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Dog Food Insiders Rating
5 PAWS
You can find detailed information aboutChampion Petfoods, manufacturer of Acana, inour main review of Acana. There you will also find information about how the food is made, recalls, and their quality control. These shorter reviews are designed to cover other foods produced by the same company, using the same philosophy. These smaller reviews provide some information about the main ingredients and any ingredients that stand out, as well as the guaranteed analysis, and any special concerns about each food.
Ingredients In Acana Adult Small Breed Dog Food
Chicken meal steel-cut oats, deboned chicken, whole potato, pea , chicken fat, whole egg, deboned flounder, sun-cured alfalfa, chicken liver, herring oil, pea fiber, whole apples, whole pears, sweet potato, pumpkin, butternut squash, parsnips, carrots, spinach, cranberries, blueberries, kelp, chicory root, juniper berries, angelica root, marigold flowers, sweet fennel, peppermint leaf, lavender, Vitamin A supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, niacin, riboflavin, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement, zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, selenium yeast, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product
Although the web site does a good job of making the dog food sound wonderful, you will notice if you look at the ingredient list that this food doesn’t actually contain any organic ingredients. You might feel morally superior if you buy dog food made from cage-free chicken, but nutritionally the chickens are very much like other chickens.
Top 5 Ingredients Breakdown
Acana Adult Small Breed Dog Foodcontains four meat/fish proteins: chicken meal, deboned chicken, and farther down the ingredient list, deboned flounder and chicken liver. These are all good sources of animal/fish protein for your dog.
Chicken meal is a concentrated form of chicken that has had the moisture removed so it contains several times the usual amount of protein.
Steel-cut oats are a low-glycemic grain and digest more slowly in your dog’s system. Oats are a good source of dietary fiber, Thiamin, Magnesium and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Manganese.
Deboned chicken still has the moisture in the chicken so it has the chicken’s normal amount of protein. These chicken sources of protein are also good sources of Vitamin B6 and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Niacin and Selenium.
Whole potatoes are also a good dietary fiber though they are about 92 percent carbohydrates. They are a good source of Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Potassium and Manganese.
You can see peas and pea fiber listed in the ingredients and these ingredients are somewhat controversial since dog food companies are adding them to foods in place of corn today. Peas have protein value between 23-27 percent, depending on the kind of peas used. They are a good source of Vitamin A, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Phosphorus and Copper, and a very good source of dietary fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Thiamin and Manganese. Pea fiber contains cellulose (provides structure and strength to the cell walls of plants) and is used as a thickener and emulsifier in foods. Many dogs can eat these ingredients without any problem but some dogs can’t. Eating peas and especially pea fiber can cause some dogs to have diarrhea, flatulence, and other gastrointestinal issues. These ingredients have been added to other animal feeds and there is some research that suggests other animals have problems digesting them, too. So, it’s possible your dog can eat food that contains these ingredients without any trouble, but you should watch for any signs of diarrhea or other issues.
Additional Ingredients Of Interest
Flounder is a good source of Vitamin B6 and Magnesium, and a very good source of Protein, Vitamin B12, Phosphorus and Selenium. Chicken liver – any kind of animal liver – is a good source of vitamin A and other vitamins and minerals.
The food also contains whole egg to round out the protein content. Eggs are a good source of protein for dogs, as long as your dog isn’t allergic to them. Eggs are one of the top seven allergens for dogs who have food allergies. According to the company the food is made up of 60 percent protein sources. Presumably this is weight before cooking. They say the food has been passed “fit for human consumption” – before processing; and that the ingredients are preservative-free.
The food has several sources of carbohydrates and fiber: steel-cut oats, whole potatoes, sun-cured alfalfa, and a long list of vegetables – whole apples, whole pears, sweet potato, pumpkin, butternut squash, parsnips, carrots, and spinach. Champion emphasizes that the food contains 20 percent fruits and vegetables. Again, this is probably weight before cooking. According to the company their carbs are low-glycemic and the food is low in carbs (you can see the guaranteed analysis below).
Alfalfa is a good source of protein, Vitamin A, Niacin and Calcium, and a very good source of dietary fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Folate, Pantothenic Acid, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Zinc, Copper and Manganese. The food has two named fat sources: chicken fat and herring oil. Chicken fat is a good named fat source that is especially high in omega-6 fatty acid. Herring oil isn’t particularly nutritious but it contains an enormous amount of omega-3 fatty acid which is good for your dog’s skin and coat, among other things. The food also contains kelp, which is a good source of iodine as well as other trace minerals. And it contains chicory root which is a good prebiotic – a non-digestible food ingredient that stimulates the growth or digestion of healthy bacteria in the gut. The food also contains a number of botanicals which may or may not benefit your dog’s health. And the food includes a dried fermentation product to aid digestion. Finally, the food includes addedvitamins and chelated minerals. Chelated minerals (“proteinated”) are minerals that have been bonded to amino acids so they are easier to digest and absorb. When chelated minerals are used, the company can use less of them and they are less likely to interfere with each other.
Guaranteed Analysis
- Crude protein (min.) …..32%
- Crude fat (min.) …..19%
- Crude fiber (max.) …..4%
- Moisture (max.) …..10%
- Calcium (min.) …..1.7 %
- Phosphorus (min.) …..1.1%
- Calcium: Phosphorus Ratio …..1.5:1
- Omega-6 (min.) …..2.5%
- LA (min.) …..2.3%
- Omega 3 (min.) …..0.9%
- EPA (min.) …..0.4%
- DHA (min.) …..0.4%
- Omega 6:Omega 3 ratio …..2.8:1
- Glucosamine (min.) …..1400 mg/kg
- Chondroitin sulfate (min.) …..900 mg/kg
Metabolic Energy for ACANA Adult Small Breed is 3676 kcal/kg (441 kcal per 250 ml cup):This food contains 418 calories per 8 ounce cup.
ACANA Adult Small Breed is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for all life stages.
By dry matter basis, this food contains 35.6 percent protein, 21.1 percent fat, 4.4 percent fiber, and 27 percent carbohydrates. These figures look like they would be good for most dogs.
Summary
ACANA Adult Small Breed (one of Acana’s Classic line of foods), contains good meat and fish protein, a good named fat, good sources of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, and a moderate amount of carbohydrates. The only ingredients which might cause problems for some dogs are the peas and pea fiber. The only thing I found puzzling about the description of the food was why there was no mention at all of why this food was good for a small breed dog or how it was different in any way from Acana’s other adult dog foods.
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