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Post by Andreina on Sept 3, 2012 20:22:28 GMT -5
We just bought another new bag of Acana..... they also decreased the bag size 30# down to 28#... I will have to take a look at my old receipt and see if the price went down as well. Probably not!
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dreambarks
Junior Member
Every Dobe has his day!
Posts: 66
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Post by dreambarks on Sept 3, 2012 20:30:01 GMT -5
I have to wonder about the chicken, but this food I managed to find has potato protein so I may have to cook his food myself to eliminate everything that's in the Acana. Tyrion's eyes are irritated too, most notably when he comes in from outside. It is ragweed season, and the vet suggested that it adds stress to the immune system. His name is TEE-ree-un. Maybe a G-litter thread would be a good idea.
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Post by Dobereich on Sept 4, 2012 7:37:20 GMT -5
We just bought another new bag of Acana..... they also decreased the bag size 30# down to 28#... I will have to take a look at my old receipt and see if the price went down as well. Probably not! They reduced their bag from 13.5 kg to a 13 kg a few months ago.... and they increased their price on top of it. So 4.4 less pounds for more money. If they keep dropping their bag size and keep up with this veggie filler crap, I will be forced to go to another food.....AGAIN! My dogs were on Canidae for over 10 years and despite their food change, I never had any issues until they ran out of food. Now they too have changed their formula to something I no longer want to feed my dogs. Commercial pet food is going to take our dogs down. Any of us around and buying dog food in the 70's and 80's, there was nothing good... science diet came out and was the cat's meow. But believe it or not, the dogs all ate crappy food and table scraps. Corn and bone meal, with some meat... that was the primary ingredients. By the 90's there was more awareness, and from there more food companies started cropping up to try their hand at making profit off the pet sector. One of the best foods when I started out was Natural Life, then more Holistic foods came out bringing better ingredients to our dog’s bowl. Petcurean and Natura Pet were leaders in Holistic food and still hold a good market. But one thing that was never in any of these foods until the rice toxin was table potatoes. Sweet potatoes sure, but the Animal science people behind food formulation clearly said "table potatoes are not good for dogs". Fluctuating commodities depict our pet’s diet today, suddenly potatoes are great for dogs. I mean I see Wolves and Coyotes digging up potatoes in the farmers fields all the time (sarcasm of course). Then we get the malarkey that companion animals have been genetically engineered to adapt to commercial diets.... really, have they adapted, or have we? Leave some meat, potatoes, and peas on your floor and let your dog go to it.... lets see how much they prefer those spuds? LOL. Besides a puppy using a potato to teeth on or play with, I’ve never had to lock my potatoes away from my dogs. Working in Animal Nutrition over the past 25 years I’ve yet to have a dog that was actually allergic to a food. This is a term too widely used to describe an intolerance. But we refer to the aggravating ingredients as “allergens”. The introduction of potato x legume content are the makings for problems in many dogs. Dogs will have skin issues, itchy, hot spots, diabetes, kidney stones (or malfunction) and a whole lot of other G.I. issues. Dogs do best with meat protein and these companies are fooling people into believing that dogs won't have issue with such a high protein content derived from veggie protein. People buy based on what they look for in their own food. But grain free doesn't mean better. Chicken and potato is not better then chicken x oats or rice. Raw is a good way for some people to take their pets, however its not feasible for most. There are so many poorly formulated raw diets and I fear for the direction this will take our pets as well. Meat, berries, alfalfa, sprouts, some vegetation, seeds and grains to offer roughage. Its not that complicated, why can’t we just get a great reliable pet food!? I thought of formulating a kibble or fresh food mix that would be great for working dogs. The problem there is that the cost up front are just so high and I would need commitments from a lot of people in order to meet the minimum orders from “good” manufacturing plants. Maybe its time for me to start resourcing and just go for it?
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Post by Dobereich on Sept 4, 2012 7:38:54 GMT -5
G-litter thread on its way.
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Post by Lisa on Sept 4, 2012 10:24:21 GMT -5
I was concerned my dogs did not get all nutritions eating raw food only and added Acana Grassland (30%). Eventually high quality kibble caused bloody diarrhea in my dogs. No more doubts raw food is better.
