Champion Pet Foods Review and Sale to Mars Inc / Carna 4 / Essence / Orijen / Acana / Lotus Dog Food 

I started feeding my dog Orijen and Acana over 15 years ago with good success. Now I have learned so much more about dog food because the times have changed. I so wanted to feed my dogs Carna4, I tried a couple of different recipes but my dogs just didn’t tolerate it well. (The bags are still here because it was so expensive I haven’t tossed it out yet lol). But now I’m on a journey to learn how to prepare gently cooked or raw dog food. I’m taking my time and learning from experts because my dogs health is most important. Thank you for this information

For essence what do you mean adding hole foods? I do tend to add carrots or blue berries often and I try to throw in a can of sardines a couple weeks.

Thank you. I've been digging into this issue for a few years and come to the same conclusions. Kibble in all cases is a compromise, for better and worse. Orijen has always been a cut above, but it's still a kibble. Raw feeding is not always practicable. Moreover, one of my dogs doesn't do well at all on raw. So I've run the gamut and switch now between Dr. Harvey's dehydrated with added raw meat, and a Carna4/Orijen mix. Still, my main objection to the kibble is how it dries out the dog's insides. The amount of water the dog drinks while on kibble as compared to the rehydrated Harvey's mix is ridiculous. I wasn't aware of Essence, so thanks for that.

Carna4 is the only kibble I am comfortable feeding my dog. I like it because it has no synthetics, which is more than what most premade fresh dog food can say. I rotate the Carna4 in with Dr. Harvey's Raw Vibrance. I love Raw Vibrance because it is synthetic free, and has amazing, human-grade ingredients. I only have to add in the meat and oil. Thank you for the great info!

Switching to Carna 4, for sure! Thanks for making these comparisons and making recommendations. Tons of people are scrambling after the Champion sellout

I just discovered you and like this video very much. I have been feeding Orijen to my Bullmastiff and was very disappointed in the sale of Champion Foods. I cannot afford Carna4. I have just switched to Farmina. Would you please review that company; and their kibble? I would like to know whether I have made a good choice. Thanks.

I purchased an Instant Pot and made my first batch of food for my Frenchie with ground turkey, string beans, broccoli, sweet potato, pumpkin, beef liver and brown rice. I’m ending my patronage to Acana as well and today I received my first bag of Carna4 and Flora4. My Frenchie looks great and has no issues, but he’s 6 and a half and wanted to give him a better diet. I tried Orijen when he was a puppy and what the breeder was feeding, but that gave him the runs. Acana was better for him. Nice video. Thank you.

I’ve been feeding essence for a few years to my bull terrier. Shes loves it especially the fish formula. Although our most recent bag of ranch meadow didn’t sit well with her for 2 weeks lots of diareah and weakness. Now her stool is kinda orange and greasy witch concerns me bc we never had an issuer before

Thank you for making this video. I recently bought Orijen kibble because I thought it was one of the best brands and I’m disappointed that I might be paying the same price for less quality food. I would love it if you could do reviews of other brands too like instinct, the honest kitchen or Nutrisource!

Hello , I’m giving my dog Carna4 and I would like to know your opinion about Dr Harvey’s Food , thanks

I have an aging, 13 year old french/english mix bulldog. Recently developed GI sensitivity (has been on origen nearly all his life). Vet is pushing Royal Canin GI, i just dont think it is a nutritional, long-term solution. I don’t believe Essence kibble has a GI solution, but just a good feed that keeps my dogs stool softer than the rocklike stool, followed by diarrhea … I’m researching the Essence seafood. Do you have a suggestion?

Great video, very detailed! Not sure if you have a video on fresh food feeding for beginners.

Carna4 has been our go to since learning about all the junk in most dog food (kibbles). Very happy with this product! Our pup is 8 months old so happy we did this research early and I thank you for everything you do!

Thank you for the recommendation and detailing out what can be the alternative in cases where fresh or raw food is not possible. I am from India 🇮🇳 and I was feeding my dog Origin in his puppy age. But after I came to know about the class action lawsuit filed in 2018 against them I stopped buying it. I'd like know what is your opinion for Farmina N&D (Italy)? I have seen many pet nutritionist suggest Farmina N&D when pet owners are looking for best kibble diet. Unfortunately Carna4 isn't available here in India.

Great work on finding kibble choice.what is your pick on Hunan grade fresh food such 24:37 as

Thanks for doing this! I’ve been feeding my dogs Acana the majority of their lives & am beyond disappointed by the sale to Mars Inc & am looking for a new kibble to switch to. I’ll look into Essence & Carna4.

What essence product is large breed puppy friendly??

