# Acana & orijen have a TERRIBLE reputation here - is this true?



## Gina_1978

I originally found out about Orijen food after talking to an American friend online.I´m from Mallorca (a tiny island on the coast of Spain),so I started to do some research to see if we could get it here.
It´s then when I also found Acana [puppy small breed] and I really love the things I´ve read about both brands.I´m currently feeding my yorkies royal canin yorkshire terrier junior,and although they eat it just fine,they also eat their poop,which is the reason I wanted to change brands.I just think that if I tried a different brand with less grain,they might digest their food better and not want to eat the "waste".

Anyhoo...I´ve discovered that I can _only_ get both brands online,because none of our pet stores want anything to do with them.
So far,I´ve been told that it´s basiclly just fat,and that it´s so rich that it causes diarrea,bad breath and terrible terrible gas.Now,I have no problem with buying this food online,but is it true that it´s really not all that great? I have been reading and reading and people in the US etc seem to really love this brand,so I´m confused and dont know what to do.
We cant get many brands here,so I was really happy to find that I could get Orijen and Acana online at all.

Could you please give me your opnions on these foods? I´m just not sure if it really is a bad kibble,or this island just doesnt want to risk importing a kibble that no one has heard of and then not be able to sell it.
Thank you :wave:


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## ThoseWordsAtBest

Neither are a bad kibble. I am of the camp that you feed your dog what your individual dog does well on. I have three dogs that can eat a grain inclusive and be just as great as every- good weights, good poop, good coat, good energy, etc. I have two that can't touch a grain inclusive food lest I want constant diarrhea. On the flip side, Orijen was too rich for my dogs and every one had terrible poop for the entire time we tried it. Every one here does great on TOTW, save for Shambles who eats some raw, some kibble. He does better on a grain inclusive food. 

FWIW, I have an avid poop eater. The brand of food she is on is not a deterrent.


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## georgiapeach

Both Orijen and Acana are good brands. For a housepet, I'd recommend Acana. Orijen tends to be too rich for many dogs, causing diahrrea. If you order Acana, get the grain free.


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## hast

I feed my dog orijen and am more than happy with how well she does on that brand. Better than on Acana actually. I brought her to Sweden and got her Orijen there too, there Orijen had a very good reputation and is one of the top kibble you can buy there. Fortunately for me I have a friend with a pet store that offers it so I didn't have to change food for her, but they have some local kibble just as good there.


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## Gina_1978

georgiapeach said:


> If you order Acana, get the *grain free*.


Just taking a look at I cant see a puppy version of this..do you have a link to it even if it´s on an American site so I can see a picture of the bag? I can find grain free adult versions of Acana but nothing for pups.


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## Fuzzy Pants

Here's a link to all their formulas.


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## Gina_1978

Fuzzy Pants said:


> Here's a link to all their formulas.


Thank you


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## UF Girl

I have fed Orijen for a while and all my dogs did great on it, with one exception. I have one dog who has horrid gas on it. 

Not sure how true this is with Champion but different brands have different formulas and ingredients for different countries. So while they may have great North American formulas their European formulas may not be.


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## LittleFr0g

I feed both Orijen and Acana, both are great, high quality foods, and Kuma does wonderfully on them, no issues with gas, bad breath or runny poop. Now of course, not every dog will do well on them, but that is true of any food.


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## Deaf Dogs

UF Girl said:


> I have fed Orijen for a while and all my dogs did great on it, with one exception. I have one dog who has horrid gas on it.
> 
> Not sure how true this is with Champion but different brands have different formulas and ingredients for different countries. So while they may have great North American formulas their European formulas may not be.


Champion only has one plant and that's right here in Alberta. I dont believe they make different formulas for different countries.

Their food is definitely not all fat, they use very good ingredients, compared to most kibble (Royal Canin is not nearly as good!) I feed both Orijen and Acana in my rotation.


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## hast

Deaf Dogs said:


> Champion only has one plant and that's right here in Alberta. I dont believe they make different formulas for different countries.
> 
> Their food is definitely not all fat, they use very good ingredients, compared to most kibble (Royal Canin is not nearly as good!) I feed both Orijen and Acana in my rotation.


This ^^^ 

No kibble change their formulas depending on where in the world it's sold. They change the bag, to have the language of the region/country and to fulfill the laws how to list the ingredients in the country in question.


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## InkedMarie

I'm surprised to hear it has a bad reputation there, both of them are very good foods.


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## UF Girl

hast said:


> This ^^^
> 
> No kibble change their formulas depending on where in the world it's sold. They change the bag, to have the language of the region/country and to fulfill the laws how to list the ingredients in the country in question.


I thought Royal Canin was one that did? I will have to look that up again.

Also, I love Aiken!! Went there last your for our anniversary and had a great time.


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## Gina_1978

Deaf Dogs said:


> Their food is definitely not all fat, they use very good ingredients, compared to most kibble *(Royal Canin is not nearly as good!)*


To the bolded,this is exactly what I wanted to know  



InkedMarie said:


> I'm surprised to hear it has a bad reputation there, both of them are very good foods.


