# Acana vs Origen



## galofpink (Mar 14, 2017)

First question for you, what is the breeder feeding now? I would plan on feeding that for 3-7 days before beginning any transition.

I had my spoo on the Orijen Large Breed Puppy variety. She did well on it until all of a sudden she didn't. About two months in, she developed explosive diarrhea. Up 4-8 times a night. I backed her down to Acana, but still issues, so switched over to Fromm (I wasn't particularly keen on Fromm - couple ear infections, plaque on teeth, but it worked digestively). I switched her back to Acana around 10 mos old and she was fine. My other dog has done well on Acana. 

Note: you don't have to feed a puppy food specifically. You can feed an "all life stages" food. Just make sure any food is formulated for all life stages or growth and not maintenance. If you can source Acana in different formulas, it would be fine to feed your dog that. 

Orijen is specifically formulated to be higher protein than Acana. Some dogs can handle the extra protein, pulses and generally rich ingredients. Some can't. Many dogs do well on Champion Food products, but there are quite a few that get the scoots too. It will all depend on your dog. 

If there is a big difference in ingredients when you compare the breeder's food to Acana/Orijen, you might want to consider using a different food (mid step) to transition off of, then transition to Acana/Orijen.

Personally, I don't think this has much bearing in food decisions, but in full disclosure there was a recent lawsuit against Champion Foods about heavy metal content in their foods. This was fully disclosed on their site prior to the lawsuit. I think the lawsuit is just fluff, but so you are aware, here's the thread: http://www.poodleforum.com/32-poodle-food/259265-acana-orijen-lawsuit.html


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## Charleeann67:) (Nov 6, 2017)

Thank you for the great information! Guess I'm anxious to get the pup off the Purina One Smart Blend Puppy chicken and rice. I consider it garbage. (sorry Purina) I was surprised when she told me what to get since she shows, has an international champion and national champion and full health testing guarantee. At least there are a lot of much better choices out there!

What would you consider to be a "mid-step" transitioning from the Purina to Acana or Origen?


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## galofpink (Mar 14, 2017)

Shae was on Hill's Science, so similar type of ingredients. A lot of grains and corn. Corn usually isn't well digested by dogs, but many other grains are well received. So don't discount grains right away, since the trend is to feed grain free these days. Dogs can tolerate most grains and can thrive on them, particularly low-glycemic ones. Their guts have adapted to it.

I would aim for something on the dogfoodadvisor list 4*: https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/dry/4-star/

After the diarrhea I went Fromm with grain for a month (this is where I noticed the yeast ear infections), then Fromm without grain then back to Acana and that worked well. So something like that could work for you or skip the grain Fromm.

Your dog could also be completely fine going from Purina to Acana, so you could try it and have a backup food plan in place and have pumpkin in stock for if it develops GI tract upset. I would not go to Orijen from the Purina/Hill's Science type food again. If you choose to try the Acana from the get-go, I would make the transition about twice as long as normal; 7-10 days normally, turns into 2-3 weeks.


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

If I were you I would leave the pup on his usual food for 2-3 weeks at lesst, until he gets adjusted to your house and eats well. Then I would very slowly try to introduce new food.

I changed my puppy after she arrived to a 5 star kibble (Fromm) but she only ended up having gastric problems. After I switched her, she couldn’t to,erate any other commercial food so I had to put her on vet food. She’s been on it for 6-7 months and I’m slowly trying to change her to something better. The thing is she doesn’t do well on those supposedly best dog foods (Acana, Fromm and others). She needs a lower protein content and grains. Rice helps her a lot and she does better with «*chicken meal*» than «*chicken*».

So don’t assume your dog will do well on Acana. He might even refuse to eat it.

Take your time, there is no rush. Enjoy your puppy for a while and worry about changing the food later.

Good luck !


