# Problem with Acana



## artbuc (Apr 12, 2009)

Which formula?


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## jenlaur (Jun 24, 2009)

A light just went on in my head. My dogs have been on Acana for at least 7 months. Riley, my one year old, has always been a little itchy but it has increased dramatically in the last 2 months. So much so we just did allergy testing on her (awaiting the results). I am giving her benadryl daily.

Do you know when the formula change was?

In the last week I started transitioning her onto Taste of the Wild. I had reservations because of the fact that it is a Diamond product but decided to try it anyway. I did it mainly because I have to travel at least 45 minutes to get Acana and TOTW is readily available in many places here. Plus it is $20 a bag cheaper than Acana.

We are about 2/3 of the way through the switch. I will keep an eye on her to see if the itching improves.


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

That's insane - Ranger made the switch to Acana products about a month ago and yesterday I was brushing him and noticing how dandruffy his coat was. He's also been rubbing his face on the carpet and had an eye infection and an ear infection in the last month.

In all fairness, I can't exactly blame Acana for all this. Ranger had the same itchy skin/face rubbing when I first got him and he was on Iams...then he switched to grain free foods for a year. We just went back to a grain food (Acana) and this started up so it might not be Acana specifically, but grains in general. 

Argh! And he needs to be on low calorie food since I'm on restricted activity! It was only 325 cals/cup which was perfect for him. Shoot. Good luck for me trying to find a grain-free, low calorie food. Not to mention I just sucked it up last week and bought a big bag of it.


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## Enzos_Mom (Apr 8, 2010)

Ranger - I know it's not the most premium of foods, but I just looked at the kcals/cup in the Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul adult foods and it's 334 for large breed adult and 336 for regular adult - maybe something to look into? It still has decent ingredients. Also, I did receive confirmation from them that they don't use ethoxyquin in their food and neither do their suppliers. Enzo's been doing great on the large breed puppy.


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

You might contact the company and ask them which flavors they changed their formulas for. If you look at their website, they do say they now Enhanced Grain Free Formulas with more fresh and regional ingredients. http://www.championpetfoods.com/acana/products.php


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

Enzos_Mom said:


> Ranger - I know it's not the most premium of foods, but I just looked at the kcals/cup in the Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul adult foods and it's 334 for large breed adult and 336 for regular adult - maybe something to look into? It still has decent ingredients. Also, I did receive confirmation from them that they don't use ethoxyquin in their food and neither do their suppliers. Enzo's been doing great on the large breed puppy.


The calories/cup sound good; is it grain-free? I'm really thinking Ranger's reacting to the rice/oats in his food. Anything he's been on with grain has had rice/oats, and he just doesn't seem to do well on it. I think Wellness Core grain free is the next food we try...the reduced fat stuff is pretty low calorie. Much to Ranger's dismay, I bought a one cup measuring cup to use to make sure I don't overfeed him. I'd been using a 4 cup one that the writing was all scratched off...I'm sure more than once he got closer the 1 1/2 or 1 3/4 cup for brekkie or supper instead of one cup!


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

Look at either the NOW foods ( they're grain free) and the GO Endurance which is also grain free. Both are made by petcurian. The NOW has 29-30% carbs and 26% protein. The GO is more in the 33-34 % protein range. http://www.petcurean.com/index.php?page_id=179 

A berner breeder I know from another forum has been feeding the NOW for several years with wonderful results. I tried it with my girls and was thrilled with how they did.


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## Enzos_Mom (Apr 8, 2010)

It's not grain free. =( This is the ingredients list for the regular adult food. 

Chicken, turkey, chicken meal, ocean fish meal, cracked pearled barley, whole grain brown rice, oatmeal, millet, white rice, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), potatoes, egg product, tomato pomace, duck, salmon, flaxseed, natural chicken flavor, potassium chloride, salt, choline chloride, dried chicory root, kelp, carrots, peas, apples, tomatoes, blueberries, spinach, dried skim milk, cranberry powder, rosemary extract, parsley flake, yucca schidigera extract, L-Carnitine, dried fermentation products of Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus plantarum, dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, niacin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.


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## cathbarrett (Jul 2, 2010)

artbuc said:


> Which formula?


I had my girls on the Acana Adult Dog formula. A friend of mine has her dog on one of the grain free Acana formulas, I smelt it the other day it just stunk of oil. Her dog has also been pretty itchy, soft stools. Not sure if this change if for all their formulas. You can email the company and find out what changes were done. The persons email I have that was telling me about the change is [email protected]. Good luck, hope the acana works out for you. I have switched my girls to Go! Natural chicken formula. So far so good no itches. They seem to like it a lot, they crunch their food so much better.