I feed 85% meat, 10% cooked oatmeal and 5% fruits/veggies (apples, carrots, peaches, banana, etc) and kefir. My dogs are doing excellent. No upset stomach. No allergies. No vet visits. Their coats are shiny and teeth like pearls.
I feed beef, pork, duck, chicken, bison. They eat regular ground meat, organs mix, heart, tongue, tripe, chicken/duck necks, heads, feet and bison/beef neck bones. The dog walker switched her dog to raw feeding after watching my dogs poo LOL.
It's not so expensive if you find a good raw food supplier.
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Post by Lisa on Sept 4, 2012 10:27:17 GMT -5
...and no FARTING! That's pleasure to take dogs for a long drive now
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dreambarks
Junior Member
Every Dobe has his day!
Posts: 66
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Post by dreambarks on Sept 4, 2012 11:09:14 GMT -5
I had been wondering about adding kefir to Tyrion's diet. My grains began producing a parmesan taste after I moved and even freezing them didn't get rid of it, so I haven't had kefir for awhile.
He had been farting like a buffalo all along, but since switching him to the duck kibble that has stopped! I have strong suspicions about the chicken at this point, but it seems to be everywhere. (Spending a lot of time reading the fine print now ...)
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Post by Lisa on Sept 4, 2012 11:30:41 GMT -5
Kefir is great. I use it myself when I have upset stomach. It works like a charm. The great source of probiotics and enzymes. We use kefir grains to make it. Easy and always fresh.
If you need grains I may send it to you. I hope it won't die on its way.
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dreambarks
Junior Member
Every Dobe has his day!
Posts: 66
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Post by dreambarks on Sept 4, 2012 11:48:57 GMT -5
That's a very kind offer, Lisa. I've never shipped grains myself, but I've read that if they are in a sealed bag like a sandwich bag (or two and padded envelope) with some milk they survive. But, it's a bother for you and I can probably find some locally.
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Post by Lisa on Sept 4, 2012 12:01:34 GMT -5
If you don't find locally let me know and I will send you.
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Post by hooligan on Sept 20, 2012 9:06:40 GMT -5
A quick postscript to this thread. Yesterday, I was at our usual pet store to pick up Jack's next bag of kibble. Things were quiet, so I took the time to talk about Ranchlands with one of their senior employees.
She started off by telling me that only the packaging had changed. I told her that I had spoken directly to Acana and that the formula had, indeed, changed (and that the Acana rep had told me that a packaging change always signalled a formula change). She was taken aback and agreed that Acana should have notified their distributors.
I don't know whether they will follow up with Acana, but I sure hope they do. I'm still peeved that I found out about the change only by chance.
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dreambarks
Junior Member
Every Dobe has his day!
Posts: 66
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Post by dreambarks on Dec 20, 2012 13:12:21 GMT -5
I thought I'd update this thread in case anyone else is having similar problems. In the photo you can see that the left ear is inflamed--this is the floppy one--the right ear is much more resilient. Tyrion's left rear paw is inflamed as well, but you wouldn't notice unless you separate the toes and look underneath. The reason the ear looks like it's on fire is that he rubs it on the carpet because it's itchy. I tried a few different kibbles, each one worse than the last, until I tried Orijen. This made an immediate, enormous improvement. He still rubs his head when he comes in from outside--evidence of inhalant allergies--but I'm hoping this food will help to settle everything down. Tyrion is on the Orijen Six-fish Formula and a number of problems improved in the first week, but his general condition is so much better. I can see him bulking up from the protein content. He doesn't have the digestive upsets and the skin problems are gradually improving as well. I'd recommend the Orijen kibble to anyone who suspects a grain allergy or notices itching. I am very impressed with this food!
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Post by dobermoms on Jan 5, 2013 22:21:18 GMT -5
Another update on the Acana line of food....we were at Bark and Fitz yesterday, and they said they received a large shipment of their food, and that things were "back on track".
Lets hope that it's true....
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Post by hooligan on Jan 10, 2013 18:25:40 GMT -5
. . . I'd recommend the Orijen kibble to anyone who suspects a grain allergy or notices itching. I am very impressed with this food!
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Post by hooligan on Jan 10, 2013 18:28:05 GMT -5
Oh, and in my previous message, I forgot to include what struck me when I saw the pic of Tyrion. His profile is very like Jack's (and I love his collar).
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