Question about Orijen

[SuperWanda]

So, I was in a pet store today that I don't usually visit and started talking with the very chatty owner about dog foods and was curious why she doesn't carry Orijen? Well, did I get an ear-full about all the reasons why people shouldn't feed Orijen and that she would never carry it.

She was talking about potato based food being high in starch and sugar and felt that grains like brown rice and barley are healthier for your dog.

Not sure where she got this information but said that when they tested Orijen the percentages were all over the map - that they were not consistent and that many dogs are ending up with diarrhea.

Are there any problems that you are aware of here that I haven't heard about? I have been feeding Orijen since it first came out and have not had a problem - I am personally not against grains in dog food but one of the reason's I feed it is because of the high inclusion of meat (70%) that they use in their formula.

[jiorji]

my experience with Orijen hasn't been good, so i wouldn't recommend it

[DoubleRR]

Well, I have had no problems feeding Orijen, so am not sure where she is getting her information. My dogs do very well on it.
Earlier there was thread on it:
http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=49198

[geisha]

People can be very passionate about what they feed their animals. I have a very passionate pet food store owner who has very strong opinions about raised feeding dishes, and the food he sells in the store. He even has an opinion of canned foods and doesn't like stocking them. I just run in there buy my food, say hello and run like stink!!! That is until I found my local Global Store.

[SuperWanda]

One more thing she mentioned was that she doesn't understand what all the fuss is about it being made in Canada because Canada has one of the lowest standards for pet food.

Although, I think the food they sell - Performatrin Ultra is linked to the store and comes from the US so maybe it's that she really doesn't want to bring anything in that would compete with their stores own brand? Although they do sell other brands like solid gold - she just really had it out for the grain free it seemed.

[Ford Girl]

I personally liked feeding it to my dog, Dazy ate it for about a year, she eats Horizon now, with grains, but only cuz we were forced to change her food after an illness and she refused Orijen.

The thing about the runs or soft poop on any grain free food is this - a grain free food is richer, so you need to control portions properly and ensure you dont over feed, over feeding is the main cause of runny poops.

Now, being on a food with grains I do find these improvments: way less gas, and I mean noticably less, her poops are easier and less stinky to clean up, I dont have to worry too much about addtion foods like treats and bones, she can now tolerate her kibbe plus extras. Over all, the smell of her poops is enough for me to say I'd never go grain free again.

But over all, I didn't think orijen was a bad food.

[angeldogs]

Jag had a severe allergy to it.the wife noticed small bumps on him i got home from work late that night and his body had big hives all over it and his eyes where all most swollen shut.and that was after he didn't get his evening meal.

My vet didn't even want me feeding the Orijin as she has had some bad cases of allergies fur falling out.real bad skin conditions.my bros dog was lossing his fur in patches.some do good or real good on it and some bad and others real bad.

[SuperWanda]

Ford Girl - I just purchased a small bag of the Horizon Legacy but it is grain free - do they have other kinds? I thought the ingredients looked good so wondered if it would be a good food to rotate with the orijen.

[Tommysmom]

Every Pet Valu I've been in has bad-mouthed Orijen. They don't carry any of the other brands made by Champion foods, either. I finally found out that they're not allowed to stock it - something between Champion foods or the rep and somebody higher up at Pet Valu. I don't believe it's the food - some of the stores say that the food is fine but the distributors are bad. It just seems as though something happened along the way between the two companies. I know the manager of the one near where I work would like to carry Champion products but can't order them at all.

Every dog is different, but Orijen has been the best thing to ever happen to my little allergy-ridden, non-existent immune system guy. The only way I'll change is if I move to cooking for him myself.

[wdawson]

i'm feeding NOW grain free (makers of GO) and had no probs at all with all three dogs.....no gas,runnies,ect.

[onster]

A new vet I saw today said it was a good food

Onnie (my cat) started getting anal gland issues while on this food. His fur was beautiful though. Bunduk, a kitten at the time, had horrible smelly diarrhea poop on it.

