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Old September 25th, 2008, 02:58 PM
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New ACANA Formula...what do you think?

I see Champion Pet Foods is introducing a new grain-free ACANA formula called ACANA Provincial. There are three dog varieties... Prairie Harvest, Pacifica, and Grasslands, as well as three cat formulas as well. Has anyone seen this in stores yet? I checked out the ingredients in the Grasslands formula, and it looked good, but noticed alfalfa in the top ten. I'm not familiar with this in dog kibble, and I'm wondering if this is a clever way to get fibre..or dare I say filler () in an otherwise excellent food? It took my computer (dial-up) forever to get the ingredient list so I only looked at this one. Maybe someone on here with a better connection can take a look....

www.championpetfoods.com
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Old September 25th, 2008, 03:10 PM
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I hadn't heard of it until Badger mentioned it in this thread...

http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=56854

I still have an unopened bag of Orijen as I stock up since we drive 35 miles to get it so haven't looked to see if it's available here yet.

My first thought was that they came up with this so they have a mid range protein formula to offer to compete with the other mid 30% brands out there.

I just did a quick look at the ingredients and they look good. Will check it out more later. I have used Acana's salmon & potato formula several times with no problems.
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Old September 25th, 2008, 04:30 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rainbow View Post
I hadn't heard of it until Badger mentioned it in this thread...

http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=56854

I still have an unopened bag of Orijen as I stock up since we drive 35 miles to get it so haven't looked to see if it's available here yet.

My first thought was that they came up with this so they have a mid range protein formula to offer to compete with the other mid 30% brands out there.

I just did a quick look at the ingredients and they look good. Will check it out more later. I have used Acana's salmon & potato formula several times with no problems.
Thanks for that thread...I hadn't heard it mentioned before, and was curious if anyone had any info on it. I bounce between Orijen and ACANA with my big dogs, so this new formula is of interest to me. I have to stop to get dog food today on my way into town so I will check there if they have it...or plan to have it in stock. I'm interested to see if the price point will be somewhere between where the ACANA and the Orijen is seeing as the meat protein is 60% I beleive. It may be worth trying, but I was just wondering about the alfalfa thing, if it's beneficial or filler. I KNOW my horses love it, but for dogs??
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Old September 25th, 2008, 04:43 PM
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I think alfalfa is beneficial. It's in alot of the premium brands and also supplements like Missing Link. Champion Pet Foods is one of the companies I trust and I'm glad to see that they've added a mid range protein formula to their product list.
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Old September 25th, 2008, 09:13 PM
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I'm also pretty sure alfalfa is beneficial. Fibre and vitamins I believe. I'm pretty sure the original Canidae formula had it, and never thought it to be a problem when I fed that.
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Old September 25th, 2008, 11:08 PM
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The lady who runs the feed store in my area told me that she switched her 2 GSDs from Orijen to this food and although they did not love it right away like the Orijen they will eat it. I'm thinking of bringing a bag home for my Mom in-laws dogs since it's suppose to be a little cheaper she may actually go for it.
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Old September 26th, 2008, 12:22 AM
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Sounds interesting, I will check it out next time I'm looking.

Alfalfa would be fine, it is often recommended as a supplement for raw feeders and is in many other supplements as well.
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Old September 26th, 2008, 08:09 AM
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Well that's good to know. I also trust this company and feed their products, but I wanted to run this by you guys first....the real experts . The store was closed last night when I went to check it out...but will try today.

Thanks for the input!
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Ruben (Bullmastiff)
Emmy (Miniature Pinscher)
Petie (Miniature Pinscher)
Shadow (Miniature Pinscher)
Zoe (APBT)
Tito (Paint Gelding)
Francesca (Miniature Horse Filly)
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Lots of fishies......
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Old September 26th, 2008, 08:39 AM
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I've just started using the Acana, the woman who owns the Global where I buy my food is quite up on Nutrition and with the information that she and Rainbow gave me I went with it. It also passed the Cocoa test So that's what I am using. Not the fishy one though Cocoa does not like fish
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Old September 26th, 2008, 02:42 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Purpledomino View Post
Well that's good to know. I also trust this company and feed their products, but I wanted to run this by you guys first....the real experts . The store was closed last night when I went to check it out...but will try today.

