Acana vs Taste of the Wild?

[luvaboxa]

Hoping my boxer friends can help. Currently my 6 month old boy is on Fromms puppy gold. Love the food, but Rocco is showing signs of allergies. I am looking to go grain-free and get rid of the "feathers" (duck, chicken) in the food. I orginally decided to go with Acana Ranchlands, just in process of weaning now; however, just spoke to the breeder and she says she doesn't recommend Acana for boxers due to the high protein content (31%) and says pup will grow too fast.

What has anyones experience been? If I should not use Acana, then I was looking at TOTW puppy bison or Natural Balance LI sweet potatoe venison. They are both manufactured by Diamond, correct? Is that an issue?

I find the food decision has been the most stressful and time consuming. I just want whats best for my baby!!

thanks in advance,
Terrie & Rocco

 

[whiskers]

I would 1000% recommend Acana over TOTW. 31% is not really a protein level I would be concerned about, there is no evidence to suggest that it causes skeletal problems. Protein is used for many, many things in dogs.

The calcium/phosphorus ratio is what you want to pay more attention to when picking a puppy food for larger breeds, and you want as close to a 1.2:1 ratio as possible. Ranchlands is a bit skewed and kind of high in calcium, their ratio is 1.8:1. If you go with Acana you should do the Pacifica formula, their ratio is the closest at 1.3:1. (all this info is on their website, because they are awesome... lots of companies do not make this info readily available!)

Earthborn Meadow Feast or Great Plains Feast would both work for a puppy too, and those are also grain free/poultry free.

 

[Sansal]

I agree, I would try Acana first. However, it is also always a matter of what works best for your dog (and how much money you want to spend). I hate buying a food produced by Diamond (because of the recall they were involved earlier this year) but unfortunately it seems to be the food that works best for my dogs.

 

[brodieboxer]

Dempsey does well on TOTW Pacific Stream. I'm currently transitioning him to Wellness Simple Turkey and Potato to add some variety in his diet, but I'll continue to use TOTW in my rotation. Acana is a wonderful food, but the grain free varieties are pretty pricey.

 

[luvaboxa]

Thank you for the info. I was also looking at the Natural Balance Limited Ingredient (sweet potato and venison); however, I see that Diamond is also the manufacturer of that food.

Has anyone had experience with the Acana Pacifica? Does it leave the pup with fishy smelling breath?

Thanks again,
Terrie

 

[HL Hendrix]

Has anyone had experience with the Acana Pacifica? Does it leave the pup with fishy smelling breath?

I have, and continue, to use all varieties of the Provincial brand of Acana. The first one I purchased and tried was the Pacifica because Hendrix wasn't doing well with another companies chicken formula. He did amazing and it is always my "go-yo" if any stomach issues start to arrise. I use the lamb and beef varieties the least of the 4 types with chicken being second to the fish. The breath was never really an issue as long as you practise so teeth cleaning habits, becasue really any food will cause bad breath in dogs.

 

[daisyandduke]

Has anyone had experience with the Acana Pacifica? Does it leave the pup with fishy smelling breath?

Acana is very similar to Orijen which I feed to my dogs (same manufacturer). I feed them Orijen 6 Fish and whew...the food has a very strong smell when I put it in their bowl. You would think that they would have really bad and fishy breath...but they don't! Maybe right after when they just finish eating, but later in the night - there is no bad breath coming from them. I attribute it to the high quality food.

 

[whiskers]

I have not done the Pacifica, but right now Juno is on Canine Caviar's herring based formula - a lot of people think the food smells "like an aquarium" (I don't notice it but everyone else I know finds it offensive!), but it doesn't affect her breath. Except, like the previous poster said, right after she's finished eating.

Especially if you brush her teeth or give her things to chew on, you probably won't have an issue.