# Acana does not "sit" with puppy Advice Needed



## mchris1 (Oct 17, 2012)

Hi Everyone,
I have a now 5 month Dogo Argentino puppy that for the past month I was trying to give Acana Large Breed Puppy.
I first used the brand used by the breeder, and then I started introducing Acana slowly slowly. At first Nacho's stools were firm(pickable) but when I increased the Acana dosage, it started getting loose. I asked my Vet about it after this had continued for a few days. He said that some dogs cannot "handle" Acana and Orijen and gave me Eukanuba Puppy Intestinal to firm the stools up and then try to re-introduce Acana slowly slowly. From the first day I used the Eukanuba Puppy Intestinal, Nacho's stools firmed up and also the smell was reduced. After 48hrs of firm stools I introduced Acana again. I used a rate of 80% Eukanuba Puppy Intestinal and 20% Acana. Unfortunately the stools got loose again. The Vet said that if that happened we may need to go to a more "conventional" brand like Royal Canin, Hills, Eukanuba, or Pro Plan. I know that these brands use too many fillers like corn and are less quality than Acana and Orijen. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks in advance
Marios


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## Nuclear_Glitter (Jun 20, 2012)

Your vet is right in the sense that some dogs simply cannot handle Orijen and Acana. Do you have brands like Taste of the Wild, Earthborn, Wellness, etc... where you live?


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## mchris1 (Oct 17, 2012)

Nuclear_Glitter said:


> Your vet is right in the sense that some dogs simply cannot handle Orijen and Acana. Do you have brands like Taste of the Wild, Earthborn, Wellness, etc... where you live?


Hi Nuclear_Glitter, thanks for the reply. I live in Cyprus, one of the Greek islands, and unfortunately the choices as far as dog foods go are somewhat limited. 
From my research in several pet stores the choices are Acana,Orijen,Alleva,Eukanuba,Proplan,Hills,Royal Canin


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## gingerkid (Jul 11, 2012)

We founds with Orijen and Acana that the variety makes a difference. Snowball had amazing poos on Orijen Red and the Acana Chicken and Burbank potato (which he didn't really like), but didn't do well on Acana Ranchland - even a small handful a day as treats was giving him soft stools.

If your puppy isn't able to handle higher end foods, there's no shame in feeding him something he can handle. DogFoodAdvisor is a really good tool for looking into the make-up of the food, but also keep in mind some dogs just don't do well on really high-end food - some do best on Purina One or Pedigree.


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## mchris1 (Oct 17, 2012)

gingerkid said:


> We founds with Orijen and Acana that the variety makes a difference. Snowball had amazing poos on Orijen Red and the Acana Chicken and Burbank potato (which he didn't really like), but didn't do well on Acana Ranchland - even a small handful a day as treats was giving him soft stools.
> 
> If your puppy isn't able to handle higher end foods, there's no shame in feeding him something he can handle. DogFoodAdvisor is a really good tool for looking into the make-up of the food, but also keep in mind some dogs just don't do well on really high-end food - some do best on Purina One or Pedigree.


Thanks for the advice. I think I will go with the lower end food and try him later on with something better


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## PackMomma (Sep 26, 2011)

Acana and Orijen are very rich foods, its common for some dogs to get loose stoolson them. While yes, some dogs will not tolerate these foods, some of the problem may also be because people are over-feeding. You have to keep in mind that because they are so rich and have less crappy fillers, you should be feeding significantly less, far less than what the bag recommends. I have fed Acana and Orijen prior to switching my dogs to a full raw diet with good results, but it took me a lot of trial and error to eliminate the soft stools, the first adjustment being I had to decrease the amounts by 1/4 until I got the right consistency. At some point, I started mixing the Acana with another food that wasn't as rich, and had different ingredients and that helped a lot too.

Also, some dogs take a longer time to adjust to foods, while some are good with a couple day transition period.. some require a week or two. I would first try decreasing the amount you're feeding, and give it a week or so for the transition before you give up and try something else. Just my two cents


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## WestieLove (Jan 29, 2012)

Keep in mind the dog food advisor is created by an individual with no formal nutrition education. There is nothing wrong with feeding a brand like Royal Canin, Hills etc. not every dog is going to do great on every brand and you need to find what works. 

Although I also don't get upset over a little bit of diarrhea. Some dogs (like my two) are very sensitive and need a longer transition period. I have been transitioning my smallest Westie over to Natures Variety Instinct for the last month, that's how slow I have to take it with her. When she did get diarrhea I added Purina Veterinary Diet's Forti Flora (pro biotic/nutritional supplement) rather then switching to a low residue diet as your veterinarian did. The Forti Flora is a highly palitable powder and helped firm things right up but we took smaller steps as we gradually increased the amount. Right now we're sitting at 3/4 new food to 1/4 old food and we've began gradually adding more new food - noticed some soft but formed stools this morning so not bad and we'll get there, she just needs a very slow switch and a lot of patients. 

My recommendation is give it a chance, keep trying to switch but add smaller amounts and make it a much slower switch. You may need to feed that ration for a week or so before adding a little bit more of the Acana back. You can also ask your veterinarian about a nutritional/probiotic powder to add to the food (such as Purina vet Diet's Forti Flora) or a small amount of canned pumpkin does the same job to bulk up and move thiings along. I try not to rely on these for too long but it can certainly help in the transition. Having it on hand is certainly helpful.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

I couldn't find out calories per cup of the Eukanuba formula but it is very high in fat for a kibble and has moderate protein. It is supposed to be low residue, doesn't that mean low fiber? That cuts down my theory that the food has more fiber and less fat than Acana! Could it be too many ingredients? More likely the Acana is higher in calories per cup than the other one.
http://www.hyperdrug.co.uk/Eukanuba-Veterinary-Diet-Puppy-Intestinal/productinfo/EUKPIF/

Except for using animal fat and chicken digest is this kibble really so horrible?


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## gingerkid (Jul 11, 2012)

Kathyy said:


> Except for using animal fat and chicken digest is this kibble really so horrible?


Corn is the second ingredient, which generally isn't great. On the other hand, it has pre-biotics (FOS and MOS) which probably help with GI problems. Its not a great kibble, but its not awful either.


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## WestieLove (Jan 29, 2012)

I don't think you need to be feeding this diet long term, so to me there is no need to pick over the ingredient list. 

I would try once again to very slowly re-introduce the Acana and be patient.
Example: 95% Eukanuba to 5% Acana (or even less - you want a very slow gradual switch) and feed that for 2 weeks if your getting consistent firm stools. Then add a few more kibbles of Acana. Make a very slow and very gradual switch. I would give the diet a fair chance, the body is adjusting to something new. You can use a small amount of canned pumpkin to firm things up if you are noticing diarrhea and/or a probiotic (plain yogurt maybe? if you don't have Forti Flora available through your vet). 

I have been at a diet switch for a while with my Lily and we're finally nearing the end. I can only add up to 1/8th cup at a time because we'll get diarrhea. I have been doing about half that to try to avoid upset and I feed it for 1-2 weeks to let her system really adjust before I make any changes. When I do notice softer then normal stools, I add Forti Flora for a day or two (its available to me and its a product I've always had good results with). 

Be patient. If its still not working out, sometimes not every dog does great on every brand. There are better grain free lines by Hills/Science Diet and Royal Canin Mini/Medium/Large etc. is a good line. Don't let people tell you that its garbage, not every hind end food will work for a dog.


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## mchris1 (Oct 17, 2012)

Hi Everyone. Thank you very much for taking the time to give me your advise.
It is greatly appreciated and helpful


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