Angus was not doing well on raw so I switched him to Orijen Adult and I soon switched Hudson just because it was easier to feed them both the same food. After only a few weeks I began to see a change and they began to have ear infections again (both dogs!) and biting at their paws and bums. We then wsitched to Orijen 6 fresh fish and Hudson refused it completely. He wouldn't eat for 3 days...so last week I switched them back to raw and both dogs are doing well.

Why would they have both had this reaction when it is a protein food without grains? Why did Hudson refuse to eat the fish but will eat raw fish (sardines, herring etc) no problem?

I just thought I would share because I wanted opinions on what it may have been that affected them. The food started out great, but then I began to see the same problems that I have had with other kibbles. After a week on raw their ears are becoming cleaner and they are no longer biting their feet.

I'm glad you posted your experience!

I can only tell you that when I fed a "six star" kibble (Timberwolf Organics) a few years ago, I first raved about it. Unfortunately, after several months I noticed the coats going soft and even worse, toenails falling off :scared: At the time I had two on TO and two on Kirkland, and the Kirkland two were fine. When I switched the TO two to Kirkland, they gradually improved, and have been in great shape for 2+ years on a variety of foods (including some with corn and wheat!).

No matter how much better a food appears by reading the label, it may not work for your dog. There are certainly some here who will argue that any "cooked" food is "dead" and has been rendered worthless. At the end of the day, what truly matters is how your own dogs are responding. :)

Thanks so much for posting that.... I knew there had to be SOME catch to this!

I assume that the reason Hudson didn't like it was because he likes RAW so much better, and knows that it IS so much better! :)

I appreciate your posting this as I am still considering this food for the future and keeping in touch with people feeding it.

Not all food is for all dogs.................

But i do have to say, did you give your dogs enough time on this food. 30+ days or so. 30 + to also get the old/bad stuff out of their system?

I'm glad you posted your experience!

I can only tell you that when I fed a "six star" kibble (Timberwolf Organics) a few years ago, I first raved about it. Unfortunately, after several months I noticed the coats going soft and even worse, toenails falling off :scared: At the time I had two on TO and two on Kirkland, and the Kirkland two were fine. When I switched the TO two to Kirkland, they gradually improved, and have been in great shape for 2+ years on a variety of foods (including some with corn and wheat!).

No matter how much better a food appears by reading the label, it may not work for your dog. There are certainly some here who will argue that any "cooked" food is "dead" and has been rendered worthless. At the end of the day, what truly matters is how your own dogs are responding. :)

That is interesting that you say that because Hudson's nails are splitting! I didn't think it had anything to do with the food, but I guess that it could.

I appreciate your posting this as I am still considering this food for the future and keeping in touch with people feeding it.

Not all food is for all dogs.................

But i do have to say, did you give your dogs enough time on this food. 30+ days or so. 30 + to also get the old/bad stuff out of their system?
Very true, but he went from raw to Orijen...I just couldn't believe the drastic changes in such a short period. Angus has been on it for a long time now (2 bags) because he never did THAT well with the raw transition and his ears are horrible..and the dog smell is gross).

I always assumed that a high quality kibble was the best, but even that didn't seem to work that well. :confused: Hudson was always great on raw so he went back immediately, but Angus I am taking slooowwwly because I took it too quickly last time. Angus will continue to be on it half time, but Hudson starved himself so I switched him back after 3 days of starvation (maybe he is just spoiled....lol)

Interesting report, Tracey.
Why would they have both had this reaction when it is a protein food without grains?It's probably the carbs. Ironically, Dr. Wanda and I talked about Orijen just yesterday regarding Zoe's mild clostridium in her stools and *thinking*, just *thinking* of trying her on Orijen. After a look back at her digestive tract history, we both decided not to but make some minor changes to her homemade/RAW diet. Dr. Wanda thinks the carbs in Orijen "might" cause a problem in Zoe, but then again, it might not...

BTW, for those who may think that Zoe's diet is caused the clostridium, it didn't, it's just Zoe's off-and-on struggle.

can anyone tell me what the calorie per cup is of the orijen food. I have a trial bag and I don't see it on there nor do I see it on the web site. I am particularly interested in the fish formula.

...
Why would they have both had this reaction when it is a protein food without grains? ...

Allergic reactions happen in response to proteins. Usually it is the proteins found in some grains, but it can be any protein really. I have a friend whose dog is allergic to poultry.

Orijens formula has a lot of "stuff" in it that you don't normally find in raw diets. It could be any of the ingredients causing a reaction.

can anyone tell me what the calorie per cup is of the orijen food. I have a trial bag and I don't see it on there nor do I see it on the web site. I am particularly interested in the fish formula.

