FOOD: Wellness Core, Orijen or Acana?
 

Hello everyone, my little guy is almost 11 months and currently on Royal Canin puppy. I do not plan on keeping him on this food and have researched the following brands below. Was hoping anyone using these foods below can provide feedback/advice. I'd like to begin weaning next month.

- Wellness Core Grain Free Small Breed
- Orijen
- Acana
- Fromm

Your feedback is greatly appreciated! :-)

Thanks!

I used Fromms Whitefish & Potatoe for my fur kid after using the Royal Canin Puppy. I really like Fromms and they have always stood by their product. Sadly to say I had to put my little Kinder on Prescription Diet which is Royal Canin. I sometimes wonder about these foods my neighbor fed their lab Kibbles and Bits . Their dog lived to sixteen years old unbelievable especially that food. Anyways check out Fromms and call them they will answer your questions. Susan

Why Prescription Diet? Illness?

She had calcium oxalate crystals in her bladder. She really loves the Royal Canin food. I had to get a recheck on her after one month on the food and no more crystals. I hated to put her on it but the food works no more problems. Susan

Excellent to hear that she is doing better! Did the vet say the Fromm's diet caused the crystals?

I would stay on Royal Canin. It’s a great company that has vet nutritionists on staff, they do feeding trials, and have good quality control. You have to be careful with what you read online. Like there is one site out there that a human dentists runs and he only grades by ingredients and so much more goes into food then ingredients.

The calcium oxalate crystals are not caused by dog food . My little one never drinks enough water and that could of been a problem. Love to dream is correct Royal Canin is a great food. I called them about Kinder’s crystals and they were very helpful. I still say Fromms is a great food and they never had serious callbackson their food.

Food is going to be what works best for your dog. Every pup is different.


I've fed Acana primarily to Jackson for.... 7+ years now? He's 9. I've rotated between other brands here and there for flavor change or try something else. I usually end up back with Acana because he just seems to do best with it. That's not to say there's not plenty of other good foods out there as well. But we rotate between a few flavors. I do also feed canned food mixed in with the dry which can vary- I switch up brands sometimes. He does well though. Great bloodwork, soft shiny hair, good stools, etc. My cockapoo girl, Lola, poops a lot on Acana though so I am in the process of trying something that works better for her. Again every dog is different.

:thumbup:

For my two, I've fed on rotation Orijen, Fromm, and Acana. They're only 2.5 and 3, so there hasn't been that many rotations, but they've done well on all three brands. I started with Acana then Orijen with Scottie (who was a fussy eater until Casie came along), switched to Fromm when Casie joined us (because it's smaller pieces and she didn't chew as a puppy), and now they've both transitioned back to Acana because I noticed they started getting bored of Fromm after 1.5 years.

I always soak their kibble with warm water for 5 minutes to help them digest the kibble better.

We decided to go with:

ACANA Free-Run Poultry

It had a similar protein content as his current food (Royal Canin). We originally wanted Orijen Original, but the protein was a bit higher than we thought and didn't want to make that big of a jump - it would surely upset his belly. So we will get him started on the Acana and see how he does. Thanks for the great feedback! xoxo

Curious to know what foods are best for yorkie teeth since Yorkie’s can have trouble ?

Honestly food really doesn’t make much difference. It is a myth that dry food cleans their teeth. They do make vet dental diets but not sure it actually does anything. Brushing and dentals are really the only things that work well.

Raw food & Raw Meaty Bones keeps teeth clean.

I think that’s more myth then fact. I have seen raw fed dogs with really nasty teeth. Genetics is what plays the biggest part.

So Niko has been doing well with the Acana Free-Run Poultry formula - so much so that while I was transitioning him - he started to leave the old food in the bowl and just eat the new stuff! I am monitoring his bowel movements to make sure his belly is okay and I am happy to say he is doing really well. I will eventually move to Orijen Original in a couple of months, because although they are the same company (Orijen and Acana), Orijen's ingredients are just a bit more of what we are looking for - just a higher protein than Acana, and I wanted to come as close to Royal Canin in protein content as I could for the initial change.

Thanks for your input everyone - I will continue to update you on his progress in to adulthood....he will be 1 in one more week! :-)

If he is doing well on the Acana I would keep him on it.

Hi, quick question re: Acana - how much do you feed? Serving size? My Niko is 7lbs, active and 11 months old (almost 1 year in one week).

Acana
 

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Hi, quick question re: Acana - how much do you feed? Serving size? My Niko is 7lbs, active and 11 months old (almost 1 year in one week).

I use wellness small breed adult, turkey and my picky little eater loves it, I also use the wellness core 4 ingredient wet food, looks like shredded chicken in a broth on top or I use honest kitchen chicken proper toppers and he devours both! Both have quality ingredients and seem to be doing great for my pup!

