Acana puppy food ??

[cujo1969]

Got a lab pup 4 months old he was started on Kirkland puppy food until 8 weeks old when I got him I switched him over slowly to the acana puppy food but doesn't seems to agree with him. Has lose stools and try pooping a long time lots bad gas to lol. Think I will try a different kind but not sure what. Is the Costco food good quality?

[Hydro1]

Originally Posted by cujo1969

Got a lab pup 4 months old he was started on Kirkland puppy food until 8 weeks old when I got him I switched him over slowly to the acana puppy food but doesn't seems to agree with him. Has lose stools and try pooping a long time lots bad gas to lol. Think I will try a different kind but not sure what. Is the Costco food good quality?

People will argue over dog food until the end of time... Everyone has an opinion on whats good or bad and why. This is just my opinion.

Costco food is junk, pure crap.
Acana puppy is a good food, light years ahead of kirkland.
How much are you feeding?
Your dogs weight?

the puppies who dont do well on acana are more often than not being fed too much.

[cujo1969]

He's about 45lbs feeding 4 cups and he just woofs it down quick. Looking at the Kirkland label why you say it pure crap?

[Trooper23]

Too much food. We have 2 golden Retreivers and they get a cup each, morning and night. Perfect shape and energy. Both weigh in at 35 kgs.

[Hydro1]

QUOTE=cujo1969;2731452]He's about 45lbs feeding 4 cups and he just woofs it down quick. Looking at the Kirkland label why you say it pure crap?[/QUOTE]

At first look it does loom like a quality food for a reasonable price.
However reviews paired with personal experience tells me otherwise.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/..._pet_food.html
Seeing as there seems to be controversial reviews about this site I will add another.
http://www.dogfoodscoop.com/dog-food-comparison.html

I use a lot of the review sites, they seem to be pretty accurate.
I like dog food that gets the majority of its protein and calories from meat.

I wont feed a puppy less than 26% protein. This is kirklands breakdown.



Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein: 23.0% min
Crude Fat: 14.0% min
Crude Fiber:4.0% max
Moisture: 10.0% max
Zinc: 200 mg/kg min
Selenium: 0.4% min
Vitamin E: 150IU/kg min
Omega-6 Fatty Acids: 2.2% min
Omega-3 Fatty Acids: 0.4% min
Glucosamine Hydrochloride: 300 mg/kg min
Chondroitin Sulfate: 100 mg/kg min
Calorie Content Metabolizable Energy (ME): 373kcal/cu

This is acana
http://www.acana.com/products/classics/puppy-junior/

Significany better in every aspect.
Acana is one of the few brands that are pretty accurate on their suggested serving.
The site reccommends 3 cups a day, i would suggest doing that and seeing how your puppy does.

[regl]

Originally Posted by Hydro1

People will argue over dog food until the end of time... Everyone has an opinion on whats good or bad and why. This is just my opinion.

Costco food is junk, pure crap.
Acana puppy is a good food, light years ahead of kirkland.
How much are you feeding?
Your dogs weight?

the puppies who dont do well on acana are more often than not being fed too much.

petfoodtalk.com rates Kirkland ahead of Acana and just below Orijen. Customer reviews rate Kirkland higher than both Champion brands.

[Hydro1]

Originally Posted by regl

petfoodtalk.com rates Kirkland ahead of Acana and just below Orijen. Customer reviews rate Kirkland higher than both Champion brands.

As I said, everyone will have a different opinion.
The link I posted links kirkland at 2/5 stars.
O.P try reducing the amount fed. If your dog still has gastrointestinal issues then explore other options.
In my opinion...

[regl]

Originally Posted by Hydro1

As I said, everyone will have a different opinion.
The link I posted links kirkland at 2/5 stars.
O.P try reducing the amount fed. If your dog still has gastrointestinal issues then explore other options.
In my opinion...

google the reviews about
consumeraffairs.com. May change your mind about that site.

