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Anybody feed Orijen ???

My 2 Cavaliers were on EaglePack Holistic but last night I went to the Petstore and saw a new food they carry Orijen. Does anybody feed Orijen? I am interested to hear what you say about this food. I might be switching...
 
Our not quite 4 month old is on a diet of 1/2 orijen and 1/2 innova. Her breeder had her on this and she seems to thrive on it. In AM I give her a little cooked yam mixed in.

Heather R
 
I'm sure this doesn't really help, but I just switched my 2 cats to Orijen. I bought a sample pack for $2.50 to make sure they liked it before I bought a big bag because geez, it is expensive! I paid $45 for a 15 lb bag. I think that Orijen is a very high quality food, and if my dogs ate kibble I would probably have them on Orijen.
 
I've used it. It's a good quality food but pricy -- I prefer to stick with James Wellbeloved or Royal Canin and homecooked food here. :)

$45 for 15kg is chap compared to what it costs in Europe -- we have to pay for the shipping I suppose. If anyone over here is interested in it, it is available through www.zooplus.ie (or add your country's domain)
 
$45 for 15kg is chap compared to what it costs in Europe

Actually it was $45.00 for 15 pounds, not kilograms...I think 15 pounds is equivalent to about 6.8kg, right? I wish it was $45.00 for 15 kg because I think that would be 33 pounds! :)
 
I currently feed Orijen. Faith is on the regular and Kosmo is on the 6 fish (at vet's reccomendation) due to allergies.

I cannot say enough about Orijen. I absolutely LOVE the food and am totally happy with everything. I don't plan on switching - Faith was on recalled food before it was recalled so I am VERY fussy about the food I will feed. I like that Orijen is manufactured at its own facility, it's ethoxyquin free, all ingredients are Canadian, etc. :)

One thing I would caution though is to be careful if you switch to it - it is very calorically dense and if not watched carefully, some dogs can get fat! :eek: It happened to me, but I was able to reduce the amount I feed by a bit and maintain :)
 
I wish it was $45.00 for 15 kg because I think that would be 33 pounds!

Ooops you are right! That would be an extra special bargain! But we still pay quite a bit more than that at 15lbs... still a good deal in my book!

Orijen is also very high in protein -- something to consider for those who follow the school of thought that high protein levels add to hyperactivity and sometimes training and behaviour issues. I don't know if there's any truth to that -- never seen it myself -- but some feel strongly about it.
 
OK, I switched from EaglePack to Orijen little by little. Last night was the first night I mixed the food with a little Orijen. My maltese eats the same food as my 2 Cavaliers. He is potty pad trained. When I woke up this morning I noticed, there was a little bloody/pink thing in his Poop. I then checked my Cavaliers Poop and it is the same. They all have booldy/pink watery stuff in their poop. Their poop is hard but I am a little concerned.
 
I've been feeding mine Orijen adult for about 7 months now and I love it. It seems like when I originally switched them, there were a few days of runny poops...but never again. Now their poops are perfectly formed, regular, and really easy to pick up! I love the food. Because it is so high in protein, however, I would not feed it to an an oldie again.
 
My old girl, Precious, passed a few months ago, and toward the end she went through kidney failure. I'm not sure if it had anything to do with the high protein, but I think as they get older it's too difficult to process. I switched her back to a regular food too late I think. But, then again, I don't know if that would have helped her live any longer or not.
 
My old girl, Precious, passed a few months ago, and toward the end she went through kidney failure. I'm not sure if it had anything to do with the high protein, but I think as they get older it's too difficult to process.

I'm sorry about your loss!

This is taken from the Orijen website:

Q: DOES HIGHER PROTEIN STRESS THE KIDNEYS? A: NO. There is no study in science to show a higher protein diet has any negative effect on the kidneys of dogs or cats. In fact, scientific studies show quite the opposite; dogs with poor kidney functions or dogs that had only one kidney showed improved health on higher protein diets.
 
I'm sorry about your loss!

This is taken from the Orijen website:

Q: DOES HIGHER PROTEIN STRESS THE KIDNEYS? A: NO. There is no study in science to show a higher protein diet has any negative effect on the kidneys of dogs or cats. In fact, scientific studies show quite the opposite; dogs with poor kidney functions or dogs that had only one kidney showed improved health on higher protein diets.

Interesting. I've never heard that before. Dudley, the Cav we lost in May, developed kidney disease in the last couple of months of his life, and the vet told us to take him off the high-protein food we'd been feeding him. He put Dudley on Science Diet KD and told me it was low in protein.

Incidentally, I had Jasper on Orijen for about a month back in the summer, and he developed a urinary tract infection that required two rounds of antibiotics to clear up. The vet advised me to put him on a lower protein food. I switched him to Grammy's Pot Pie (Merrick). He hasn't had a UTI since. To be honest, though, I think his UTI in the summer was due to the fact that he was suddenly marking his territory everywhere and had come into his "testosterone surge." I put belly bands on him for awhile, and I think that was somehow implicated in the UTI. I don't think it had much to do with his food, but I may be wrong.

