[Anne B]

This is all such valuable information for me. I have followed this website for years but just joined up.
I have had our two dogs, a vizsla and a lab on amended Orijen kibble for years. Between a combination of information gained from: this website, Dog Naturally Magazine, Orijen (USA) rather than Orijen (Canada) and then Chewy.com losing a few lines (Orijen/Acana, Fromm) because Chewy.com decided to buy PetsMart AND the brew Ha Ha with the CleanLabel folk (but I digress).
All of the reasons above have brought me to the decision to eliminate kibble either all together, which is my preference or at the very most 1/4 to 1/2 kibble and mix with either freeze-dried raw or raw frozen (when we get a stand alone freezer).
I am a rookie to the BARF diet for our dogs. Historically, the vizsla transitions easily to new diets/foods (7 to 10 days) but our labrador has to transition more slowly 2-3 weeks for his GI system to tolerate the change without upset. To date he continues to get a tbsp of organic pumpkin mixed in his Six Fish kibble.
With our vizsla, I have been scaling back his amount of kibble and introduced Stella & Chewy’s freezes-dried patties (mostly 5 stars except for 4 star Duck Duck-he loves it), just ordered the Vital Essentials since it does not have all the additives.
I just have begun to explore the Darwin’s Natural Selection website. The name has a peticularily personal meaning for our vizsla. His sire’s registered name was “Darwin’s Natural Selection”, aka.”Darwin” .
I certainly need and want to increase my knowledge of what is best for our dogs. Looking forward to your input and exchange of ideas. Also the information about online websites for ordering their raw frozen and/or freeze-dried food as well as the kibble, now that Orijen and Chewy.com split the sheets.
Thanks to all.

[a c]

I haven’t try Fromm. My 14 weeks old puppy is currently on Orijen puppy. How does Fromm compares to Orijen?

[Theresa G]

Good morning! Like many we have one hungry puppy. I have found http://www.njpetsupply.com for anyone looking to stick with their fromm or orijen dog food (among many other brands). They offer the lowest price fromm allows to be sold at and free shipping to the tri state area as well. They ship to the entire US. They are independently owned for over 25 years. I spoke to them and they are gladly welcoming any new customers who have been displaced by the chewy and petsmart merger. Fromm, orijen and other top name dog foods truly do care about us, and I am thankful to have a high quality dog food still avail at the lowest price!

http://Www.njpetsupply.com is where we will be ordering from goijg forward!

[A]

I recently had a training with Origen/ Acana and they have started to take the meal out of some of their things.
When it just says deboned chicken that’s including water weight, once you cook it, it falls lower on the list of ingredients and some things may be heavier than you expected.
Orijen is expensive to make and is good but there are definitely other large breed formulas I would consider first.

At my work we deal with more dogs with pancreatic and diabetes allot more now, it’s running rampid in the dog world now.

I used to feed my pitty large breed Fromm, she was always gassy and I never knew why.
Now she’s on firstmate lamb and rice in the morning and raw at night and I have a non gassy pitty.
They do also get answers fermented goats milk, cows, and fish stock to give them different beneficial benefits.

[mary s]

Tyla – when I got my puppy I read through this entire thread several times….it is all a bit of a blur now. I decided on Fromm Heartland Gold – grain free, beef and lamb. He has done very well on it, and I am pleased. I would not feed Orijen – I have heard lots of comments, and some from puppy owners of these litters, that is causes lots of digestive upset. Best of luck

[pitlove]

Maybe I’m one of the minority, but I do not care for any products by Champion Pet Foods (Acana & Orijen). So personally I don’t think they are “the best”. The best food for any large breed puppy is a food that will promote optimal growth (low calorie, appropriate ca/phos), digests well, is feeding trialed on large breed puppies, and something they will eat. I prefer simple foods that focus on more on proper nutrition than being flashy. Those foods are not going to be produced by smaller companies usually because they don’t have the funding to research and test foods.

A quality puppy food designed properly for a large breed puppy will have balanced levels of everything you mentioned. Not some balanced and some in excess.

[Tyla M]

I love and appreciate all the advice! So I’ll keep asking questions …can you tell It’s my first pup? I’ve opened my mind up to not necessarily going grain free … now I’ve read about 500 different things. The most recent being that the most important things to focus on for a large breed puppy is calories and calcium/phosphorus. However, other s have mentioned fat being too high…if Orijen is a top food but has a fat % of 20..and acana with 17 and 18%, what is one to do?? Focus on calories and calcium and good ingredients .. or on fat content??

[Jude N]

My dog is the same way. I’ve tried him on the following kibbles:

– Blue Buffalo
– Merrick
– Taste of the Wild
– Zignature
– Nature’s Varity Instinct
– Orijen
– Acana
– Legacy
– Wellness
– Fromm
– Nulo
– Earthborn
– ZiwiPeak
– PetKind
– Wysong
– Halo

I have tried numerous wet foods; the only kind he’ll eat is Merrick, which makes him gassy, and is expensive. He has tried Stella & Chewy dehydrated raw, Grandma Lucy’s, and Primal. He likes them all for about a week, and will then start going days without eating, to the point that he will vomit bile from being without food for too long.

