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Old February 5th, 2008, 09:09 AM
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Orijen Dog and Cat food

Anybody feeding Orijen Dog or Cat food?

I have been feeding my cats and dog with Innova products but would like to make a switch to Orijen as it is made in Canada and it seems to be a similar quality product.

Any input would be appreciated.
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Old February 5th, 2008, 09:53 AM
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I've been feeding Orijen to both my dogs and cats. I mix it, can't afford to buy only it anymore, and I like to give the beasties variety so they don't tire of a food, so I mix it in with other kibble. It's a high quality food and all of my pets have done well on it.

Cindy
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Old February 5th, 2008, 10:03 AM
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Yup, I've been feeding Orijen to my 2 cats for almost a year now, they love it. Their poops are smellier since eating it though. But everything else is great.
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Old February 5th, 2008, 10:56 AM
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Jasper eats Orijen as his main food, Wellness canned as a supplement, Sweet Pea eats Wellness and Go Natural canned as a main food, Orijen as a snack, Puddles eats Wellness canned as her main food, mixed with some water, and gets Orijen only as a treat at night or when she manages to tip over the bag and bite it open during the day.

All my cats love it.
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Old February 5th, 2008, 11:14 AM
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Lukka eats Orijen. Other foods that she was on just didn't agree with her (Innova, DVP, Eagle Pack).
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Old February 5th, 2008, 12:58 PM
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I'm feeding Orijen to both my dogs and my cats...... they all love it and are doing great.
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Old February 5th, 2008, 02:53 PM
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All of my dogs eat Orijen and have flourished on it. I do also top-dress with other fresh foods, canned EVO and tripe...but the Orijen is the main staple in their diets. Beautiful coats, less poops in quantity and size, and I haven't had any more ear infections in my Bullmastiff since switching to grain free. We're all very happy with Orijen, and the company is very willing to answer questions and back up their product. here as well!
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Old February 5th, 2008, 03:34 PM
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Our three cats and two dogs are on Orijen as of this past fall (the dogs get the 6 fresh fish variety).

We are totally converted. We will never go back to other foods, barring a disaster of some kind.

Our animals have never been this healthy, EVER. We're getting all kinds of compliments about them lately.

It's pricey, but so, so worth it.
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  #9  
Old February 5th, 2008, 07:16 PM
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Shabba (GSD x) is fed Origen as her staple. Our 2 cats have been fed Origen for the last 2 months, but are being transitioned to Wellness canned. No problems at all with this food. We haven't fed EVO.
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  #10  
Old February 5th, 2008, 07:21 PM
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we used to feed Innova but switched to Orijen because it was canadian too the dogs and cats have done well on it they;re all shiny and soft
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  #11  
Old February 5th, 2008, 07:39 PM
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one of my min pins is diabect and orjen is what he eats like the rest and loves it no grains no sugar good luck brenda and the pins
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Old February 5th, 2008, 08:22 PM
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Winston is on Orijen Fish and loves it! Solved alot of his allergy type issues...

Cindy
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Old February 8th, 2008, 02:07 PM
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Thanks everyone for your replies. Much apreciated!!!
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  #14  
Old February 11th, 2008, 10:47 AM
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I have a 6 month old goldendoodle (50lbs) and he has been on orijen large breed puppy for months. His stool however is the consistancy of soft ice cream and he has at least 3 bowl movements a day which are very smelly. I don't think his stool should be like that. He is a healthy weight and gets 4 cups a day. He also has very itchy skin, no redness or dryness though. I give him artic vigour as a suppliment. I'm thinking of switching foods but not sure what to switch to, any suggestions? maybe the artic vigour is the problem? Does wellness make a large breed puppy formula? could he be allregic or just have itchy skin? Thanks
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  #15  
Old February 11th, 2008, 11:10 AM
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I'm not too up on puppy formulas (as I have yet to own a puppy...but someday)....but I do know that Eagle Pack Holistic has a Large and Giant Breed Puppy formula, and Innova has a large breed puppy formula. I've heard great things from people who have used both.

Both my dogs (2 yrs and 10 yrs) are on Orijen right now. The 2 yr old GSD is doing great....the best stool he's had and very healthy. The 10 year old is still adjusting perhaps? I'm still deciding whether to switch her to something else after this bag. I really like their product, her stools are great, she's very healthy. But she's got this on and off bad breath that seems to be a digestion issue (I have consulted our vet). She's on bag # 2, so it's been about two months now. But she was on a more moderate grain-inclusive kibble just before this, and on crappy lots of filler, tiny amount of meat kibbles for the first 9 years of her life. So I'm trying to figure out what her adjustment period might be, or if I should just be switching her after this bag. Any ideas?
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Old February 11th, 2008, 01:15 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jtomlinson View Post
I have a 6 month old goldendoodle (50lbs) and he has been on orijen large breed puppy for months. His stool however is the consistancy of soft ice cream and he has at least 3 bowl movements a day which are very smelly. I don't think his stool should be like that. He is a healthy weight and gets 4 cups a day. He also has very itchy skin, no redness or dryness though. I give him artic vigour as a suppliment. I'm thinking of switching foods but not sure what to switch to, any suggestions? maybe the artic vigour is the problem? Does wellness make a large breed puppy formula? could he be allregic or just have itchy skin? Thanks

Grain free kibbles are high in fat so giving a fish oil supplement is adding more fat to his diet. It is probably too much for your puppy to handle and too much fat can cause diarrhea.

