I rescued Freddie one year ago, he is about 8 years old. We also have two other rescued buddies. Freddie ate the dry orijens for about eight months, then turned away. Went for a complete physical and all is great. No issues. Good teeth and gums. Great blood work. He acts healthy and happy and playful ..until mealtime. I made the mistake of thinking in the beginning, when he turned his nose up at the orijens, that maybe he didn’t feel good, so I made boiled chicken and rice, and by doing so, I created a monster. He’s even starting to push the rice away and demand more chicken, which he wolves down. While I don’t mind cooking for a sick dog at all, it’s now obvious that he is just as stubborn as the day is long, and I don’t want to continue cooking constantly for him. It’s like a standoff by his bowl, who will crack first. I’ve never had a more stubborn dude and I’ve had many fuzzys. He needs dog food with all the nutrients, I’m thinking something that maybe resembles chunks of chicken? Wet food that has chunks? Also, I can’t leave it down till he cracks, due to my other two. I’ve already tried a few, but he only wants chicken breast at this point. Does anyone have any suggestions for me? I’d like a wet food that is chunky, looks like chicken? Has good palatability….Help!
We have had similar issues with out six month old lab mix pups. Very similar stool description actually. What we’re finding is Orijen seems to be too rich for them, at least that’s how I’d describe it. They are actually better on Acana or Nulo. We’ve also tried Merrick and Wellness with not great results, either diarrhea or they will not eat it.
Hi to all of you who post here and I would just like to say how impressed I am with your diligence to your pets and dedication! I have a 6 1/2 month old GSD female who has been diagnosed with SIBO and thank goodness for the internet and me finding info here and other places. I won’t go into all of the details as many of you are so good about doing so, but I was wondering if anyone has ever tried Colloidal Silver in place of an antibiotic? Antibiotics have bad side effects, as has been described here, and no regular vet will support using it since there is no $$ in it for them. I can not find a decent vet who will go outside the box from everything pharmaceutical which I am trying to avoid to in turn avoid the vicious circle of one cure leading to another problem. I am now waiting on the Only Natural Pet EasyRaw Lamb dehydrated food. Who knew there was dehydrated food? I am also using Synacore as a prebiotic/probiotic/enzyme that is sprinkled on her food every day. She is underweight and seemed to improve weight and stool wise with steel cut oats and quinoa but I have yet, before I found the dehydrated food, to find something to give her. I had her on Large Puppy Orijen but as good as it was in the beginning, it just suddenly didn’t work anymore. Now I am mixing in Blue Basics Limited Ingredient Puppy Formula Turkey and Potato with the oats and quinoa, but the more of the dog food I put in the less normal her stools are. Anyway, my main question is on the Colloidal Silver, and thank you to all of you who have been so detailed in your journeys with your dogs who suffer from this.
Hello! I rotate my dogs through Fromm, Orijen and TimberWolf Organics – various recipes of each. They do the best on TimberWolf Organics. I have noticed no digestive issues at all when using TimberWolf — always nice firm stools, and no skin allergies. Even when making a wholesale switch to TimberWolf with no gradual changeover. With Fromm or Orijen they need a day or two to adjust and for their stools to firm. My only complaint with the TimbeWolf is product supply. There are many times you have to wait for several weeks for specific recipes as they are ‘out-of-stock’. Else, I find it to be a wonderful diet for me two dogs. And they love it, too.
TimberWolf Organics — I Enthusiastically Recommend it! Thank you!!
My Rottie refuses to eat the American made version of Orijen. As soon as the switch was made to the Kentucky plant, she stopped eating her food. Orijen is way too expensive not to have your dog eat it. So, after an extensive search for a new food with near equivalent protein levels and high quality ingredients, we chose Natures Variety Instinct. She loves it and we have left Orijen for good.
I had my adult Collie on the Orijen Red and Six Fish (Canadian version) and he thrived on that food. I was so impressed and so was my dog. I did try the U.S. version of Orijen and I hate to say it but initially my Collie refused to eat it and when he finally did he suffered from stomach cramps and diarrhea.
Fortunately, I had ordered Horizon Legacy in anticipation of problems with Orijen since I had read so many reviews where owners reported both vomiting and diarrhea. As soon as I switched him to the Horizon Legacy, with no transition, his digestive issues stopped and stools were firm. Plus he loves the food!
He’s been on Horizon Legacy for several months now and his coat is still shiny, soft, no yeast smell in the ears and his allergies have not re-emerged.
I’m very disappointed with Orijen but I am happy to have discovered a replacement that is working well for my Collie.
I just transfer it to the fridg a few hours prior to serving. Be careful, some kibbles that have a lot of fish oils and such don’t freeze well, I remember Orijen was one of them. Nothing bad happened, but they say freezing is not necessary and it changes something.
Usually just storing the kibble in a closed container in the fridg is good enough, for about a month (in my experience)
Ps: Those empty plastic coffee containers are good for storing kibble. Or, some people like to use those large plastic freezer bags.
Now I know why Toby is refusing to eat his Orijen. Thr last bag started making him sick. We threw it away and got a new one. This one he’s refused to eat it at all, and the few meals he’s eaten he’s thrown them all up. I’ve been on here for the last 2 days trying to find out what’s going on. He’s been eating Orijen for a year and a half.