He ate Nature’s Variety Instinct beef patties very well for several months; I made the mistake of trying to switch to Stella & Chewy’s venison raw patties, and he detests those. He now will only willingly eat actual ground, whole prey beef mixes from My Pet Carnivore, and beef tripe. I switched him to pork and he has eaten his dinner only twice since last Wednesday, because he’s refusing it.

So basically what I’m saying is that I feel for you, LOL.

Are you wanting kibble or wet food recommendations?

Something that you might try: sprinkle a little bit of garlic powder onto his food. My vet recommended this trick to me, and it’s worked a few times. Now I just make his meals into what can only be called “tripe sandwiches”, trying to not waste the pork meat by layering it between tripe. Sigh.

[John Q]

Valens is a small independent Canadian pet food manufacturer based out of Fraser Valley British Columbia. They are on par with Champion pet foods who produce Acana and Orijen which are 5 star rated foods. If you check out their website it gives you plenty of information on the company and manufacturing process. I like it because it contains freeze dried proteins as well as what is in the kibble. I also love the fact it is independently produced by a small company in Canada that focuses more on quality than quantity just like Champion foods who produce Orijen.

[Jennifer]

Tyla, if you think your dog has a food allergy, you should try grain free and avoid chicken as the base protein. I read that most food allergies in dog are stemmed from chicken. The other possibility is that your dog has environmental allergies. My dog has them bad and it started when she was about 6 mos. She is now on Cytopoint injections every 8 weeks and an allergy shot weekly.

As for food. Check out Farmina Puppy Maxi. My local organic pet store recommended it to me and my dogs love it. The puppy is on the lamb formula (they have a chicken and fish one too) and my 2 adult Danes rotate between the adult Maxi flavors. It’s priced about the same as Wellness, which I have also used in the past and it’s great, but my dogs stopped eating it suddenly. I’d also recommend Orijen Puppy Large, but it’s mush more expensive.

Good luck!

[C C]

Hello everyone…I pretty much started this topic after losing our precious Sheltie most likely from toxic Acana Pacifica dog food and I’m going to attach a link from the Clean Label Project research. Although this doesn’t evaluate nutritional quality, for which we have Dog Food Advisor, it does shed tremendous light on toxic elements found in today’s dog food, the worst in many years for lead, arsenic, and BPA. I received this notice from petmd.com and the Clean Label Project. Check out the ratings especially for Acana and Orijen being the worst at a 1 star out of 5, probably since the switch in manufacturing was made from Canada to the plant in Kentucky. Very eye opening at best and can be discouraging as well. However, keeping ourselves educated can lead to wisdom decisions and best health for our pets. I hope this will be helpful, so just cut and paste into your web browser.

http://www.petmd.com/news/view/your-pets-food-safe-36136?roi=echo3-45455985558-43354653-32a69d60886230debd6ada66a0ae6813&utm_source=BlogSubscribers&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=072017blog&utm_campaign=Blog

[Parker W]

Not trying to sound like a dick but Jesus christ purina is literally the worst kibble you can get….. kibble is bad in general….. either feed orijen kibble or go with a premade raw diet or a balanced homemade raw diet

[a c]

Susan,

Thank you for your reply. He is a 12 weeks old miniature schnauzer. He has no problem with Orijen puppy kibble. His stool is like toosie roll, solid but soft. 5 times a day. He is also getting Freshpet select chicken and turkey roll and little vegetable as topper. I just want to rotate him with some other quality puppy food.

Both Holistic Select g/f puppy kibble and Eagle Pack kibble have Carbs at 47-48% in dry matter. Wellness Core puppy has Protein at 40% in dry matter. I am looking for kibbles that’s not too much on one component.

Besides Freshpet select roll, I have not introduced any raw or can diet for him. I know most of the raw diet have pretty high fat. I have learned my lesson from my senior dog with pancreatitis history.

[a c]

I still want to get him off Orijen puppy. I did a lot of reading/research. I think I am going to try Horizon Amicus puppy small breed. Protein 36% Fat 20% Carbs 36% Fiber 4.4% in dry matter. A little better than Orijen puppy Protein 43% Fat 23% Carbs 34% Fiber 6.8% in dry matter.

Does anyone have tried Horizon Amicus puppy small breed before? Or have other suggestion?

[a c]

I put him back to Orijen puppy. He is back to normal stool. Thank goodness. I make sure he doesn’t get dehydrated. He doesn’t like plain water that much, so I gave him the water that I soaked the kibbles with and he love it.