Thanks for the input!
Don't forget to update us on it.
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Old September 26th, 2008, 02:43 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris21711 View Post
I've just started using the Acana, the woman who owns the Global where I buy my food is quite up on Nutrition and with the information that she and Rainbow gave me I went with it. It also passed the Cocoa test So that's what I am using. Not the fishy one though Cocoa does not like fish
Chris, are you using the regular Acana or the Acana Provincial one?
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Old September 27th, 2008, 10:42 AM
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Originally Posted by rainbow View Post
Chris, are you using the regular Acana or the Acana Provincial one?
Had to go downstairs and check. The large bag I am finishing is Adult Dog Food - it has some grains. The owner of the store gave me a few sample bags of grain free, I Cocoa tested them and they were a hit. Tomorrow I am going to get a new bag of Grain Free. Is there any particular one you think I should go with Rainbow Cocoa seemed to like both of them.
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Old September 27th, 2008, 10:53 AM
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I'm disappointed with Champion. :sad:

Both of the ACANA lines (grains & Provicial) look to be inferior to their Orijen line, & I am surprised that such a great company would produce a food containing grains (oats). I was just floored!

I am also disappointed that they have a wide variety of ACANA formulas for dogs (in non grain-free), while only a few Provicial formulas. There are so few high-quality large & small breed puppy foods, & ACANA's only ones are the grain-based. :sad:

I certainly don't think the ACANAS look bad, but not what I was expecting from a company like Champion.
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Old September 28th, 2008, 03:46 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris21711 View Post
Had to go downstairs and check. The large bag I am finishing is Adult Dog Food - it has some grains. The owner of the store gave me a few sample bags of grain free, I Cocoa tested them and they were a hit. Tomorrow I am going to get a new bag of Grain Free. Is there any particular one you think I should go with Rainbow Cocoa seemed to like both of them.
They are all basically the same just different main proteins......chicken, salmon or lamb. If it were for my dogs I would rotate both the chicken and the salmon ones. But Cocoa is the boss so rotate with the two that she likes best.
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Old September 28th, 2008, 04:11 PM
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Originally Posted by Goldens4Ever View Post
I'm disappointed with Champion. :sad:

Both of the ACANA lines (grains & Provicial) look to be inferior to their Orijen line, & I am surprised that such a great company would produce a food containing grains (oats). I was just floored!

I am also disappointed that they have a wide variety of ACANA formulas for dogs (in non grain-free), while only a few Provicial formulas. There are so few high-quality large & small breed puppy foods, & ACANA's only ones are the grain-based. :sad:

I certainly don't think the ACANAS look bad, but not what I was expecting from a company like Champion.
I honestly don't know why you would be disappointed as all the companies that have grain free formulas also have grain based ones.

For example:

1. Natura has their Innova, California Natural, Karma, Healthwise and EVO.
2. Wellness has their Super5Mix, Allergy and Wellness CORE and reduced fat formula.
3. Petcurean has regular Go Natural, Go Natural Grain Free, NOW and Summit.
4. Nature's Variety has Prairie, Instinct and their prepackaged raw formulas.

It's all about offering choice to the consumer as not everyone chooses to feed grain-free. Acana was Champion Pet Foods first formula and they later brought in the high protein grain-free and now have introduced the mid range protein formula that is grain free to attract people that feel Orijen is too high in protein to feed their dogs.