[calgarygringo]

A couple suggestions based on our own lab experience. Labs are notoriuous for digestive issues and suggest if you are having issue then try Holisitic Pet Organics Digestall powder supplement to your food. This is also good for other pets as well if there are digestive issues. I also may add there may be allergy issues to something in the food but would look at that secondary.
We have ours mostly on a raw food diet and have for many years with the digestive enzymes and does much better than the dry food. Quality food does make a difference. Avoid foods with a lot of grain in it for a good start.

[artie]

my lab has problems with different food. I find food with rice in it gives him lose stools and have tried many different foods. Now he is doing the best on grain free turkey made by Go. Try different foods until you find one that works. My guy cannot handle Acana, science diet or blue buffalo. But he does well on Go which I think is made in B.C and I buy it from Pet Planet. Also watch where you store the food. It tends to go bad if not kept away from heat like a heat outlet for your furnace. Once camping I left his kibble in a sunny place and it went bad and he was throwing every thing up so I sometimes use can dog food which tends to settle him down.

[sewerrat]

We had our lab on Kirkland rice and chicken (purple bag) for 5 years, over time she would start scratching and scooting like crazy, took her to the vet, and they think it was allergies.
The vet suggested to change the food ,anything with turkey and sweet potato.
So I bought the first bag of Science Diet from the vet for $ 80.00,.

Now we buy Kirkland "Nature Domain" (red bag) for around $40.00, and she does really good on it, problem solved. But each dog is different and reacts different to any food, the best thing is experiment with different foods.

actually our labs poops are smaller too now instead of the massive steamers.

[Winch101]

Seeing as we are talking about a four legged garbage disposal ,
It might not be the food . Parasites . 4 cups seems like a lot .

It could be the cut oats in the Acana .

Best thing to do is no water or food 24 hrs .....then a couple of days
Of cooked rice and hamburger and a little pure canned pumpkin ( not
Pie filling ) feed him 3 times a day ......the other thing is , a couple
Of days of pudding poop is no big deal ......the pure runs that is serious .

I feed Acana Regionals Ranchland ....poop like a Titleist .

Get the scoop on digestible protein in a food ....and maybe he's done with
Puppy food .

[Anzacron]

Our Mastiff's have all been raised on Acana, starting with puppy, then into large breed. We selected Acana on account of the quality, certainly not price.

Follow the guides and hopefully the lil one's tummy figures it out.

[Jadham]

I use Acaana/Orijen. I have labs.

I use, at most, 2-3 cups in 24 hour period, both while growing and now doing an "active" day. I would suggest cutting serving size down until you see firm stools.

A lab is always hungry, one of mine has literally almost eaten himself to death (got into food bag, stuffed himself, and got a gastric volvulus).

A trick to slow down the eating/portion size is to add water to the kibble.

[Pixel Shooter]

are you feeding once or twice a day? 4 cups seems a bit much. Nothing wrong with Acana, some of their higher end can be a bit much for allot of dogs. Like previous poster said I would reduce intake and see if things change. Whatever you do stick with a puppy formula. Some dogs regardless of how good supposedly something is doesnt mean they will do well on it.

Natures Dormain sold by Costco is grain free, I use the lamb and rice and more than happy with it. Same formula as the premium diamonds dog food at twice the price in pet stores and yes diamonds makes it for them.

Find a food your dog will do well on, good weight, coat, stools. never hurts to try and change things up. More challenge when you have multiple dogs and finding a food that ALL dogs will do well on hence why I have stayed on the natures domain.

btw my labs dont chew, they swallow their dog food, typical labs. if you want to slow down their eating, you can get these real hard indian rubber balls you put in the bowl, they have to manuever it around in the bowl to get at the food, will help slow him down lol

[silverdoctor]

A good gulp bowl will slow him down, something like this.




Or barring that, feed him a bit at a time, make him wait. It's good for training.

[wildside2014]

Originally Posted by Pixel Shooter

are you feeding once or twice a day? 4 cups seems a bit much. Nothing wrong with Acana, some of their higher end can be a bit much for allot of dogs. Like previous poster said I would reduce intake and see if things change. Whatever you do stick with a puppy formula. Some dogs regardless of how good supposedly something is doesnt mean they will do well on it.