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## cathbarrett (Jul 2, 2010)

jenlaur said:


> A light just went on in my head. My dogs have been on Acana for at least 7 months. Riley, my one year old, has always been a little itchy but it has increased dramatically in the last 2 months. So much so we just did allergy testing on her (awaiting the results). I am giving her benadryl daily.
> 
> Do you know when the formula change was?
> 
> ...


I intially thought the problem might have been allergies, it just didn't seem like allergies, I had a labrador retriever previously to my goldens who was allergic to almost anything. I started watching, everytime they would eat that when they would get itchy. My older girl would start rubbing her face, my youngest golden would start itching at her feet. Once I made the food change, all of this stopped. My older golden she doesn't rub at her face at all, my little one her foot is clearing up. So far Go! Natural chicken is working for them. I don't know how many formulas this change has affected, I do know it did affect the adult dog formula. I was told some of the changes were a change in the meat content and they added more chicken fat...


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

I really like the Go/Now food, too. My old border collie did great on it and I wouldn't hesitate to feed it to Ranger except for 2 things: 1) the calorie content is a little too high for what we do right now and 2) Ranger would always eat the border collie's poop. He doesn't eat his own, he doesn't eat Blue's...it was ONLY the border collie's. I'd be worried that he'd start eating his own poop if he was getting fed Go or Now.

I think we'll be switching to Wellness Core reduced fat or whatever the "diet" food is. Low calories so Ranger can still get his 2 cups a day and no grains. Both his eyes are runny again today and it has to be the grain in his food. There's been no other change. (Of course it figures this happens AFTER I bought the 30 lb bag. Every other week, I'd just been buying the little bags to see how he did on it. He seemed great, bought the 30 lb bag and oops! Runny eyes, gunky ears and infected face. Figures).

*Edited to Add:* Of course the petstore closest to me doesn't carry Wellness Core. Off to the next pet store with the weirdo owners....


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## firedancer722 (Apr 12, 2010)

Just wanted to chime in and say that Charlie has been eating Acana Pacifica (Grain Free) exclusively for almost 3 weeks and is still scratching, pawing at his eyes, and shaking his head. The scratching decreased a bit but I think it was because of the steroid shot the vet gave him last week. But it's starting back up again. Not to mention his poops are still pretty soft, although a little smaller in volume than before. What in the world are we going to try next???


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

firedancer722 - I love the EVO foods, though I know a lot of people switched off it after P & G bought the company. I just bought a medium bag of Evo red meat to feed until Ranger's system settles down (it's too high calorie for him on the exercise he's getting right now) and then I might try Wellness Core. It's also grainfree. I'm stuck with the grain free foods after Ranger did so poorly on Acana Light and Fit. Sigh.


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## firedancer722 (Apr 12, 2010)

I am just so overwhelmed!!! All I know is that Charlie has not stopped scratching or shaking his head since I brought him home. Here are the foods I've tried... Canidae ALS (not the grain-free), Nutrisource Large Breed Chicken & Rice, and now Acana Pacifica. He's been to the vet and got antibiotics for his staph infection, a steroid shot, and supposedly his ears "looked good." I don't know what to do. I saw last night that his right eye is a little bloodshot. I just know he is bursting blood vessels with so much head shaking. It makes me want to cry to see him suffer so much and not be able to help him.


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

Fromm 4 star line is a great food for dogs with allergy issues. Also, Micro-Tek shampoo will give him instnat relief from itching/ infection of the skin.


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

When I first got Ranger, he had the itchies BAD. Rubbing his head on the carpet, pawing at his eyes/ears, dry skin...if you went to scratch his rump, he'd almost fall down in relief. I switched him off Iams (ick) to Orijen 6 fish - his itchiness stopped within 2 weeks. I also started giving him human grade fish oil (not cod oil) capsules and in the winter, had to buy a humidifier since the climate is so dry up here.

Poor Charlie. I'd probably try a food switch (how long has he been on the acana?) and see if it helps. EVO, Fromm, Orijen (same makers as Acana), Wellness Core are all grain-free. Evo has a fish one too. I'll just say that when Ranger was on Evo red meat, he THRIVED. Coat was gleaming, no dandruff, no itchies, no upset stomach, firm poops all the time...I hope you find something that Charlie does as well on!!