I think that the problem isnt the quality,but the fact that people dont know about it [Acana & Origen] here yet,and before coming across as stupid,they´d rather say "oh no,we dont have it because it´s rubbish"..you know?  Royal canin is very well known here,and they seem to confuse that with it being "the best".

I actually found *ONE* store (on the whole island!) that sells Acana,Orijen and a few other international brands **squeel of exitement!!**,and the woman there had nothing but great things to say about it.I bought a 5lb bag of Acana and we´ve already started the transition


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## nfedyk

We just transitioned Oliver over to Acana. He loves it and we had no problems whatsoever with the transition.


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## hast

UF Girl said:


> I thought Royal Canin was one that did? I will have to look that up again.
> 
> Also, I love Aiken!! Went there last your for our anniversary and had a great time.


It wouldn't surprise me if they do ... RC just isn't a good food and I don't trust it at all.

Aiken is a great town ... it's such a horse town and dog town, lots, and lots of fun things to do.

I heard a lot of criticism against Orijen in Sweden too. Some people don't trust it because the ingredients are "strange" and different. What they don't think about is that those ingredients are local in Canada adn not at all a "strange" way to get the minerals and vitamins needed.


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## ThoseWordsAtBest

AgilityAce said:


> Orijen & Acana are extremely overpriced foods from a misleading company with a history of bad quality and no expertise.
> 
> We have a joke about these types of foods in my world, "does anyone have the Karo syrup"


So you have any actual evidence?


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## Gina_1978

AgilityAce said:


> Orijen & Acana are extremely overpriced foods from a misleading company with a history of bad quality and no expertise.
> 
> We have a joke about these types of foods in my world, "does anyone have the Karo syrup"


I dont know about overpriced.A *3*lb bag of royal canin costs 20€ ($25),yet a *5*lb bag of Acana costs just 16€ ($20)..that is VERY cheap to me.I´v read nothing but positive things about Acana/Orijen,but not many people have much to say about Royal Canin.I like what I´ve read about Acana and if my dogs do OK on it,I´ll stick with it *shrugs*


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## Deaf Dogs

Gina_1978 said:


> I dont know about overpriced.A *3*lb bag of royal canin costs 20€ ($25),yet a *5*lb bag of Acana costs just 16€ ($20)..that is VERY cheap to me.I´v read nothing but positive things about Acana/Orijen,but not many people have much to say about Royal Canin.I like what I´ve read about Acana and if my dogs do OK on it,I´ll stick with it *shrugs*


I have a friend who was feeding both her dog and cat crap. So I decided to do some educating. I showed her stuff on the internet, I showed her the analysis websites, I showed her the links to why certain ingredients are bad, etc. But when we went to do an actual price comparison, I was absolutely dumbfounded. Comparing Orijen and Science Diet, there wasn't a major difference in price like there should be to reflect the major difference in quality.


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## Gina_1978

Deaf Dogs said:


> Comparing Orijen and Science Diet, there wasn't a major difference in price like there should be to reflect the major difference in quality.


Science diet is really expensive here too..it´s right up there with Royal canin.I simply cant afford to buy 4 $25 bags a month,which is what my pups were eating now.Acana is way cheaper and you get more in a bag too,and if it´s better in quality,then what more could I ask for?


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## say_nothing

I have a medium-sized chocolate lab-- I've fed her every Orijen/Acana flavor they make (including those new ones... she loves them). She was a bit gassy on the Orijen and had soft poop, even though I transitioned slowly... it was just a bit too rich for her. Orijen follows the 80/20 ratio of meat-to-other stuff, whereas Acana is 60/40. I like the latter much better.

I thought the Acana was making her gassy too, but it turns out it was just her treats. Make sure you've got a good baseline before you judge food-- ensure a smooth transition, rule out treats, and stick to your normal schedule.

I'm a big fan of Champion Pet Foods because they are the most transparent pet food company I've researched. This is important to me because of all the shady chicken coming out of China-- so far only Dogswell is the only company to do an advisory on their jerky treats (which are being linked to renal failure by a lot of pet owners). With Champion, almost everything is wild caught in Canada. Me likey.

I've heard the grapevine at my local dog park razzing on Champion saying that they're not allowed to ship to the US and then they sort of make up stories. I looked into it, and they were just having problems getting some of the new blends over to the US because of the saskatoon berries.

(Saskatoon berries are not only edible, but are a natural aide in preserving meat.)

Champion's website boasts how "pallatable" their food is, but it took awhile for my dog to warm up to it. She'll eat bowl after bowl of crap dog food if given the chance, so I don't think Orijen/Acana is as pallatable as the crap food. It's probably like giving a kid a pound of candy versus a pound of broccoli.

Aside from Orijen/Acana? I like Innova and Science Diet. In a pinch, I've done Happy Hips (a Dogswell product), and Rachel Ray's food. Neither are terribly good, but they're definitely better than anything from Purina or the like.

