Confused with ACANA puppy and junior feeding instructions

[Poppythepuppy]

Good Morning

I have recently settled on Acana Dog food for my slightly fussy puppy (after trialling lots of other foods from dry to raw which she turned her nose up at). She now seems interested and enjoys her food. She has always gained weight, is happy and very active and has regular, fully formed movements BUT never finishes her meal.

Which brings me to my question. Why are there two different (vastly different) sets of feeding recommendations on the side of a packet of acana? For example the printed manufacturers recommendation for a 4month old puppy, weighing 5KG is for a small medium dog is 120g per day but the importers stuck on label says she should have 270g per day.

Surely a Canadian dog doesn't need less than half the food than a British dog? I could of maybe even understood if the uk had the lower amount due the lack of an extreme winter....

Working on the theory that its better to overfeed a growing puppy than to starve one I have been following the importers recommendations but as she never manages to finish I am now starting to question this. I have previously had Springers and they have never left a scrap of food My new dog is a cockerpoo, surely the spaniel tendencies cant have been diluted that much.....

Does anyone know the reason for such a massive discrepancy in the feeding instructions?

[juice09]

Looking at their feeding guide on the website 270g is the correct amount. Possibly it was a misprint on the bag and the label was added to correct that? Best thing would be to ask them directly either via Facebook or email 

[Poppythepuppy]

Hi

I did look on their website as well but that adds to the confusion. There are two websites - one run by the Manufacturer with .com and another run by their UK agent with co.uk

Again the advice is contrasting. so who do you email - the manufacturer or the importer/agent. The cynic in me cant help but wonder if there isn't a vested interest from the agent in doubling the requirement..... one could argue the manufacturer has the same interest....... Who do you trust?

[Poppythepuppy]

Hi just to clarify further, a companies house check links:

acanapetfoods.co.uk to Bern Pet Foods who are the distributor for the UK & Ireland.

acana.com to Champion Petfoods the manufacturer of ACANA and ORIJEN pet food.

I have no reason to question the validity of the advice from the two companies but still wonder why there is two vastly different recommendations. I have now emailed both in an effort to clarify the situation and will post their replies.

[juice09]

That's odd...... And very interesting because as you say each site quotes different amounts. I would contact acana directly,  I found orijen in Canada very quick to reply and it's all champion pet foods :-)

[Dottie]

I don't know the answer to your question about the discrepancy but I tend not to take much notice of the recommended daily allowances as I find most of them way over the top.  Some companies are now stating on their packets that it is a very rough guide only.  For my adult dogs I find that 1% to 1.5% of body weight is in the right region although for raw it would be higher with a starting point of 2% of body weight.  You mention the figure of 270g and to me that seems an awful lot for a 5kg dog.   To me the 120g figure sounds  more sensible but as he is a puppy a bit more seems sensible.   Sometimes dogs don't need quite so much of these high quality foods.  Other than that, as has been said, contact the company and see what they say.  If you do this, please would you let us know the outcome?

[juice09]

I've just compared the feeding amounts for orijen on the UK website, the Canadian website and the Bern pet foods site and they all match the bag so it's seems the discrepancy is only with acana. If however you look at th e feeding guide for puppy/junior and compare it with the one for small breed  it gives a different amount for your dog as it goes on expected adult weight

[Poppythepuppy]

Hi Dotty

I must admit it seems an insurmountable amount of food for her She is actually 3.1kg at the mo so I'm giving her 190g spread over 3 meals.

1.5% body weight doesn't seem a lot to me though ie 47g per day on a 3.1kg puppy? Do you double that for puppy's?

I will definitely post any reply I get.

Neil

[Dottie]

190g spread over three meals sounds OK to me but you need to be guided by puppy.  By this I mean he should be ready for his meals and clear the bowl without a struggle.  Poo should be formed and firm.  It's probably best to stick on the same amount for a little while then increase by 10% (or decrease) if necessary.  Be guided by your puppy's appetite and condition. 

You seem to feel that puppy needs more because of the life stage he is at but puppy foods have higher protein and fat levels - that is the basic difference between them and adult varieties.  You should therefore not be too concerned about quantity - it is quality that matters and Acana does seem to offer this.   Another method of checking if you have got the amounts right is body condition scoring and there are plenty of videos on YouTube which describe how to do this.  It's useful to know in the long term management.  The PetPlan one is here.

Although puppies at this age are very active, remember that they also need rest as they are growing quickly and it's often advised to protect the joints. They should be allowed to play of course, but in short sessions.  The Kennel Club advice on exercise is here.

[gnasher]

I had a similar query with Acana Puppy and Junior and received a very helpful and prompt reply from Bern Pet Food Ltd.
The packaging on the 18kg sack was incorrect and the web site info was correct.

Alfie was less than pleased with his new rations....