I would either cut back on the amount of supplement and introduce it slowly or else try Wellness CORE Reduced Fat formula.
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Old February 11th, 2008, 01:28 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mika140 View Post
Both my dogs (2 yrs and 10 yrs) are on Orijen right now. The 2 yr old GSD is doing great....the best stool he's had and very healthy. The 10 year old is still adjusting perhaps? I'm still deciding whether to switch her to something else after this bag. I really like their product, her stools are great, she's very healthy. But she's got this on and off bad breath that seems to be a digestion issue (I have consulted our vet). She's on bag # 2, so it's been about two months now. But she was on a more moderate grain-inclusive kibble just before this, and on crappy lots of filler, tiny amount of meat kibbles for the first 9 years of her life. So I'm trying to figure out what her adjustment period might be, or if I should just be switching her after this bag. Any ideas?
I think the longer the dog was on a crappy kibble the longer it takes for them to adjust. I have heard that it can take 3-4 months for this detox process. I'm presuming that since she has been to the vet that her teeth are fine. Are you giving her digestive enzymes?
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Old February 11th, 2008, 03:30 PM
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My 10 yr old's teeth aren't perfect, but the vet knows the condition of them and wasn't concerned about that. He's looking at it as two separate issues. We're still going to do a dental consult with their specialist, but they were pretty confident it's a digestion issue with the food. She's not getting enzymes because I wanted to make sure she could adjust to the food without them.

That makes sense that it would take longer to adjust if they'd been on a crappier food for a long time. I think I'll switch to their regular formula after this bag of senior and then if the problems persist, I can just switch at any time to a different food without worrying where we're at in the bag cycle. I'm just so excited to have Orijen for her that I don't want to give up too early if it's only a matter of adjusting.
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Old February 12th, 2008, 05:46 AM
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Shabba was fed Nutro Max Large Breed Puppy at the shelter, and we brought home a large bag with her. After a lot of reading we switched her to Orijen large breed puppy, and though her stool size shrunk, it really stunk, as did her gas. We switched her to Go Natural all life stages for 2 bags which cut the stink, but we were sold on grain free so decided to try her on Orijen again and this time less stink! One difference is that I threw out the bag of Pedigree MarroBone treats, of which she was getting a few a day.

However, she was still having some pudding poops, usually later in the day. We thought it was just due to her habit of ingesting what comes out the back end, but at her last vet visit for boosters (5 days ago) the vet gave us 2 doses of Interceptor, one to be given that evening and another 14 days after, in prep for heartworm season. Well, then next day her first poo had a juicy roundworm in it! We found the source of her pudding it seems. Today (Monday) was the first day I can remember when all of her stools were solid. We also invested in a long line so that we can remove her from where she poos before she can eat it, and she hasn't dined on poo since Saturday.

That said, do look for other possible causes of soft stools. Perhaps take a step backwards temporarily from the grain free food to a good quality food with grain and then back again. It certainly can take 2 or 3 months for your pup to adjust to good food.
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Old February 12th, 2008, 06:02 PM
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Spoke too soon. Everything was mush today to make up for yesterday I guess.
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Old February 12th, 2008, 11:43 PM
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Isn't that the way it goes I find that EVERY time I post something about great poop or tell someone just how wonderful my youngest has been doing stool-wise, the poop patrol comes along and messes it all up. I'm actually a little afraid to post anything about good stool anymore But here's to good wishes that yours will have better poop tomorrow
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  #22  
Old February 13th, 2008, 05:29 AM
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I think it's due to giving her Deter in hopes of curing her love of her own poo. Since we are supervising her at all times outside now and keeping a 30 foot line on her and then rewarding her for not eating it we'll skip the Deter and see if it clears up. I'm sure the cleaning out of worms isn't helping either though. Wait and see.....I just had her outside at 4:00AM with a near liquid poo.
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Old February 13th, 2008, 03:07 PM
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Crushed pineapple added to their food works for some poo eaters.

How old is Shabba? Are you still giving her the puppy formula? Does she get any salmon/fish oil supplements?
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  #24  
Old February 13th, 2008, 04:59 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rainbow View Post
How old is Shabba? Are you still giving her the puppy formula? Does she get any salmon/fish oil supplements?
Off topic!

