Orijen Dog food

[Britster]

Every dog is different; what works for one may not work for another. I personally have fed Acana with great luck for the past 6-7 years... not exclusively, we've rotated in between, etc, but Acana has been our 'staple'. I always end up back on it because it's just what he does best on. For example: Fromm is a great brand IMO but has never worked for Jax. We get goopy eyes, weight gain, lackluster coat, softer/bigger poop... doesn't mean that Fromm is a bad food.

On the flip side, Jackson has never had a bad reaction to Purina Beyond dry and canned food and tonight I am staying overnight where I wasn't planning to so had to run to the grocery store and pick up food for him. Beyond works fantastic in a pinch! Years ago I would've never considered feeding a horrific purina product. LoL...

[Farleys]

Originally Posted by Lovetodream88

Vets do not get a kick back that is a huge myth! What we may think is good for our dogs is not necessarily the best that's why I trust vet nutritionist.

I don't choose what I think is best. I go with what other veterinarians believe as well. But just like in human doctors there is a lot of different opinions. Your vet may think Royal canin is okayAnd another doctor may not.
I trust my vet as well. To each his own tho. I trust my vet, you trust yours. ANd vets get discounted food. The food they sell in their clinics, the employees get at a very discounted price. I worked for a vet clinic for many years, still go to the clinic and am still good friends with the owner, and girls who work there. This is still how it works. They get xtra coupons, and cheap food. And I have seen many many many dogs have skin and chronic ear problems on royal canin and science diet. Got off food these foods and ear prolems disappeared. So I also go with what works.

[fauna]

Yes, before I choose the right dog food for my kids I check the label first, and the list ingredient of course and have an AAFCO approval statement. I've learned a lot of things in this site We set the pet first | We Love Animals about the right food and a healthy food for our babies, for me this It's been very useful, thankful about it.

[lovestiny]

here is one thing I can tell you that I am excited about-Ella is now grain free for a few months, on acana, and no longer has any issues with runny eyes or tear stains. Just excited about that added bonus lol

[lovestiny]

Oh and my independently owned pet food store said acana and orijen are two of their highest quality foods with no recalls (and my vet agreed when I asked her, so that felt great knowing all were in agreement).

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by Farleys

I don't choose what I think is best. I go with what other veterinarians believe as well. But just like in human doctors there is a lot of different opinions. Your vet may think Royal canin is okayAnd another doctor may not.
I trust my vet as well. To each his own tho. I trust my vet, you trust yours. ANd vets get discounted food. The food they sell in their clinics, the employees get at a very discounted price. I worked for a vet clinic for many years, still go to the clinic and am still good friends with the owner, and girls who work there. This is still how it works. They get xtra coupons, and cheap food. And I have seen many many many dogs have skin and chronic ear problems on royal canin and science diet. Got off food these foods and ear prolems disappeared. So I also go with what works.

Vets do not get kick backs on pet food. Since we are talking about prescription vet food you should really look at the lives these pet foods has saved. I'm sorry you still believe that myth it makes me sad. My baby girl has IBD and if it weren't for Royal Canin's hypoallergenic food she would be beyond miserable.

[Farleys]

Originally Posted by Lovetodream88

Vets do not get kick backs on pet food. Since we are talking about prescription vet food you should really look at the lives these pet foods has saved. I'm sorry you still believe that myth it makes me sad. My baby girl has IBD and if it weren't for Royal Canin's hypoallergenic food she would be beyond miserable.

What is considered a kick back to you? They do get discount food. Thats not something i think. Its something i know. I worked at a vet clinic for years and bought science diet for years because its so cheap to employees. Its still this way. Dealers and their employees get discounts. Thats why some of my friends from the vet feed it because its such a good deal to them.
There are many different options however. Great that it works for your girl but t definatly wont work for all. Feed trials dont change the fact that some dogs cant handle certain ingredients. . For the average pet without health concerns there are many different better options.

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by Farleys

What is considered a kick back to you? They do get discount food. Thats not something i think. Its something i know. I worked at a vet clinic for years and bought science diet for years because its so cheap to employees. Its still this way. Dealers and their employees get discounts. Thats why some of my friends from the vet feed it because its such a good deal to them.
There are many different options however. Great that it works for your girl but t definatly wont work for all. Feed trials dont change the fact that some dogs cant handle certain ingredients. . For the average pet without health concerns there are many different better options.

They aren't making money on the dog food which is what I mean by kick backs. Your making it sound like your vet sells non prescription food and I personally have no experience with that just prescription food.

[Britster]

The whole "vet making money off food" thing is so exaggerated. I used to believe it too. If anything most vets find it to be a pain to stock the food because it's not like it's flying off the shelves and it takes extra time to do special orders and get it shipped. The RX foods are for the dogs who really need it so they need to have them in stock as an option.