Sorry no one has answered this question yet. The feeding directions should be on the bag. For instance, for Acana Taste of the Wild dry food, the recommendation for a 5 to 10 pound dog is 1/2 to 3/4 cup per day. That's just a general guideline though. Your dog may eat a little more or a little less.

For our Bella, we feed Wellness Core Grain Free Small Breed. We do not strictly measure the amount we feed her each day. Since she has issues with vomiting if she goes for a long time with an empty stomach, we put a little food (maybe 1/4 cup) on the bottom of her food bowl first thing in the morning and make sure she eats that (we play a hand feeding game to get her started). After she eats it all up, we will put the same amount in her bowl again a maximum of two more times during the day after she clears her bowl. Then we make sure she eats the same amount just before bedtime at night (hand feeding game). This guarantees that she eats between 1/2 cup and 1 cup of food each day. (1) That turns out to be the recommended feeding amount on the bag, (2) This guarantees that her stomach will be full at critical times so that she doesn't vomit from an empty stomach, (3) It allows her a little wiggle room to regulate the amount she eats herself, and (4) There is no wasted food that has to be either thrown out or carried over to the next day. Her health and weight have been perfect on this regimen.

Apologies for the delayed reply!! (& Happy New Year :) )

I feed my two Yorkies twice a day around the same time each day. Breakfast is served around 7am and dinner is served around 5pm. By bedtime they usually start to look a little hungry - that's when I do a little training with treats. The treats I use are either freeze-dried meals (they love Stella & Chewy's), dried sardine fish, or dehydrated lamb-lung.

Serving size will depend on the weight of the dog. I use the recommended serving size on the bag. Scottie is 5.5lbs and 3.5 years, Casie is 4.5lbs and 2.5 years. Despite the 1lb difference, I feed them both the same amount since I'm not going to count kibbles. :D

They're in excellent shape, granted they take 3-4 walks outside a day.

Jackson is 18lbs and fairly active. Depends on the day. He eats Acana a lot of time and he gets 1/2 cup of kibble per day (1/4 AM, 1/4 PM) and usually each meal has a scoop of wet food or some other topping. I try to account for his other calories he consumes- he gets some kind of dental chew every night (it varies on what it is) and a few small reward treats throughout the day. He does perfect on this amount and if fed more would be fat haha! I will increase it a lot in the summer when he does a lot of swimming.

I find I've never been able to listen to the guidelines on the bag. Every dog has a different metabolism and also I heard they are based off of unaltered dogs (usually an unneutered dog will have a higher metabolism and need more food).

I agree about the metabolism and have often wondered if it is genetic in nature. Pippi and Armani are siblings and have always had a weight issue...the amount of food I feed them to maintain their weight is less than others smaller than them.

Yep! Isn't that strange? I find the tinier ones sometimes need more or just as much as 18lb Jackson to maintain. Jackson's never ever been "Fat", I keep him pretty lean in general, but I can always tell when he's like a pound or 1/2 pound heavier than I like. He seems to gain weight easier nowadays than he used to (ahh the joys of getting older right?)

This was just a few months ago and how I like him- he's not quite as muscular as he used to be but that's because we've gotten lazier this last year. Need to get him more conditioned again ha!

But yeah if I fed him more than I do now he'd be a lard.:p

That's an awesome photo! He has a wonderful life! :)

Acana
 

Acana Wild Mackerel singles. Zoe, 5 months old, loves it. I top it with frozen fresh dog food. Thawed of course.

She should be on a puppy specific food.

Love the Jackson pictures you post!
Cali has eaten all of the foods on your list except wellness. She liked the arcana flavor. Utnthe from size kibblemwere the best for her.
Now, due to the one pancreatitis bout we had she is on the Royal Canin prescription low fat food and is doing well on it but I put the Honest Kitchen one Broth on itmfor added flavor.

I feed strictly twice a day beciSe she goes to work with me and I need her eleiminztion pattern to be regular and predictable. Just before bed we have to do some added treats (don’t tell her the treats are Hills prescription low fat kibbles).

I got discouraged for a while because she kept losing teeth at every yearly dental, so I changed to PetSmile toothpaste and brush daily and the last two dentals were perfect. Oh, and I started doing dentals every 6 months instead of yearly. Has really worked well for us. I also believe the teeth issues is genetic.

We have had that same problem if our baby doesn't eat several smaller portions throughout the day. Unfortunately we have over fed her for years. Now we r backing up a lot with her food. She needs to shed a pound or so mayb more. We r feeding fresh frozen dog food. No additives, little fat, no grain. She seems to be doing good and doesn't throw up bile like she used to when her stomach gets empty. We'll c.

I honestly have a problem finding a food that agrees with her. She is so constipated and I'm wondering if it's from high protein. She was on Orijen puppy. She is 5 months old. 3.2 lb