He was on Puppy Chow when I got him @ 6 weeks old. I couldn’t feed him Puppy Chow because of the ingredients. I went to a pet store, I was told Orijen puppy is the best. I have been reading a lot about Orijen lately. That’s why I want to switch him to something else. I guess Zignature is not for him.

I am looking for something that’s not as rich as Orijen puppy.

He have received first two sets of vaccination from the vet.

[Heather P]

7 month old puppy has diarrhea due to clostridium overgrowth; he’s on antibiotics. Every time I try to add his kibble back to his diet, he gets diarrhea
again. He’s on orijen large breed puppy; Orijen just seems to be too rich right now. I need to change his food, for now, so he’s able to eat kibble again. Any suggestions?

[Natalie C]

Hey all,
I have a 2 year old Chihuahua/Pug mix named Charlie. We’ve had him since he was about 9 weeks old and he’s always had a bit of a poo problem. At first we thought it was just terrible 2’s for the baby until he got older, and we moved him over to a crate. He kept having accidents in the crate and that’s when we thought, maybe it’s not potty training that’s the issue, maybe it’s the food. So we took him to the vet, around this time last year, and they said he was perfectly healthy, nothing was wrong and expressed his anal glands. He was okay for 3-4 months and the same problem happened. Went back to the vet, and nothing. After that we decided to take control of things, and he’s gone through SO many dog food brands from Royal Canin, Wellness, Solid Gold, Acana, Orijen, Sojos and Honest Kitchen.. and even home cooked, nothings worked. We took away broccoli because we think that’s one of the main things that causes his diarrhea, but it hasn’t helped much. We just lost our cat to HCM 2 months ago, which raked up quite a bill and we can’t afford to go to the vet again. He had diarrhea in his cage last night and a little poop/diarrhea this morning. He’s only had SOME kibble, water and rice thus far. Is there anything I can do to help him? I feel so bad for Charlie but I don’t know what to do. I don’t want him to keep having an upset stomach. He’s always lifting his bum in the air and I live in an apartment where I can’t let him be out whenever he would like.

****Sorry, please no rude comments about how I should be taking him to the vet. I tried asking Facebook forums and that’s all I got.. I know I should, but I can’t. I tried so hard to save my cat it nearly cost us all our savings.*****

[LoveMyGS]

I am having the same issue now thanks to the acquisition of Chewy.com. I have been feeding my dog Orijen and a little bit of Fromms. Does anyone know of another site trusted like Chewy.com that still handles and sells both these products. I am at a total loss what to do. I will not change my dogs food to another due to she has a sensitive stomach. Neither of these products are readily available in my area, and thanks to you all and Dog Food advisor I was able to research years ago what food would be best for our baby and she is doing beautifully on it. Now what to do, where to find it, please help. Thank you!!!

[Caroline C]

Svan,

I would suggest that you have your dog’s blood and urine tested for kidney functions. What you describe is exactly what happened to my labrador with the new ACANA Wild Atantic formulation. She picked at her food and I thought it was her teeth. The vet did a blood test before sedating her to clean her teeth and her BUN and CREA were extremely high. Additional urine tests and followup blood tests have been very grave. She was in kidney failure. And then I read Clean Label Project’s report and was horrified. I felt like I poisoned my dog. I spoke with the lab that did CLP’s testing and when they started these tests they thoughts their testing equipment was malfunctioning. The level of toxins was something they had never seen before. ACANA and Orijen is poisoning our dogs.

[Caroline C]

Looks like Chewy.com has finally decided to drop ACANA and Orijen foods. Thank goodness. My dog is in kidney failure due to ACANA’s Wild Atlantic dry kibble. Their fish based dog foods should all be recalled. I contacted Chewy.com in early June imploring them to do testing on their own of a specific lot, 3002505-62212. This is an email I received this morning from Chewy.com. The spin on it indicates that Champion Pet Foods is actually the one pulling the food from Chewy.com. Either way, it is a good thing for pets. ACANA and Orijen is poisoning our pets.
————————————————————————————————————————-

I’m sorry to let you know that Champion Pet Foods, makers of Orijen and ACANA, will no longer be available at Chewy and will only be available while supplies last. Champion has decided to limit their distribution and will no longer service Chewy customers.
I am very disappointed by Champion’s decision to end their retail partnership with us because it greatly impacts you, our customer. Their business decision to limit distribution was clearly not in the best interest of customers like you, who have come to rely on Chewy to feed your furry family.
When I founded our company my mission was simple, deliver the highest quality products at the best prices and provide an unmatched customer experience. We have always put our customers and their pets at the center of everything we do. That’s why we have the most knowledgeable customer service representatives in the industry dedicated to providing best-in-class customer service and adding personal touches to online shopping with handwritten cards and hand-painted portraits of your pets.
It’s particularly upsetting that despite all of my company’s efforts and personal relationships throughout the years, Champion has decided that they will no longer service our customers.
I urge all customers who are affected by this to personally contact Champion directly to let them know you rely on the convenience of delivery and value the personalized service you receive from Chewy. Unfortunately, for many of you this decision will result in your inability to get these products in a convenient way. Please encourage Champion not to put their corporate interests above the interests of their customers and their pets.
Call
877-939-0006
Email
[email protected]
Post
https://www.facebook.com/ChampionPetfoods/
I know how important it is to choose the right food for your pet and our Customer Service Team is available 24/7/365 to answer any of your questions or to help you select from over 500 brands of top-rated natural, high-protein and grain-free foods.
Sincerely,
Ryan Cohen
Founder & CEO

