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Orijen vs. Nutrisource

alyzandra

Member
Hi all. I am having a bit of an issue. I am not a health nut for myself by any means, but when it comes to my two boys, I can't get them on things that are healthy enough. I am unable to do a raw, home-prepared diet for my two 5 month old babies, having read that that is the best diet for Cav's to be done. I had switched them from Science Diet dry kibble to Nutrisource Puppy small dry kibble after adoption because I am NOT a fan of Science Diet, which the breeder was feeding. That transition went perfectly. I then started mixing Merrick canned Puppy Plate with the Nutrisource for added moisture, and because I had found that Merrick was as close to the raw as you could get. That transition went exceptionally well, too.
The last month, I have wanted to switch them to Orijen dry kibble mixed with Merrick canned Puppy Plate. I have been mixing the Merrick canned with the Nutrisource for over a month with no issues, they love it! However, the last two weeks my boys have had the worst runny stools. (And when I say runny stools, I mean it is literally spraying out of the poor babies. I've never seen anything like it.)
I know it must be the Orijen. I had talked with my pet nutritionist at our health food store before starting the Orijen, and she told me to go very slow because it's a very rich food and can cause diarrhea, however I have still for the last two weeks only been sprinkling a few kibbles of the Orijen on their normal food.
Does anyone have any advice on this? I am paranoid about their health and loved the idea of putting them on Orijen, but if it's going to be too hard on their tummies and digestive track, I must find another alternative.
 
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Sorry you're having problems with your puppies. I have no first hand knowledge of Orijen, but I have heard some dogs do have tummy problems with it. BellaMia's breeder never gave her puppy food, just a good quality dry. I now feed her Merrick dry food mixed with Merrick canned food and vegetables. She does really well on this and her stools are normal. Orijen may not be the right mix for your puppies.
 
I used Orijen without issue for a few years. However, there was a point where my pet food store was having trouble stocking due to problems with the Orijen vendor and it was too hit/miss for me. At some point I switched to Blue Buffalo Small Breed Ckn/Rice kibble and they have been doing fine with that. Bosco has a very sensitive tummy, so all changes are made very, very slowly. HOwever, the type of situation you describe sounds like it might not be the Orijen. Such loose stools from a very small intro to a new kibble, sounds odd. Is anythingn else going on? I would stop the Orijen immediately and see if the diarhhea stops. If it is indeed the orijen, just try another good brand of kibble, as the orijen clearly is not working.
 
I'd say if cause + effect are Orijen + diarrhea, then it's time to try something else. It might be one single ingredient that is the problem. There are other equally good dry dog foods out there. One place to start is https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/
 
We use Blue Buffalo Chicken and Rice and have had no problems. You may want to consult with your vet on how to stop the runny stool. Also, make sure any treats you give them has no corn or wheat. I made the mistake of buying some dog treats at a pet store that sells treats by the pound (in bulk) without checking what they were made from and Abby had a very soft stool within a day. Turns out the first ingredient was ground wheat.
 
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