Sorry to hear that the new formula caused some distress for Pepper (I checked out your blog!). So far, we have had no issues reported from our customers, although we have read about some problems online. Since potato was added to the formula to replace the removed rice, there could be transitional issues, or even long term effects if your dog has a potato allergy or intolerance. Fortunately, there are a lot of other great foods out there that will likely fill your need. If you think potato may be a problem, check out Darford’s Zero/G formulas – they are grain and potato free. The starch comes from buckwheat (not a cereal grain, but actually a fruit seed) and lentils. They are also a Canadian company, although the food is manufactured in the US.

As for informing retailers, we received a couple of communications from both Champion pet foods and our distributor regarding both the upcoming changes and the new additions to the line. Having said that, they were not very complete in information so we did some extra digging to find out what was going on. Also, Champion’s website was not updated to reflect any changes until a couple of months after their introduction. In your store’s case, the information may not have been passed on by the distributor, not Champion directly. Also, chain stores do not tend to do a very good job of informing their customers of what’s going on in the industry due to many factors. If you haven’t yet, find yourself a great, knowledgeable, independent retailer who will help you with your every need and get to know you and your puppy .

Thanks for dropping by and taking the time to let us know your experiences, we love to get any feedback.

Happy Easter to you and Pepper!

This is exactly how bad her stools became when we transitioned her from Purina Beneful Puppy Growth to Acana Large Breed Puppy. So the message here is that the two formulas of Acana Large Breed Puppy are VERY different and that you NEED to transition your pup as if you were changing brands (especially if they have sensitive stomachs like our labrador). The fact that Acana didn’t mention anything to either pet store we visited makes me unimpressed with Champion Foods. I may actually change her to another brand when she is an adult…

Sorry to hear that your dogs aren’t doing well on the reformulated Acana. Hopefully, things have improved by now. So far, we haven’t had any customers come in to the store with any issues. Champion conducted both stool and palatability trials, both resulting with no issues.

I will be updating the posting with more information on the new formulas shortly. From speaking with the folks at Champion, I can say that the changes have mostly been made to enable more regional ingredients to be used. I would be surprised if any changes were to satisfy the requirements of other countries as Champion products already ship to over 50 markets, including much stricter countries in Europe.

It has taken Jessica, the photographer, a little longer than she had planned to get all the photos sorted and touched up (mainly due to the overwhelming response for the event – yay!). The last update I had from Pawsitive Match said that she was planning on having them up on Saturday.

Glad you enjoyed the event – we were really pleased with how it went off and the number of people who came out. We’ll be doing it again next year for sure.