The only thing I wish Champion would do is make a reduced fat grain free food....I just might email them that suggestion.
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Old September 28th, 2008, 04:41 PM
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Quote:
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I honestly don't know why you would be disappointed as all the companies that have grain free formulas also have grain based ones...
That's true, but the reason why I'm disappointed is because Champion first came out with the grain-free line (Orijen), & then started creating a food with grain in it, which seems to contradict their original philosophy stated on Orijen's website..
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Old September 28th, 2008, 04:44 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Goldens4Ever View Post
That's true, but the reason why I'm disappointed is because Champion first came out with the grain-free line (Orijen), & then started creating a food with grain in it, which seems to contradict their original philosophy stated on Orijen's website..
No, they started with the Acana regular formula first.
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Old September 28th, 2008, 04:51 PM
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They started with Acana in 1985 and Orijen was added just a couple of years ago.

http://www.championpetfoods.com/about/
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Old September 28th, 2008, 10:36 PM
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No, they started with the Acana regular formula first.
OH!!! I see. Thanks for the clarification!
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Old October 8th, 2008, 12:09 PM
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I actually take a green supplement called Symons' Super Mix and it contains alfalfa. Some information about the plant from Symons:

Alfalfa is believed to have had its origins in Mesopotamia, a region lying between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates, now occupied by the Arab country Iraq. Over the years it came to be grown in many parts of the world including North America. In Arabic, alfalfa literally means "best food" or "King of Foods". It's root system reaches down 100 ft or more drawing from the soil its full store of trace elements and minerals. It has been said to contain more total food minerals than any other land grown plant. These include calcium, magnesium, potassium, manganese, phosphorus, sodium, iron, silica, zinc, chlorine, and sulphur amongst others. It also contains the entire spectrum of known vitamins including Vitamin A, carotene, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, niacin, biotin, choline, pantothenic acid, inositol, paraminobenzoic acid (PABA), folic acid, Vitamin C, Vitamin E (Tocopherols), Vitamin K and Vitamin U.

Alfalfa is a remarkable and abundant source of enzymes, which start and speed up the body's many metabolic processes. Vitamins and minerals act as co-enzymes in their combination with the protein factor. Eight important enzymes, which appear in alfalfa, are: amylase, lipase, protease, emulsin, coagulase, invertase, peroxidase, and pectinase.
It is an excellent source of protein (20%) as well and contains all eight of the essential amino acids. This is actually higher than the protein content of foods such as milk, eggs and beef.

Dr. John Christopher, the renowned herbalist, called alfalfa, "the King of Chlorophyll" because of the high concentration of the substance in its leaves. It is also one of the most alkaline plants. While the average fruit or vegetable contains 1-10 units of alkalinity, alfalfa is 130 units alkaline.

Alfalfa is also one of the very best sources of dietary fiber. Much of the crude fiber in this product has been removed leaving the more useful dietary fiber of the plant's leaf.
Alfalfa has been shown to be a source of well-balanced nutrients, which the body normally uses to prevent deficiencies and to meet nutritional needs. It is not in and of itself a medicine, though herbalists have noted that it exemplifies many health-giving qualities. It has anti-arthritic properties, is a good regulator of the bowels, is a splendid diuretic, appears to regulate blood sugar, is a fine deodorizer of the gastro-intestinal tract and also has a soothing effect on the nervous system.
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Old October 9th, 2008, 05:04 PM
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I am a huge fan of Orijen but lately my dog has stopped liking the taste. We were at a friends houses and she ate some of another dogs lamb food. Considering the other brand was very bad quality, I decided to find a quality dog food with lamb. I finally found a website that sold Acana grasslands (very hard to come by here in California). So far she loves it. It might just be because it is different and she is tired of her two other formulas. I did a taste test with Orijen chicken, Orijen fish, and Acana grasslands and my Cassie chose the Acana. So I'm going to try to stick with that for a while. It was a little more expensive because I had to pay for shipping, but at least I know that it is good quality and has similar ingredients to Orijen. In fact, I switched her right over and her stool has been the same. I just wish it was more readily available so I could try other Acana products, maybe like Acana lamb and apple.
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