Home / Dog Food / Reviews / Acana
Acana · Freeze Dried Food Free Run Duck Recipe Morsels · Freeze-dried food · All life stages, except growth of large size dogs
On the facts printed on its own label, Acana Freeze Dried Food Free Run Duck Recipe Morsels scores 90 out of 100 on our rubric: top of the range we have scored. The panel opens with Duck with ground bone, and the first ingredient signal earns 20 of its 20 points. At 44% crude protein it ranks 4 of the 68 Acana recipes we scored for protein. Crude fat reads 23%.
At 67 kcal a cup it is light per cup, which suits dogs that feel short changed on small portions, though big dogs will go through the bag faster. Its adequacy claim rests on formulation: balanced on paper against the AAFCO nutrient profiles rather than fed to dogs in a trial. Our November 2026 check of FDA records found no posted dog food recall events for Acana.
The panel runs to 21 ingredient lines. 6 of them are animal source lines and 6 are plant lines. The vitamin and mineral pack begins around line 18; the 4 lines from there on are mostly supplements, preservatives and functional extras rather than staple foods.
Panel for panel, this is the same recipe as Freeze Dried Patties Free Run Duck, sold as Freeze-dried food: the ingredient lines match. What actually differs is the life stage it is written for (All life stages, except growth of large size dogs here) and the calorie line. Between the two, choose on format and on the size of dog in front of you, not on the ingredient list, because the lists are the same list.
| Maker | Champion Petfoods |
|---|---|
| Format | Freeze-dried food |
| Life stage | All life stages, except growth of large size dogs |
| Full ingredient list, in label order |
|
| Guaranteed analysis | Crude protein (min) 44% · crude fat (min) 23% · crude fiber (max) 5% · moisture (max) 5% |
| Dry matter reading | With the water taken out, the same analysis reads 46.3% protein and 24.2% fat. Dry matter is how wet and dry foods can be compared fairly. |
| Calories | 3,950 kcal/kg, 67 kcal/cup, as labeled |
| AAFCO adequacy | is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for All Life Stages, except for growth of large size dogs (70 lb or more as an adult). |
| Price | Not listed. We publish a price only when we have verified it from a dated listing, and we had not for this recipe when the label was read. |
| Signal | Points | What the label shows |
|---|---|---|
| First ingredient | 20 / 20 | Duck with ground bone, a named whole animal protein, opens the panel. |
| Animal protein depth, first 10 ingredients | 15 / 15 | 6 of the first ten ingredients are named animal ingredients. |
| Protein level for the life stage | 15 / 15 | Crude protein reads 44% as labeled, read against the all life stages, except growth of large size dogs stage the label claims. |
| Fat level fit | 3 / 10 | Crude fat reads 23% as labeled. |
| Whole foods versus filler-flagged ingredients | 10 / 10 | None of the rubric's flagged ingredients appears in the first ten. |
| Artificial colors and preservatives | 10 / 10 | No artificial colors, color-retention chemicals or artificial preservatives appear in the panel. |
| AAFCO adequacy basis | 7 / 10 | Formulated to meet AAFCO profiles for all life stages, except growth of large size dogs, so it sits in the stated-stage band rather than the full all-life-stages band. |
| FDA recall history | 10 / 10 | No FDA posted dog food recall events for this brand were found in our November 2026 check. |
| Price tier | Not scored | Not scored in this round. We publish a price only when we have verified it from a dated listing. |
| Total | 90 / 100 | Scaled from 90 of 100 available points. Stars are the score divided by 20, rounded to the nearest half. The method is published in full on the dog food hub. |
Definitions below are written from AAFCO's ingredient definitions in our own words. They describe what an ingredient is, never what a brand claims about it. Names that appear in our ingredient dictionary link to it; the dictionary counts how many scored recipes carry each ingredient.
No FDA posted dog food recall events for this brand were found in our November 2026 check of FDA recall records. That is a statement about what we could verify, not proof of a perfect history.
See the full dog food recall tracker for recent events across all brands.
| Recipe | Score / 100 | Protein | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highest Protein Grasslands | 100 | 35% | Dry food |
| Highest Protein Ranchlands | 100 | 35% | Dry food |
| Highest Protein Wild Prairie | 100 | 35% | Dry food |
| Puppy Large Breed | 100 | 33% | Dry food |
| Adult Dog | 97 | 29% | Dry food |
| Adult Large Breed | 97 | 31% | Dry food |
| Adult Small Breed | 97 | 31% | Dry food |
| Butcher's Favorites Farm Raised Beef and Liver | 97 | 36% | Dry food |
| Butcher's Favorites Free Run Poultry and Liver | 97 | 36% | Dry food |
| Butcher's Favorites Wild Caught Salmon | 97 | 36% | Dry food |
| Classics Red Meat | 97 | 27% | Dry food |
| Healthy Grains Duck with Pumpkin | 97 | 27% | Dry food |
Those are the twelve highest scoring of the 67 other Acana recipes we scored. The full comparison, flagship review included, is on the Acana brand review.
Switch foods gradually over about a week, mixing more of the new food into the old each day. Portion by calories, not by the look of the bowl: our feeding calculator works out a daily amount from your dog's weight, and this recipe's calorie line above is the number it needs.
What that means at the bowl, for a typical neutered adult (resting energy 70 times body weight to the power 0.75, times 1.6; treats come out of the same budget):
| Dog's weight | Daily energy | Of this recipe, at 67 kcal a cup |
|---|---|---|
| 3 kg | about 255 kcal | about 3.8 cups |
| 10 kg | about 630 kcal | about 9.4 cups |
| 20 kg | about 1,059 kcal | about 15.8 cups |
| 30 kg | about 1,436 kcal | about 21.4 cups |
Puppies, pregnant dogs and very active dogs need more; older and weight watching dogs need less. The calculator linked above adjusts for those cases.
It scores 90 out of 100 on our published label rubric. The panel opens with Duck with ground bone, and the score table on this page shows every signal, its points and the label fact behind it. Crude protein is guaranteed at 44 percent.
The maker's page we read does not publish an AAFCO adequacy statement for this recipe, so we do not claim a life stage fit for it. Check the bag's own statement before feeding it to a puppy.
The label gives 3,950 kcal per kilogram and 67 kcal per cup. Portion by calories rather than by the look of the bowl.
Our November 2026 check of FDA recall records found no posted dog food recall events for Acana. That is what we could verify, not proof of a perfect history.
No grain line appears anywhere in its published ingredient list, so it is a grain free recipe. Its carbohydrate comes from ingredients such as the legumes and roots in the panel above.
Work from calories, not cup habits: a typical neutered adult needs about 70 times body weight to the power 0.75, times 1.6, in kcal a day, and treats come out of the same budget. The feeding section on this page turns that into amounts of this recipe by weight, and our feeding calculator adjusts it for puppies, seniors and weight loss.
Scores follow the rubric published on the dog food hub. This review is general information about a product label, not veterinary advice, and it is not a feeding trial: we score what a buyer can verify from the label and the public record.
Last updated: November 2026. Checked against the sources named on this page.