Dog suddenly doesn't like her food

[Josh83]

Hello Just recently my dog wont touch her Wellness Simple soloutions Salmon and rice. I just happen to have a sample bag of Acana Grasslands which i tried and she seems to be eating it.

My Mom has been putting in a little bit of Hills TD with the wellness which we had gotten for free when My dog went to get her teeth cleaned. i am not happy that she was being fed this. So i am wondering now if she knows theres a food she likes better and thats why she stopped eating the Wellness. i have told her to please stop feeding her the TD.

She had been on the Wellness for maybe approximently 2 weeks.

Anyone have any suggestions or advice on this.

[friend2animals]

Hi Josh83,

Wellness Brand is good, premium quality food

If you have been feeding your dog dry kibble only, you might want to try mixing in some canned soft food of the same brand. Wellness has canned food that can be used as a mixer, or a substitute for kibble entirely. The food intended as a mixer is 95% meat. The first ingredient listed on the label is protein. You have a choice of lamb, chicken, beef, or salmon. Both canned foods are grain free, and of very good quality! You could also try adding in some warm water, or low fat, low sodium chicken broth with cooked carrots, green beans, and skinless, boneless, cooked chicken...

Hopefully, this will encourage your dog to eat his/her meal with gusto!

Good Luck

[Josh83]

It seems like no matter what I do she just won't eat the wellness food. So i have tried her on Acana Grasslands and she seems to like it so I think i am going to be switching her.

She won't touch the wellness.

Any feed back on Acana Grasslands?

[friend2animals]

I know next to nothing about Acana Grasslands, and I have only become aware of this brand very recently, because it has been mentioned on this board. I've never seen it in any of my local pet food stores... I am assuming it is a good quality food, or you wouldn't be wanting to switch her to it. You can try doing some internet searches on this brand, if you haven't already.

If you are interested in knowing more about pet food content/ingredients, you might want to check out a food analysis link. This link has been posted in other threads, so you might have to search a little bit on this board for the URL.
Alternatively, you can do basic internet searches under the title (or variation of) "pet food(dog or cat) analysis/nutrition." This site provides a nutritional and content analysis of pet foods from the lesser quality (listed as #1) to the top quality (listed as #6).

I hope this helps...

[cassiek]

Josh83,

Acana is a very good dog food. It is made by Champion Pet Foods which also makes Orijen - but has a lower protein % therefore it is a bit cheaper. It's grain free which is also a huge plus. You should be able to find it at many pet stores.

I fed Acana to my dogs before switching to raw and they did very well on it!!

[Chris21711]

There is quite a few of us on this forum that feed Acana and/or Orijen...there is a bit of difference in the price between the two, but not enough to sway you either way imo. I have been feeding the Acana Grasslands to our dogs for sometime now and they seem to thrive on it. One of my Bassets' gets goopy eyes, but I don't think it is related to the food as the other two dogs don't

I don't know which town you live in, but it seems to be readily available in Global Pet Foods.....They have their own manufacturing plant, which is a plus imo and only use human grade food, another plus, also they are a Canadian company.

[Josh83]

Thanks everyone. I hoping to keep her on the acana grasslands for awhile. Hopfully she doesn't stop eating it like the Wellness. I don't like to keep switching foods unless its really necessary because i don't want to end up making her sick.

The fact that Acana has less protein then Orijen is that somthing to be concerened about? should I be looking at Orijen instead. It's just i know she likes the Acana Grasslands because I have tried a sample bag on her.

[Chris21711]

There isn't much less protein Josh, imo if she likes the Grasslands, then I would go with that......whichever you choose, they are both good foods.

[Josh83]

Originally Posted by Chris21711

There isn't much less protein Josh, imo if she likes the Grasslands, then I would go with that......whichever you choose, they are both good foods.

Thanks Chris. It's just we are taking her to the vet tomorrow because she seems to have a cold. I am just worried that they might try to convince me to put her back on Science Diet which is the last thing I want to do. Yes i do agree with you about the Acana Grasslands that if she likes it to stick to it.

[Josh83]

Last night i decided enough is enough because she was vomiting from not eating. I tried her on a sample of Orijen Adult formula (she is 4yrs old) which she seemed to love.

So i am hoping now i can stay with this one for a while.

Going to the pet store tonight to buy a actual bag of it.

[Marty11]

I have a manchester terrier that got fussy enough that I broke down and add 2 tbsp of good quality canned food with some warm water. He eats every meal now. Acana or Orijen is great. Some of those limited diet foods such as yours has less protein, I find the dogs don't do well. Tried one on my Boston. I do not like the vet food, stay away unless it's absolutely necessary.

[Chris21711]

I thought you had already decided on feeding your girl Acana Josh .....I always add canned/cooked food with the kibble, I think it must get pretty boring eating plain ol' kibble day after day

[Chaser]

RE: Acana vs. Orijen

The protein content does make a difference IMO, but it all depends on your dog. My dogs, esp. my border collie mix, are psychotically active. For us, Orijen is the best because I find the higher protein keeps them satisfied a bit longer and has helped them to develop amazing muscle tone.

But for most dogs with an average activitity level, Acana Provincial is still a phenomenol food. I also like that you have some more flavour options with it (I would LOVE if they made an Orijen with lamb). Although Orijen has a red meat formula, it is too rich for even my BC/Lab's steel stomach! The chicken and 6 fish have always been safe bets though.

So really I think between the two it just comes down to personal preference. In some areas, Acana is also cheaper and that can be a factor as well.

Just wondering though - Was your dog continuing to get sick after Jan. 22 while eating the Grasslands food? That seems very bizarre I hope the Orijen is working out okay in that case!

[Josh83]

I know i said i was going to go with acana grasslands but its a long story and i just went with orijen adult. I had a little argument with my mom because she thinks the dog should of stayed on the Z/D hills diet. Which I totally disagree with and would not buy that food even if it were the last on the planet.

I hoping to be able to stick with orijen we have to transition her slowly because they said on at the pet store that its double the protein the orijen and it can be hard on their kidneys and upset there stomach.

The acana i had tried her on was just a sample bag.

Sorry i don't mean to drive you all crazy about this. It's just i am going crazy and i am praying that she tolerates this orijen because then thats what am sticking with.

Thanks I apprciate all the help I am hoping i can settle on Orijen and this crazyness can be over.

[Chris21711]

Josh you decided to go with a great food, hopefully your little girl will thrive on it....I switched our guys cold turkey and they didn't encounter any problems.

As far as the extra protein being hard on their kidneys, that theory was debunked long ago....it's the source of the protein that is important.

[Chris21711]

I knew this was somewhere , maybe you would like to read this thread regarding high protein in dog foods:

http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread....effect+kidneys

[Josh83]

Originally Posted by Chris21711

I knew this was somewhere , maybe you would like to read this thread regarding high protein in dog foods:

http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread....effect+kidneys

Chris21711 and everyone you all great thanks for your help

Clearly this person at the pet store was wrong about protein being bad on the kidneys.