Hi all!
We had switched our two babes (gradually) to Grandma Lucys back in September to help both of them get back down to a healthy weight recommended by our holistic vet...which they have achieved through better nutrition and more exercise (yay!)- now we are wanting to start mixing in Acana along with it so they have something new, and to help keep our overall costs down. Our boy is about 9 and the female is estimated to be about 11 (they're both rescues). I'd love any advice or recommendations from anyone who has experience with this- on how to integrate the Acana, as well as a good amount to feed so they maintain their current weight. (They're currently on two dry cups of GL per day). TIA!

Hmmmm, well I have a semi picky gsd pup, and a super picky husky, and I have many times fed half of their allotment one flavor and the other half another flavor, but kept within the same brand. With that said, if they have hardy tummies, I do not see why you couldn't go that route. From reading Acana's and Grandma's website looks like you are feeding at the 40 pound range, seniors and/or lower activity...if so I would start out 1 cup each, if you can feed one cup of one am and one cup of the other pm, and adjust as needed. according to what you are feeding Grandma's compared to Acana, the Acana is a little lower in Kcal, but they recommend 1 2/3 cups, and Grandma it's 2 cups recommended, to keep it closer to Grandma's I would start the 1 cup to 1 cup, if not maintaining weight, then lower the Acana to 3/4 cup. If I remember correctly, your vet recommended the Grandma's? It has higher fiber, which may be needed for your seniors, so if you need to lower amount of food I would lower the Acana. Hope that all makes sense and helps, let me know.....

Yes the GL was vet recommended. They're not picky eaters with anything added to GL...they love it! That being said, our older girl seems to be straining a bit after adding the Acana- would this be something she would get used to, or do we need to lessen the amount of Acana even more?

You could try a tablespoon of pure can pumpkin, it is a stool firmer, but also a laxative, since there is fiber in it, to one meal a day, or try 1.5 cups grandma and 1/2 cup Acana, mix the Acana with 1/2 grandma's if you feed 2 meals. so with 2 meals....one meal 1 cup GL, and the second half and half....seems like you are feeding 1 meal, so if so 1.5 cups GL and .5 cup Acana, or keep it the same 1 for 1 and add 1-2 tablespoons of can pure pumpkin. Sometimes you just have to play around with the mix so they are right for each individual dog, they are all different just like us humans. Like I said the Acana does not have as much fiber in it, and she may need that extra fiber, compared to your other husky.

I have watched this thread with interest, due to Zhukov's food dilemma. Don't mean to hijack the thread, but for how long do you feed the pumpkin? Zhukov LOVES the pumpkin in his food.

We're split feeding- 2xs per day. We used to do one meal before we switched to GL but the 2 meals work better for them now. I'll definitely try adding the pumpkin- I've seen that mentioned a few other times on threads. I'll report back when we have some results. Thank you again!

Huskylyfe, please do update, and you are welcome!!

Mark, you can feed pumpkin as an every day thing. With puppies I think it can go two ways, one as they age their stomachs mature and can handle variety. Two, sometimes it's a matter of finding the right food for a puppy. Gsd's and huskies are both common breed of dogs with stomach issues. I have both. So I have gone through a ton of trial and error with my two, and of course they are not the same when it comes to food. haha. Sofie my gsd, can't handle chicken that is in kibble, nor can she handle high fat and protein levels. Once I found the right combinations her poops are solid, she is 7 months, so I will eventually reintroduce her to a higher protein. Miya can not handle any grains, excluding rice, nor food dyes. Feeding her grain free high protein, high fat has given her solid poops. So if you want to feed pumpkin everyday and once he is over 7 or 8 months try going without it is fine. Pumpkin will not harm them at all, my thing is the added cost. FYI, you can freeze pumpkin, so you can use it frozen.

Hope all that helps guys!! It is difficult at times to keep ones sanity with our dogs.

Thanks! With all the dogs I have had over the years, I have never had a feeding issue at all. I never even knew that dogs could have sensitive stomachs, I mean, they can eat their own poop! Well, daddy always said, "The day you quit learnin' is the day you die."