The stores I use all carry or have the ability to order nearly anything. Where did you learn that it isn't available in the US? It sure looks like it is. The protein levels are way better than Orijen. This is much sounder for a puppy.
Masakado Shiba Inu www.masakadoshiba.wordpress.com "Common sense isn't so common"
I think the description is misleading since it talks about manufacturing in Canada, which doesn't necessarily mean they don't ship to the states. There is a store locator on the main page that will help you find stores near you who carry these products. Phone numbers are listed, so you can just call them up to see if they in fact don't carry a certain variety. Just found out that the feed store I go to carries Orijen/Acana, which I thought they didn't since I never seen it there. Just called them up and they confirmed it, but they don't carry Acana Junior & Puppy. Though that doesn't mean I can't give them Acana when Miyu is older.
Doesn't Champion also make Orijen? If your store carries Orijen, they should be able to carry Acana. I haven't seen it around as often, but I'm definitely looking for it now after the change in Orijen's formula. At least one of my local stores just started stocking it regularly specifically because of the change in formula.
has anyone fed their shibas wild prairie, pacifica, or acana grasslands? i plan on fully switching to acana in a couple of months cuz toshi still has some baby teeth. does anyone have problems with acana's kibble size? for now we half the kibble and use the pacifica as treats. toshi loves em.
^ When you treat him, if he's eating the pacifica without having to dissect it (meaning chew it up and parts of it get on the floor and then he vacuums them up), I feel like it'd be pretty safe to say he can eat them normally after his baby teeth are gone.
After my research, it seems like quite a few people on here feed Acana. It's one of the kibble's I am considering for my Shiba alongside Before Grain. Those are the only two after reading a lot of research on that I feel pretty comfortable on. That, and, still teetering on the fence about Orijen.
I bought a 5 lb bag of Acana. I'm still feeding Hiro Orijen puppy. The Acana kibble is pretty big. (flat and round). I usually have to add water to soften it up before I serve it to Hiro. Oirjen puppy is semi soft.
thanks for your imput guys. yea orijen is a good quality pet food but i just worry about all the protein in it. if I had a large breed/ very active/working breed- i would totally choose orijen. acana has a little less protein so i feel would work best for my pup. i wish we could get acana puppy small breed/adult small breed in the U.S. Other people on here i believe feed taste of the wild. I found out that they are made by Diamond so I crossed that brand out of my list.
We feed a mix of pacifica and grasslands, and they've been on them since Kuri was three months (before that they had the puppy). At that age she was still having puppy milk over the kibble so it was softer, but only in the morning. The evening feed has always been dry and we never had any problems (she's never vomited or anything like that). Hayate could and would eat just about anything so he might not be the best example, but Kuri was only 4 kilos at 3 months. The kibble is small enough to use with the kong wobbler, by the way.http://sopheliajapan.blogspot.com
We just started feeding Baku (1yr old) Acana grasslands. We had previously been feeding him Blue Seal's Natural 26 dog food (a local company for us), but wanted to find something that was higher quality. When we were running low on our last bag of food, we bought Baku a small bag of Salmon and Sweet Potato food by Nature's Recipe. The fish oil made a noticeable difference in Baku's coat. Since switching to Acana, which hasn't been long, I swear the higher quality ingredients make his coat even silkier and healthier. Besides the higher price tag, I'm really happy with Acana so far.
I looked into Orijen's faq section while I was researching Acana/Orijen, and noticed they have a section on debunking the "too much protein" myth. Has anyone seen this? The study they cite is all the way back from 1998, so it may be too outdated, but it's an interesting read.
yea i read all about "too much protein" and it's interesting. not just from champion pet foods website but in other articles as well. if anyone is thinking their pet food has too much protein for their dog they could check their dogs urine ph. that's good that baku's fur is much healthier. :)
I'm not really a fan of anything that can cause a metabolic disorder and organ damage, especially as the company does not place a disclosure on the bag stating older dogs, puppies, and dogs with kidney or liver dysfunction should not eat this, so too much protein is not a "myth" as far as I'm concerned, this aside from the fact that most pet dogs don't need that level of nutrition that is found in Orijen and other higher protein kibbles. I do think it is a nice food and that working dogs who are supplemented with extra water, obese dogs, or healthy adult dogs that only get it part time, could thrive on it.
A totally balanced natural diet would be feeding raw, or feeding a kibble or cooked with protein amounts closest to raw. The extra water content is needed to help the kidneys and liver process all the waste products, and in general, the protein content of raw meat, depending on source, is usually no greater than 20%. The dog also eats less because of the bulk. Kibble is way more concentrated, without the water and with more dry protein.
I do feed Acana to my allergy dog exclusively, but I dilute it by adding other ingredients, veggies and water.
Masakado Shiba Inu www.masakadoshiba.wordpress.com "Common sense isn't so common"
I transitioned Tochi to Acana Wild Prairie a few weeks ago (it was recommended we stayed with a chicken flavor since the breeder was feeding him Nutro Ultra). At the time, we bought a 5-lb bag, and it seems like it will last another 2 to 3 weeks. My question is should I continue buying same 'flavor" or is it too soon to try other Acana's Grain Free products? I'd like him to try other especially "Pacifica" given the higher fish content.
What are your thoughts on the frequency of the rotation?
When Hiro was young I stuck with 1 type of kibble...but around 6 months, i started buying different varieties... I rotate between wellness...acana...and ziwi peaks for the morning..and dinner..he has premade raw.
I rotated every bag, even when they were little. This was due to the fact that my Pom mix was a very picky eater. Bootz the shiba, she can care less what she eats. I always transition slowly, so they never had any problems.
two cents: We are beginning our second small bag of Acana Grasslands (Koj is 1.7 y.o)
He has had soft poops almost his entire life...(I used lots of treats for training which my vet said could be issue - and sometimes a bully stick a day)...
His poops are awesome now :) sorry - but it's a good thing...
I cut back on bully's to every other day or so and also treats are less now because he's more mature and don't use as many treats, but I do think the Acana is great for him - and he likes it.
(Not an expert opinion, just our experience) PS..HE was fed "premium/quality" foods all the time: Origen, Wellness Core, and other top brands - pumpkin, etc etc = but so far Acana is only thing that has given him good digestion...I plan to rotate the types of protein, but sticking with Acana for now...
