You beat me to it! I just came on here to ask this question, hehe

 

I haven't heard a word on this, but you might PM danemama and ask her as I'm not sure she'll venture over to the kibble section.

 

this one needs more investigation. If ANY credibility can be attributed to these claims and the high protein levels damaging kidneys....I'd think Orijen or EVO would be ahead of Acana. Those foods are higher in protein.

Sounds fishy.

Not to mention IF high protein was such an issue...hell, most of the forum members out here who feed RAW would have dozens of dying dogs.

 

I agree.

I searched the Maltese forum for stories of dogs with problems eating Acana. Found one case in which the owner had both her dogs in the hospital on the same day for kidney problems. Her vet blamed the problem on 6 weeks worth of eating "high protein" Acana. A couple of other posters indicated that their dogs had elevated kidney test values after eating Acana. One member mentioned Evo.

I find it odd that Acana would be singled out when Orijen and other higher-protein diets are popular among this Maltese forum's members. A Canadian poster wrote that Acana is "unpopular" in her area, implying that there is something wrong with it.

A breeder in the Yorkie forum insisted that anything over 26% protein for toy dogs is dangerous. Yet, she adds ground beef and fish to her dogs' Natural Balance kibble.

The more I read, the more I think I will end up feeding raw by the end of the year. :tongue:

 

Unless you take the water out of both types of food you are comparing apples to oranges. Max's raw meals are about 50% protein by dry weight, just about what is in those high powered kibbles.

I suspect the dogs are badly dehydrated so the BUN goes up. That alone makes for an extremely ill animal. I think it is wrong to feed food that is only 10% water to animals long term and I am sorry my dogs ate that way for so long. I would think it would be even harder for a tiny dog to take enough water than my medium sized dogs.

Some breeds of dogs are prone to certain diseases the occur more often than in the general dog population. Perhaps kidney disease is a common threat to Maltese dogs. If so feeding a wet food that is just at the proper level of phosphorus would be a reasonable precaution. Most premium kibbles do have levels in excess of what is needed by 2006 NRC standards. AAFCO doesn't use those standards, they use a far older standard, the one from 1974. Even the 1986 NRC standards are much higher than the newest one. Sort of scary.

 

Dehydration does sound like the problem. It has been my concern with my Yorkie eating Acana. He strains too hard to eliminate and his coat is drying out. Things improved with the addition of wet food, but not enough. He was drinking less water with Acana than he did on Fromm. I switched him to his former kibble yesterday and will keep him on that until I decide what to do next.

 

I do notice that my dog drinks about 2 to 3 times more water on the days that he gets Acana compared to the days that I give him canned Salmon mixed with green beans...

Why is that you think ?

 

Canned salmon has lots of water in it! 70 % water.
Kibble has 10% water in it.