Orijen Dog food

[MindysMom]

The breeder that we are getting Max from feeds Orijen. I have been researching it and I am considering starting Mindy on it as well. Mindy is a bit overweight (She's a ten year old Cavalier) but is getting to be within a pound or two of her ideal weight through diet and exercise. I estimate she weighs in at about 20 pounds now and should weigh about 18.

For those of you who feed Orijen do you think it would be suitable for weight loss and maintenance? She isn't really that active in the house but she does get a couple of walks a day. I'm currently feeding a weight management formula. It has more filler in than I'd like but being a small less active dog she's only getting between 2/3 to 1 cup daily supplemented with some chicken or egg. I'm afraid if I went back to the "regular" dog food with less grain she would be getting such a small amount that I'd be tempted to overfeed her again - she kind of gained weight accidently (like we all do) because I had two dogs and would put both of their rations down for them and let them free feed. I also didn't decrease the amount of food as she got older and less active. I am interested in a grain free diet - although the food she was on prior was nearly grain free it wasn't totally - but mainly I am attracted to Orijen because the ingredients are all sourced in Canada.

[TeriM]

I really like Orijen. My older yellow lab does well on it and in fact when we first transitioned to the higher protein from Timberwolf she lost a bit of weight. The calorie difference is very minimal so I think she just digests the lower carb formula better.

[MindysMom]

Thanks Terri. It does seem like grain free is the way to go. I was initially worried about the high protein, especially since our Retriever Zeus was on a low protein diet due to kidney disease (age related though - not food related) but all of the research I've done seems to indicate that either it's a good thing - or at least the dogs will excrete the protein they don't use.

[Chris21711]

I recently switched to Grain Free and use Acana which is also made by the same company that makes Orijen. I was hesitant to switch to Grain Free because of the high protein - Acana's levels of protein are a bit lower than Orijen. From what I've learned from this site is that it is the source of protein that is the important factor.

Can't recall seeing pics of your guys - nudge, nudge, wink, wink

[MindysMom]

Oh my - I feel like I'm spamming the forum with my pics - feel free to tell me to stop.

Mindy proving that an old girl still has zip (this is not her normal going for a walk pace)



Max at 3 1/2 weeks when we met him:

[Diamondsmum]

awwwwwwwwwwww omg!! too cute :P I felt the same way when I joined & they bugged me too. havta post weekly updates on them.

[kandy]

The only thing I would caution on grain free food is that they aren't carb free. Some of them (although I don't think Orijen is one of those) actually have higher carb content than foods with grain (its just not carbs from grain). If you want the dog to lose weight, higher carb is not going to do it. Just something to be aware of.

[Stacer]

We feed Orijen to both our dog and cats. It's fantastic, all 3 of our fuzzbutts look great and do well on it.

I would say that the best way for your dog to lose weight would be to just feed her less and add some more activity into her daily routine. Weight maintenance formulas are kinda gimmicky in that if you feed your pet less with a better food, you get the same/better results.

[Winston]

We feed Orijen and Winston has done excellent on it! We also feed our 2 cats a tiny bit of Orijen but mostly wet now....

[meb999]

I loved Orijen, and Buster did VERY well on it -- but they don't have it consistently around here, so I had to switch....
Great food, though!

[DoubleRR]

Two dogs and with a new kitten now two cats on Orijen-- great weight and coats, I am very happy.

[gsdlove]

Awesome food - Koehler has been doing really well on it - nice coat, good energy, great poops, he is 17mos old and filling out nicely!

[zomo]

My two do great on Orijen. They scarf it down and look great.

[MindysMom]

Thanks for the info guys. I'll maybe pick up a bag for Mindy if I can find it.

[CrazyPoms]

Just wanted to thank everyone here in the forum for the wealth of info on dog foods. I just switched my two Poms to Orijen (from Hill's I'm ashamed to say) and couldn't be happier.
Both dogs loved the new food and picked it out while I was switching/mixing food so the switch happened faster than I expected. They now eat less and poop less and I'm convinced are healthier too! Thanks again everyone!

[mafiaprincess]

That's awesome, congrats!

[mollywog]

I am a big fan of Orijen and actually found out about it from Pets. ca! Thanks guys! (Molly loves it too )

[Etown_Chick]

Orijen has won awards for having a low glycemic index. THat means the carbs it contains don't result in a quick rise in blood sugar.
I've fed Scruffy Orijen since I had him. I recently changed to Acana Grasslands because I thought he might be getting too much fish (he has some allergies, so I have to limit what he eats).
It's wonderful. It's high in protein but dogs are carnivores. That's what they eat.
I also give him raw veggeis, raw bones, tripe (BLAH!) and raw meat a couple times a week. The vet said he was in super condition last week at his checkup.
One of my dog walker budds switched her chubby lab to Orijen to help him lose weight, and I don't see any results...so won't make any promises about that.

[tswtdbc]

Hi, thanks from me too. Great thread, great info.

I did have my doggie on Orijen for a bit but OMG did anyone else notice gas issues?!!!

Anyways, I try and rotate and have just switched him to Acana Pacifica which he's going crazy for --- a little too crazy actually, he's picking out the new food from the old, lol. So far no gas issues, and it's quite a bit lower protein than Orijen 33%, which is still good I think.

He's a fish freak, but does anyone know if it's harmful or risky sticking with fish based foods? With all the mercury and ethoxyquin stories out there??!

Appreciate any comments and thoughts. THANKS!

[Etown_Chick]

tswtdbc
I had SCruffy on Orijen 6-fish. I switched him to Acana Grasslands because I was worried about too much fish as well. I'm not sure it's bad, but I wouldn't think dogs would eat that much fish in the wild.
Note though that I was also giving him dried salmon as a treat, and occasional sardines for the oil.

[BeagleMum]

I have Spencer & Sydney both on the Orijen 6 Fish and they are doing well on it. The best part is that even after being on it for a couple years, they still get excited to eat. They usually get tired of a food before this point but with this one, they love it.

[Chaser]

Originally Posted by tswtdbc

He's a fish freak, but does anyone know if it's harmful or risky sticking with fish based foods? With all the mercury and ethoxyquin stories out there??!

I would say not to worry, so long as the fish-based food is of high quality like Orijen or Acana. They guarantee ethoxyquin-free and use such varied fish sources that mercury levels are not harmful (tuna and shark have the highest percury levels and those aren't in Champion's foods). They use a good balance of salmon, trout etc. If your dog does well on it, then I wouldn't worry.

[SuperWanda]

I think it depends on your dog's metabolism. I have found that one of my dog's did gain weight with Orijen while the other didn't. Because of this I switched to the Senior formula which has a little less fat. I also feed way less than what is recommended on the bag so I would just monitor your dog and feed according to their body type and how much exercise they are getting.

[BenMax]

I WAS feeding Oriijen to my dog, however she gained too much weight. I have since then moved to Acana (which is made through Oriijen I believe) and it is great. I don't think that there is much difference $$ wise.

For the cats - I found the same weight gain in 3 out of 4 cats. I now feed California Blend.

To be honest - if you excercise accordingly I think that Oriijen is great. If you do not, then I think that it depends on the metabolism of the animals.