Yikes. Didn't realize how long this post got. Here's the *TLDR*:
- Orijen is very good, but might be too rich in meat for your dog. If it is, try Acana, which is less meat heavy.
- Ingredients are important, but also beware WHERE those ingredients come from
- Orijen/Acana doesn't taste as good as crap food.
- Innova is my second choice after Orijen/Acana.


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## Miss Bugs

> I've heard the grapevine at my local dog park razzing on Champion saying that they're not allowed to ship to the US and then they sort of make up stories. I looked into it, and they were just having problems getting some of the new blends over to the US because of the saskatoon berries.


did the border folks just not know what saskatoons ARE? lol I live in Saskatchewan..I grew up on saskatoons, saskatoon pie, saskatoon wine etc.. so this seems very funny to me!


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## say_nothing

Yeah that confused me. PetFoodStation.com carries it and ships it anyway, so I'm guessing that it's all kosher now.


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## rouxdog

hast said:


> It wouldn't surprise me if they do ... RC just isn't a good food and I don't trust it at all.
> 
> Aiken is a great town ... it's such a horse town and dog town, lots, and lots of fun things to do.
> 
> I heard a lot of criticism against Orijen in Sweden too. Some people don't trust it because the ingredients are "strange" and different. What they don't think about is that those ingredients are local in Canada adn not at all a "strange" way to get the minerals and vitamins needed.


Royal Canin is horrible!
We've tried Orijen and Acana. Orijen was far too rich for him (and expensive for us). He's an active dog but not an outdoor work dog.
Acana and Orijen are among the very top brands of dog foods available.


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## Gina_1978

rouxdog said:


> Royal Canin is horrible!


Ugh,yet it is *THE *most expensive brand of food on the market!  
Our yorkies were on it (Royal canin yorkshire terrier junior) and we asumed that due to its price,it was the best we could possibly give them.A small 3lb bag costs over $25 and it doesnt last long with 2 pups in the house.We were struggling to afford it!

Now that I have compared the ingredients of RC and then say,Orijen and Acana,I have no idea why it´s so expensive! It (RC) has like 7 ingredients (it´s basicly chicken and fillers),yet Acana & Orijen have a HUGE List of qualities! Also,Acana & Orijen come in bigger bags and are way cheaper.
This is an example of how price doesnt always mean quality.


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## rouxdog

Gina_1978 said:


> Acana & Orijen have a HUGE List of qualities! Also,Acana & Orijen come in bigger bags and are way cheaper.
> This is an example of how price doesnt always mean quality.


Orijen Regional Red has a list of ingredients that makes my mouth water.
_REGIONAL RED contains an amazing diversity of local free-range red meats, including wild boar, beef, lamb, heritage pork and bison, plus wild-caught fish from Canada’s northern lakes and cool Pacific Ocean _
Even I don't eat that well.


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## Gina_1978

rouxdog said:


> Orijen Regional Red has a list of ingredients that makes my mouth water.
> _REGIONAL RED contains an amazing diversity of local free-range red meats, including wild boar, beef, lamb, heritage pork and bison, plus wild-caught fish from Canada’s northern lakes and cool Pacific Ocean _
> *Even I don't eat that well*.


LOL to the bolded! That´s very true  
I have read the ingredients of bags of Origen and thought "wow..if I ate like this,maybe my hair would look as good as the dogs that are on it?" lol.


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## MakeLoveNotWar

i bought acana pacifica and wild prairie then mixed them 1:1. this is the first
time that our 1 year and 6 months pomchi has ever eaten a whole bowl of kibbeys  lets see if itll work for lunch. i also gave our baby york some, well as always.. bowls empty  half way filled. thank god i didnt buy the royal canin one for YT this was 2 hours ago 
p.s i highly doubt that our yorkies are purebred  some people in our house are currently in denial.. i still love him regardless


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## themisdragonash

Hi Gina - i have just joined - i too live in Mallorca and I feed my dogs Orijen and Acana - The reason they seem to have a bad name is that all the vets want to sell either Royal Canin or Advance or Hills because they will make a huge profit on this. Also there is a misconception that high protein is bad for dogs!!! My dog would not touch Royal Canin - I wasted so much money on trying different types of RC and he wouldnt eat it - he is an avid feeder, so I switched to Orijen and Acana - he actually did better on Acana - I think Orijen might have been a bit too high in fat - however, I have a puppy as well and she eats Orijen puppy food, just going onto adult and seems fine with it - I have tried a couple of german brands which seem to suit, but am not sure about their provenence. Orijen and Acana both get 5 star ratings on Dogfood advisor reviews. As to getting it I have no problem - I dont know where you live, but Dogs and Dogs in Santa Ponsa stock both Orijen and Acana and will get it in for you. However my best deal is buying on line from Tiendanimales.es - 24 hour free delivery - they have all the Orijens, Acana and Taste of the Wild etc - their service is brilliant and I thoroughly recommend them! Hope that helps -- dont let the influence of those who dont know or havent done their research put you off if you are happy with the results - at the end of the day it is how your dogs fare on the food that is important. My Breton's coat and muscle strength is superb since being on these foods, and he is castrated and not fat and extremely active! good luck


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