Orijen?

[Ashley V]

Does any one feed their dogs this?

So today - There is a pet store... one that sells puppies. I know where those puppies come from, but I go in there from time to time just to see the puppies. There was one today that looked like he may be a Westie and he looked so unhealthy... anyways, they sell these poor puppies, yet they were shoving this premium food in my face and googling the dog food I feed Chip and Smokey now. The conversation started with the lady asking what dog food I feed, so I told her we give them nature's recipe. She comes around the corner with a small couple pound bag of Orijen and tells me that she'll give me that to try as a sample. I tell her Chip has allergies and is doing well on the food he's on now, even though I know it's not the absolute best, but it's not horrible. She asks what he's allergic to and I told her that I wasn't sure, but he's doing well on the fish flavor that we have him on now, so she goes and gets the bag of fish flavored one. The other girl at the register started googling my brand of food and was telling me about every little detail that's wrong with it. Once again I know Nature's Recipe isn't the greatest food, but Chip's allergies are fine with it and Smokey will eat it. They've been on it for over 3 years now and it works. I thought it was ironic that a pet store, that sells puppy mill puppies cares so much about nutrition. I took the dog food, but thought I'd ask others opinions before trying it.

They did say that because Orijen is a better food that dogs tend to poop less, which is intriguing for me! They also said they eat less of the food because it is higher in nutritional value... of course I trust about 0% of what they say, so I wanted to see what other YTers have to say with their experiences. I just don't know if it's worth it... Chip and Smokey are doing well with what they have now, plus Chip has allergies and an extremely sensitive stomach. Smokey is picky and he is extremely slender (hard to believe at 15 lbs), so I'm afraid of him losing any little bit of weight.

So I guess my questions are - How good is it in terms of nutrition? How about dogs with allergies or picky dogs? Does it really make them poop less? Do they eat less?

[Maximo]

Orijen is high in protein/calories compared to most kibbles, so yes, dogs require less of it. Higher protein, grain free diets result in smaller poops. Some dogs may eliminate less frequently when on this kind of diet. Not all.

Orijen will not likely cause weight loss unless you are switching from an even higher protein/fat diet.

Orijen is generally regarded as having some of the highest nutritional standards of any kibble on the market. If you are concerned about allergies or sensitivity, check the detailed ingredient list.

I have fed Orijen as a treat to my boys, but I found that it wasn't the right food for either of them. Every dog is different.

[UrbanYorkie]

Maximo is correct with regards to the Orijen's nutritional value. I used to feed my babies, Royal Canin, but switched to Orijen. They seem to be doing well with it, but then again, it all depends on your little one. Everydog is different.

On the topic of the store selling puppies; is there a way you can make a complain to authoroties? I am from Canada and not sure how it works in your city.

Once I went to an independent pet store and bee lined right to the dog window as I saw a cute little Yorkie. You don't know how much I wanted to buy him and rescue him. But then again, buying from pet stores encourages them to sell even more puppies. So after playing a bit with that cute little pup, I went away sadly.

[FlDebra]

I feed a premium food and my pups do have tiny little poops that are nice and easy to clean up (tootsie rolls). They also eat less than if they were eating a food with fillers. So those items were correct.

But -- I would not buy anything from a pet store that sells puppies. Just don't give them any of your money. Money they can buy more pups with!

I would not feed Nature's Recipe. Sorry. I think Orijen is a great food! It is high in meat and grain free. It is a bit high in protein at 38% so some dogs may not do well on it. But if they do -- it is one very high quality food!

For instance your dog food does not say what percent of fish it has, but it is not allowed to be called Fish -- it has to say Fish meal as that is the ONLY fishy ingredient it has. Whereas Orijen has 80% fish in the ingredients: you will see: Fresh boneless salmon*, salmon meal, herring meal, fresh boneless herring*, fresh boneless walleye*, russet potato, sweet potato, peas, salmon oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), fresh boneless lake whitefish*, sun-cured alfalfa, fresh boneless flounder*, fresh boneless northern pike*, pea fiber, organic kelp, pumpkin, carrots, spinach, turnip greens, apples, cranberries, blueberries, licorice root, angelica root, fenugreek, marigold flowers, sweet fennel, peppermint leaf, chamomile, dandelion, summer savory, rosemary, vitamin A, vitamin D3, vitamin E, niacin, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, calcium pantothenate, etc.......

