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Five years ago, we were contemplating changing our primary dog food and decided to conduct a videoed taste test. Amazingly, the video has been viewed over 21,000 times. With that test, we chose Acana from Champion Pet Foods.
For a while, we bought the food from a locally owned pet supply store, but the store went out of business. We were introduced to Chewy.com and have loved the service from them ever since. For example, just last fall they shipped us replacement food after a bear stole our food off of the front porch. We didn’t even ask because we didn’t consider it their fault. They read our blog post and contacted Hu-Dad.
As many of you already know, Chewy was recently acquired by Petsmart. A lot of people, including us, were worried that service would suffer under PetSmart. So far, though, our service has continued to be excellent and the customer service team has been very responsive.
Unfortunately, Champion Pet Foods announced that they would no longer sell Acana – or their sister food Orijen – through Chewy (Fromm made the same announcement). No reason was given other than the acquisition by PetSmart. They did not point to a quality issue, a warehousing issue, a customer service issue, or anything else. They just said they would not sell through Chewy.
Frankly, that hit us wrong. Chewy has always provided great customer service. If their service had slipped, that would be an understandable decision, but it seemed to have no such cause. We worried that if we found another supplier that Champion could just as easily stop selling through them “just because.”
So we were stuck. Do we stick with a great food we have used for five years? Or do we find a new food provided by a great delivery company that has taken care of us for several years?
We had long heard of a high-quality food, Annamaet. After exploring the ingredients and the company reputation, we decided they sounded at least as good as Acana. And, importantly, they were being sold through Chewy. So we decided, once again, the dogs should decide what we feed.
Our Film Friday this week is a portion of the taste test we have been conducting all week. We have been mixing the two foods for several meals and then started serving each food in a separate bowl to each dog. Which food was preferred? You can see the answer in our video.
NOTE – For clarity, we have no business relationship with any of the companies mentioned in this post other than as customers. We have received no compensation from any of them. The products tested in the video were purchased at retail prices.
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Do you guys still feed annamaet?
No, that was back quite a ways.
Hi guys! I’m new to husky world. Our previous dog was always on Orijen for 15 years and never had any health problems, however now my vet is strongly against grain free. After a ton of research I haven’t moved our 15 month old off. I do like that Annamaet has both options. Would you mind sharing what you went to and why you took them off of it?
PS…your herd is just adorable!
OH…I was just taking a look at some of your dogs! Our Mika also came from a rescue in TN! She was tied to a tree for a year, got pregnant and then gave birth to still borns…all tied to the tree! That’s when police grabbed her. She’s the most incredible trusting loving dog I’ve ever seen…and even with that terrible beginning!
The answer usually surprises people and even gets a few angry comments, but we feed Purina Pro Plan (Sport for the younger ones and Bright Minds for the older).
The decision wasn’t made lightly. We consulted with a number of professional mushers as well as top level show exhibitors with nationally ranked dogs and listened to them. We sat down with our vet’s nutritionist and reviewed what we had learned. Once we really opened our minds to the science behind dog diets, the answer became clear for us.
The best news is that the dogs are thriving on the food. Coats are shiny and healthy, fecal output is minimal and well-formed, and, most importantly, health results have been solid.
We respect that others have different opinions (do we ever hear from those who disagree!), but that’s what we’ve decided to do and are confident in our decision.
Thank you so much for responding! Purina Pro Plan is one that I’m repeatedly hearing within working dogs and husky communities! The Focus variety for sensitive stomachs was actually the one my vet highly recommended to start with for my little girl.
I’m looking forward to following you guys! Happy Friday!
Hate to hear Petsmart bought Chewey. There goes the customer service ????
I had 2 huskies over the last 25 years and annamaet was their choice. Annamaet would ship direct to us. My current pom husky mix has been eating fromme purchased thru Chewie and I’m now looking for a comparable small breed food that will still be available through chewie. They are a great company and I want to keep supporting them. I truly enjoy your blog and insights. Thank you
Boom boom was eating like it was stolen! lol
Boom Boom is enthusiastic about everything.
I saw Acana on Heartypet.com. Their ingredients look better than Annamaet’s.
Good choice–we love Chewy.com. Hope Champion Pet Foods sees the results of their choice in their bottom line and reconsiders.
Out of curiosity, have you done the same test with the order of the bowls reversed? Seems that they finish the first bowl that they hit. 🙂 Glad to see his highness eat with such enthusiasm regardless. Wish I could say the same for my wannabe princess.
Yes, we reversed it in the tests. No effect. For filming, we did it the same side for easy viewing.
Qannik and Kiska came in from the side, but the other four came in from the back, so neither bowl was closer.
You all are the most adorable eaters ????????????
Mom sez: I don’t think either Acana or Annamaet are available in Canada, but we’ve found First Mate to be the most popular with all the Siberians we’ve had since the one kennel we were buying our dog food from years and years ago closed and moved. They carried Iams, and our first Siberian (Kiah) was raised on that. After that, we switched to First Mate, and have had good luck with all our Sibes since then. (Ayla, Ice, and now Ebby). First Mate comes in several “flavours”, but we’ve had good results with their “Chicken and Blueberry”.
Acana (Champion Pet Foods) is headquartered in Canada, so we know they are available. Based on recommendations we received from Canadians, we would assume they also have access to Annamaet.
Thanks for the info, Kirk, will have to check into that. Sometimes products that are available in Eastern Canada AREN’T available on the west coast. I’d HEARD of Acana, but don’t recall ever seeing it out west. The Annamaet, I’d never heard of.