ACANA Grain Free Dry Dog Food, Puppy Recipe, 4.5lb

It's not cheap, and I'm not rich. But... No grains!? Yes please!! That was the idea.[tldr; scroll to bottom]My biggest fear buying this for the first time was that I'd spend $100 on a big bag of dog food and he doesn't like it. So we decided to get the 4.5lb Red Meat Recipe. Despite the catharsis of the lowered cost, I'm still afraid that I'm buying a worthless bag of food because typically he's a chicken addict and of course his meat is usually raw/undercooked non-processed meat. Will he really be willing to stoop down depths of a common barn animal and eat this "meal in a bag?" Is he just too posh a pup for such vile fake meat!? Did I spoil my dog?! (That's rhetorical btw)What brought me here:Muh doggo [a 2 yo, 45lb, 1/2 Rough Collie, 1/2 Bernese Mountain Dog] was getting a bit grainy in the coat. That fur used to feel like silk (think a coat like Lassie). I was also noticing some early signs of inflammation and an itty bit of bad breath. Typically, he eats whatever I'm eating (but maybe 10-15% of the amount I eat). Apparently, humans are designed to eat more carbs than dogs (like a lot more). In fact, dogs don't really need much in the way of carbs at all I learned. Upon educating myself on the level of fat and protein necessary for him to live as long as possible (my #1 goal on earth). I went looking for a dog food with 'no carbs.' This has vegetables, but you know what? He doesn't like vegetables. So, that's perfect.(Side Note: Before the food arrived I started buffing the fat in his diet as much as possible and in just a couple days his coat sheen came back.)The Results of the Taste Test?This dog, who only eats table food (and cat food if he's feelin frisky), will not stop eating this ACANA food. As much as I give him, he'll eat. I haven't found the upper limit. So yea... I have to hide it so I can keep his portion size right or he'll get fat as a house eating me out of house and home! I couldn't be happier. He loves, loves, loves it and it's got all the stuff in it I was neglecting to give him sufficient quantities of. Giving a sufficient amount of fat and protein to our doggie frenz is super critical for their health and happiness. Bonus points if you can't get him to stop eating it. Thanks to the manufacturer for making it!Verdict: Expensive (Like all high quality things). But SO worth it.[Pro tip: The cost is mitigated via the portion control, serving size recommendations are on the bag]

Got this for my dog due to concerns with weight. Older food he was getting. ALOT. This food is great quality and requires less to maintain a healthy weight. His food is supplemented with fish oil and supplement treats, but otherwise, his digestive system did not have a difficult time making the transition. I don’t think I will ever go back to the cheap low quality brands where it’s mostly fillers rather than actual food.

These are expensive, but they're good, my dogs love the food and their poop is less smelly and solid, which wasn't the case with the previous food

We've been using Acana food for our two pups but have decided the fatter one, Zeus (125 lbs), should lose some weight and so switched his to light and fit from the meadowland variety we were feeding him.I should say first, there isn't really anything that I saw aside from the name that says this is for weight loss or maintaining a healthy weight however, a comparison of the caloric content between the two foods showed the light and fit did indeed have less. 348 kcal/cup vs 392 kcal/cup in the meadowland. Their recommended feeding chart aligns pretty well with our vet recommendations to help our big guy lose some weight.Now we could feed him less of the meadowland to meet the cal goal but Choosing a lower calorie food allows us to feed him a little more and seems less like starving for him. Overall it seems to be working, he's down about 5 lbs.Ingredients: I won't bore you with an ingredient list but I recommend you look at it and compare it to other foods, I think you'll be surprised. This stuff is legit.Taste: while I'm not speaking from personal taste experience here, I can definitely say that my doggos love it! I've used various flavors, red meat, light and fit and meadowland and they love all of them. They've never eaten any food like they eat this. in the past we've used taste of the wild, 4health, blue buffalo, Purina pro plan and none of them come even close.It's made in the USA! Down yonder in KentuckyPrice... It's not cheap, but nor is it cheap food if you understand me. Made in the USA with quality ingredients and better nutritional ratios, less carbs. It's fairly priced considering. Many pet food brands will substitute vegetable proteins for animal proteins in order to keep the numbers up and their cost down, by doing so they deprive our K-9 friends of the essential nutrients, amino acids that are only obtained through their diet.Lastly, there's a class action lawsuit claiming dangerous levels of heavy metals in Acana foods. But do your own research. Mine had led me to believe it's a bogus claim, I feel confident enough to feed it to my dogs, whom I love dearly. We recently had a blood panel done on Zeus and everything is fine! This is a company who's never had a recall... Not one.I've attached a picture of my Zeus because dogs are amazing and they brighten just about everyone's day! He's 11 and is doing great by the way.So yeah, it's not cheap, I get criticism from friends and family... The "I've always used cheapo food and my dogs are fine" argument comes out every time. Well my dogs are part of our family and they deserve good food the same as their bipedal siblings.

I really prefer to feed raw but not only is it expensive to feed raw, it's time consuming and just plain difficult to manage at times (especially when camping). This is one of the best dry dog foods available for the cost. I currently have a 5 year old pug and a 1.5 year old blue heeler on this food. They both have nice coats, healthy weight , they are fed 2x a day the within the recommended amount for their weight.This food is only 60% actual animal protein if it were around 85%, I would rate it a 5. My dogs prefer the beef over fish one with 70% animal protein, they will eat fish great the first meal or 2 but after that they aren't impressed. I try to avoid feeding my dogs unhealthy inflammatory oils like canola--read the ingredients, most dry dog foods contain inflammatory oils.My other pug is a 10 year old, he's eats Orijen Senior which is also owned by the same company. Orijen is the only other brand with a grain free option within my budget though it does contain better ingredients, Acana doesn't offer a senior grain free option. Acana also doesn't offer a grain free small breed option.