[a c]

I feel the same way. Buying puppy food shouldn’t be this complicated. I got my puppy almost a month ago when he was about 6 weeks old. I was told by the breeder that they feed him puppy chow kibbles soaked in the water. I went to the grocery store the same night to buy him some food. I looked at the label of puppy chow and I can’t make myself buying that. It’s full of meat by products and fillers. I also looked other puppy food. It’s the same. I left store with 2 cans of Caesar wet food because I have to feed him something.

I went to a pet store the next day. I was told Orijen puppy food is the best one. He has been on Orijen puppy food with no problem. However, I like to have at least one more puppy food to rotate with. I also heard a lot about Orijen lately that is may not be as good as before since the production has been moved from Canada to Kentucky. It’s very frustrated and confusing.

[anonymous]

We are the Clean Label Project, a nonprofit that identified dangerous contaminants present in popular pet foods. Ask us anything!
byu/Cleanlabelproject inIAmA

From Champion Pet Foods Facebook page (maker of Orijen/Acana)
“Clean Label Project (CLP) is using the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standard for drinking water to compare against pet foods. Even if CLP chooses to disregard the National Research Council (NRC) standards which are based on 25 years of peer-reviewed research performed with animals, a more appropriate standard for comparison would be human food, rather than human drinking water”.
“Naturally occurring heavy metals are found everywhere in nature, including in the foods that you eat each day.”

[a c]

You are so correct. I don’t know what I can trust either. The more I read the more I am confusing and scared about pet food. Those pet food are made here in the USA!

CLP test is based on the contamination. When adding the nutritional values to that result, how many pet food will remain on the “good” list? What about pets with special needs such as low fat or low carbs? How many pet food will remain on the “good list”? I wish someone could compile the result to give a more comprehensive overview.

I have a 9 weeks old puppy( he weights 4 lbs)that I started him on Orijen puppy food 3 weeks ago. According to the CLP test, Orijen puppy food received only one star. Should I change it to something else? If so, what?

[Susan]

Hi Shannel,
it’s not a load of BS, here’s Clean Label Project interview with CBS….
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2017/05/24/lead-mercury-arsenic-cadmium-found-in-popular-pet-foods/
Don’t think cause your paying more for a pet food that it’s going to be really good quality, Orijen has been falling under the radar for way to long now, if you go on the CLP site you’ll start to see a pattern, the pet foods that have fish as the main protein seem to have the most toxins, I was feeding my boy the Earthborn Holistic Whitefish it came 7th & Holistic Select Salmon formula it came 10th on the bad list, at first my boy was doing really well then I must of brought a new batch he went down hill on both brands….vet just blamed his IBD now I think he’s very sensitive & picked up on the toxins in these fish foods, I do not feed or recommend feeding any fish formula’s no more, Turkey is the cleanest meat..
Just make sure you rotate between a few different brands so your dog or cat isn’t on a certain brand for too long…
CLP has given all the test results to all the pet food companies that were tested, so we’ll
know next year when CLP does their testing again on most popular selling pet foods if these pet food companies really care about our pets & clean their act up…

[shannel h]

Hi,
I just came upon this article: http://www.wkbw.com/news/pet-food-could-be-poisoning-your-furry-friend
A lot of good brands were put into a bad ranking. I always thought that almost all of orijen and acana dog foods were great :(. Any truth to this article? I feel so paranoid buying any dog food these days :/

[a c]

I have a 8 weeks old miniature schnauzer puppy. He weight almost 4 lbs. I got him when he was 6 weeks old. I was told by the breeder that he is eating puppy chow kibbles soaked in the water. I quickly switched him to Orijen puppy food with no problem. I still presoaked the kibbles in the water. He loves the food. I am just afraid the fat content on Orijen is on the higher end. He also get apples and low fat cottage cheese for treats.

I like to get maybe one or two more quality puppy food to rotate. Can anyone make some suggestions?

[LuckyLab]

Hey guys,

My 9 week Yellow lab has been chewing on his paws. Not at a super alarming amount but enough that I’ve began to notice. The Diamond Puppy food the breeder has him on has by products and then two wheat ingredients so I suspect it may be the food. I had decided to switch him to Fromm Lrg. Puppy but its not Grain free and I don’t love their Heartland (which is grain free).