Natures Dormain sold by Costco is grain free, I use the lamb and rice and more than happy with it. Same formula as the premium diamonds dog food at twice the price in pet stores and yes diamonds makes it for them.
Find a food your dog will do well on, good weight, coat, stools. never hurts to try and change things up. More challenge when you have multiple dogs and finding a food that ALL dogs will do well on hence why I have stayed on the natures domain.


btw my labs dont chew, they swallow their dog food, typical labs. if you want to slow down their eating, you can get these real hard indian rubber balls you put in the bowl, they have to manuever it around in the bowl to get at the food, will help slow him down lol

from the same factories!!!!

hydro youre a nice guy. Im not ripping on you here. Kirkland is far from being a crap food. far from it.

I went through the same thing with my pup. I tried to be a hero and bought into the google oprah heros propaganda and went strictly with orijen and my dog almost literally died. Just too rich for their stomachs.

People have this asinine thought in their head that more protein means its a better food. Although I PREFER to go grain free now that his guts can handle it with Kirkland brand, theres nothing wrong with a little corn either, especially for actual working dogs. If the AO police aren't satisfying your need for food info I challenge you to poll trialing guys and hunt test guys. Most of them aren't going 'grain free'. especially down in the states where its a prominent scene per say (that is hunt tests and trialing). Purina Proplan is a very widely used food amongst that crowd, and its an excellent food. Honestly I had my dog on it for a long time and just recently switched to Kirkland natures domain mainly because of cost.

[aulrich]

My dog runs soft no matter the food, so I add 4 tablespoons of pumpkin most every day.

The vet wanted to sell me 3.50$ a day food , yea no thanks

Kirkland and some pumpkin works just fine, the dog does not get to eat better than me

[Skytop B]

Originally Posted by cujo1969

Got a lab pup 4 months old he was started on Kirkland puppy food until 8 weeks old when I got him I switched him over slowly to the acana puppy food but doesn't seems to agree with him. Has lose stools and try pooping a long time lots bad gas to lol. Think I will try a different kind but not sure what. Is the Costco food good quality?

Does he have his Parvo shots?

[wildside2014]

Originally Posted by Skytop B

Does he have his Parvo shots?

parvo he would be pooping blood. been there, seen it....horrible and a quick death

[cujo1969]

I think so hes up to date on all shots. Will looks at his record. Lots of good info thanks

[wildside2014]

Originally Posted by Hydro1

QUOTE=cujo1969;2731452]He's about 45lbs feeding 4 cups and he just woofs it down quick. Looking at the Kirkland label why you say it pure crap?

At first look it does loom like a quality food for a reasonable price.
However reviews paired with personal experience tells me otherwise. http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/..._pet_food.html
Seeing as there seems to be controversial reviews about this site I will add another.
http://www.dogfoodscoop.com/dog-food-comparison.html

I use a lot of the review sites, they seem to be pretty accurate.
I like dog food that gets the majority of its protein and calories from meat.

I wont feed a puppy less than 26% protein. This is kirklands breakdown.

Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein: 23.0% min
Crude Fat: 14.0% min
Crude Fiber:4.0% max
Moisture: 10.0% max
Zinc: 200 mg/kg min
Selenium: 0.4% min
Vitamin E: 150IU/kg min
Omega-6 Fatty Acids: 2.2% min
Omega-3 Fatty Acids: 0.4% min
Glucosamine Hydrochloride: 300 mg/kg min
Chondroitin Sulfate: 100 mg/kg min
Calorie Content Metabolizable Energy (ME): 373kcal/cu

This is acana
http://www.acana.com/products/classics/puppy-junior/

Significany better in every aspect.
Acana is one of the few brands that are pretty accurate on their suggested serving.
The site reccommends 3 cups a day, i would suggest doing that and seeing how your puppy does.[/QUOTE]

what personal experience has dictated its a less than quality food? im curious

and that's just your opinion on choosing to feed nothing less than 26%. Data and my own personal experience dictates 26% is too rich for a pups stomach man.


