Acana VS Orijen Dog Food – Which Is Better?

If you've been a pet owner for a relatively long period of time now and you haven't just stepped foot into this beautiful world, then there's a very strong chance that you've heard about Acana and Orijen dog food before.

You've even possibly tried feeding your dog a bag of either before, which is only normal considering the fact that Acana and Orijen dog food are two of the most recommended dog food brands out there on the market today.

And, as a responsible dog owner, this is exactly what you should be doing with your dog, feeding them only the highest quality dog food that money can buy.

Our List Of The Top 5 Acana Dog Food Formulas

Top Pick: Acana Heritage Meats Dog Food
Pick #2: Acana Heritage Free Run Poultry Dry Dog Food
Pick #3: Acana Regionals Grasslands for Dogs
Pick #4: Acana Singles Duck and Pear Dog Food
Pick #5: Acana Heritage Freshwater Fish Dog Food

*Note: The links in the table above, as well as several links in the remainder of the article below, will take you to over to Amazon.com where you can find out more information about the products, such as current prices and customer reviews.

Our List Of The Top 5 Orijen Dog Food Formulas

Top Pick: Orijen Adult Dog Food
Pick #2: Orijen Adult Dog Food (15 lb)
pick #3: Orijen Regional Red Dog
Pick #4: Orijen 6 Fish
Pick #5: Orijen 6 Fish Grain-Free Formula Dry Dog Food

Acana VS Orijen Dog Food - Which Should I Be Feeding My Dog?

Whether you've previously heard that Acana dog food is better than Orijen and are considering going down that route, have heard that Orijen dog food is better than Acana, or even yet really considering to mix up your dog's diet and have them eat half their dog food from an Acana formula and the other half from an Orijen formula, this article aims to be "the lowdown" on Acana VS Orijen dog food and discuss the strong & weak points of each brand and its formulas.

At the end of the day, Acana and Orijen dog food are both made by the same company, but there are different pros and cons associated with going with either brand, which we will discuss in more details below.

Pros Of Feeding Your Dog Orijen Dog Food VS Acana

The following list discusses some of the most important nutritional benefits that you'll be giving your dog if you decide to feed them an Orijen dog food formula.

Higher Protein Levels: When it comes to high protein levels and quality, Orijen dog food formulas are really hard to beat, and this is one of the main reasons they charge higher pricetags on their formulas than other brands.

If your dog doesn't need as much protein, though (and that's a really big IF), you can go with Acana instead.

We say that's a big IF because rare are the cases when dogs don't need a high protein diet based around high protein dog food, such as cases of kidney failure for example.

In the wild and when not domesticated, a dog's diet is a high protein one 99% of the times, and there's no reason to go about changing that if there isn't a health problem that dictates changing it, since that's a diet on which dogs thrive in life.

Often times when checking the ingredients list of an Orijen dog food formula, you'll find that the first 5 spots on that list are dominated by animal meat, while if you check the ingredients list of an Acana dog food formula you'll likely find that only the first 2 or 3 spots on that list are dominated by animal meat and a carbohydrate source comes afterwards.

Generally speaking, Orijen dog food is known to contain anywhere between 5% to 10% higher protein levels than Acana dog food.

Less Carbohydrate Levels: Again, and this ties hand in hand with the relatively higher pricetag associated with Orijen dog food when compared to Acana dog food, Orijen dog food has less carbohydrate content than Acana, which explains why Acana is (as of this writing) the less priced option between the two.

Generally speaking, Orijen dog food is known to contain anywhere between 5% to 8% less carbohydrate levels than Acana dog food.

Different Protein Sources: Orijen dog food is so rich in protein quantity and quality that in a single formula of theirs you often get multiple sources of animal protein your dog can eat and benefit from, often times up to 5 different animal protein sources.

So, Orijen is able to offer your dog this wide variety of different protein sources in one single formula, while Acana often offers no more than 3 different animal protein sources in one single formula.

Higher Percentage Of Fresh Meat: This one comes right from the source itself, ladies and gentlemen.