[SuperWanda]

Yes, it was a Pet Valu I was in. I don't usually shop there and I left with a number of pamphlets on performatrin ultra and wellness core - which she feels are much better than Orijen. I just looked at the wellness core and it is basically the same as Orijen (grain free and has potatoes).

Makes sense now if there was some sort of falling out between them.

[Kinguni]

We gave Orijen a good go with Shabbado, but she rarely had good poops with it. EVO wasn't really any better, plus she had nasty eye boogers from it. We finally went for a nutritional consultation with a local holistic vet, recommendation being to add vegetables to her diet for extra fibre for a start and see how it goes, also to change to a lower protein grain free kibble (for some reason she included Go Natural Grain Free as a possibility), but we chose Wellness Core. Well, Core gives her the itchies, and still the odd soft poop (but not runny).

We're switching her over to the Go Natural Grain free now and it seems to be doing her good (her coat looks better and less itching), but until the switch is done we won't really know. Raw bones help her a lot (she recommended we keep giving her them - bigger the better). I'm still not sure all the veggies are helping much though, other than giving her poop more bulk.

We had the same talk at Pet Valu last year when we were considering a food other than Nutro Max which we got from the shelter. They really push their Performatrin Ultra. We left there with samples of a few things and that was it.

[Love4himies]

I have had really good luck with Orijen. Jasper, who has allergies to grains, was on Wellness Core for a bit and it gave him very smelly runny poops. Orijen has been much better on his digestive system.

[SuperWanda]

Well, I guess it just depends on your pet and what agrees or does not agree with them.

The way she was talking gave me the impression I was feeding my dogs poison so I thought I would see if there was some sort of problem that I was not aware of.

Thanks for all your replies!

[gypsy_girl]

Hey Kinguni

Can you PM me with your vets name? I have a friend in Winnipeg looking for a holistic vet

Thanks

[bendyfoot]

My cats and dogs all have done great on Orijen since we switched them last fall. The poops are great and easy to clean, Jaida's farts stopped, all their coats got gorgeous and they all lost fat and gained muscle, Boo no longer gets hairballs or dandrull, Riley (RIP) stopped getting chronic UTIs...I have nothing but great things to say about the stuff Plus, they all love the taste!

[phoozles]

I went to buy some grain free dry for the kitties for when I was away for the weekend, and I spent some time going back and forth between Orijen and the Now! - merely comparing quantities and prices, because I didn't want to get a giant bag.. Plus I'm bad at making decisions

When I finally went with the trial bag of Orijen, I got to the counter, and the dude behind it asked me why I chose that (he must have watched me go back and forth like a fool) .. I said "because it's cheaper" .. and he said, "oh, I just don't think Orijen is a good choice.. It's got too much protein" ..

for a cat..

I didn't feel like getting in a long discussion with this guy, so I just calmly said, "Cat's need protein.. they're carnivores" .. And he actually said, "Yeah, when they were in the wild, maybe, but regular cats don't need THAT much" .. So I gritted my teeth and gave the man his money and left..

Why do you sell this stuff and then bad mouth it? Who does that serve? And what does that say about your business? And do some research before you give customers false information - I probably would have trusted him if I didn't know any better..

[clm]

I love Orijen, and Natures Variety Instinct. Pet Value doesn't carry either one, and is particularily hostile about discussing Orijen. While pet value is certainly more numerous than Global in my area. Global doesn't bad mouth good food makers just because they don't carry them, they order what you want in instead, which makes me wonder what business practices Pet Value has that has aliented them from the makers of Orijen.

Cindy

[Winston]

Well when Orijen first came out I tried my local pet valu..The owner managed to place an order once. When I went to pick it us he told me he no longer could carry it nor order any more. He explained that the company has an exclusive deal with Ryans soo they will not sell to pet valu...he also said that the minimum amount of an order is something like 1500.00 and he did not have the demand for that quantity of food. On a side note he sold me all of the product he did get in for what it cost him! good for me!