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## asuk (Jan 6, 2017)

I agree with Dechi, your pup might not even want to eat the breeder's food with the stress etc. We went through quite a ride with milo when we got him, he was weaned off to raw. we plan to feed him raw, but he didnt do very well with the transition from breeder's house to ours. we ended up feeding him canned food and beneful stew. not the best, but i cut my losses because i wanted him to eat.

about 10 days to 2 weeks later, he was starting to come around with food, and we went back to raw. i also made sure i introduce different protein regularly to him when he was younger, to avoid allergies and also regular upset tummy. strange but it worked for us. he has an iron tummy.

he hated acana, i think because the kibble is a bit too big for him.he is on raw for breakfast and kibble for dinner. he is doing really well on wellness core. buy the best you can afford all stages kibble. the best food is also what your pup will eat


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

Good mid-range foods I've fed my dogs: Purina Pro Plan sensitive stomach, Canidae all stages, Avoderm, Natural Balance, etc. 

Right now the poodles are on Wellness Core low-fat (because other family dogs are overweight and need to be on it), Freshpet, and Canidae. It's the magic combo in terms of them liking to eat it and having good digestive health. 

By the way, some of our dogs have lived to 16, 17, even 18 on Kibbles & Bits and Science Diet. So try not to worry about the "rating" of the food as much as whether your dog will like it and do well on it


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

My vote is on Acana unless your dog is super active and need the higher protein, which is available in Orijen. I can see a teenage spoo doing well on Orijen. I am not a fan of Fromm and many high protein brands such as Orijen does not work well for dogs with sensitive GI tracts. 

Personally, I feed my dogs a combo of Acana and Merrick. Amazon's subscribe and save offers a 10% discount on Merrick if you subscribe to 5+ items. You are lucky that you have a small poodle because they are a lot less expensive to feed. A large breed teenager can easily go through three 25lbs bags a month. I know that people dislike P&G takeover but Merrick- Salmon seemed to have stayed with the same recipe. I like Merrick because my dogs have sensitive stomachs and the sweet potato really helps.


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## Asta's Mom (Aug 20, 2014)

I also feed Merrick - better on Asta's tummy. Sometimes mix in some ZiwiPeak, which he loves - though too expensive for a spoo full time.


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## Charleeann67:) (Nov 6, 2017)

What is ZiwiPeak? Never heard of it.


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## galofpink (Mar 14, 2017)

Ziwi Peak is an air-dried, small batch dog food from New Zealand. Human grade, grass fed land animals, sustainably managed seafood. The dry diets are almost fully meat and organs. I use it for training treats - too expensive for me to feed a spoo only this.

https://www.ziwipets.com/catalog/ziwi-peak-dog-nutrition


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## asuk (Jan 6, 2017)

galofpink said:


> Ziwi Peak is an air-dried, small batch dog food from New Zealand. Human grade, grass fed land animals, sustainably managed seafood. The dry diets are almost fully meat and organs. I use it for training treats - too expensive for me to feed a spoo only this.
> 
> https://www.ziwipets.com/catalog/ziwi-peak-dog-nutrition


Where do you get them in ON? I am usually in Ottawa area and haven't seen them. I see them on Amazon and not sure if the price is good.


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## galofpink (Mar 14, 2017)

asuk said:


> Where do you get them in ON? I am usually in Ottawa area and haven't seen them. I see them on Amazon and not sure if the price is good.


I have found it at a Global Pet Foods store in London. It's expensive comparatively though - $32.99 for a 1lb/16oz bag. Amazon is much cheaper at about $25 ($40 for venison) for 1lb or $41-45 for 2.2lbs depending on flavour.

You can check the Ziwi Peak site for retailers: https://www.ziwipets.com/stockists?...rch_distance]=100&distance[search_units]=mile


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

galofpink said:


> Ziwi Peak is an air-dried, small batch dog food from New Zealand. Human grade, grass fed land animals, sustainably managed seafood. The dry diets are almost fully meat and organs. I use it for training treats - too expensive for me to feed a spoo only this.
> 
> https://www.ziwipets.com/catalog/ziwi-peak-dog-nutrition


Ziwi Peak is such a treat! All of our guys love it.


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