In my non-professional opinion, do a majority of vets support brands like Science Diet, Purina and Royal Canin? Yes. The reason for that could be debated. Those companies do often provide literature and free stuff to vets in school as well as vets offices. Is there a bias? Yeah, likely. But these foods, in general, are studied and proven and aren't going to (likely) kill a dog. They have research to back them up. A vet simply does not have time to research *every* brand of food out there and give an opinion on it. Let's say a vet recommended Taste of the Wild and then a dog gets sick from it and dies. The owner will come in and likely point the finger at the vet for recommending the food. I guess, simply put.... they stick with what "works". Maybe it's not ideal (I'm not a huge fan of a majority of formulas of these 3 brands but I can find at least one formula I would feed -- I've also learned reading ingredients is only a small portion of dog food... how they formulate it, balance it, manufacture it is more important).

I am kind of curious to know why people think it's so terrible for vets to make a kick-back on anything they sell in the first place. Why not? They went to YEARS of school, likely took out student loans galore, and are there to help your pet (I believe a majority of veterinarians are not in it for financial gain -- some? Probably are, but most are probably not). But vets need to make a living too and there is nothing wrong with ensuring you can run a business as well.

My vets office sells The Honest Kitchen in their lobby, a food considered much 'higher end' -- would folks perception change if the food was "better"... or would it STILL be bad for the vet to be making ANY financial gain on this food?

[gracielove]

I think Orijin is manufactured in Canada. They may have different standards. I haven't checked it out lately. So many pet food companies get bought up by larger corporations, change their standards, but keep the same brand name. You have to investigate to know what is going on.

As far as vets go....some are more informed about pet food than others. In the US many veterinary schools get funding and product from large pet food corporations. Then the pet food companies are there in whatever form of practice the vet goes into. Most veterinary offices are given plenty of product, advertising, and samples from pet food companies. I would not call it a kick back but those big pet food corporations are there from the start of a vets education right into every part of their career. Whether or not it influences them is pretty much an individual choice just as advertising on TV may influence some people and not others.

It's not much different in human doctor's offices. Representatives from various drug companies are always trying to influence doctors to use their products with a multitude of perks that can be very inviting and costly. The consumer ends up paying for that expense. I have seen it for years where I work, free lunches and dinners at the best restaurants, tickets to ballgames, free samples, various items with brand names printed on them, the list goes on. Pharmaceuticals cost more in the US than anywhere else. Some states are trying to stop this kind of influence in medical practice but where big money is concerned change comes slowly.

Influence peddling is involved in most big business and veterinary practice is no different. Every vet has to decide for themselves if they are going to be influenced or not.

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by Britster

The whole "vet making money off food" thing is so exaggerated. I used to believe it too. If anything most vets find it to be a pain to stock the food because it's not like it's flying off the shelves and it takes extra time to do special orders and get it shipped. The RX foods are for the dogs who really need it so they need to have them in stock as an option.

In my non-professional opinion, do a majority of vets support brands like Science Diet, Purina and Royal Canin? Yes. The reason for that could be debated. Those companies do often provide literature and free stuff to vets in school as well as vets offices. Is there a bias? Yeah, likely. But these foods, in general, are studied and proven and aren't going to (likely) kill a dog. They have research to back them up. A vet simply does not have time to research *every* brand of food out there and give an opinion on it. Let's say a vet recommended Taste of the Wild and then a dog gets sick from it and dies. The owner will come in and likely point the finger at the vet for recommending the food. I guess, simply put.... they stick with what "works". Maybe it's not ideal (I'm not a huge fan of a majority of formulas of these 3 brands but I can find at least one formula I would feed -- I've also learned reading ingredients is only a small portion of dog food... how they formulate it, balance it, manufacture it is more important).

I am kind of curious to know why people think it's so terrible for vets to make a kick-back on anything they sell in the first place. Why not? They went to YEARS of school, likely took out student loans galore, and are there to help your pet (I believe a majority of veterinarians are not in it for financial gain -- some? Probably are, but most are probably not). But vets need to make a living too and there is nothing wrong with ensuring you can run a business as well.

My vets office sells The Honest Kitchen in their lobby, a food considered much 'higher end' -- would folks perception change if the food was "better"... or would it STILL be bad for the vet to be making ANY financial gain on this food?

That's a great post Britt. I know with Callie's prescription food my vet stocks the normal one but she will only eat the small breed version because she likes small pieces so my vet orders it for us. I notice a lot of time there is dust on some of the bags they have in there. I tried every food type with Callie no joke before the vet said she had IBD and all of them made her throw up and or have diarrhea. The vet said ok this is what she has and these are the foods I recommend you can try them if you would like or not. We talked about the one that would be the best out of the three and I was like ok let's try it. She's been on it for several years and no vommiting or diarrhea unless she snags something she is not suppose to have. She also continues to eat it which is a big thing because normally she would get bored and no eat it. I price checked it too and it's about the same price everywhere. I was in the seminar for my vet assistant class and the one teaching it who is part owner of a vet hospital said vets make a lot less then you think they do and they really do.

[yorkiemini]

Well, as they say, profit is not a dirty word! No business can keep,their doors open without it!! Soooo, vet can sell any food they want at whatever price they want, just like a pet store.

