Have had loads of issues, but just 1 quick question - have been switching my 4.5 month old onto Orijen for a week now. His poos look miles better, his urine PH (which was high) has now come down to normal, but I have 2 problems.

1. He seems much quieter. Some might say this is a good thing! He's not lethargic, he's still fine on walks etc, but he's def sleeping more.

2. He's drinking excessively. All medical concerns re excess urinating/drinking have been ruled out with UAs and blood tests as he's had ongoing peeing issues, but I've def noticed an increase in thirst since introducing the Orijen.

Having googled this it seems fairly common. I emailed Orijen who said this isn't uncommon and due to the dehydrated nature of the food, but the amounts he's drinking are way too much.

Has anyone had this problem and switched to Acana and found it better? It's such a shame as his coat and everything is miles better in just 1 week, but he's def drinking more. Also noticed he's shaking his head and scratching ears more - again, vet said his ears are fine, so wondering if it's the food causing this?

I noticed that the sodium in the Orijen puppy is 0.4 whereas in the Acana Wild Prairie and Pacifica it's 0.2, so I'm wondering if this would solve the issues?

My alternative choice would be TOTW, but again, not sure if ok for a pup this young?

Any thoughts?

Thanks

How old is he? His more calm demeanor can be age related...
Have you physically measured out how much water he is actually drinking? (measure how much goes in the bowl at the beginning of the day and measure what is left at the end of the day?)

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I completely switched my 15 week old puppy to Acana Grain Free Grasslands ALS from Fromms Lamb & Rice Puppy about 2 weeks ago and I have not seen any difference in the amount of water drinking or demeanor. He's also getting some Acana Ranchlands.

I have a 4.5 year old who gets home cooked and either Orijins or Acana since he was a puppy and I have not any difference.

A puppy at 4.5 months does settle down a little bit though so that is what you might be seeing.

I agree with LibertyMe though to monitor his drinking etc. Each dog is different.

Hi,

It's difficult as we have 3 dogs and 3 cats, all of whom drink from the same water bowl. However, the others don't drink very much at all, I'm adding around3/4 to a pint of water to his meals (was trying to flush out struvites), and best guess I'd estimate he's drinking about another 2 1/2 pints, so prob around 3.5/4 pints per day, which vet said is about double what he'd expect on dry food.

I think I'll try the Acana, as the 2 varieties are half the sodium. Some of the other varieties seem to have higher levels, or the levels of sodium are ok but the calcium is over 2%.

Thanks

I have fed both of those foods and really didn't see any difference in water intake. If you haven't take a close look at whatever other foods,if any, he is getting, training treats like some cheeses and hotdogs have a good amount of salt. I switched from Orijen (Regional Red) to Acana Ranchlands, due to changes in the Orijen formula, and have found it has worked as well as the Orijen, for my dogs.
Head shaking and ear scratching have always been the first sign of 'trouble' in my golden with food sensitivities, so it is possible that something in the new food is causing problems.

Hi,

Thanks. Yes, I did wonder about the head shaking and ear scratching being an allergic reaction type thing. Not sure what he could be allergic to though, unless it can develop? The food he was on previously had chicken, so don't think it can be that as, although he's always scratched a bit (more since the food change to Orijen) that almost seemed like a stress relieving mechanism he had.....

Am I right in thinking lamb and fish are less likely to caujse a reaction? I've ordered samples of all the Acana foods and also a sample of the Fish4Dogs food as well.

Thanks
Karen

I switched Ryley onto Acana Ranchlands (grain free) and Acana Pacifica (also grain free) about 3 months ago. We determined that he had developed a chicken alergy so we went to two types of food that contain no chicken whatsoever.

Needless to say he is doing wonderful. We feed him 2 cups of Ranchlands (beef, bison, lamb) and 1 cup of Pacifica (fish) per day. Because of the high caloric count of the Acana foods we went from 5 cups per day of his previous dog food to 3 cups. I am now spending 40% less on dog food. His poops are much smaller now, much firmer, and much darker and dryer.

He is also allergy free now. His coat has also improved significantly and he sheds less too. I haven't noticed that he drinks any more water while on Acana.

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Don't know if there is any truth to this, but I have read that the manufacturer often puts more salt/sodium in high protein formulas to make the dogs thirstier and drink more water. The extra water is healthier because the liver has to work so much harder processing dry high protein kibble.

I,too, would suggest trying the Acana with less sodium. As far as the head and ear scratching, see if it continues on the Acana. If it does, the vitamin pre-mix, processing chemicals or botanicals might be the culprit; and maybe another brand might work better.

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thanks everyone. I'll see how he goes on with the Acana. For those who've experienced allergies, if he was/wasn't allergic how soon would I expect to see a reaction, or settling down of the scratching etc? I'm pretty sure it is an allergy thing actually, as he's today started biting round his bum and also a bit on his back feet. Can't actually see anything yet, but I guess this has only been going on for a few days.

Ryley's Dad, how old is Ryley? I notice they don't put puppy feeding guides on the Acana, so was unsure how much to feed him.

Would you guys still mix in gradually, or try to get him off the Orijen more quickly if it's causing problems?

Thanks
Karen

Im currently using Go Natural for my 2 dogs. But will be switching to Acana Puppy Large breed in a months time. Hope you continue your inputs