I’m also a fan of the Precise Holistic lrg. breed pup food but that’s also not grain free. If we are going to upgrade his dog food we’d like to do it only once if possible and try the grain free, see if it helps and if it doesn’t we’ll have the vet run some tests. I’m going to put in a call to her tomorrow either way to be sure this is the correct course of action.

Any Large Breed Puppy kibbles you can suggest? Nature’s Variety looks great but its just too expensive. We may be able to swing Orijen but if I’m going to spend that on food I’d want to know for certain it fixed the problem. Other than Orijen and Natures Variety and suggestions?

[Karen B]

We fed our lab Orijen Six Fish for at least six years. She had never been sick at all except for once a year having to have her anal glands expressed. The last order of Orijen we got had some bags that were vacuumed packed and others that were not. All of a sudden her white platelets plummeted way down and the blood vessels popped in her eyes and her gums bled.
The emergency vet ruled out everything and finally said that sometimes the immune crashes with no reason. Well, I don’t believe an immune system crashes for NO reason. It is just that the reason it happens wasn’t discovered. After heavy doses of Prednisone, Birdie was miserable and aggressively hungry all the time. She had a huge amount of fluid in her belly. As the Prednisone was tapered off (this whole process took WEEKS), the fluid went down and she started perking up. She was on her way back to health then suddenly started vomiting uncontrollably one evening. That was stopped by the emergency vet and we were sent home. She couldn’t get comfortable at home so we started back for the emergency vet again. She died on the way. I didn’t want an autopsy done but the vet had seen plenty of Birdie’s ultrasounds over the past few weeks. Her liver and pancreas were horribly inflamed. We believe the Orijen killed her. It was just all of a sudden that she stopped wanting to eat it. Symptoms that she had corresponded with other reports we have seen on the internet. I think it was the bags that were not vacuumed packed and from Kentucky that were the killers. I think some dogs are just more vulnerable to poor quality dog foods.

[M N]

Thanks for the input.

A couple things…

I have heard several times about rotating foods, and I am certainly open to that. For those of you who do rotate, do you switch cold turkey between brands? I don’t want to have 2 or more open bags of food at once… I have switched flavors within brands cold turkey with no issues.

The biggest reason I am looking at the calcium and phosphorus levels of the “new” foods is because I do have another pup coming this fall. I would like to feed them both the same food as I really don’t want to have 2 open bags of food if I can avoid it.

I don’t think I will be switching to a maintenance formula as we don’t really have an “off season.” We do field and water training April-August, Hunting season runs September – December. He runs free for 20-30 minutes 5-7 times a day (we live in the country). In the summer we also do weekly hikes where I will cover 3-8 miles, and since he is “free” while doing this he will cover probably 3x that. We will start using a roading harness and dragging weight for at least a portion of these hikes in the next month or so. We don’t hike during hunting season, instead we hunt both upland and waterfowl several days a week. In the winter we snowshoe (again he is free to run while I follow the trails). The only time he has held a “5” on the condition scale for longer than a week was January through April when we were only running 3-4 times a month and he was eating a 32/18 . This is also why all the foods I am looking at are all 3600+ kcal/kg.

I didn’t even think about the amount of heavy metals that could be in the fish formulas. I suppose it makes sense though. Humans are cautioned on consuming too much fish for the same reason. I was not familiar with the CLP, unfortunately none of the brands I was looking at are listed.

I am not dead set on grain free, but I do want to limit the amount of grain I feed. I would be interested in hearing more about which grains have a high bio-availability for dogs.

I appreciate the additional brand suggestions as well. I have heard nothing but good things about Dr Tim’s and there are several formulas that I think would work for me, however it is not available locally and at $70 for a 40lb bag from Chewy it is cost prohibitive. I have looked at a lot of “premium” brands including Nutro, Canidae, Acana, Blue Buffalo, Wellness, Royal Canin, Orijen, and Merrick… Most were eliminated from serious consideration due to lack of local availability, cost, or simply not having a blend with the nutritional requirements I am looking for. It seems there are not many premium “performance” formulas out there.

Anyone see any issues with the brands/formulas I am looking at? Any other recommendations of similar foods?

[a c]

Hi, I am new here. I feel very frustrated and don’t know what to feed my girl.

I have a 10 years old miniature schnauzer who had an episode of acute pancreatitis back in end of April. Miniature Schnauzer are pron to pancreatitis. She was on antibiotics and fluid therapy for 3 days. The vet put her on Science diet ID can food for few days and told me to transition back to her normal diet after that. The lab report from end of May suggested she level was back to normal.

She has been on Science Diet food since she was a puppy. I thought Science Diet was the best dog food out there. How dumb am I? I thought about switching her to something else.

I went to a local pet store in mid May. I was told the best dog kibble food for my girl is Orijen senior. They also sold me the idea of raw diet. I purchased Stella and Chewy’s duck frozen patties. I feed my girl half Orijen and half raw with additional blue berries, zucchini, or pumpkin. Her stool was firm but every so often with a little greasy look.