Also, as many of us have learned-- lthough I love my vet, she is not a nutritionist specialist. For that I go to a real dog nutritionist and pay for their expertise just like i pay a vet for their veterinary knowledge. In vet school, most vets don't get a lot of nutrition education.

When I was having trouble getting the right diet for my dog I contacted Dr Remillard @ Pet Diets and after some tests were done she got it nailed in no time. She worked with my vet.

[Farleys]

I could care less if they make money off it . I just thinks its funny how many people try to say they dont. They do make profit from it. They wouldnt sell it if they didnt. But thats how everything works . People sell things to make money. The pet stores who sell acana make profit and get xtra coupons as well. And our vet clinic sells all the prescription food along with regular food since you thought i meant something diff

[RockyDad]

This is the same issue that was raised with physicians getting kick backs from pharmaceutical companies for prescribing their drugs. Docs would get vacations, text books, tickets to events you name it for prescribing their meds. the government stepped in a few years ago and now pharmaceutical companies can't even give away a pen. So obviously the government thought it was bad practice for pharmaceutical companies to give away free stuff to docs in return for them promoting their medications. I would say the same goes for vets. If they're promoting something because they get paid for promoting it they should have to disclose that first. I don't care if the vet promotes a certain food and makes a few extra bucks by doing that, but if I can get a significantly better food for half the price and the vet knew that, then I wouldn't trust that vet anymore.

Originally Posted by Britster

The whole "vet making money off food" thing is so exaggerated. I used to believe it too. If anything most vets find it to be a pain to stock the food because it's not like it's flying off the shelves and it takes extra time to do special orders and get it shipped. The RX foods are for the dogs who really need it so they need to have them in stock as an option.

In my non-professional opinion, do a majority of vets support brands like Science Diet, Purina and Royal Canin? Yes. The reason for that could be debated. Those companies do often provide literature and free stuff to vets in school as well as vets offices. Is there a bias? Yeah, likely. But these foods, in general, are studied and proven and aren't going to (likely) kill a dog. They have research to back them up. A vet simply does not have time to research *every* brand of food out there and give an opinion on it. Let's say a vet recommended Taste of the Wild and then a dog gets sick from it and dies. The owner will come in and likely point the finger at the vet for recommending the food. I guess, simply put.... they stick with what "works". Maybe it's not ideal (I'm not a huge fan of a majority of formulas of these 3 brands but I can find at least one formula I would feed -- I've also learned reading ingredients is only a small portion of dog food... how they formulate it, balance it, manufacture it is more important).

I am kind of curious to know why people think it's so terrible for vets to make a kick-back on anything they sell in the first place. Why not? They went to YEARS of school, likely took out student loans galore, and are there to help your pet (I believe a majority of veterinarians are not in it for financial gain -- some? Probably are, but most are probably not). But vets need to make a living too and there is nothing wrong with ensuring you can run a business as well.

My vets office sells The Honest Kitchen in their lobby, a food considered much 'higher end' -- would folks perception change if the food was "better"... or would it STILL be bad for the vet to be making ANY financial gain on this food?

[Britster]

Originally Posted by RockyDad

This is the same issue that was raised with physicians getting kick backs from pharmaceutical companies for prescribing their drugs. Docs would get vacations, text books, tickets to events you name it for prescribing their meds. the government stepped in a few years ago and now pharmaceutical companies can't even give away a pen. So obviously the government thought it was bad practice for pharmaceutical companies to give away free stuff to docs in return for them promoting their medications. I would say the same goes for vets. If they're promoting something because they get paid for promoting it they should have to disclose that first. I don't care if the vet promotes a certain food and makes a few extra bucks by doing that, but if I can get a significantly better food for half the price and the vet knew that, then I wouldn't trust that vet anymore.

I truly agree. I don't even know how I feel about the commercials aired in the US for human medications -- it's gotten quite ridiculous to watch so many them during my TV shows etc touting miracle drugs listed with 98343822029 side effects. I think they are banned in other countries from doing that.

In a perfect world, the veterinarian field wouldn't be dominated by 3 major companies. But, it is for now and unfortunately they've done the most research. I don't see any better companies trying to make their way into vets offices or fund studies but maybe I'm missing something. Wysong is the only one I've personally seen that formulates RX foods and that I've seen some vets selling.

I go to a vet who is a good blend of modern and "holistic" medicine. I love it. They treat the individual dog. They don't push any particular product. They have a few options in their lobby to purchase treat-wise and a few toys and collars.

Like what I definitely don't agree with: a client bringing their dog to the vet for a wellness check-up, let's say the dog is eating Orijen, and checked out perfectly healthy during exam/bloodwork and vet states that the dog would be better off on Science Diet and to switch. No, I wouldn't put up with that blatant favoritism. If dog is having constant diarrhea, throwing up, etc, and the vet can't seem to find anything else that could be wrong and they maybe recommend one of their RX diets to try... then yes, that's fine. It may very well help the dog. And I don't like when people will continue to watch their dog suffer just to feed the "better" food when ya know what? maybe their dog NEEDS the RX food to be happy and thrive.