But, I started my dachshund out on Alpo years ago when I thought that was just fine. I didn't even realize there were all these premium foods not sold in the grocery store. I learned differently and did switch her to premium foods but it was late in her life -- she lived to be 17 1/2 years old. So, I don't think the poor quality food really hurt her. Still, if I had it to do over, I would have given her premium food from the get go. I tell you about her so that if you do decide to stick with Nature's Recipe because your two are doing well on it, then you shouldn't feel guilty about it. I would be nervous about switching when my dogs finally were doing well on a food after having allergy troubles too.

[Britster]

I would 100000% recommend Orijen over Natures Recipe. Orijen and Acana are pretty much the best of the best when it comes to dog food right now in our market. Check out their website Champion Petfoods | Home

With that said, I don't think Natures Recipe is a 'bad' food ingredient-wise but apparently it contains menadione that is very bad.

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=menadione
http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/choosi...e-in-dog-food/

[faith5]

o great i just put my dog on natures recipe b/c she wasn't doing good on merrick and they don't sell champion foods around where i live so now what?

[FlDebra]

I can't find many premium food at all around where I live either. I wind up ordering everything online. Petfooddirect is a good company to deal with. I get coupon codes in my email all the time that helps a lot. I can usually at least save the cost of shipping with coupon codes.

[e_gar]

I feed Orijen, super happy I made the switch several months back!

[kdhawks]

I feed Orijen as well. We switched about 6 months ago and Levi has been doing well. He eats Orijen Adult (the primarily chicken-based one), but we've also tried samples of 6 Fish. He definitely eats less (1/8 cup, 2-3 times a day, and he weighs 5.5 pounds) than his previous food (Blue Buffalo, 1/4 cup 2-3 times a day), but he is also a little piggie and would eat anything I ever put in his bowl. I had to monitor for the first month or so to find the feeding amount that would keep his weight stable. Number of poops per day pretty much stayed the same (usually 2).

I am pleased with Orijen and I'd definitely recommend at least giving it a try. Doesn't work for every dog, but it has been working for Levi.

[faith5]

would orijen be ok inconjunction with a raw diet ever other day or would this food be enough?

[DvlshAngel985]

Originally Posted by e_gar

I feed Orijen, super happy I made the switch several months back!

Me too! Kaji lost some weight with Orijen and I'm super happy about that.

I use to feed a different food, which I considered was good food but it wasn't grain free. Kaji would get about 3/4 cups a day and was a slender 7 lbs (his ideal weight) and now eats less than 1/2 cup of Orijen for the day. Nothing is added to his food (wet food, etc) just the 1/2 cup of Orijen. He's doing well on it.

[DvlshAngel985]

Originally Posted by faith5

would orijen be ok inconjunction with a raw diet ever other day or would this food be enough?

Some people do that. Ask Britster, I think she does a combination of raw and kibble sometimes.

[Britster]

Originally Posted by faith5

would orijen be ok inconjunction with a raw diet ever other day or would this food be enough?

Originally Posted by DvlshAngel985

Some people do that. Ask Britster, I think she does a combination of raw and kibble sometimes.

I feed pre-made raw a few times a week. Either Primal or Stella & Chewy's. He usually gets it for breakfast about 3x a week, and then Orijen kibble mixed w/ wet for dinner. The main reason I don't feed raw all the time is cost and convenience. I'm back and forth from 2 houses a lot and kibble is just easier, because I often forget to thaw it out in the fridge overnight, or I don't wanna travel w/ it, etc.

But lots of people do raw for breakfast and kibble for dinner, or vice versa.

[faith5]

sounds good thanks

[Ashley V]

Originally Posted by DvlshAngel985

Me too! Kaji lost some weight with Orijen and I'm super happy about that.

I use to feed a different food, which I considered was good food but it wasn't grain free. Kaji would get about 3/4 cups a day and was a slender 7 lbs (his ideal weight) and now eats less than 1/2 cup of Orijen for the day. Nothing is added to his food (wet food, etc) just the 1/2 cup of Orijen. He's doing well on it.

How much weight did Kaji lose? That's what I'm concerned about with Smokey. He's 15 lbs, but he is an extremely slender 15 lbs... ideal size for his body, but on the verge of being underweight and I definitely don't want him to lose anything. Chip is okay. He's an ideal weight too, but if he lost a little, it wouldn't hurt him.