Orijen & high-protein diets.....definitely not for us.....

[WSAPBT]

actually high amounts of protien is fine as long as it's QUALITY protein. Orijen is a fantastic feed! but the blame is not on the protien level. when the protien is in kibble form, there is something called protien ash which is hard on the kidneys. a good way to combat this is to put water in tje kibble but that doesn't help the teeth at all. also if your dog is not burning all this protein there is no need to feed it. when its show season the dogs i work with are walking 7-10 miles every other day, running for 45 minutes or more, playing tug weightpulling to get in shape. even then when the dogs need protein many dont go higher than 30%. 42% is for those extremely high strung dogs who will burn it. a feed with quality protien lower than 30% would be a better choice IMO. also the protien can burn out a dogs kidneys of not used, but if the dog has problems with the feed fairly quickly after being switched it may be evident of a kidney problem that was there before hand. i've seen it numerous times. most young dogs can handle the protien w/o dasmage to the kidneys, but if a problem shows up its usually b/c the high amount made it evident. i would take the dog to the vet and have a blood panel done make sure everything is fine. otherwise i recomend a lower protein feed thast is still high quality. im sure your choice will be good, orijen is a top of the line feed, but there are others as well that maybe me more suitable for a small dog who doesn't burn all the protein.

[Crickettsmom]

that if the protien is a high quality meat based protien, it does not effect the kidneys. If the protien is grain based, it could be harmful to the kidneys. I just switched my two to Orijen and they love it. I hope all goes well with it, I really want to feed them a grain free diet as my westie has allergies. None of the grain free that does not have chicken is less than 40% protien except Timberwolf Ocean Blue and Turbo is allergic to something in that food. Hopefully I am not doing something that will later harm them, I love my two babies and try to do the best for them. So far they are doing great on the Orijen and have no visible problems.

[Ladymom]

According to Lady's specialist, the fear of high protein diets damaging the kidneys is outdated. It's actually the high carbohydrate kibbles that are causing so many health problems in dogs and cats today.

Lady is in her seventh year with diabetes. She has been eating a high protein diet for three or four years now, ever since Innova first came out with Evo. Kidney failure is a real common side effect of diabetes especially the longer they are diabetic. Lady just had a geriatric blood panel done a few weeks ago and her vet is amazed that after all this time, her kidney function is still normal.

[Ellie May]

This whole thing is so frustrating. While I see why people would want to feed high protein and have good reason to, I also see people that insist it will cause kidney damage. There are really no studies right now on this subject (maybe on rats which makes no sense). I don't know what to believe anymore.

[genie]

I think that like someone else said....what is good for one dog may not be good for the other...while Orijen is good for some dogs, it wasn't good for Hobbs and Hootie. I want to change my dogs food from Canidae to something else, but I have no idea what to change to. I am thinking about Wellness, but I have been looking at Raw too......

[The Diesel]

Originally Posted by genie

I think that like someone else said....what is good for one dog may not be good for the other...while Orijen is good for some dogs, it wasn't good for Hobbs and Hootie. I want to change my dogs food from Canidae to something else, but I have no idea what to change to. I am thinking about Wellness, but I have been looking at Raw too......

Wellness is a good food. Canidae is one of the best grained food in my opinion. You should alsoo look at Natures Variety, Solid Gold barking at the moon and Merrick. Merrick looks so good, it makes me want to try it myself, look at the web site and you'll see lol.

[genie]

Originally Posted by The Diesel

Wellness is a good food. Canidae is one of the best grained food in my opinion. You should alsoo look at Natures Variety, Solid Gold barking at the moon and Merrick. Merrick looks so good, it makes me want to try it myself, look at the web site and you'll see lol.

I just ordered Wellness puppy and adult food, and Nature variety freeze dried raw chicken. I thought I might feed raw once a day and then Wellness once a day. I will try these...I hope they work...I spend a fortune on shipping... .

They don't seem to like Canidae anymore.....


I guess if they don't like what I ordered then I will try the others you suggested...I wish I had read your reply 10 min ago...