Once I finished the bag of Stella and Chewy’s duck. They told me to try Primal lamb frozen nuggets. I also brought a bag of Primal freeze dried nuggets in turkey & sardine for easy travel. I have also tried Honest Kitchen Force. Then, I noticed the fat level on Orijen senior is high, so I cut back on the kibbles. This is where problems begun. I noticed her stools are more greasy and even looser.

To make long story short. I put her on plain chicken and rice with a little pumpkin starting yesterday. I noticed she is not passing stool during our twice a day walk. She has been doing it very regularly for the past month and half after the pancreatitis. She just had a yellow, greasy, loose stool about a hour ago.

I am very frustrated right now. I don’t know what to feed her. I made a call to my vet’s office. I was told they will put her on Science Diet ID or Purina EN which I knew both of those are full of carbs, fillers, and by-products. What should I do? Can anyone help?

[Eric C]

In two weeks we bring home my baby Australian Cattle Dog. My Yellow Lab is a little over a year old and she has been on Fromm Large Breed Puppy her entire life. I see that it is now a 4 star but thought it was a 5 star when we started her on it last year. My new boy will likely be just a little over 50 pounds but I think it might be wise to start him on a controlled calcium food as ACD can have hip issues. What foods in the 5 star category are the most popular here? Wellness, Orijen?

[Nancy R]

Please Help. I have a 10 yr old Old English Sheepdog that this spring started coughing but nothing come up. Sometimes he throws up, but nothing comes out. I took him to the Vet because it went from once in a while to everyday. Vet did blood work for heart worms, took an X-Ray, and said he may look and act like a pup, but he has old man lungs. He said he had Chronic Bronchitis and arthritis in his upper spine too.
I love this dog more than anything, my home was broken into 1 month ago and he heard the garage door go up and became a crazy animal. He chased 2 men out of the house and into there truck. My neighbor saw him run them out. While Archie was bouncing up and down while doing a different growl than I have ever heard. Once I got him back in the house, my unless Security Company was still on the intercom saying do you want us to call the police.
I live in WV, and I have deer that sleep in my back yard. The loves to chase them, but funny thing that is the only time I have seen him do his bounce up and down bark. But a must different bark at the deer. He warns them he is there. Then when they run he runs after them.
He just in a month has progressed of a cough a day to he has had 3 episodes today. What has happen. I changed Dog Food from Taste of the Wild ( because in the last year the price has dropped almost $15.00. So something had to change about there product) he has been on Orijen for the last 5 months.
I Have done research and it says they need Antioxidants. How do I do that? Supplements? This dog is the Love of my life. What has happened? What can I do? Please help?

[Jennifer]

I started my Great Dane pup out on Wellness Core puppy, which is a great food, but then he didn’t like it anymore, so I switched to Orijen Puppy Large, also a really great high quality food. That gave his diarrhea so now we’ve finally settled on Farmina Puppy Max and he loves it and he’s doing fantastic on it. The cost of Farmina is more in line with Wellness, with the same human grade ingredients that you get in Orijen, so my pocketbook is much happier too.

Good luck with your pup!

[S P]

Svan,

A sincere thanks for posting the information pertaining to contamination, however, one “caveat” needs to be mentioned: The majority of the report’s top rated brands are some of the worst foods that you can possibly feed to a dog! What a dilemma….

As a side-note, if interested in a fish diet for your pooch, I have been satisfied with a Canadian brand called ‘Holistic Blend/My Healthy Pet/Marine Fish 5 Fish/Grain Free’ (I “ditched” Champion/ACANA/Orijen months ago). This exact brand wasn’t included in the ‘Clean Label’ review, but I have been very satisfied with the results achieved so far (white Pitbull 70lbs – easy weight maintenance, small stool, no skin allergies or itching, no oily residue, and the food doesn’t smell bad, which is usually the case with other fish-based diets. Chewy is one of the few retailers. Try the 7.5lb. bag. -SP

[pat c]

Hello. I’ve read these forums with interest and would sincerely appreciate a recommendation from those more knowledgeable than I.

We adopted our first dog about a year ago. She’s a 30 pound total mutt (some american staffy). She’s in good health with no major issues. Some eye gunk that mostly cleared up with better food and some dandruff and maybe light allergies (nothing diagnosed). She’s gotten very fussy with her dry food and I’d love some good recommendations on what to try next. I’ve read a lot but I’m not an expert and it seems like every time I see positive review on something, I find negative ones as well so I’m pretty confused and would rather seek guidance from those who know, than keep trying to guess! 🙂

After switching her off the crap they were feeding her in the shelter, we’ve cycled through
– Nutro,
– Orijen Adult Grain Free (which she was on for a while and she seemed to like but we stopped when we saw the negative reviews and new location/forumla),
– Taste of the Wild High Prairie Grain-Free Dry Dog Food (she didn’t seem to like it that much and he stools were much softer)
– Wellness CORE Grain Free Original Turkey & Chicken Recipe Dry Dog Food (liked it more than TOTW but still iffy), and now
– Wellness CORE Natural Grain Free Dry Dog Food, Wild Game Duck, Turkey, Boar & Rabbit (likes it a touch more than the previous blend, but doesn’t love it).