Almost a year old and getting the large breed puppy formula. We have been giving her fish oil supplements too, along with Acidophilus. Her lunch time poo today was mucousy diarrhoea (yesterday wasn't liquid) but the afternoon walk one was pudding. If it's the same tomorrow I think we be off to the vet with a stool sample in hand. I almost have to wonder if she hasn't had some giardia hanging out since drinking some field puddle water in the fall, or if what's left of the roundworms is bugging her.

I called the vet last Friday after Thursday's roundworm and they said simply to give the second dose of Interceptor as prescribed (2 weeks after the first) and then bring in a stool sample 2 weeks after that so if she's more normal tomorrow I'll stop worrying.
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Old February 13th, 2008, 05:12 PM
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My cats will not eat Orijen,but they don't eat much kibble period.
I was told by a lady who has a Pet-Value store,Orijen is NOT good for dogs,too much protein,but ok for cats and that the company is unreliable
But then I was told by a Global pet store owner,Orijen will not supply pet-Value for some reason.
However the members on this Forum with their animals doing well on Orijen,is proof it's a good food.
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  #26  
Old February 13th, 2008, 05:21 PM
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Pet Valu tried to push their own holistic brand on us as the best when we were searching for a better food than Nutro for Shabba, even though it was more expensive than the other brands we were considering. I think the high protein myth for dogs has been well displaced now.
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Old February 13th, 2008, 07:18 PM
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I think the high protein myth for dogs has been well displaced now.

Yes, it has....

http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=48372
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  #28  
Old February 13th, 2008, 07:33 PM
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Originally Posted by Kinguni View Post
Off topic!

Almost a year old and getting the large breed puppy formula. We have been giving her fish oil supplements too, along with Acidophilus. Her lunch time poo today was mucousy diarrhoea (yesterday wasn't liquid) but the afternoon walk one was pudding. If it's the same tomorrow I think we be off to the vet with a stool sample in hand. I almost have to wonder if she hasn't had some giardia hanging out since drinking some field puddle water in the fall, or if what's left of the roundworms is bugging her.

I called the vet last Friday after Thursday's roundworm and they said simply to give the second dose of Interceptor as prescribed (2 weeks after the first) and then bring in a stool sample 2 weeks after that so if she's more normal tomorrow I'll stop worrying.
I think the diarreah might be due to too much fat in her diet. I've heard of this happening with some dogs that are fed grain free kibble which is high in fat content and fish oil supplements. Some dogs can't handle all that fat.

Try stopping the fish oil capsules and if her poop firms up then re-introduce it slowly. If it gets mushy again then you'll know that's the reason.

It's a good idea to get her poop checked though for the roundworm and possible giardia.

Good luck and start a new thread if you need to.
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  #29  
Old February 13th, 2008, 09:15 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chico2 View Post
My cats will not eat Orijen,but they don't eat much kibble period.
I was told by a lady who has a Pet-Value store,Orijen is NOT good for dogs,too much protein,but ok for cats and that the company is unreliable
But then I was told by a Global pet store owner,Orijen will not supply pet-Value for some reason.
However the members on this Forum with their animals doing well on Orijen,is proof it's a good food.
Orijen isn't permitted to be sold in Pet Valu, although I don't know why. I had the manager of the Pet Valu near me tell me that Orijen's parent company had too many problems with their food, and that their supplier was awful and unreliable... that testing found bad things in their foods, etc etc... I couldn't believe the things he was saying, it just seemed that the more I didn't react the more outrageous it kept getting. I see this guy every day, and had really respected him until then. I don't know the official reason, but unfortunately I have now lost all respect for Pet Valu and take my business solely to Global/Ryans. They told me that Pet Valu isn't able to sell Orijen, but they didn't know why.

All I know, is that my dog is doing great on Orijen, it's made the biggest difference in his health and I'll continue to feed it regardless of what Pet Valu says.
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  #30  
Old February 14th, 2008, 05:02 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rainbow View Post
I think the diarreah might be due to too much fat in her diet. I've heard of this happening with some dogs that are fed grain free kibble which is high in fat content and fish oil supplements. Some dogs can't handle all that fat.

Try stopping the fish oil capsules and if her poop firms up then re-introduce it slowly. If it gets mushy again then you'll know that's the reason.

It's a good idea to get her poop checked though for the roundworm and possible giardia.

Good luck and start a new thread if you need to.
Will start a new one if need be. We did stop the fish oil on Monday. However, I just (around 3:15AM) have her out for liquid poo. Consider that she normally sleeps from 10:00 or 11 until 8 in the morning. Looks like I'll be calling the vet, and when my better had gets home from work be taking a sample in to the vet. I don't think that can wait 3 weeks, and if it's giardia the Interceptor does nothing for that.
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