Switching from TOTW to a new grain-free food?

[Marcy, Apollo & Phoebe]

Apollo is almost 8 months old and has been on TOTW. During the recall, I had to switch him to Earthborn Holistics. He did pretty well, but had terrible gas. I switched him back to TOTW and the gas seemed to subside, then came back. So I just went back to Earthborn a week ago and his stools are softer than when he was on TOTW. I've been researching and decided to give up all Diamond products. I went with Earthborn, because it was the grain-free food that my local store carried that was closest to TOTW. Well, now I'm thinking of trying something else when he's done w/ this bag of Earthborn. Again, he's done okay on it and seems to like it (my baby eats anything), but I just think there may be better options out there. I have been reluctant to try brands that are not at my local boutique, but I've realized that I'm just lazy. The boutique we go to is about 1 mile from our house, but there are others within 3 miles and I just learned that they carry other brands that I'm interested in trying. So, has anyone transitioned from TOTW to Orijen? Acana? Those are the two brands that I'm leaning toward trying. What are the major differences between the two? Apollo has always been on all life stages food. Some of the brands I'm looking at offer large puppy and adult. At what age is it safe to move to adult food? Thanks!

[Cyndi, The Boys & Callie]

We switched from TOTW to Acana several months ago due to the recalls and have had no issues whatsoever.  Both boys have iffy stomachs but no poop issues at all.  They seem to love the taste and push their bowls around the kitchen to make sure they get every last bite (that never happened with TOTW).  Acana is a little more expensive than TOTW but they eat less so it winds up costing the same amount.  I was nervous about switching foods but it has turned out great and I'm so glad that I did.   

[Christine & Camus]

Cyndi, I made the same switch for Camus.  Is there a significant difference in the amount your boys eat now that you are feeding Acana?

[Cyndi, The Boys & Callie]

Tank weighs 50 lbs.  On TOTW Wetlands, he ate 3 cups a day.  On the Acana Wild Prairie he eats 2 - 2 1/2 a day.  Sully weighs 35 lbs and his reduction is about the same % wise.  Not a huge difference but some.  They love it so much it makes me feel good to be able to give it to them.  

[Christine & Camus]

Thank you Cyndi.  Camus is ~ 2 1/2 years, weighs 84 lbs, and was eating 2 1/2-3 cps daily of TOTW.  I am feeding him 2 1/2 cps daily of Acana. Hoping I do not have to decrease further.

[Laura Deutsch]

Gee.....I didn't change the amount at all when I switched to Acana. Molly is 48 pounds and gets two cups a day....is that too little?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

If she's doing well with that, it's fine. Every dog is different.

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Luna is about 38 pounds and she gets 1.5 cups a day of Acana.  If I recall, the bag recommends about 2 cups for a 50 lb. dog, so Molly should be just about right at 2 cups.  Luna gets slightly less than the amount recommended for her weight since she packs on the pounds easily.

[Jen, Lachlan, and Declan]

Just to toss in another data point, I've switched the boyz from ToTW Pacific Stream to Acana as well. Lachlan never really liked the ToTW but he did pretty well on it, Declan will eat anything but his poo never really firmed up. Lachlan absolutely loveslovesloves Acana Duck (bonus!), their poos look wonderful, and they've gone from eating ~3 cups a day to ~2 1/4 (they each weigh ~60 pounds).