Have you heard of Canine Caviar? It seems to be nutient dense so the recommended feeding amount is 1/2 of what other brands recommend.

My dogs have been fed orijen regional red 85 for years. I know about the buy out. Was holding out hope it would still be okay. Newest bag came and I swear the other bags where always vacuumed sealed? These bags where not and something changed. Quality of meat? Formula? My pups don’t care for it now. I’m hoping someone will read this. I’m looking at zignature or honest kitchen any thoughts

I see now Orijen has Vitamen supplement in the ingredients. Is that a change?

We just ordered a small bag of carna4 for our new labish dog :) I would like yo feed him 80% dry and 20% fresh foods like meat, kefir, fresh fruit/veg. Thoughts?

I have used Orijen for years and will now switch to Carna4. However, what meat addition can I add/alternate to make up for the lack of meat in Carna4??

This is a great video for alot new animal owners. We fed our English Bull Terriers Essence for a while and saw great results but it did get hard to find. We switched our dogs to a homemade raw diet about 8 months ago and saw immediate results.

My vet recommended we put our 9 year old Siberian Husky on a Senior dog food. Trying to figure out if any of these would be good for that.

Since I went back to school, I can no longer afford to feed my pets as well as I used to. The best solution I found was to feed kibble but also prepare a little fresh food for the week in my instant pot for the other portion of their diet. It’s a lot cheaper than buying canned food and less chance of contaminants like BPA.

Great video! I wonder what you think about Nature's Logic, the Distinction line? They also don't use any synthetics however there are meat meals in them

we are switched our 12 month old shih tzu when we got her around 9 months, but she is picky eater, we love to keep her on carna4 fish easy chew because I also did my own research about this brand, but I need recommendation on how to get her eat good or maybe mix some food topper? what do you recommend? thank you.

How is the palatability of Carna4 and Essence compared do Origen/Acana ?

What is your feeling about NutraSource? Thank you. I loved your video.

I heard open farm is a great one too very small brand their website shows a lot of information for their ingredients and they basically have the same mindset as carna4 I’d recommend open farm pet food for what I know it’s just as great maybe better 👀

I was interested in Essence but they don't have a Puppy formula. 😞

What are your thoughts on Farmina?

😢 I have a cat and don’t know what to feed him with. In my country Ukraine Origen is the most expensive and I’ve been observing discounts up to 45%. Maybe because the new policy of Mars.

Have you heard of bixbi? From what I'm seeing it looks great too.

is the raw food in the pet stores (petco petsmart ) ok to feed ?

I been feeding my girl Acana wholesome grain with free run poultry. I did alot of research and even went to a doggy dietician when my girl was a puppy and Acana seemed like a good choice but now I am slowly switching my girl to stella and chewy wild red raw with grain prarie. Kibble is only part of what I feed her but this whole Mars situation has convinced me to dump Acana

Have you heard of bixbi? I’ve been trying it the claims sound good but could just be good advertising.

How do you feel about Farmina?

Carna4 is definitely in a class by themselves; however, they are out of stock a lot. This is frustrating. My dogs thrive on Carna4 when it's available.

@ABalancedCanine I heard you covered your thoughts on Open farm dog food on your instagram. Can you post a link to that video? I tried looking for it but can’t find it? I was thinking about starting my dog on open farm but would love to see your thoughts on it! 😊

My boy has some kind of sensitivity problem. I refuse to treat this with a pharmaceutical. Tried holistic vet and no advise worked which led me to a regular vet that put him on a Royal Canin alergy food. His itching became less but after 6 months was not improved. I decided to stop the H P and my pet store recommended CARNA4. I chose the Venison as I had originally tried raw in many of the other proteins. He does not scratch more on it then theH P and it is a much better food. We are still working on his problem but I feel good about the CARNA4 Venison.

Just got my first bag of Carne4 and started making the switch from Orijen! Super excited, because my boy seems to really like it already, he was never thrilled with Orijen for whatever reason. I have been able to find the Carna4 pound bag for 142 with AutoShip from a company called White Dog Bone (I think lol).

Hi, great information. Will you be addressing cat nutrition ? I use Orjen, Fromm, First Mate

Will you check into Badlands Ranch dog food please and tell about it?

Can puppies eat Carna4? I’ve been feeding Open Farm because they have a puppy version. Maybe I’ll transition to Carna4 after she turns 1. For context she’s a 4 month JRT adopted from the shelter and they had been feeding her purina/hill for her first 3 months🤮

Do we have evidence that Champion quality has materially suffered from the Mars purchase? I understand how bad Mars's products are, but it could be that their management of Champion is hands-off.

What are your thoughts on just food for dogs?

Great video

Could you do a video on the best raw diet? This info is great, thank you!