I have to say that it has been the best food I have ever had Winston on and it solved all of his itchies and stuff...as well his poops are perfect..however I have noticed occasionally his poop is a bit soft but its generally if he has gone once already?? sorry its gross..

Anyway, we like it in our household....

Cindy

[clm]

Originally Posted by Winston

Well when Orijen first came out I tried my local pet valu..The owner managed to place an order once. When I went to pick it us he told me he no longer could carry it nor order any more. He explained that the company has an exclusive deal with Ryans soo they will not sell to pet valu...
Cindy

I can buy it at Ren's so they don't have an exclusive deal with Ryans. There's something else going on with Pet Value and the makers of Orijen.

Cindy

[Dracko]

The independant pet food store I shop at carries Orijen but he told me they've had problems with consistancy. I am starting to believe it.

I had my cats on it for a couple years. All was well. Then a few months ago I couldn't get it from anywhere. I even tried out of town. The stores said they couldn't get any from the supplier. A few weeks ago I bought a huge bag for the cats and guess what??? NONE of them will eat it. Not one of the five. They've never been picky eaters whatsoever before. I've had to step up the amount of canned and raw I give them since they aren't eating the dry. I tried Go! but none would eat that either. Used EVO before and they all got skinny on it and had runny stools.

[clm]

I would let the makers of Orijen know that there is something different about the bag of food you just got.
I haven't noticed any problem with supply or consitency yet, could be the stores I got to haven't had to place an order recently. I mix mine with at least 2 or 3 different brands, so it wouldn't affect me as much if I had to stop one.
I hope you find something for your kitties soon.

Cindy

[gypsy_girl]

I looked up the nutrient profile on potatoes, and is has the glycemic index @ 2 (very low) and the carb % @ 2 (one potatoe) and sugars as n/a
Of course grains are much higher barley eg 52% carb glycemic index 80
And how bout tapioca? 45% carb glycemic index 94 Not sure why this person would have said what they said about pototoes being high in sugar and starch
Just my thoughts!

[happycats]

Orijen scored 6 stars out of 6 on this site and performatrin 4 out of 6.

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_f...duct=915&cat=8

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog-food-index-a.html

[Etown_Chick]

Everyone has their own biases. I live within a few miles of the Orijen plant. This I will tell you:
- They use human grade (not DDD) meat, like most dog food makers
- All their meat is acquired locally, and we have very high standards for raising and slaughtering our animals thank you very much
-they also include whitefish, which is caught locally
- they don't use grains because dogs, in the wild do not eat grain. They are trying to replicate a wild dog's actual diet. The dog's digestive tract is very short, not designed to process grain
- They include herbs that are wild and are very beneficial to the dog
- it smells like fish (yuck)
-my dog will try to eat through the package, he loves it so much
-he's extremely healthy and energetic, his teeth are glowing white and he's happy

I also supplement his diet with raw meaty bones, and fresh fruit and veggies as treats.

[gypsy_girl]

I don't think the whitefish is caught locally, as the informational PDF that they put out about the bones in the salmon said that the whitefish (I think it was flounder????) was from Vancouver Island.
Not that it makes a difference, except for me cause I love the island but I'm biased!

[Mom_Of_Two_Dogs]

My two are on Orijen, as was my Scottie who passed away in October. All did great on it and loved it. My Rat Terrier/Lab mix knows good food when it's offered to her; preferring it over the IAMS she was on originally.

[Etown_Chick]

Gypsy
Ok the pamphlet I read said it was alberta whitefish but who knows. It's fish and gives it that pleasant fishy smell! yukkk but Scruffy loves it.

[pbpatti]

decided to put my in..I really trust my vet, he asked me the last time I had Sasha in what I was feeding her and told him it was Orijen, he was not specifc but advised that I change her food, he said that it has just not been around long enough to know whether or not it was good for dogs..I used to feed Sasha Eagle Pack I think I will go back to it, I have that much trust in my puppies Dr. pbp