# Taste of Wild High Prarie/Acana Wild Prairie? Suggestions? Frustrated with dog food!!



## jkzimm04 (Oct 23, 2011)

I'm so discouraged trying to find the "perfect" dog food without spending a small fortune. I bought TOWHP today and thought that it seemed perfect. I researched it and almost all of the reviews are satisfied customers, UNTIL I found one after buying it in regards to the ocean fish meal ingredient. A cancerous preservative is used. UMM, NO!! Unfortunately I already opened the bag, so we will use it but I don't think I will be buying it again. 

I was looking into the Acana Wild Prairie, Grain Free, Dry dog food and to me, it looks good, but I thought the TOWHP was good and was wrong. Any insight? Any other suggestions? I really can't afford to spend much over 50.00 and for that price I don't want anything less than 30 pounds. I have a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix. So I don't know if that makes a difference on a food choice. She is active and can be just as much a couch potato. Thanks in advance 

Also, what is Blue Buffalo like? I am just so lost with this dog food...I could scream!


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

Taste of the Wild used to use ethoxyquin to preserve their fish, but as of May 2011, they no longer do. From their site:



> DOES THIS FOOD CONTAIN ETHOXYQUIN?
> Taste of the Wild Pet Foods sources all protein meals (chicken meal, fish meal, etc) from vendors that do not use ethoxyquin. As always, only natural preservatives are used in our manufacturing process to preserve the foods.


I feed TOTW with no worries, and my dog does great on it. I think that, as far as the cost/quality ratio, it's one of the best. I like Acana a lot, too; my other dog is on that.

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/taste-of-the-wild-dog-food-dry/
http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/acana-dog-food-grain-free/


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

On the TOTW website, they claim their ocean fish meal is "naturally preserved" (click on "about our ingredients" and there'll be an alphabetic chart). Maybe you could e-mail them to find out for sure before you give up on TOTW.

ETA: Oops, I type too slowly! Thanks for the info, Crantastic!


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## jkzimm04 (Oct 23, 2011)

I've read so many things saying that they don't but they cannot guarantee that their vendors do! I will check into it more. I like the price of the TOTW but that scared me when I read it! I just want to be sure that I am giving the best that I can to my dog without anything that can harm her


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

Those were probably old reviews; check the dates. TOTW used to say that they tested routinely for ethoxyquin, and that only trace amounts were left after the cooking process. As of last year, they switched to a fish vendor that does not use ethoxyquin at all, and so now their website guarantees that all their meat comes from vendors who do not preserve with ethoxyquin. It's safe. 

Edit: This is what they told someone in an e-mail back when they used that preservative:



> Most of the ethoxyquin is destroyed in the cooking process, requiring other preservatives to be used. Tests for ethoxyquin are run routinely on Taste of the Wild. The results are typically less than 5ppm. This is equivalent to 0.0005% or 5 ten-thousandth’s of a percent. This is a true trace level that many laboratories are unable to detect. The amount allowed, and considered to be safe, by the FDA is 75ppm. There is a small supply of ethoxyquin free fish meal available in the United States. However, this is not adequate to meet the supply demands for all pet food manufacturers that use fish meal.


And this is what their website says now:



> Taste of the Wild Pet Foods sources all protein meals (chicken meal, fish meal, etc) from vendors that do not use ethoxyquin. As always, only natural preservatives are used in our manufacturing process to preserve the foods.


If you have any other concerns, write to them! They always write back.

Edited to add a link to an old thread from when they used the preservative: http://www.dogforums.com/dog-food-forum/73741-dog-food-contains-ethoxyquin.html

And this, more current info: http://www.dogforums.com/dog-food-forum/77844-taste-wild-ethoxyquin-free.html


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## jkzimm04 (Oct 23, 2011)

I do feel better seeing on their site in the FAQ that they DO NOT use ethoxyquin. I am a worry wort, so I will still contact them to be 100% sure. I will post my findings when I hear from them!!

THANK YOU!! I will sleep better tonight! And I am serious!!


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

No problem! It's great that you're doing so much research and figuring out what would work best for you and your dog. Definitely write to them; I have done so before (inquiring about the salt content) and they're great about getting back to customers and answering their questions.