On Orijen's website, they explain that Orijen contains a significantly higher percentage of fresh meat when compared to Acana dog food, where Orijen's food is made up of "2/3 fresh meats" and Acana dog food is made up of "1/2 fresh meats".

Pros Of Feeding Your Dog Acana Dog Food VS Orijen

Now that we've discussed the benefits of feeding your dog Orijen dog food, it's time to discuss some of the most important nutritional benefits that you'll be giving your dog if you decide to feed them an Acana dog food formula.

Wider Formula Variety: One of the weak points that dog owners consider the Orijen dog food brand to have is that it offers a somewhat limited formula variety, where you don't have many formulas to choose from depending on specific needs your dog may have.

Acana dog food, on the other hand, has a much wider variety of different formulas for you to choose from.

More Affordable: Between Acana and Orijen dog food, Acana formulas are known to be more affordable options than Orijen ones.

So, if cost is a major criterion for you to consider with your dog's food, you may be better off with Acana until you can start to afford upgrading to the higher cost Orijen.

(Note: Of course, dog food prices change all the time due to many different reasons and circumstances, so it's always your responsibility to check current prices of both brands and their formulas and compare whether this price difference is still true or has changed at the time you check.)

Common Pros Of Feeding Your Dog Acana And Orijen Dog Food

Now that we've discussed the different pros associated with feeding your dog either Acana dog food or Orijen dog food, let's have a look at some of the most common nutritional advantages that formulas of both these dog food brands share.

High Quality Carbohydrates: One of the best nutritional advantages your dog will be getting regardless of whether you choose to feed them an Orijen dog food formula or an Acana dog food formula is very high quality carbohydrates.

While many other dog food manufacturers opt to include low quality carbohydrates in their ingredients list which are often referred to as "useless filler" because they offer little to no nutritional value for dogs and are just there to get the overall cost of production down, Acana and Orijen dog food formulas contain no such useless filler carbohydrates.

Instead, Acana and Orijen dog food formulas contain high quality, complex carbohydrate sources such as potato, rice and lentils, as well as a mix of different fruits and vegetables depending on which formula you go with.

This type of carbohydrates is exactly what you want to be feeding your dog.

Biologically Appropriate: If you've ever taken a look at any Orijen dog food formula and an Acana dog food formula and compared the two, you'll more than likely have noticed that both are said to be biologically appropriate.

Basically, with their "biologically appropriate" ideology, Orijen and Acana dog food manufacturers want to mimic with their formulas what dogs and cats are used to eating in the wild, so your pet's entire diet stays as natural as possible.

Now, how much of this is actually true in practice and not just theory is something that we can discuss in another article on its own, not to mention that it would require many tests to come up with a reliable conclusion.

However, the takeaway point here is that both Acana and Orijen dog food formulas are labeled as "biologically appropriate" by their manufacturer, so you're not missing out on this potential benefit if you were to go with either over the other.

Wrapping Up The Orijen VS Acana Battle

So, to wrap up this whole Orijen VS Acana dog food battle, here are our last thoughts about the two brands and how they come up against one another.

If you can afford supplying your dog with Orijen dog food on a consistent basis and won't have to revert back and forth between different brands due to money shortage on a random basis, then Orijen is definitely the way to go from a nutritional standpoint.

Higher protein count, more animal meat sources in every formula, less carbohydrate count and a higher percentage of fresh meat all mean that you can't really go wrong with choosing Orijen over Acana.

However, we understand that not everyone has the cash to splash on one of the most premium dog food brands out there, and that costs can definitely add up really fast, especially for those who have to buy dog food for multiple dogs they have at home and not just one.

If price is an issue for you and you're willing to compensate a little bit on nutritional quality in favor of saving a few bucks here and there on dog food, or if your dog just doesn't need that much protein in their food and they can meet their nutritional requirements with dog food that's a little less in protein count and a little more in carbohydrate count, then Acana is definitely the best option for you.

Make no mistake about it though, even though Acana is a more affordable option than Orijen (usually, again it's up to you to check out the state of current prices), this does not take anything away from it's quality, and it remains a much more nutritious option for your dog to eat than many of the other brands out there on the market today within its price range.