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## firedancer722 (Apr 12, 2010)

Ranger said:


> When I first got Ranger, he had the itchies BAD. Rubbing his head on the carpet, pawing at his eyes/ears, dry skin...if you went to scratch his rump, he'd almost fall down in relief. I switched him off Iams (ick) to Orijen 6 fish - his itchiness stopped within 2 weeks. I also started giving him human grade fish oil (not cod oil) capsules and in the winter, had to buy a humidifier since the climate is so dry up here.
> 
> Poor Charlie. I'd probably try a food switch (how long has he been on the acana?) and see if it helps. EVO, Fromm, Orijen (same makers as Acana), Wellness Core are all grain-free. Evo has a fish one too. I'll just say that when Ranger was on Evo red meat, he THRIVED. Coat was gleaming, no dandruff, no itchies, no upset stomach, firm poops all the time...I hope you find something that Charlie does as well on!!


He's been exclusively on the Acana for about 3 weeks. I don't mean to hi-jack this thread, but I looked at the EVO foods and GOSH, the protein is high. That just scares me a little bit! Will he be like crazy wild on it?


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

Ranger had a little boost of energy when he went onto Orijen (also high in protein) when he was about 9-10 months...there were so many new factors in his life, it's hard to say if it was because of a new GOOD food, the high protein, adjusting to a new life or just the normal increase in energy when a young dog stops spending half his energy on growing up and filling out a body.

At any rate, his excess energy leveled out after about 3 weeks and returned to normal. I just walked him a little more often during that phase. I didn't notice any difference in energy when I switched him from Orijen to Evo, besides that he had more mental stamina. Training sessions could last a little longer since he wouldn't have a mental shut down after 20 minutes or so.

What activity do you do with Charlie during the days?


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## firedancer722 (Apr 12, 2010)

Ranger said:


> What activity do you do with Charlie during the days?


Well, I work from 8-4:30 (hard to believe with all the posting I'm doing, but some days are much busier than today!), but I go home at lunch and let him out to potty, we play and do a run through of obedience skills for about 15 minutes. Then I have to go back to work. He stays crated in the house. After work, we go outside, he runs around and we play fetch (or at least i'm trying to teach him to fetch), and then when it cools off to a tolerable level (around 7:30), we go to the dog park for about an hour or until it's almost dark. It has been in the mid to upper 90's consistently for about the past 3 weeks or more, so it's definitely been difficult to be outside for very long. At night, before bed, we do a quick stroll around the neighborhood (about 15 minutes I'd say). Then it's "lights out." Pretty much, when I'm not working, my focus is on Charlie. And if I forget that, he reminds me pretty quickly. LOL


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

You should be fine then going with high-protein food. It's not for couch potato dogs who only get out for a walk once or twice a week (if that). That's one of the reasons I had to stop giving it to Ranger, plus it's pretty high calorie so you'll find you're feeding less and the bag lasts longer. 

That is, if you do decide to try the Evo! I was complaining to my mom that I can't feed Ranger the only food he's ever done SUPER well on because I can't walk him enough so she's volunteered to walk him more often per week. Now Ranger's getting 3-5 walks a week, all 60 minutes or more. I'll sometimes take him out for a ten minute walk (all I can do) but that's pretty much it. Thank goodness I live close to my parents and that they love Ranger!


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## firedancer722 (Apr 12, 2010)

Hmmm... I'd like to try the Red Meat. Maybe it'd be perfect for him, who knows. Should I worry about heart disease or high cholesterol on something like that!?  

I just requested a coupon from Natura... i'm seeing a free bag of Red Meat Evo in Charlie's future. hehehe


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## jackie_hubert (Jun 2, 2010)

All my animals, cats and dogs, have been on Orijen for a year now and it's great. Orijen is the one-up from Acana (I would say significantly better!), made by the same company. If you liked Acana than Orijen might be the solution. 

We get the fish and turkey varieties but they also make a Red Meat and other ones too. We get Orijen because it is ethically supplied and made locally (well, one province over anyways) by a company that does nothing but pet food (ie. not P & G or Collgate!). Our former guide dog who had to eat Purina due to sponsorship issues was always sick so they would let us feed her Orijen for a couple of weeks here and there and it always made her better and gave her more energy, and best of all, she would stop her poop-eating habit for that time. If you're worried about protein levels, some of the formulas are lower in protein than others. 

Each dog has different dietary requirements though so it's hard to say which particular food will be best for a particular dog.