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## Pawzk9 (Jan 3, 2011)

jkzimm04 said:


> I'm so discouraged trying to find the "perfect" dog food without spending a small fortune. I bought TOWHP today and thought that it seemed perfect. I researched it and almost all of the reviews are satisfied customers, UNTIL I found one after buying it in regards to the ocean fish meal ingredient. A cancerous preservative is used. UMM, NO!! Unfortunately I already opened the bag, so we will use it but I don't think I will be buying it again.
> 
> I was looking into the Acana Wild Prairie, Grain Free, Dry dog food and to me, it looks good, but I thought the TOWHP was good and was wrong. Any insight? Any other suggestions? I really can't afford to spend much over 50.00 and for that price I don't want anything less than 30 pounds. I have a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix. So I don't know if that makes a difference on a food choice. She is active and can be just as much a couch potato. Thanks in advance
> 
> Also, what is Blue Buffalo like? I am just so lost with this dog food...I could scream!


TOTW uses ethyoxyquin free fish. Your information is incorrect.


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## jkzimm04 (Oct 23, 2011)

Pawzk9 said:


> TOTW uses ethyoxyquin free fish. Your information is incorrect.


 Thank you, I was unaware but now realize that they do but didn't always. I was looking at outdated information. I appreciate this forum! Thanks everyone


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## Pawzk9 (Jan 3, 2011)

jkzimm04 said:


> Thank you, I was unaware but now realize that they do but didn't always. I was looking at outdated information. I appreciate this forum! Thanks everyone


They never actually used it as a preservative (which some low quality foods do) but some of their sources may have used it on the fish. However, TOTW actually did listen to its customers and insisted on other preservatives. I think there is something to be said for a company who pays attention to customer concerns.


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## PackMomma (Sep 26, 2011)

I've used both Acana & TOTW and I can say I like the Acana much better, I didn't have any real issues with TOTW, I only fed one bag into my rotation mix, but It caused my dogs severe bad gas. Atleast I'm assuming it was TOTW because as soon as that bag was finished I never bought it again and the gas went away.

I've been adding Acana into my mix for several years now, and I've fed the Wild Prairie, Grasslands, Ranchlands & Pacifica with success, I've just recently swapped out Acana for Orijen to try and so far so good as well.

It all depends on what your dog's do well on, so if you wish to try TOTW try it and see how they do.. if you arent pleased with the results, then try something different 

Good Luck


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## hamandeggs (Aug 11, 2011)

We feed TOTW High Prairie and have had great luck with it. No complaints here! I've looked into rotating to Acana Ranchlands for a change of pace, but I'm not in a particular hurry to do so. There's a lot of paranoia about Diamond (the company that manufactures TOTW), but I don't think it's particularly warranted.


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

God bless the internet.


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## stacey101 (Sep 20, 2010)

Pro-series is great!









heres their web site, if you contact them they'll send you 2 coupons (normally $5 but i've have a few $7 ones sent to me) which is great if you want to try him on it without spending $22 or $25 a bag.
http://www.proseriespet.ca/page/home/Home


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## Pawzk9 (Jan 3, 2011)

PackMomma said:


> I've used both Acana & TOTW and I can say I like the Acana much better, I didn't have any real issues with TOTW, I only fed one bag into my rotation mix, but It caused my dogs severe bad gas. Atleast I'm assuming it was TOTW because as soon as that bag was finished I never bought it again and the gas went away.
> It all depends on what your dog's do well on, so if you wish to try TOTW try it and see how they do.. if you arent pleased with the results, then try something different
> 
> Good Luck


Just curious. Was it the High Prairie formula (venison and bison?) It gave Alice terrible gas, but so did venison z-filets, so I assume her tummy just doesn't do venison. I've had no gas problems on the other formulas.


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## PackMomma (Sep 26, 2011)

Pawzk9 said:


> Just curious. Was it the High Prairie formula (venison and bison?) It gave Alice terrible gas, but so did venison z-filets, so I assume her tummy just doesn't do venison. I've had no gas problems on the other formulas.