Adult & 6 Fresh Fish -

4200 kcal/kg (483 kcal per 250ml cup) with 45% of energy derived from protein, 25% derived from fruit & vegetables and 30% from fat.

That is interesting that you say that because Hudson's nails are splitting! I didn't think it had anything to do with the food, but I guess that it could.If Hudson has only been on the new food for a few weeks, I wouldn't blame the food for the splitting nails - this would take months for the new growth associated with the food to reach the length where it would split. The problems I saw with TO only became evident after 6+ months on the food. I never did quite figure it out, although I suspect it was an omega 6:3 imbalance. The TO Ocean Blue ratio is very tight - less than 3:1 (as is Orijen, I believe) and at that time I was adding salmon oil which added even more omega 3s, so the coat/nails problems I was seeing could have been caused by this imbalance. This is what the owner of TO has said. Too much omega 3 leads to an apparent omega 6 defficiency - and omega 6 fatty acids are responsible for good skin and strong nails.

As Black Labbies pointed out, the carbohydrate sources may be a problem for your dogs. I know there are a few dogs with potato issues on this board.

Thanks everyone for your responses. Its definately difficult finding the food that works for dogs! I thought with the ingredients that Orijen would be the next best to raw, but was disapponted...I could have stayed on it for months but with Hudson not eating it anymore (which he did once before with Kirkland) I don't feel comfortable leaving him on it. Raw has always been great for Hudson though....Angus has had raw two days now (with kibble in the a.m.) and is doing great..hope it continues :D

I think it is just about each individual dog..I have some on a completely RAW diet and some on kibble. Buster on a RAW diet for the last few months, has now developed ear problems..he did not have this issue on kibble. Even though he is doing well on RAW, the ear issues are now a concern.

I've found what works for one dog, whether be a high end kibble, to a middle end kibble, to a a RAW diet does not always work well for the next dog.

Jen

I am very interested in this post, as I have just switched Daisy over from Kirkland Chicken & Rice to Orijen Adult. I just finished weaning her from old kibble to new in the last couple of days. Daisy has similiar problems to Hudson, in that she is always itchy, body, paws and bum scooting. She had ear issues, and there was a huge improvement in her ears switching from her first kibble to the Kirkland. Since her ears cleared up I assumed her issues were to do with grains. I thought I would give the Orijen a try since I had heard nothing but good things about it. I will give it some time, and may even try the fish formula next bag. If this kibble doesn't work out, I may try raw.

Chance has been on the Orijen puppy for a couple months now and he's doing very well. He had gunky ears and loose stools on Solid Gold Wolfcub and both problems are gone now. He has nonstop energy and is extremely shiny and healthy. Oh and he stopped eating poop, how could I forget that!

Thanks for this post, Tracey, its interesting to see the different reactions.

I hope Gus continues to do well with his new diet. :)

I have heard of other dogs on Orijen giving up poop eating.

The Natures Variety Instinct only has tapioca in it as a carb source. If it turns out carbs are Angus' problem with the Orijen you may want to give the NV a try. My dogs are on it and doing well. Only one protein source too.

I hope Gus continues to do well with his new diet. :)

Me too! I hope he's listened to reason and is doing well :) Imagine how much more stressful this would have been if you hadn't already had "plan B" in place!

Thank you for posting this - we have switched both our dogs over to ACANA Lamb and Rice which is the same company as Orijen and have been seriously thinking of switching over to the Orijen as soon as Hershey has totally recovered from his intestinal sugery.
Now, I am not so sure!

Thank you for posting this - we have switched both our dogs over to ACANA Lamb and Rice which is the same company as Orijen and have been seriously thinking of switching over to the Orijen as soon as Hershey has totally recovered from his intestinal sugery.
Now, I am not so sure!
Its a great food, but didn't work that well for my two (again...Angus has been on it for a while and Hudson a short time so it was not an entirely fair test). Your two might do great on it :) Hudson has always been prone to ear infections though, but I thought this kibble might be good for him...he had to get antibiotics for the infection that blew up shortly after starting on Orijen and then he stopped eating it so that was enough for me.

So far Angus is doing great with turkey (turkey wings, turkey necks) and ground beef...that is all he is getting so far though. I am trying to go gradual with him and that seems to be working. Hudson's ears are clearing up and he s enjoying being back on raw again.