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## marshab1 (Aug 28, 2006)

We were feeding Wellness Core reduced fat up until April when I switched to Acana Prarie Harvest grain free. I switched because No stores in my area carry either one so i have to order it anyways and Acana was a bit cheaper, and Wellness had kept raising their price. And because being a smaller comapny they wouldn't make these type of changes.

We have been feedign the current bag for about 3 weeks and I haven't noticed anything different in the way Tinkerbell acts so far, but I'll be watching.


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## jenlaur (Jun 24, 2009)

firedancer722 said:


> Just wanted to chime in and say that Charlie has been eating Acana Pacifica (Grain Free) exclusively for almost 3 weeks and is still scratching, pawing at his eyes, and shaking his head. The scratching decreased a bit but I think it was because of the steroid shot the vet gave him last week. But it's starting back up again. Not to mention his poops are still pretty soft, although a little smaller in volume than before. What in the world are we going to try next???


Candace,

Have you considered that he may be allergic to something other than his food? Reason I ask is that we just got back the results of allergy testing on Riley. Turns out she is highly allergic to fungi. We started her on allergy shots and are hoping it helps. 

She has itched since we brought her home at 8 weeks. The itching never seemed to improve with food changes. It has gotten worse in the last couple of months so we bit the bullet and had the serum testing done.


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## firedancer722 (Apr 12, 2010)

jenlaur said:


> Candace,
> 
> Have you considered that he may be allergic to something other than his food? Reason I ask is that we just got back the results of allergy testing on Riley. Turns out she is highly allergic to fungi. We started her on allergy shots and are hoping it helps.
> 
> She has itched since we brought her home at 8 weeks. The itching never seemed to improve with food changes. It has gotten worse in the last couple of months so we bit the bullet and had the serum testing done.


More and more, I am thinking this may be the case. He always rubs his eyes and face on the floor when he comes in from outside. It may be that he is allergic to grass, pollen, or other outdoor allergies, and maybe even indoor stuff too. As much as I don't want to, I have been giving him 62.5 mg of Benadryl (he weighs 64 lbs) 2 times a day, and it DOES seem to help him stop itching quite a bit. Thanks for your input... I am starting to think that if he is STILL itching on a grain-free, all fish diet, he may very well be allergic to something environmental along with foods (or maybe he's not even allergic to foods!) 

Thanks  
Candace


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## cathbarrett (Jul 2, 2010)

firedancer722 said:


> Just wanted to chime in and say that Charlie has been eating Acana Pacifica (Grain Free) exclusively for almost 3 weeks and is still scratching, pawing at his eyes, and shaking his head. The scratching decreased a bit but I think it was because of the steroid shot the vet gave him last week. But it's starting back up again. Not to mention his poops are still pretty soft, although a little smaller in volume than before. What in the world are we going to try next???


I have Penny (3 years old) and Hayley (2 years old)on the Go! Natural chicken formula. They are doing amazing on it. The scratching, pawing at their eyes, ears etc. have stopped. I'm so happy with the results from this food. I also did a couple of other things, Hayley's ears were getting a little "yucky" this is odd for her, usually her ears are squeaky clean, I knew something was up. I have also done a couple of other things, I thought it was a yeast build up, someone I have got to know over the years helped me out through this her website is http://www.greatdanelady.com/articles.htm Hayley's ears are now all cleared up along with her itchy and red feet she had. Good luck!


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## firedancer722 (Apr 12, 2010)

Thanks for the suggestions, y'all! I got some samples of CN Venison Meal grain-free for Charlie but was going to have to order it if I wanted to feed it. Charlie just really didn't seem too crazy about it. I also got samples of CN lamb and rice puppy (I like the protein / fat in it better than adult) and Charlie seems to like it better, plus I won't have to order it. I think I'm going to try him on this and see what happens. I promised myself i would give it 6 weeks unless he is just itching / reacting terribly. 

Thanks for all the input / suggestions!! =) 

Candace


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

What makes Orijen better than Acana? I'm curious.


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## MyBentley (May 5, 2009)

Ljilly28 said:


> What makes Orijen better than Acana? I'm curious.


It's not better unless your dog does better on it. That said, it's more expensive and considered better by some people because there is a higher percentage of meat-based protein. Orijen recently has added more fresh meats to the formula in comparison to "meals".


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## MyCodyBoy (Sep 27, 2008)

I had my cats on Acana and I switched. They were shedding so last winter and the flaky skin seemed very annoying to them. I have since switched them to Tast of the Wild and no issues so far this winter.
I was dissapointed with the Acana and hoping to suppert the company sicne it is a leader in grain free foods, but for my cats I did the right thing.


