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Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
17,330 posts, read 33,040,976 times
Reputation: 28903
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My supplier (not drug; dog food ) is currently out of stock of the 29.7 lb. bag of Orijen. They're waiting on the new 80-20 formula and may not have it in stock for a few weeks (date is unknown).
They have smaller bags, but I don't want to buy multiple small bags at such an extra cost.
I have enough Orijen left to last Artie for a while still, but since my "dealer" doesn't have a stock date, I don't want to be pushed to the last kibble bit.
Soooo, I looked up Acana, which is made by the same company as Orijen. I see that Orijen is a 6-star food. Acana is a 5-star food. Honestly, the ingredient comparison has me seeing stars, but not of the dog food rating variety -- I just find the whole thing confusing and I don't remember what I've read on one label by the time I look at the other's label.
Is Acana really that much lesser quality than Orijen? It's certainly quite a bit less expensive, so it makes me think that it really is not quite up to Orijen's snuff.
ACANA isn't lower quality, it is lower Protein. But, there are some ACANA formulas that do have grain, so steer clear of those if you want to alternate between Orijen and ACANA which to be honest, we have done a few times without any issues. You shouldn't have any issues switching between the two. We have never had any issues with our dogs switching between the two but for some reason cats don't seem to do as well switching between the two. Just more high maintenance I guess.
We just switch between the same formulas - the 6-Fish with the Pacifica is the most common switch we make.
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
17,330 posts, read 33,040,976 times
Reputation: 28903
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alley01
ACANA isn't lower quality, it is lower Protein. But, there are some ACANA formulas that do have grain, so steer clear of those if you want to alternate between Orijen and ACANA which to be honest, we have done a few times without any issues. You shouldn't have any issues switching between the two. We have never had any issues with our dogs switching between the two but for some reason cats don't seem to do as well switching between the two. Just more high maintenance I guess.
We just switch between the same formulas - the 6-Fish with the Pacifica is the most common switch we make.
Good Luck! They are both great!
Artie doesn't like fish. He is a silly, silly man.
I just posted my discovery between the two: Orijen's first ingredient is chicken. Acana's is chicken meal. Would that concern you? I'm not really ready to switch from Orijen, but I got curious about Acana, so...
Artie doesn't like fish. He is a silly, silly man.
I just posted my discovery between the two: Orijen's first ingredient is chicken. Acana's is chicken meal. Would that concern you? I'm not really ready to switch from Orijen, but I got curious about Acana, so...
Chicken meal is just chicken that is dehydrated - so it doesn't have the water included. Chicken is with the water included. So, no it does not concern me at all. You actually get more chicken with chicken meal than if Chicken is the first ingredient. Yes, it is terribly confusing. The phrase you want to avoid alltogether with any food is chicken by-product meal or whatever meat. That is the mystery meat.
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
17,330 posts, read 33,040,976 times
Reputation: 28903
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alley01
Chicken meal is just chicken that is dehydrated - so it doesn't have the water included. Chicken is with the water included. So, no it does not concern me at all. You actually get more chicken with chicken meal than if Chicken is the first ingredient. Yes, it is terribly confusing. The phrase you want to avoid alltogether with any food is chicken by-product meal or whatever meat. That is the mystery meat.
Ohhhhh!!!! I knew about the by-product crap, but I didn't realize the difference between the meat itself and the meat MEAL.
Ohhhhh!!!! I knew about the by-product crap, but I didn't realize the difference between the meat itself and the meat MEAL.
Thanks for learnin' me, Teach!
Glad I could clear that up. I went down the same road not too long ago and deciphering those labels and terms is like learning another language! Your dog should do great on the ACANA and you will save some $$.
I feed both. Rotate on a regular basis between Orijen and Acana, every single flavor, switch with each bag. I don't believe dogs should eat the same thing daily and finally the pet food industry is thinking like me by offering rotation diets, which are popping up in every pet store around here. Basically, you buy a box of food and in there are several packets of food with identical ingredients, for the exception of the protein source. Acana is lower protein, that's pretty much it. The Acana they sell in the US does not have grains, they are not allowed to sell the other formulas here for whatever reasons. I've seen them all in Canada though.
Oh and D, we were able to smuggle the Acana Lamb & Apple from Canada! The reason they can't sell it in the US because the lamb in that is from New Zealand, while the lamb in their Grasslands formula is from Canada. What I don't understand is why, if New Zealand is the issue, we are allowed to sell Ziwi Peak in the states but not that particular Acana.
As do I, which is why I don't understand their reasoning. That is the reason they were given from the agricultural dept. and they are not allowed to export that to the US. Of course, PC actually loved it and I'm down to one bag. I have to see if my friend that lives there can send me some. I tried to get my local store to order it, but they were given the same reason. They can't export the Light & Fit either for some reason.
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) is currently out of stock of the 29.7 lb. bag of Orijen. They're waiting on the new 80-20 formula and may not have it in stock for a few weeks (date is unknown). 