I'm glad to hear that you're getting it straightened out Tracey. I'll be glad when I find what works for Noel. I had to put her on a corn, wheat and soy free food (we went with Natures Recipe) because she had yeast infections in her ears. He ears cleared up, but her stools have been like pudding ever since. That's been about 5 months. I am so tired of scooping up loose stools and I know it's not good for her.

I have an appt with the vet Saturday to rule out parasites, then I guess we'll be switching food again if that isn't the culprit. I'm sure he'll suggest the Royal Canin prescription food, because that's what they seem to push. I've tried the yogurt method, the coconut macaroon filler and nothing seems to firm them up.

I'm thinking about one of the super premium brands that they don't sell at petsmart, but there's so many and so many opinions. Sometimes I think about going back to plain ole Purina One that she was on when we got her. If only they made a formula that was corn, wheat and soy free. She did great on that except for the yeast infection.

I'm glad to hear that you're getting it straightened out Tracey. I'll be glad when I find what works for Noel. I had to put her on a corn, wheat and soy free food (we went with Natures Recipe) because she had yeast infections in her ears. He ears cleared up, but her stools have been like pudding ever since. That's been about 5 months. I am so tired of scooping up loose stools and I know it's not good for her.

I have an appt with the vet Saturday to rule out parasites, then I guess we'll be switching food again if that isn't the culprit. I'm sure he'll suggest the Royal Canin prescription food, because that's what they seem to push. I've tried the yogurt method, the coconut macaroon filler and nothing seems to firm them up.

I'm thinking about one of the super premium brands that they don't sell at petsmart, but there's so many and so many opinions. Sometimes I think about going back to plain ole Purina One that she was on when we got her. If only they made a formula that was corn, wheat and soy free. She did great on that except for the yeast infection.

It is definately frustrating trying to find a food that works! Looks like we have similar dogs!

Tracey we've been thru the mill with Sierra and her food issues! She too would eat sardines, salmon - howls for it she loves it. but, would never eat a fish kibble. It's bizarre.

We now are feeding SG Barking at Moon and she loves it. It's 8 months - that's good for her. We need to change her food every 8 mos or so otherwise soft poop sets in, dry feeling coat, etc. Switching every 8 months or so keeps her in optimal condition. Our next experiment Wellness Core

I have had Ginger on Nutro dog food for as long as we have had her, and she hasn't had hardly any health issues. Her ears are always good, her coat looks good and she has a lot of energy. When I look at some of the prices online on food like the Orijen I don't see how most people could afford those prices unless there is a better site than the one I'm looking at. Sophie is also on their puppy food and so far so good. Did anyone watch Oprah Winfrey's show yesterday? She had her veternarian on the show and he is a big fan of feeing raw or at the very least cooked meats. Oprah says she can't go with the raw food thing but has been giving her dogs cooked meats and veggies.
Here's a link to the show. http://www.oprah.com/tows/slide/200704/20070425/slide_20070425_350_113.jhtml
I think I will post this as a thread because I found it very interesting. We always gave Ginger steak, salmon, etc. as a topping to her regular food, but thought we were doing the wrong thing and decided Sophie would have no "human food". Looks like it is the right thing to do anyway!

I have had Ginger on Nutro dog food for as long as we have had her, and she hasn't had hardly any health issues. Her ears are always good, her coat looks good and she has a lot of energy. When I look at some of the prices online on food like the Orijen I don't see how most people could afford those prices unless there is a better site than the one I'm looking at. Sophie is also on their puppy food and so far so good. Did anyone watch Oprah Winfrey's show yesterday? She had her veternarian on the show and he is a big fan of feeing raw or at the very least cooked meats. Oprah says she can't go with the raw food thing but has been giving her dogs cooked meats and veggies.
Here's a link to the show. http://www.oprah.com/tows/slide/200704/20070425/slide_20070425_350_113.jhtml
I think I will post this as a thread because I found it very interesting. We always gave Ginger steak, salmon, etc. as a topping to her regular food, but thought we were doing the wrong thing and decided Sophie would have no "human food". Looks like it is the right thing to do anyway!

I think raw is definately the way to go :) I liked his pyramid and thought it was right on target...foods with grains are uneccessary.

I've been feeding raw for about 3 1/2 years now but recently with all the traveling to dog shows and field trials I've needed an easier alternative. I feed my guys orijen frequently and it doesn't bother them switching from raw (and sometimes that's even one kibble meal in the middle of a month full of raw meals). I can also do it with Innova Evo but anything with grains and they get "dire rears".

When Loki was an adolescent and I was trying to put weight on him for the shows I gave him a 3rd meal a day of Orijen puppy on top of his 2 raw meals. He always did well with that and loved the stuff! Though it was a bowl full of treats :)