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## peeps (Sep 12, 2007)

I have had three of my dogs on Acana for about 2 years now - I have never had a problem...I believe the formula change is they had added duck to some of the foods... But I have not noticed anything with my dogs. Three Goldens non related bloodlines...


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## jackie_hubert (Jun 2, 2010)

MyCodyBoy said:


> I had my cats on Acana and I switched. They were shedding so last winter and the flaky skin seemed very annoying to them. I have since switched them to Tast of the Wild and no issues so far this winter.
> I was dissapointed with the Acana and hoping to suppert the company sicne it is a leader in grain free foods, but for my cats I did the right thing.


I see that you got some raw-fed dogs. Have you tried raw for your cats? I know the transition can be tough but I'd definitely do at least some raw supplements if they'll take it or 80% canned. Dry kibble can cause issues in cats beyond dry skin. Our Oscar nearly died of urinary issues from eating dry food for years and not taking in enough water. Since doing a combination of canned (EVO 95%) and raw he is so super shiny and no dry skin anymore in the winter, and pearly whites!


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## MyCodyBoy (Sep 27, 2008)

jackie_hubert said:


> I see that you got some raw-fed dogs. Have you tried raw for your cats? I know the transition can be tough but I'd definitely do at least some raw supplements if they'll take it or 80% canned. Dry kibble can cause issues in cats beyond dry skin. Our Oscar nearly died of urinary issues from eating dry food for years and not taking in enough water. Since doing a combination of canned (EVO 95%) and raw he is so super shiny and no dry skin anymore in the winter, and pearly whites!


I have considered it. My childhood cat who I had for 17 years had kidney issues once she got around 10 years old.
A couple of months ago I bought the cats some Evo canned food and they wouldn't eat it. Also, one time my older 11 year old cat ate some raw beef and ended up vomiting it up. I have since learned that beef is hard for some cats to digest?

I guess it is also me being lazy since cats need to eat more often. Or could I get away with only feeding my cats 2x a day?

I might try and mix some raw chicken with a basic store bought canned food. It will be intresting to see if they eat it.


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## jackie_hubert (Jun 2, 2010)

MyCodyBoy said:


> I have considered it. My childhood cat who I had for 17 years had kidney issues once she got around 10 years old.
> A couple of months ago I bought the cats some Evo canned food and they wouldn't eat it. Also, one time my older 11 year old cat ate some raw beef and ended up vomiting it up. I have since learned that beef is hard for some cats to digest?
> 
> I guess it is also me being lazy since cats need to eat more often. Or could I get away with only feeding my cats 2x a day?
> ...


Cats can be so picky! If you don't ordinarily feed wet food the transition can take some time. We started by mixing it with dry.

We never experienced problems with beef although we don't feed it often. His favourite though is chicken breast and whole sardines (stinky!). The only time he ever experienced problems was the first time he ate bones (apparently this is common for dogs and cats) and when I fed him too much kidneys and heart one day.

I find a mix of canned (80%) and raw (20%) best because I don't have to worry about balancing the raw. We pretty much just give him a little of whatever meat we happen to have used in cooking for ourselves that day, and the occasional fish.

Sorry, I hyjacked this thread. haha!


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## mythreegirls (Jan 1, 2011)

*Acana to much oil???*



cathbarrett said:


> Recently, I found out that Champion Foods did a formula change to a lot of their foods. When I opened the bag it smelt really oily. I thought hmm that's weird. I monitored any changes. Both of my girls started to get itchy, my youngest one was having soft stools, the color of their stools were a funny color. This went on for about 1 week, the soft stools was a concern, I emailed the company to see if they did any formula changes, they did in fact change the formula. Shoot - it was a good food. Not agreeing with my girls. I have changed them to Go! Natural chicken formula. More calories then what I like, I have a weigh scale for them I'll monitor their weight. So far so good, not many itchies, stool color is much better, no softies. Yeah!!!
> 
> Has anyone else had problems with this food???


YES I have found that this food makes my dogs fur very oily and they smell of rancid oil after a couple of month, plus the loose ploppy stools, am very much concidering changing her food but do not know which one to choose. Go natural was mentioned to me so may give that a try, will carefuly read ingredients though. Why would Acana change a good formula to make something that makes a huge difference in my girls fur and smell, actually the smell really makes me feel nascius, So yes I have a problem with this new formula of Arcana


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