# Dog food question



## TeamCourter (Oct 22, 2013)

I am currently feeding Merrick grain free duck and sweet potato formula, and have so for probably over a year now with no problems. Now that my husband will be bringing in a more comfortable income for us I might want to switch dog food brands. 
Is Acana a better food than Merrick? I am having a hard time telling which one is the better food. I only want to switch dog food if it is going to benefit them. I don't want to accidentally switch to a food of lesser quality. 
I am also open for suggestions of other high quality brands. One that is ok for all life stages is a plus.


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## BCdogs (May 30, 2014)

I think Merrick is a great food. I don't see any need to switch if they're doing well on it.


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## Carriana (May 13, 2008)

I feed Acana and love it. Champion pet food, who makes Orijen and Acana, sources their food content locally and uses human grade ingredients so you know it's not the leftover slop scooped up from the floors of the butcher house. They also offer a buyer rewards program at most places that sell it, buy 12 get one free which is really nice when you get to that twelfth bag and get to grab two and pay for one!


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## TeamCourter (Oct 22, 2013)

I am thinking about switching to Acana, percentage of protein in Merrick just seems a little high. It's hard to decide though!


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## BCdogs (May 30, 2014)

TeamCourter said:


> I am thinking about switching to Acana, percentage of protein in Merrick just seems a little high. It's hard to decide though!


That's one of the reasons I haven't switched to Orijen, which I was considering. I would have to feed way less in the winter or they'd get fat.  I just found a great food made in Saskatchewan that's actually $20 less per bag though. Trying that out now and hoping they do well on it.


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## Boomer_the_pit (Feb 14, 2015)

Have you ever thought of perhaps switching your dog to a prey model raw diet? I know many people are afraid of this kind of diet for their pup because they want a balanced diet but when done correctly this is probably the best thing you can feed your dog! Boomer has been on it for about 4 months and his all around health is better then ever! His muscle tone is better, he's lean, his fur shines better. Perhaps something to consider?


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## jimxxx (Dec 5, 2013)

Boomer_the_pit said:


> Have you ever thought of perhaps switching your dog to a prey model raw diet? I know many people are afraid of this kind of diet for their pup because they want a balanced diet but when done correctly this is probably the best thing you can feed your dog! Boomer has been on it for about 4 months and his all around health is better then ever! His muscle tone is better, he's lean, his fur shines better. Perhaps something to consider?


Or when you think it's to difficult you can also try fresh (biological) meat ready made, see pic, if it's available of course










succes


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## Airborne Bias (Feb 18, 2015)

What about blue buffalo grain free for pups, anyone heard anything?


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## ames (Jun 6, 2010)

They had a recall a little while ago and since they were bought by the larger company of pedigree and their old head of the company works for Purina and is suing them for lying about their ingredients. So take that for what is worth. Could just be damage marketing. People hear about a law suit but not that the suit was crap or tossed out (if it is) http://truthaboutpetfood.com/the-plot-thickens-between-purina-and-blue-buffalo/


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## Jen A (Jul 13, 2014)

Airborne Bias said:


> What about blue buffalo grain free for pups, anyone heard anything?


Maggie's gut didn't handle it well. It gave her really runny poops. She did better when I switched her to Taste of the Wild supplemented with an egg.


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## TeamCourter (Oct 22, 2013)

BCdogs said:


> That's one of the reasons I haven't switched to Orijen, which I was considering. I would have to feed way less in the winter or they'd get fat.  I just found a great food made in Saskatchewan that's actually $20 less per bag though. Trying that out now and hoping they do well on it.


Hmm I haven't heard of that one. The only other food I really considered switching to was Acana. I am kind of afraid to switch at all unless I know for sure I will be bettering their diet. I am just making sure to do as much research as I can before making a switch, if I do at all.


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## TeamCourter (Oct 22, 2013)

Boomer_the_pit said:


> Have you ever thought of perhaps switching your dog to a prey model raw diet? I know many people are afraid of this kind of diet for their pup because they want a balanced diet but when done correctly this is probably the best thing you can feed your dog! Boomer has been on it for about 4 months and his all around health is better then ever! His muscle tone is better, he's lean, his fur shines better. Perhaps something to consider?


I may switch to a raw diet later on, but that would be a ways in the future. I would like more freezer space before making that switch. For now I am just trying to find the best dry food.



jimxxx said:


> Or when you think it's to difficult you can also try fresh (biological) meat ready made, see pic, if it's available of course
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks but If I switched to raw I don't think I would go that route.


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## TeamCourter (Oct 22, 2013)

Airborne Bias said:


> What about blue buffalo grain free for pups, anyone heard anything?


I personally have not fed blue buffalo, but I know I never will.


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## TeamCourter (Oct 22, 2013)

So I looked at all the 5 star rated grain free food on dog advisor, and wrote down the ones with no questionable ingredients. After that I narrowed the list down with further research...I am interested in Pioneer Naturals grain free whitefish. Does anyone have experience with it?