Yes it was that one and the other one with the roasted fowl or whatever.. my gf bought high prairie and I bought the fowl one so we swapped half bag of each, so it was a half and half mix of both of those. Anyway, I stopped feeding TOTW and no more gas, Thumpers stools started firming up a little better once we were off the TOTW as well so although I dont think it caused anything severe with my dogs, not feeding it seems to have helped to get rid of some undesirable side affects with mine... and I mean.. the gas was BAD.

My dogs do fine on venison beside the fact.. they eat raw elk and bison on a regular basis for dinner.


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## Sibe (Nov 21, 2010)

stacey101 said:


> Pro-series is great!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I'd never feed something that had corn in it..


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## melundie (Aug 2, 2011)

Colby has a very sensitive stomach. She was on Pinnacle Holistic limited ingredient. She did okay on it, but it was so expensive! My dad found TOTW, we changed her over and I can't complain. She does great on all of the varieties.


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

Sibe said:


> I'd never feed something that had corn in it..


Hows come?


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## Sibe (Nov 21, 2010)

LazyGRanch713 said:


> Hows come?


It's fattening and raises their blood sugar. Actual glycemic index for a few common dog food grains [source:](Brand-Miller J et al, The Glycemic Index Foundation, “The New Glucose Revolution”, New York (2003), pp.291-296 ↩
Fadok V (1994), “Diagnosing and Managing the Food Allergic)

Corn meal (69)
Brown rice (55)
Corn (53)
Oatmeal (49)
Wheat (41)
Barley (25)


It can be the source of allergies or tummy troubles (though honestly, any ingredient including a certain meat can be). My cat had horrid diarrhea all the time until I put him on food without corn in it. Grains can have mites, mold, all kind of icky stuff hidden in it which can also be the source of the allergy/tummy issue, not just the corn itself.

It's not an important ingredient, so I'd rather have something instead of corn that is actually valuable to my dog's nutrition (note: I'm not sure exactly how "biologial value" is defined here) [source:](Palika, Liz, The Consumers Guide to Dog Food, New York, Howell Book House, 1996)









List from _least_ to _most_ nutritional value, using USDA’s National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference:
Brown rice (33)
Corn (34)
Barley (36)
Oats (43)
Quinoa (45)
Wheat (48)
Potato (51)
Peas (53)
Sweet potato (55)
Spinach (91)


In conclusion, it's just not a useful ingredient and I feel it does more harm than good.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

jkzimm04 said:


> I do feel better seeing on their site in the FAQ that they DO NOT use ethoxyquin. I am a worry wort, so I will still contact them to be 100% sure. I will post my findings when I hear from them!!
> 
> THANK YOU!! I will sleep better tonight! And I am serious!!


That's good as their foods are getting gradually more fish-y which is good since they don't use ethoxyquin, but I still had to switch since the duck one is the only one that doesn't have a lot of fish in it (after the first 5 ingredients) cuz she doesn't like the taste :/.


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## Pawzk9 (Jan 3, 2011)

dogdragoness said:


> That's good as their foods are getting gradually more fish-y which is good since they don't use ethoxyquin, but I still had to switch since the duck one is the only one that doesn't have a lot of fish in it (after the first 5 ingredients) cuz she doesn't like the taste :/.


So, are the formulas wrong on their website? I just looked, and the only with fish meal in the first five ingredients is the Pacific Stream. I'd check my bag, but since that is what we have right now . . .


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

Sibe said:


> (note: I'm not sure exactly how "biologial value" is defined here)


LOL, if you don't know what it means, maybe you shouldn't be referencing it.


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## upendi'smommy (Nov 12, 2008)

Pawzk9 said:


> So, are the formulas wrong on their website? I just looked, and the only with fish meal in the first five ingredients is the Pacific Stream. I'd check my bag, but since that is what we have right now . . .


I have the Sierra Mountain formula right now and I just checked my bag and unless I missed it there is no fish meal in it at all. *shrugs*


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

I know High Prairie has some fish meal. 7th or 8th ingredient maybe (ETA: it's the 13th ingredient )? But to me it smells like hamburgers; I can't smell fish at all. Penny doesn't like fish-based foods but she likes High Prairie.

Fish meal is the 14th ingredient in Wetlands, and Sierra Mountain doesn't have any fish at all. I wouldn't consider TOTW to be a "fishy" food at all, except of course the fish formula.


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