Throughout this time we’ve also mixed in Stella & Chewy’s dinner patties which she LOVES. They just seem too expensive to offer as her entire diet.

Lately, she has a lot less interest in all of the foods above and will sometimes even refuse to begin eating, or not finish, unless we mix something else in. Now I am crumbling in one Stella & Chewy’s pattie with her dry food to get her to eat.

I’d like to try a couple of new options but am overwhelmed but the amount of information on the different types of foods, flavors, acceptable ingredients, and different types of diets and 5 star reviews out there.

Based on the above, I’d sincerely appreciate a couple of other good recommendations for a picky eater. While the Stella & Chewy’s feels a bit expensive as a primary meal, assume cost isn’t really a factor here.

Thank you SO MUCH in advance for any advice!

[Svan D]

As other reviews state, Acana moved its manufacturing plant from Canada to KY. That’s not all they changed. The Pacifica product was made from higher quality salmon in cleaner waters to what is now lower quality herring and redfish that live in more contaminated waters. I’m a toxicologist and noticed the change immediately when first opening the new bag. My dog, who is such an avid eater that he has a ‘slow feed’ bowl, obviously noticed too and was hesitant to eat it. So researching a new dog food, I read DogFoodAdvisor and Clean Label Project (nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization of vets and MDs http://www.cleanlabelproject.org/product-ratings/pet-food/ ). I was horrified to see that this product is rated in the “Bottom Ten: Out of 299 dry dog foods tested, the bottom ten, on average, contain the highest amount of harmful environmental and industrial contaminants and toxins.” Orijen isn’t any better.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 5 months ago by Svan D. Reason: typo

[Seamus H]

I called Champion Pet Foods the other day and was told that Orijen sold in Canada is made in Canada and that Orijen sold in the US is made in the US.
I hope this helps as I am wanting to put my 10 week old German Shepherd on Orijen and was concerned about some of the comments in this thread.
I’m in Canada so my understanding is that the Orijen I will feed my pup is produced in Alberta.

[Seamus H]

I called Champion Pet Foods this morning and was told that all Orijen foods sold in Canada is made in Canada and that all Orijen food sold in the US is made in the US.
I’m in Canada so I am happy that manufacturing for Canada isn’t in the Kentucky plant due to the number of negative reviews of the Orijen food from that plant.
I decided to call since I want to switch my 10 wk old German Shepherd over to Orijen Puppy Large from the Holistic Select Large Puppy.

[Seamus H]

I called Champion this morning and was told all Orijen food sold in Canada is made in Canada and all Orijen food sold in the US is made in the US.

I hope this helps as I was a little dismayed as I want to start my 10 week old German Shepherd on Orijen Puppy Large. I am in Ontario, Canada.

[Seamus H]

I called Champion Pet Foods today and was told all Orijen sold in Canada is made in Canada (in Alberta) and all Orijen sold in the USA is made in the USA (in Kentucky).

[Seamus H]

I called Champion Pet Foods today since I am really considering putting my 10 week old GSD on Orijen Puppy Large. I’m in Canada and was told that all Orijen sold in Canada is made in Canada in Alberta.

[pitlove]

Susan, I have no idea how the ones you are talking about compare to the US one I’m talking about.

I’ve recommended Pro Plan Large Breed Puppy and Hills Large Breed Puppy plenty on times on here and at work. I tailor my recommendations to the individual and I fully recognize that a lot of people on here won’t use Purina.

I use this “c***” food because it’s not “c***” at all. I have used Orijen, Acana, Fromm, NutriSource, Taste of the Wild, Natures Variety, Wellness CORE, Zignature, Primal, Stella and Chewys,… I mean really the list goes on. None of those foods worked well for him. He was either sick, skin was flaring up or he simply refused to eat. I cried so many times because I felt like I couldn’t help him and he was just suffering despite eating all these “great” foods. So after completing our elimination trial our vet suggested Pro Plan Sensitive Skin, so we tried it and it worked. I can’t argue with results and I can’t argue with how much healthier and happier Bentley has been this past year and a half.

Judging me for my choice of food doesn’t make you a better pet parent. We all care for our dogs and want what’s best for them, regardless of how we get there.

[Bernie O]

So happy for all the info. on Orijen – Acana made in Kentucky. My 3 1/2 month Golden was doing great on Wellness Core puppy and all of a sudden he has developed diarrhea,, when we slow reintroduce the Core puppy again after he became stable the softness began again. I’m thinking the Core puppy and it’s higher protein made be to rich. Was thinking about changing to Acana ,, but now now after what I just read. Any thoughts or suggestions on another high quality large breed puppy food ? Thanks to all !

