Acana

[Nancy]

Karen ~ I was wondering if you know anything about this.  A member of another group posted this and it is concerning to me.  I feed Acana to both of my dogs and have not been able to find anything related to what she has said.  I copied and pasted her comments and would be interested in your thoughts.  I tried to post in the food group but for some reason, I am unable. 

A quote from a Breeder with her PhD: "Dogs may not need taurine in their diet but there is good 
research showing that inadequate nutrition can cause low taurine. I believe the group of owners and their vets are working with Acana to get to the bottom of this but I don't know how much help they are getting from the company."

Here's a link to a medical article which she linked to but it is pay to read, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/.../j.1439-0396.2003.../full

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 · Reply · Yesterday at 11:45am · Edited

Linda Joe Hazen Another Breeder stating, Big articles lately on low taurine from legume protein instead of real meat protein causing cardiomyopathy in healthy dogs. Acana was one listed.

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 · Reply · Yesterday at 11:45am · Edited

Linda Joe Hazen I don't feed Acana, we feed raw, but we have been looking for an excellent kibble to rotate. It was just this last week that the discussion came up on my Breeders forum, and I saw so many people post they are feeding it here, I just thought I should sa...See More

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 · Reply · Yesterday at 11:46am · Edited

Linda Joe Hazen I also remember a year ago, as "grain free" was gaining popularity that several Breeders expressed their concern that dog food manufacturers were substituting pea protein (bulk) for the grain. The concern was - we just don't know what will happen. Apparently it's starting to happen.

 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I really wish these breeders would get their info straight and stop posting this kind of garbage that serves no purpose other than to scare people.

A: Taurine is NOT an essential amino acid for dogs or for humans. Essential amino acids are those that the body cannot make and must be obtained from food. Humans and dogs make their own taurine and do not need to get it from food.

B: Regardless of what kinds of ingredients are in any dry dog food, whether it's peas, meat, whatever, all necessary nutrients, vitamins and minerals are added back in anyway, because so much of the nutrients are lost during processing. All foods on our recommended brands list meet full nutritional standards. 

C: Acana has a much higher protein content than most other dry foods, So if these people are worried about there being too much legume protein and not enough animal protein, all they have to do is look at the label: 

Here's the ingredients from one of the Acana Regionals formulas:

Deboned chicken*, deboned turkey*, chicken giblets* (liver, heart, kidney), turkey giblets* (liver, heart, kidney), chicken meal, catfish meal, whole green peas, red lentils, pinto beans, pollock meal, chicken fat, chickpeas, green lentils, whole yellow peas, lentil fiber, whole catfish*, whole eggs*, rainbow trout*, herring oil, natural chicken flavor, chicken liver*, chicken cartilage*, dried kelp, whole pumpkin*, whole butternut squash*, kale*, spinach*, mustard greens*, collard greens*, turnip greens*, carrots*, Red Delicious apples*, Bartlett pears*, freeze-dried chicken liver, freeze-dried turkey liver, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, zinc proteinate, mixed tocopherols (preservative), chicory root, turmeric, sarsaparilla root, althea root, rose hips, juniper berries, dried lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried bifidobacterium animalis fermentation product, dried lactobacillus casei fermentation product.

Anyone can look at this and see that there are six animal protein ingredients listed for the first 6 ingredients. By now, hopefully, everyone knows that the ingredients are listed in order of highest volume to lowest. Then you have 3 legumes, and moving down the list, 5 more animal proteins along with three more legumes and fats, vegetables, etc. Eleven animal proteins, including the first 6 ingredients in the food, and these people are worried that there's not enough amino acids???? Um, go back to school, ladies, you flunked Nutrition 101. 
Of all kibbles to be worried about, Acana is not among them. I wish I knew where they get this crazy info from? 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

BTW, I can see the study, and it has nothing at all to do with legumes, or with Acana. All of the food with negative effects contained rice and grains. And it's from 2003. I am sure this lady who posted on FB didn't even know what she was reading. 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Posted on FaceBook I'll bet.  I just can't figure out fb.  People who are just plain ignorant post things as if they were facts, and people who are even more ignorant believe the crap without checking at all, they just pass it on as gospel.  Thank you for posting here so the false information can be refuted.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Here's the original 2003 study, which involved 12 Beagles and was funded by Hill's Science Diet...surprise, surprise: 

http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/vmb/labs/aal/pdfs/Torres.pdf

What Acana has to do with it, I haven't yet discovered. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Information on taurine deficiency in dogs. It appears to be related to certain breeds (including American Cocker Spaniels, which might be why the ALD breeders are interested) as well as certain disease conditions. No mention of food or diet.

http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/cardiovascular/c_dg_taurine_def...

[Nancy]

Thanks Karen for your response.  I did some searching myself and did not find anything related to Acana.  I did see that the deficiency is genetic and related to American Cockers and cystinuria is genetic and related to Labrador Retrievers.  What I do know is that I wanted to feed my pups a quality food and that is why i did my homework before choosing to feed Acana.  Again Thank you!!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

You're very welcome, Nancy. Thanks for posting, as there are bound to be others who see this "information" and get worried. :)

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

Karen, thanks for your response.  I've been seeing random negative and IMO unfounded complaints on Acana lately, so much so that I'm starting to wonder if we're dealing with industry trolls (????).  

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I've been thinking the same thing, Cheryl. I guess they figure if they can take Champion down, all the "lesser" companies will follow; domino theory, lol. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

Especially since Champion is now popular enough that they are building a new "kitchen" in Alberta. Maybe they arecutting into others markets.