I wonder what the true deal is between high protein and kidney problems. Does anyone know? I'm just curious.

Lori
 
When I first got Maisy, she had been weaned onto Orijen adult. I couldn't immediately find a supplier in my area so I weaned her onto Fromm Adult.

I was really confused about whether or not she should be on an adult food (as my vet said she should be on a puppy food) and I was also very confused about whether or not the high protein content of Orijen was a concern. The Orijen website has a good Q&A section and I decided that I would put her on Orijen puppy and Fromm adult until 6 months. Now I have her on Orijen adult and Fromm adult for variety.

She is doing well on it after a long bought of loose poop. A few members here said that loose poop with pups is common. Sure enough she grew out of it.

I don't have any plans to switch from our Orijen and Fromm feeding plan unless Maisy runs into some sort of issue (ie allergies).
 
Dudley, the Cav we lost in May, developed kidney disease in the last couple of months of his life, and the vet told us to take him off the high-protein food we'd been feeding him. He put Dudley on Science Diet KD and told me it was low in protein.

Very confusing isn't it?!! I had a cat with kidney disease and was also told by our vet to put her on a low protein diet.

I wonder what the true deal is between high protein and kidney problems. Does anyone know? I'm just curious.

Yes ..how could vets say one thing and Orijen say another (of course, they are trying to sell their food)?

Come to think of it, months ago I contacted someone at Orijen with my concern about the high protein and they sent me back a detailed email with attached supporting documentation that high protein is not a concern. I took their word for it ...I'm no nutritionist ...what's a consumer to do?

Anyway, if anyone would like me to forward them the email I got from Orijen I'd be more than happy to do so. Just PM me.
 
We switched Ruby to Orijen a few weeks ago, and she LOVES it. She's a very picky eater, so I bought the little trial bag for $1.99, and it lasted almost through her entire transition phase from her old food. Actually, she transitioned herself because she would literally pick out the Orijen from her old food and eat it and leave the rest. I found little pieces of Wellness on the floor beside her bowl because she had spit it out! Her poop was only a tiny bit runny, but that's actually kind of normal for her. She is almost always kind of runny at the end of a BM. The ONLY complaint I have so far is that it gives her nasty gas. We noticed it last night when we were on the couch. I think Ruby even noticed it because she had this weird look on her face! I bought the 5 lb. bag because it takes a while for her to go through it, and it cost about $14 with tax. If it's something that she'll actually eat, it's well worth the price!
 
Our Golden developed kidney disease that was diagnosed about six months before he died (he died of a tumour). I'm fairly certain the kidney problem was age related and not food related. He was on a more moderate protein diet. The vet prescribed a low protein diet for him and it was the difference between night and day. We thought he had arthritis (he was 11) but it seems his kidneys were hurting - suddenly after a couple of weeks he no longer whined when he had to go up the stairs and he was far perkier. His BUN and creatinine levels fell to just above the normal range. I am leery about taking nutrition advice from a vet for healthy dogs (but I have an animal nutritionist friend that I pass stuff by). My co-worker also had an elderly Golden who needed a high protein food in her last months because her body wasn't processing protein well. I think each case is individual and when a dog becomes ill the vet is a resource who should know what is best.

As a consumer I try to find different sources for information. I haven't been able to find enough information either for or against a high protein diet to feel comfortable switching Mindy or the new pup (who will be on Orijen when we get him).
 
well, I have been feeding mine Orijen for one week and they had bloody stools. Took them to the vet and vet suspects it is from the food so he suggested to go back to Eagle pack or to a lower protein diet. I sure did and bought B.G before grain by Merrick and after just feeding it to them once, they're poop went from diarrhea to firm and hard easy to pick up poop. It was the food that made them sick! I am never as in never going to try Orijen ever again! I have learned my lesson with that food.
 
Wow, I'm really surprised to hear BOTH dogs has bloody poop...I have never had a problem with my dogs on Orijen and SWEAR by that food.

It is confusing with the high vs low protein thing. My vet also suggested I take "P" off the high protein food. I did, and a month later had her pts. :( I really don't think it was the food, it was just her time to go...she was 14 YO.

I was one of those people who loved to try new foods for the dogs and was always feeding them something different everytime my bag ran out (I always buy the big bag, so it was every few months or so). Since I started feeding Orijen, I haven't switched. I did feed Fromm 4 star line for a while and everyone liked it, but there was something in it that created an allergy for Precious, so I had to feed her a different food.

There have been a handful of foods they just did NOT like; the major one was Innova EVO. They all hated it. And of course I bought a big bag and threw it all away after two weeks of everyone balking at it.
 
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