[Lewis F]

We use Orijen Puppy. We have a 9 month old Cavapoo that started on Diamond natural Puppy and we transferred over to Orijen. Sophie has done great on Orijen and our vet says she can come off puppy food at one year, so we have started the slow transition to Orijen Original. All is going well!!!

[John L]

We have two six month old lab mix resucues that did well on Nulo, Acana and Orijen. They are off puppy now per our long time vet and on adult. Acana or Nulo seem to work best so far. Orijen was too rich it seems, diarrhea. Specifically they are on the red meat based Acana or salmon based Nulo. Good luck!

[John I]

My totally anecdotal experience.
For, 3 Bouviers des Flandres(2 male, 1 female).
Catelyn(70lb), she’ll be 3 this November.
Butkus(130lb..high weight, 100lb current weight), he’s 13 and will be 14 next March 2018.
Harley(90lb), lived to be 11years, had bone/joint birth defects. His back went out and he couldn’t stand or control his bowels @ the end.

I fed Harley and Butkus Blue Buffalo for 11 years. I had no health concerns and no soft stools. Catie has had soft stools as long as I’ve had her. I’ve had her checked by the vet several times, nothing has been diagnosed.
VET Recommended: 1TBsp Metamucil plain, this worked a little.

FOODS I’VE FED:
ToTW High Plains puppy: I fed this as recommended by the breeder.
BB Salmon/Sweet potato: Switched to this to match Harley and Butkus lifetime meals.
Victor Hero: Switched after some BB recalls. I was looking for U.S. made, reliable company. Butkus had no issues, and the food has glucosamine. Catie still had soft stools.

LOCAL Recommendations: From locally owned Pet food dealers were Probiotics, using goat milk or green tripe.

CURRENT DIET:
Tripett Beef: pure green tripe a very stinky suplement. I feed once every 2-3 weeks(Catey only).
Orijen Regional Red(US): Very high ratings, controlled ingredient sources, U.S. made in KY. Pricey @ $95/25lb bag. Butkus 1.5 cups morning and night, Catie 2.25cups morning 1.5cups night.

Both dogs have firm stools.

[Bobby dog]

Hi Muttjunky:
If your dog is inclined to eat the chunks of meat and not the kibble when mixed in try running the chicken (or other meat) through a blender. I do this for my cats making it the consistency similar to baby food. You can even add some water to it and play around with the consistency.

I would try a different kibble, there’s many good ones out there. Don’t box yourself into one brand. Perhaps he’s trying to tell you Orijen does not agree with him.

Fresh Pet might be appealing to him as a new food or even as a topper for kibble. They have several different types/forms of recipes in their line-up. I am currently topping my dog’s meals with their Vital Whole Blends toppers:
https://freshpet.com/our-foods/our-brands/vital/whole-blends/

Fresh Pet also makes baked kibbles. My dog really liked the chicken recipe; he actually chewed each bite. I think the dried veggies & fruit were appealing to him. I haven’t fed it in a while.
https://freshpet.com/our-foods/our-brands/fresh-baked/

Check out Fresh Pet on the review side for more info too:
/dog-food-reviews/brand/

Good luck!

[zcRiley]

Same exact thing happened to my boys but after switching to Orijen Adult when it still came from Canada. The #1 kibble proven for stomach sensitivity is The Zignature line of dog food. No chicken, potato, egg & a slew of other things. Read the reviews. My babies are now 4 yrs old, big healthy strong with zero allergies and award winning poop LOL!

For freeze dried, Primal nuggets is the best. However, I just use it as a topper by crumbling over the food. And broccoli.

[Muttjunky]

Thanks again anon101…didn’t know that about the orijens. Do you mix the chicken into Zignature brand at your place? Fred would just pull the chicken out of the bowl. And 100% agreed, hunger is the best motivator. It’s me that needs fixing, just wanted to hear it from someone else. Thanks!

[anonymous]

What is the big deal about adding a spoonful of real food (chopped cooked chicken breast, lean cooked hamburger, a bite of scrambled egg) mixed in with the kibble. Feed twice a day, measured amounts, pick up after 10 minutes and store in fridg offer at the next meal time.
Let him skip meals, as long as he is drinking water, if he doesn’t eat times 3 days (he will) consult your vet.
Always have fresh water available, in fact add a little to the kibble and or presoak kibble, especially for seniors.
All kibble is like cereal, no matter how much you pay for it, dry and boring.
How would you like to eat nothing but cheerios for the rest of your life? You might be inclined to skip a meal or two, lol
Ps: If you boil a chicken breast in a little water you will have a pseudo broth (3 day supply) that you can pour over the kibble along with a bite of chicken
Zignature is a quality dry food, maybe he would prefer that? My small breeds vomited when I fed them Orijen, also, the product has changed.