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## ::::COACH:::: (Apr 4, 2012)

The Merrick grain free line is good. Do you give them any variety? I believe it's important to give dogs a variety of proteins. The Merrick grain free line has buffalo, pork, duck, fish and I think another one. 
If you are going to switch I would switch to Acana. The Champion company in my opinion is the best kibble one can possibly feed. I don't look at the dog food adviser because they give foods like Orijen the same rating as kibbles like Taste of the Wild and Orijen blows Taste of the Wild out of the water. Look at the ingredients of the Acana and Orijen feeds. Nothing compares. 

They are such good quality that you actually feed them LESS. Tandie is fat right now and she is on Orijen and gets 1.5 cups a day, Taste of the Wild she would be getting 4 cups

As for protein/fat you want a food that is 30/20 or close to if you are working them. If not it could be lower.....
This is all just my personal opinion though


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## TeamCourter (Oct 22, 2013)

The grain free line also has chicken, but I can't feed them the chicken variety of most dog foods. I have fed all the rest, but most of the time they get the duck. Acana is one of the foods I am considering switching them to. I just think the protein levels in Merrick are a little high. Merrick is one of those foods you feed less of also, at least with my two. We are walking 6 miles every day and a little flirt pole. Other than that though it's just some zoomies in the back yard, and games like tug inside with their indoor toys. So I don't know if that would count as working them. Eventually I will be running them or at least Gemini beside my bike, but we haven't started that yet.


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## brunob (Mar 26, 2014)

I always wondered if it was good to change the "flavors" of the food. I give my dogs Merrick grain free chicken but have been afraid to mess up their stomach's by trying duck, fish, buffalo etc...will it give them the runs?


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## TeamCourter (Oct 22, 2013)

I have fed every grain free Merrick except the chicken, and I never noticed a change in stool or anything like that.


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## BCdogs (May 30, 2014)

brunob said:


> I always wondered if it was good to change the "flavors" of the food. I give my dogs Merrick grain free chicken but have been afraid to mess up their stomach's by trying duck, fish, buffalo etc...will it give them the runs?


I think it depends on the dog. I've fed Go! to my dogs for their entire lives, and they have chicken, turkey, duck, salmon and lamb formulas. I tried all of them and they didn't do well on any except for the duck. They did fantastic on the duck, super shiny coats, good poops, etc. The rest gave them the runs even after a month or so.


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## STiLL WILL (May 1, 2013)

::::COACH:::: said:


> The Merrick grain free line is good. Do you give them any variety? I believe it's important to give dogs a variety of proteins. The Merrick grain free line has buffalo, pork, duck, fish and I think another one.
> If you are going to switch I would switch to Acana. The Champion company in my opinion is the best kibble one can possibly feed. I don't look at the dog food adviser because they give foods like Orijen the same rating as kibbles like Taste of the Wild and Orijen blows Taste of the Wild out of the water. Look at the ingredients of the Acana and Orijen feeds. Nothing compares.
> 
> They are such good quality that you actually feed them LESS. Tandie is fat right now and she is on Orijen and gets 1.5 cups a day, Taste of the Wild she would be getting 4 cups
> ...


I'd have to agree 100% with Coach on this.

Years ago, when I used to feed TOTW, my dog(back then) was averaging around 4.5-5 cups daily. This was an active dog as well.

I made the switch to Orijen as soon as I got King beginning from Orijen Puppy all the way to adulthood which I feed Orijen Regional Red with fantastic results. The only thing you need to compliment good genetics is with the best feed you can afford. I'd definitely put Champion Petfoods(Orijen/Acana) on the highest tier for dog kibble quality and processing integrity.

On his heavy working days like mill work + long weighted handwalk all he needs is 3 cups AT MOST. On easy/non heavy work days he's good for 1.75-2 cups. On a TOTW he'd easily be a 5-6 cup dog at least---and I would blow through bags of food like no other. Feeding an average of 2 cups daily, one 30lb bag of Orijen lasts me +/- 45 days.

I personally have no experience feeding Merrick, but I hear it's great quality feed as well. If your dog is doing well on it now, there may be no need to mull over a switch.  I think a lot of people on here who have done their research would agree that Champion Petfood brands Orijen/Acana are probably the 2 best you can get if your budget can accommodate.


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## TeamCourter (Oct 22, 2013)

Yeah I definitely will not be feeding TOTW, I am only interested in 5 star foods. Merrick is a good food and I usually never have to feed more than 2.5 cups in a day, I usually only feed 2 cups. I am only going to switch if I know for sure the food is better, so I may switch to acana. I know orijen is one of the best, but it's protein isn't any lower than merrick.


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## ::::COACH:::: (Apr 4, 2012)

It's also important to me WHAT is making the protein. If you look at Orijen and Acana you will see protein after protein that are listed as "whole or deboned" which is excellent. It's not just : lamb, chicken meal, peas, sweet potatoes, etc. because who knows exactly what "lamb" could be...lol

Anywho, good luck with your decision! I know you got your pups best interest in mind


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## TeamCourter (Oct 22, 2013)

Yeah that makes sense, I will keep that in mind. I'm thinking that we will be switching to acana. Are certain varieties of acana better than other varieties? I just noticed there was a price difference between each bag, and didn't know if I should choose one over the other.


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