What is your opinion on Natures Logic?

Very informative video. Thank you

I feed my 5month puppy Carna4 with fresh food topper. He loves it.

I have 2 lg high drive working gsds…the cost of Carna4 is insane…I feed 75% raw…tried Carna4…stools had rounded shapes…🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️. Skipped them.

Look at Visionary,,,sweeeet food

Blessings and wow more disturbing news, I hear Carna 4 is a great dog, but I use Canidae salmon and sweet potatoes for my dogo she seems to be doing pretty good and some fresh fruits and food sometimes also, will look into Essence thank you much for the info, Is canidae a Good kibble God Bless

How about OPEN FARMS NEW RAWMIX

What is your opinion on Merrick?

What about honest kitchen clusters?

How about Natures Logic it’s all natural no synthetic additives

What about dr Marty’s? Any thoughts?

This is very helpful! I am struggling with deciding what to feed my dogs. They are 12 years old and have been on kibble all their lives. The vast majority they were on a grain free diet and both have heart issues. Correlation does not equal causation but it I am weary of grain free. I thought I was doing great with Raw Coated Merrick dog food because it was so much more expensive. I found out they were owned by Mars and now I am looking for something else. My vet recommends Purina Pro and that really screams red flag. Raw/fresh food isn't an option for me but I do add toppers. I need to balance cost per meal and quality. I really need to learn how to understand cost per meal to compare.

I looked up the ingredient list of the Carna 4 Vension. I do not understand the high price of this food when it is only 29% protein, has all of these fillers: ground organic sprouted barley seed, ground fava beans, ground organic sprouted lentils, ground organic sprouted peas, potato starch. Beans, lentils and peas all boost the protein content. I do not believe the ingredients of this food can justify the high price tag. Do you receive an incentive promoting this brand?

I used Orijen/Acana for over 10 years, in combination with a home cooked diet. I will no longer buy their foods. I returned a remaining bag of Acana out of protest, and because one of my dogs would not touch it. Your term 'sell out' is well chosen. The sale to Mars is a betrayal of their founding prniciples, and their customers. I hope they experience a serious backlash. Re your recommendations--I will not pay $160. for a 22 lb bag of kibble. There are many overpriced kibbles out there now--Ziwi Peak, and Some Farmina options come to mind. At those prices I can likely feed raw for the same price, if not less. Actually, I am now starting my 2 Kuvasz on 'Big Country' Raw'. It would cost close to the same amount to feed Carna4. I will be doing a 50/50 raw/dry food diet with some home cooked as well. I have a very picky 18 month old female who would not eat any of the Champion kibble with any enthusiasm. I just today stated them on 'First Mate High Performance' formula. The picky female seems to like it which is a pretty big deal. That First Mate formula does have grains, but it is 83% protein from animal sources. They also have grains free formulas. Their food is certified under EU standards. Their rep was very forthcoming in answering all of my questions. I have NO brand loyalty at this point--I will do my research and choose accordingly. I can completely relate to your story about some companies being less than forth coming. I contacted 'Petcurean' about their 'Go Carnivore' kibble. The rep would not or could not tell me what percentage of their fish ingredients are farmed vs wild caught. And also could not tell me what percentage of the formula consists of tapioca.These are things a company should willingly devulge. There food receives very positive user reviews so I may revisit it at some point as an option, but I was not impressed by their customer service. I was checking it out because my picky eater enthusiastically ate 4 sample packs. Preferably I would like to put my dogs on raw/home cooked exclusively, but it is a pricey option for large dogs. Thanks for a very well presented, and informative video.

the recent sale has convinced me to stick to raw and Carna4

Carna4 is by far the best kibble on the planet.

Hi! Thank you for your observe video. My Pomeranian was on Origen for almost 8 years. Then I tried to switch on Open Farm freeze dried food. After a couple of weeks she started shedding like crazy and lost a lot of her fur volume (never happened before). I was scared and returned her on Origen. The shedding stopped in a couple of weeks. Then I was concerned about this selling to Mars. So almost 3 weeks ago I switched her on Carna4 (venison). And she started shedding a lot again :((( My 1 year old Maltese has a flimsy stool with more yellowish color on Carna4. Should I just wait longer or maybe change from venison to Turkey kibble? Tried to give them raw grass fed beef ground as a treat first, they both started to have greenish stool (never had it before). Im so confused.

I am cutting all dry food. Used Orijen,,,walked away. but Open Farm is a great company…and Farmina is another…

So bad that it's not around global!

Love this info! Just as an fyi: using ear buds that bell noise is really, really loud.

I just switched my cat to Carna4

Stella & Chewys

No!!!! This is bad!! What is everyone switching to now!?

not a fan of the marrs company