stores yet??? I would like to try that if it isn't too expensive.... Horizon has some good choices too.

It's not a food. It's a treat. I haven't tried it yet. But I'm sure it's excellent.

[KathyKelben]

shoot Teresiana, I will try it when I can find it. I love Champion foods. Never recalled, Dog Food Company of the year 2010/11, and what I like is that they don't ship the food out to be processed, they do it all themselves.... 5 stars on dog food Advisor, all their ingredients are from local Alberta farmers, they don't outsource for anything.... I don't know what other info. anyone would need to try it.

[tokipoki]

Originally Posted by KathyKelben

I just saw on Facebook that Orijen just started with a freeze dried food. Have you seen it in stores yet??? I would like to try that if it isn't too expensive.... Horizon has some good choices too.

I haven't seen it in stores near me yet but Chewy.com recently started carrying the Orijen freeze-dried dinners so I'll have to pick up a couple of bags next time I order from there (we also use Stella & Chewy's and Primal freeze-dried food if you're looking for other brands). Freeze-dried raw food is definitely pricey to feed exclusively though and I usually just use it as a topper or feed it for just one meal a day.

[Teresiana]

Originally Posted by tokipoki

I haven't seen it in stores near me yet but Chewy.com recently started carrying the Orijen freeze-dried dinners so I'll have to pick up a couple of bags next time I order from there (we also use Stella & Chewy's and Primal freeze-dried food if you're looking for other brands). Freeze-dried raw food is definitely pricey to feed exclusively though and I usually just use it as a topper or feed it for just one meal a day.

Sorry...I was wrong! But that's a good thing. I've seen the freeze dried treats in the store & I got all excited because I thought it was food, but it wasn't. I just checked their website & they do have freeze-dried food! I'm sooo excited to try it. Mine love Primal, so I'm going to order the Orijen next. Yipee!! Thanks for letting us know!

[Britster]

Originally Posted by KathyKelben

shoot Teresiana, I will try it when I can find it. I love Champion foods. Never recalled, Dog Food Company of the year 2010/11, and what I like is that they don't ship the food out to be processed, they do it all themselves.... 5 stars on dog food Advisor, all their ingredients are from local Alberta farmers, they don't outsource for anything.... I don't know what other info. anyone would need to try it.

Keep in mind, this is coming from someone who FEEDS their food. But I've learned most dog food companies are, well, very clever at marketing. And I've become more... well... every company is going to have something wrong with it. I guess it's just what you're comfortable with.

They actually have been recalled. Issues Surrounding Champion Petfoods Orijen recall in Australia


- Acana had an importation ban at least once for salmonella.
- Documents produced after the Australian recall named Griffin Industries in Alabama as the source of Chicken Meal.
- Their 'fresh fish' is basically just by-product. It states they recently signed an exclusive contract with Champion Petfoods has an exclusive contract with Freshwater Fish to sell them all their minced by-products. Prior to that Freshwater Fish "had been paying to have the waste trucked to a rendering facility". The article says that after Champion tested some samples, "a product was developed".
http://www.freshwaterfish.com/system...ter%202011.pdf

But basically I've decided it's not much different than most other food companies so I try not to worry too much. But I just wanted to put that out there as I think a lot of people think they are the almighty pet food.

My dog is healthy, in good shape, bloodwork perfect, etc. So I am happy feeding Acana.

[tokipoki]

Originally Posted by Teresiana

Sorry...I was wrong! But that's a good thing. I've seen the freeze dried treats in the store & I got all excited because I thought it was food, but it wasn't. I just checked their website & they do have freeze-dried food! I'm sooo excited to try it. Mine love Primal, so I'm going to order the Orijen next. Yipee!! Thanks for letting us know!

That Tundra formula looks especially appealing to me! I'll have to do a closer price/quantity comparison between freeze-dried brands but since we don't feed it 100%, it's not a huge deal. I've been waiting so long for this to come out lol

[KathyKelben]

Originally Posted by tokipoki

That Tundra formula looks especially appealing to me! I'll have to do a closer price/quantity comparison between freeze-dried brands but since we don't feed it 100%, it's not a huge deal. I've been waiting so long for this to come out lol

That's what I'm thinking too. I won't feed it 100% of the time, but it would be great in a rotation... I'm excited!

[ktw1016]

Originally Posted by Britster

Food is... complicated.

There really is no "best food" but I will say that I have learned that companies and where their sourcing, what their manufacturing facilities look like, their testing, their quality control, etc, is more important than simply reading an ingredients list.

Personally, I have found my dog has done best on Acana. We switched away from it for a while, because frankly, I don't think Champion is all it's hacked up to be, but with that said, I can't deny it's what my dog does best on and we always end up back with it. He's eaten it for the longest time out of any food. Approx 2 years, then we stopped for a bit and now he's been eating it again for about 5 months? We do the Singles line tho (Lamb & Apple, Duck & Pear) and rotate between the 2. I prefer them to their GF line (especially with the new additions of all the lentils, chickpeas, etc).

I don't think most pet dogs will need a food like Orijen and wouldn't recommend it.

Canidae is in the process of moving away from Diamond (Thank God for that!) and they have a new GF line coming that will be made at their new Ethos plant. The line actually looks really decent and I will even consider feeding it in the future.

I'd stay away from most Earthborn GF's (too high ash content, their calcium/phos levels are too high for my liking, even though it's a bigger concern for growing large breeds, I still wouldn't choose it for any pup). Their grain inclusive line is much better IMO. They also make Pro Pac.

Btw, the amount of glucosamine in the food is probably miniscule. I wouldn't worry about it or even think it's helping with anything.

There's a lot of really good price friendly foods that probably 80% of pet dogs will thrive on. My pup seems to get bigger/softer poos on chicken, and a little bit more eye gunk, otherwise I'd probably be feeding a more 'plain' food from a company like Precise or Royal Canin, but a lot of the grain inclusive options all include chicken.

I also really really like Annamaet, amazing company with loads of expertise, but my dog doesn't like the taste of the food.

Oh wow Thanks a lot! Every word you said, I agree with you from what I've just researched!! I decided to try Acana!