Switching from Acana

[Alyssa and Theo]

Hi all,

I have been thinking about switching from Acana recently. My boy has been happy on the Duck singles line for a long time. However, with them selling in Petco and rumors of selling the company, it has made me nervous to keep him on it. I was thinking of maybe Stella and Chewys as a better alternative? He tried Zignature before he was on Acana and was not a fan, so that is not an option.

Am I just being a paranoid pet parent, or is this a warranted concern? Just like everyone here, I'm constantly searching for the healthiest and safest food option for him!

Thanks for you input,

~Alyssa and Theo 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Stella & Chewy's is a great product, but it's dehydrated or freeze dried raw and there are no limited ingredient formulas. It sounds like you've been feeding LID foods; if so, is there a reason? If there is some reason your guy needs an LID food, S & C's will probably not work for him. Honest Kitchen might. Wellness also makes an excellent LID line. 

If there's no particular reason for him to eat an LID formula, Stella & Chewy's should be fine. 

My advice for those who are feeding a Champion product has been to stay with it for now, but to look at other options just in case. However, if it's a concern to you, there is no reason not to switch now if it's something you feel you want to do.

[Alyssa and Theo]

We are not quite sure if he really necessitates a LID but has done really well on them. Way back when he was a puppy and first ate blue buffalo and then diamond naturals he would go through periods of being fine and then randomly throwing up for days. The Diamond was way worse, where towarss the end he would throw up every time he ate, hard food, wet food, mixed, it came up like 15 minutes later. Took him to the vet, ran all the tests and xrays; nothing. The vet recommended trying an LID until we figured out what was going on. Went out and purchased Zignature that night and he was never sick again, even with changing his food all at once or when we transition to Acana. I'm not convinced that there wasn't something rancid in the bag of diamonds naturals because it happed right when we switched bags. Would love your thoughts on all that. 

Anyhow, I thought I saw a line of stella and chewys called Simply that was just Duck, but I didn't look to hard at it. Maybe it's not LID, just different ingredients that the others? I give him the Turkey meal mixers and never has a problem with them and is totally nuts over them. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I keep forgetting that S & C makes kibble now, and they have a new line of LID kibbles. You're right, it's Simply Stella's and there is a duck formula as well as turkey and lamb. 

I see no reason why you shouldn't try it. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Oh, and Diamond is an awful brand. More recalls than just about any other company out there. It was ablessing in disguise that the food made him sick, it got you to switch to something so much better that much sooner. :)

[Megann Eichner]

We switched my dog to Stella and Chewy’s coated raw kibble awhile ago. He had been on Blue Buffalo, and I just didn’t trust it anymore. He loves the Stella and Chewy’s and has been doing fine on it. 

[Dawn Marie]

Holly is on Acana Duck and Pear too for 2 yrs now and done well. Acana is not selling out or changing formulas. Actually they have started their own research on the grain free and heart assoc scare so it's not being dictated by only one group. I just had this discussion with the specialty food store where I buy Holly's food. They research and ask very strict questions before putting any foods on their shelves and pull anything immediately if recalls etc.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

This is such good news, Dawn Marie, thank you for posting it. 

[Laurie, Wally & Charlotte]

Now that we are back on the Cape, our vet here is strongly encouraging me to switch from the Acana Regionals Grain-Free formulas that I have been feeding Wally and Charlotte for years. I starting researching foods without peas, legumes, beans, etc., that are similar to Acana's Regionals in other ways. Has anyone made the switch for similar reasons and what have you chosen as the new foods? 

[Stella]

I'm switching my guy to Farmina, not because of the grain free rumours, I'm more concerned about the possible Nestle buy out. He's been on Acana almost his whole life and he's 11 1/2 now. I'll let you know how it goes!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I don't discuss dog food with my vet, and I would strongly encourage you to stay with the food that has worked well for your dogs for years. If you want to switch because of the rumors of the company being sold, that's one thing. But please, do not fall prey to Purina's marketing strategy at your dog's expense. 

You are not going to find a commercial food that doesn't contain some form of starch, whether that's grain, potatoes, or legumes. It can't just be meat. 

[Laurie, Wally & Charlotte]

Thanks, Karen. In addition to our vet, my sister-in-law (who is a breeder in Florida) suggested the same thing. She said to find a different food that uses oats and wheat, but not legumes. Does it make any sense to have my dogs' taurine levels checked when they have their next lab work done? 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Not to me.

Your dogs have a 1 in 220,000 chance of developing DCM from their diet. Which means that they have a better chance of getting just about any other disease out there. 

Do you titer your dogs instead of vaccinating them? There is a higher risk of incurable immune-mediated diseases if you don't.

Do you use oral flea and tick preventatives? There is a higher risk of seizure disorder if you do.

I could give you lots of other examples, but I think you get the point. :)

(You might tell your breeder that feeding wheat on a regular basis is the best way to cause food allergies in dogs, BTW. And good luck finding any food that contains wheat other than the cheapest garbage filled with cancer causing artificial preservatives and colorings, and poison from China. That's because the companies that make high quality food know better than to put wheat in it.)  

We have several in-depth discussions here in TFG about this, but the bottom line is that there is no evidence whatsoever that grain-free diets or legumes in a diet cause DCM or any other disease. Not too long ago, they were warning people that lamb and rice diets caused DCM. That of course proved to be false. As will this.  

Of course, if it makes you feel better, by all means, have their taurine levels tested. There' no harm in that, except to your pocketbook. Of course, the people who are advocating that you feed Pro-Plan will then tell you that dogs can have diet related DCM even if their taurine levels are normal, lol.
This is not a battle that can be won with logic or rational thinking. Our choices seem to be to ignore the whole thing, or switch our dogs to garbage food that may cause other diseases down the line. I choose the former.