# Acana VS Fromm



## NicoleIsStoked (Aug 31, 2012)

WARNING! WALL OF TEXT!

Levi has been on Acana for about a year. I feel like he does well on it. He eats the Chicken & Burbank Potato formula. His poops are firm, beautiful coat, good energy. What I have noticed is that he tends to be quite gassy (not a fast eater) and his eyes leak a fair bit. Now I did notice both those things before he was on Acana but he was on a lower quality food. I think that may just be how he is but wonder about the chance that his food has something to do with it. I wanted to rotate formulas so I tried him on the grasslands flavour. After a 2 week transition and about 3 weeks on it exclusively, his anal glands filled up and had to be expressed by the vet. That never happened before. I stuck it out for another month and it happened again. I put him back on the chicken and potato and he was fine again. I wonder what caused his bum problems. Higher protein? Grain free being too low in fibre? Off batch? He's had lamb before without issue. I'm tempted to try him on another formula but don't want a repeat of before.

Earlier this week I was chatting with a rep from Fromm Family who said that gas/anal gland issues usually stem from undigested proteins in the body and that my dog would highly benefit from probiotics. He recommended The Missing Link..blah blah. I'd rather just give greek yogurt. Anyways, he said that acana's formation may just not agree with my dog overall and may be leaving excessive protein and nutrients in his body causing him digestion upset and stinky farts, and that Fromm is an easier food to digest and that I could switch between all 10 four star formulas without problem.

Until then I had never considered switching brands. I really do like Acana and Levi likes his food and is in tip top shape on it. But I now wonder if he would be better off on Fromm? I have no concerns about their quality of product. I know it's good stuff. Is he just trying to back his brand or is he on to something?

Has anyone fed both brands before? Did you notice a difference?


----------



## bowie (Apr 26, 2010)

Honestly, I have fed both Orijen and Acana before and they made all of my dogs(except for my dachshund) terribly gassy. Other than that, they looked good and seemed to do well on those brands. I have fed Fromm both grain inclusive and grain-free and did not notice any gas problems.

Maybe you could add some digestive enzymes to the Acana? Might help.


----------



## Kayla_Nicole (Dec 19, 2012)

We used to feed Fromm GF varieties in our rotation but both Alannah and Murphy stopped really caring to eat it. Now we just rotate the Acana GF varieties. I didn't really see any differences. We do give greek yogurt with their dinner for the probiotics. You can always try one bag and see how he does.


----------



## pawsaddict (Apr 17, 2013)

From all of my reading (Marley used to have very bad anal gland issues), the anal glads can fill up from two main things:

1. Poops not being firm enough to empty the glands.
2. A food allergy can cause them to fill up faster

If he is a gassy guy in general (you said he was before Acana), then I think a good probiotic and digestive enzyme (not missing link, though, IMO) is a good idea. If his poops were runny on the Grasslands, then it may have had too much protien for him or it may have been just too fast of a switch causing digestive upset.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## NicoleIsStoked (Aug 31, 2012)

He was transitioned to grasslands over 2 weeks. His poops weren't runny but were never really firm either. Just kind of soft. So I figure that's what caused the anal glad issue. His poops are great with the chicken and potato formula. He's eaten merrick GF duck before without issues. And it's high protein too. Weird.


----------



## Woofie2 (Oct 5, 2013)

My take.....personally, Acana's grain-free has too many legumes that most dogs can't digest or digest fully and can make a dog have gas BIG time.

IMHO, for the cost of the food, I've had 2 dogs on their formula's, 3 different formula's on 2 separate occasions - I was not the least bit thrilled overall. 

Both dogs's eyes had goo, stools were big (I thought), both dogs constantly gassy, hair dried out....one dog was a complete hyper-spaz, the other had no energy at all. 

Have since moved on; one dog is on Annamaet, the other was eating Merrick grain-free - MUCH happier, much better stools, no gas, both have good, normal energy. 

Won't waste a dime on Acana or Orijen products again; had tried them before the formula changes and again after words, not worth the money, IMHO for my gang anyways.


----------



## ShoreDobermans (Nov 18, 2013)

Woofie2 said:


> My take.....personally, Acana's grain-free has too many legumes that most dogs can't digest or digest fully and can make a dog have gas BIG time.
> 
> IMHO, for the cost of the food, I've had 2 dogs on their formula's, 3 different formula's on 2 separate occasions - I was not the least bit thrilled overall.
> 
> ...


For all the hype, what you wrote above seems to be what the majority of people experience. Plus, all the recalls.


----------



## Woofie2 (Oct 5, 2013)

ShoreDobermans said:


> For all the hype, what you wrote above seems to be what the majority of people experience. Plus, all the recalls.


Keeping it mild now days are you?

At least you are not trying to push any particular brands - keep it cool and collective, you have a lot of informative info that many do listen too.


----------



## NicoleIsStoked (Aug 31, 2012)

The only champion recall that I'm aware of was with the irradiated cat food in Australia. Correct me if I'm wrong.