[Ladymom]

Originally Posted by genie

I just ordered Wellness puppy and adult food, and Nature variety freeze dried raw chicken. I thought I might feed raw once a day and then Wellness once a day. I will try these...I hope they work...I spend a fortune on shipping... .

They don't seem to like Canidae anymore.....


I guess if they don't like what I ordered then I will try the others you suggested...I wish I had read your reply 10 min ago...

From what I have read, if you feed raw you have to feed it exclusively, not mix it with prepared foods.

Sorry to tell you that after you just spent so much on shipping!

[The Diesel]

Originally Posted by Ladymom

From what I have read, if you feed raw you have to feed it exclusively, not mix it with prepared foods.

Sorry to tell you that after you just spent so much on shipping!

Iv read that too but every other week i try to feed raw in the mornings and kibble in the evenings, havent had any problems. Then again, every dog is different lol.

[genie]

Originally Posted by Ladymom

From what I have read, if you feed raw you have to feed it exclusively, not mix it with prepared foods.

Sorry to tell you that after you just spent so much on shipping!

Oh no that sucks...I read this on their web site and this is what made me think it was ok.....


Nature’s Variety Chicken Formula Freeze Dried Raw for Dogs and Cats is intended for intermittent or supplemental feeding only. Freeze Dried Raw may be fed as a singular meal or used as a supplement, treat, or training aid. It may also be added to other foods as a palatant. Rotate for variety with our nutritious kibble, canned, and raw diets.

[Yorkieluv]

Originally Posted by genie

Oh no that sucks...I read this on their web site and this is what made me think it was ok.....


Nature’s Variety Chicken Formula Freeze Dried Raw for Dogs and Cats is intended for intermittent or supplemental feeding only. Freeze Dried Raw may be fed as a singular meal or used as a supplement, treat, or training aid. It may also be added to other foods as a palatant. Rotate for variety with our nutritious kibble, canned, and raw diets.

Maybe some of the raw feeders can chime in... I have read conflicting things on this, but basically some of the research suggests that feeding kibble and raw at the same time is bad because kibble takes longer to digest than raw, so if it is fed with raw, the raw may sit in the intestines longer than usual allowing bacteria to sit in there for longer periods of time...

[Ladymom]

Originally Posted by genie

Oh no that sucks...I read this on their web site and this is what made me think it was ok.....


Nature’s Variety Chicken Formula Freeze Dried Raw for Dogs and Cats is intended for intermittent or supplemental feeding only. Freeze Dried Raw may be fed as a singular meal or used as a supplement, treat, or training aid. It may also be added to other foods as a palatant. Rotate for variety with our nutritious kibble, canned, and raw diets.

Maybe because Natures Variety kibble is high protein it's okay to mix it?

I feed Lady their Prairie kibble which is high protein, but not raw. Hopefully some of our raw feeders will see this and respond.

[genie]

Originally Posted by Ladymom

Maybe because Natures Variety kibble is high protein it's okay to mix it?

I feed Lady their Prairie kibble which is high protein, but not raw. Hopefully some of our raw feeders will see this and respond.

I will hold off on feeding it until I know for sure. I would rather waste money than to do something I know nothing about and make my babies sick.

Who would have thought feeding your dog would be so complicated...my family thinks I am insane...they say "just feed them some puppy chow and don't worry about it".

[Yorkieluv]

Originally Posted by Ladymom

Maybe because Natures Variety kibble is high protein it's okay to mix it?

I feed Lady their Prairie kibble which is high protein, but not raw. Hopefully some of our raw feeders will see this and respond.

I think I read something like that too...High quality kibble is better digested so may be okay with raw. But most commercial kibble they sell at grocery stores and Wal-Mart takes longer to digest because it's such low quality protein and food in general and that's why it's bad because it will cause the raw to sit in the intestines longer than usual.
Raw feeders??

[The Diesel]

You can feed raw and kibble at the same time but not together. Meaning, raw for one meal kibble for another, but no raw and kibble together.