And just to clarify my own experience. My pup suffered severe fur loss due to malnutrition from severe soft stools due to the richness of orijen and acana. he lost a ton of weight. LITERALLY the day I switched him to proplan and eukanuba he did a complete 180

[Pixel Shooter]

giardia is more prevalent then parvo. dont scare the poor guy lol. You have to know that shots provided in a puppy does not nulify risk, it takes considerable time to build the immune system, shots are not instant, not even close. quick culture will remove any concerns.

[artie]

I always hear of people taking old horses to Fort Mcleod to the canners to be made into dog food. But I never see any horse meat on the labels of any dog food. so what gives?

[silverdoctor]

Originally Posted by artie

I always hear of people taking old horses to Fort Mcleod to the canners to be made into dog food. But I never see any horse meat on the labels of any dog food. so what gives?

That would be called "meat meal" as far as I know. Dogs and cats at vets offices are ground into some dog foods as well. Good old meat meal.

[Walleye1114]

I had the same problem with my GSP lose stool, now we feed them Kirkland Signature Nature’s Domain, the duck one, he loves it, gives him lots of energy

Crude Protein 24.0% minimum
Crude Fat 14.0% minimum
Crude Fiber 3.0% maximum
Moisture 10.0% maximum
Zinc 150 mg/kg
minimum
Selenium 0.3 mg/kg
minimum
Vitamin E 150 IU/kg minimum
Omega-6 Fatty Acids* 2.5% minimum
Omega-3 Fatty Acids* 0.4% minimum
Total Live & Active Cultures*
(Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium lactis, Lactobacillus reuteri) 220.000.000 CFU/kgs
Not Less Than

[Walleye1114]

Here is some info I recived from kirkland about ther Natures Domain dog food


We perform laboratory testing on every batch of every product we make in every plant we operate. That includes samples of finished pet food products as they come off our production line, testing on the ingredients that go into our products and environmental testing in our manufacturing plants. Each week we perform thousands of tests to make sure the safety and quality of our products meet our standards…and yours.
All of our products are manufactured under the strict standards of our “Test and Hold Program” in which safety tests are conducted by a certified, independent laboratory. We use scientifically and statistically approved standards set by the ICMSF (International Commission on the Microbiological Specification for Foods) and every sample is kept for the guaranteed shelf life of the product (typically 12 months). Under the Test and Hold Program, no product is ever released unless it passes these tests.

If you have any additional questions, feel free to reply back or call us at 800.797.9607.



Sincerely,
Dr. Melissa Brookshire

Kirkland Signature Pet Food Consumer Support Team

[nast70]

My lab is going on 12yrs. We have been looking dor a better senior food with higher glucosamine and have tried him on several, Blue (both types they make), Acana and another one I cant remeber the name. Of the 3 Blue seems to agree with him the best, however it has the lowest glucosamine content. Acana was the most expensive and he would gas us out of the room! We are now trying the Kirkland as well. Hes still transitioning so no firm opinion yet.

[AndersonSkiTeam]

For some of my dogs they have exactly what you said your dogs symptoms are with the higher protein diets like Acana. The other half of my dogs do awesome with this type of food. I know it doesn't make sense that a dog can have to much protein but it seemed to be the answer after all the research and trying different brands. Good luck. It is hard to keep a dog in the house if stinky and runny stool.

[Redfrog]

Dog food again?.
Which caliber is best?. Which scope is best?
Which rifle is best?

Not sure why anyone would say Labs are notorious for digestive problems? My labs would eat the tires off a tractor like it was Christmas dinner.

I do not put much stock in reviews on the'net. I know someone who writes them and gets paid to do it. and never tried the product.

I feed as much raw meat as I can It is only determined by availability.

Some of the ones I have had very good success with in spite of the 'net are:

Iams puppy both for pups and hard working field dogs.

Kirkland

And at present I'm feeding the UFA brand performance with good results.

I have tried a lot of them over the years and seem to come back to the same ones. I have had dogs in for training and the owners feed Acana.
Dogs do well on very little feed.