----------



## ShoreDobermans (Nov 18, 2013)

NicoleIsStoked said:


> The only champion recall that I'm aware of was with the irradiated cat food in Australia. Correct me if I'm wrong.


You are.....


----------



## Kayla_Nicole (Dec 19, 2012)

ShoreDobermans said:


> You are.....


Can you provide links for "all the recalls" because I have never seen any info on such.


----------



## ladyshadowhollyjc (Oct 28, 2008)

I've fed both. My dogs do pretty well on both, but stool/gas hasn't been an issue for us in a very long time on any food. If I had to pick though, I'd choose Fromm (and I thinkwe pprobably will end up switching back,just wish I didn't have to order it). Generally, I'd say their coats look a lot better on the Fromm, and it's not nearly as expensive.


----------



## gingerkid (Jul 11, 2012)

Kayla_Nicole said:


> Can you provide links for "all the recalls" because I have never seen any info on such.


There were a couple of recalls prior to the irradiated cat food (2008). The only place I found any evidence of a recall since 2008 is hardly a reputable source since most of the website appears to be copied and pasted from the real Acana site. And even though the faux-cana website says that there was an FDA recall in 2011, I couldn't find any evidence of said recall in the FDA archives, including through a manual search of all product recalls in 2011.


----------



## ShoreDobermans (Nov 18, 2013)

Kayla_Nicole said:


> Can you provide links for "all the recalls" because I have never seen any info on such.


http://www.wherearethepetfoodchampions.com/web/Orijen_Recall.html
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scrip...EntryId=144-4376281-3&DocId=1&LineId=5&SfxId=

The first link is pre 2011, the second happened in 2011. The food tested positive at the border so technically it was an importation ban and not a recall.


----------



## HillyBilly (Jun 11, 2013)

Back to the original topic Acana vs Fromm

Neither worked at my house. 

The Acana caused my dogs to itch terribly, the new formula. One got actual raw sores behind ears from the itching, eyes got real gunky.

The Fromm I had better results with but the kibble is so tiny that my large dogs choked on it too much, even when I put in muffin tins to feed or added water.

Could not stand to hear one cough and wheeze when kibble when down the wrong hatch.

We tried and them both and have moved on, off our list.


----------



## gingerkid (Jul 11, 2012)

ShoreDobermans said:


> http://www.wherearethepetfoodchampions.com/web/Orijen_Recall.html
> http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scrip...EntryId=144-4376281-3&DocId=1&LineId=5&SfxId=
> 
> The first link is pre 2011, the second happened in 2011. The food tested positive at the border so technically it was an importation ban and not a recall.


Thank you for the links. The first link is the irradiation recall that occurred in Australia that Nicole mentioned (2008).


----------



## Jacksons Mom (Mar 12, 2010)

For my dog, Acana all the way. It worked wonders compared to Fromm. 6 months of eating Fromm made him lose muscle mass (and no, it wasn't lack of exercise), and have loose stool (not, like, liquid, but very soft) and eye boogers and gas. He did love the flavor though! He ate Acana GF for 2 years before they changed the formulas (with great results). Now he eats Acana Duck & Pear with great results. I think he does better on simpler foods. I would love to feed Annamaet, but he hates it with a passion. I may try the Manitok flavor and see if there is a difference. Haven't decided yet.

You're going to find something wrong with every company. I think it's just a matter of finding what works for your dog.


----------



## ShoreDobermans (Nov 18, 2013)

gingerkid said:


> Thank you for the links. The first link is the irradiation recall that occurred in Australia that Nicole mentioned (2008).


*You didn't read the first link. All the recalls are summarized there, including the recall for using animals with Mad Cow Disease.* The foods testing positive for BHA/BHT is also mentioned in there.


----------



## NicoleIsStoked (Aug 31, 2012)

ShoreDobermans said:


> *You didn't read the first link. All the recalls are summarized there, including the recall for using animals with Mad Cow Disease.* The foods testing positive for BHA/BHT is also mentioned in there.


Bumper1? Is that you?!


hahahaha


----------



## Little Wise Owl (Nov 12, 2011)

NicoleIsStoked said:


> Bumper1? Is that you?!
> 
> 
> hahahaha


I'm incredibly suspicious of this as well. lol

I've never bought Fromm because it's like $75+ per 30lb bag here but have used Acana Chicken and Burbank Potato and had great results (nice coats, no more gas than normal, less shedding). I found a cheaper food though so I switched to that. My dogs would probably still have been on grain inclusive Acana if I had not found another affordable brand. *shrug*


----------



## gingerkid (Jul 11, 2012)

NicoleIsStoked said:


> Bumper1? Is that you?!
> 
> 
> hahahaha


If it is, Bumper1 had two accounts for a while.

I guess I don't consider the BSE thing really a Champion-related recall, what with the 2003 BSE outbreak in Alberta materially affected me and my beef-producing family. Pretty much everything in the province with beef in it was being checked and/or recalled because _one farmer_ didn't report that one of his cattle was showing signs of BSE until it had died _after_ a portion of the rest of his stock had made it into the food system. So... the anti-Champion website can spin it however it wants.


----------