I’m still taking him in to the vet to make sure he’s okay, because he’s been shaking, nauseated, etc for weeks. I hope it’s judt been this food and not somrthing else.
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This reply was modified 7 years, 6 months ago by
Michelle D.
I’ve seen plenty of complaints on the USA version of Orijen/Acana, but I’m wondering if it’s a vocal minority (at least based on Chewy reviews, it seems most people are still happy enough with the USA version). Are there any here who switched over from the Canada to the USA without incidence?
Hi Jenn, I’ve used Orijen foods in the past and found it to be a good brand. It’s possible that I may not find freeze-dried/dehydrated brands that meets the needs of a LBP and may need to wait to transition her after 8-10 months of age. The information becomes overwhelming to sort through and was hoping for some additional direction frpm those who have more experience. Thank you for your response!
Hi Karyn, I have a Great Dane puppy (8 mos now and 110 lbs) and I feed him Orijen Puppy Large kibble combined with Stella and Chewy dehydrated raw as a topper. He loves it and the balance of nutrition is great to manage his growth rate and I love it because it’s very easy to manage (I tried raw and it was too hard with my schedule and their eating habits) and I feel good about the quality and sourcing of ingredients.
This is the hardest issue to get agreement on among owners, so I eventually reviewed the options I was considering with my vet as a final decision factor.
Good luck! Jenn
Hi Janel — I ended up with Zignature Zessential as her primary food for now. Their single protein foods are good as well, but she’s always done well on multi-protein source food like Acana or Orijen, so I went with the Zessential for the daily food. She really likes it and she has done well on it. It has a higher protein amount than the single protein foods by Zignature, so closer to what she was used to before. I don’t know if I’ll keep her on that for the long haul, but for now it seems to be a good choice. I know that some reviews have mentioned that it has helped their dogs with allergies, but I’m sure it all depends on the dog and what it is sensitive to. I’m sorry you and your pup also have had a rough time after Champion moved their production to Kentucky. I keep hoping I can go back to Champion and their foods, but for now I just don’t trust them.
Kathy
hi there Kathy… was wondering what you ended up trying? in the same boat as you are after being in orijen for several years. we tried Canidae pure sea but the staining on my three little white doggies send to be worse on that than orijen. we tried Acana right after they switched and had horrible allergies (one’s hair still isn’t growing back right in one spot!)to it so I’m hesitant try the new orijen 6fush formula since it seems fairly similar.
Hi, this is Pam from Ontario. After spending days researching I thought that Orijen would be the best food for my 4 month old puppy. However, my Vet told me to be very careful as there is too much protein and can cause bad diarrhea. That hasn’t happened but she has been coaxed to the food bowl. I’m now looking for something else.
When ,I bought Knickers a Coton, the breeder told me to continue feeding her Royal Canin..
When I took her to the vets it was full of Royal Canin food. By this time I had spent endless time researching dry dog food and decided on Orijen. Then the vet said ‘this food has too much protein’ so now I am perplexed, can I get some feedback from you wonderful dog owners?? I don’t want a food that comes from China, or it’s ingredients come from all over the place and would prefer grain free. She certainly doesn’t woof it down and I always have to coax her to the bowl. Any info would be much appreciated. I want a dry kibble.
Many Thanks Maties!!
Pam
orijen told me that hairs are part of a biologically appropriate diet
Hello! I just signed up for the Editor’s Choice membership and I am a huge fan of the website and the research it represents.
I am working on a spreadsheet to compare nutritional information for 5-star dry dog food brands. However, I have found only 3 brands to report essential amino acid content: Orijen and Acana (both made by Champion pet foods) and EVO (now part of Mars, Inc.).
Can you help me identify other dry dog food brands that report complete nutritional profiles? Amino acids, Omega-3, Omega-6, essential vitamins and minerals.
Did anyone see the picture that clean label project posted on their facebook page? It’s a comparison of how much lead and arsenic are in orijen food compared to human regulations and category average. It definitely has me concerned.
Hi Pitluv,
I also emailed the clean label project, and I too haven’t gotten a response from them (and all I asked was if they tested the american or canadian version of Orijen).
I’m going to try asking them on their FB page as they seem to write back to questions much quicker there, but at this point I’m not putting too much faith in their credibility.
Hi Reese-
Thanks for posting. I contacted Orijen too and got no where near the answer you got. I was simply told “they had very little information at this time and could contact me later when they knew more”. However, it has been a week since I contacted Clean Label as well asking for the test results on Orijen Six Fish and I’ve still received no email back. Not sure if it got lost in a sea of emails or was purposefully disregarded.
May try to contact them again with a different less invasive question to see how slow or fast I get a response.
I recently discovered that site too. I’m not sure how legitimate it is. I find it very fishy that they won’t release the data on WHAT was found in the pet food, they only give it a star rating leaving consumers unsure of what’s in the pet food. It seems really suspect that they would tell consumers that certain pet foods are bad but not tell us why. I tried to do some research on them but couldn’t find much, but I did come across this reddit AMA with them that’s worth a read. Everyone seemed to question their legitimacy, and they didn’t have any real answers to questions.
We are the Clean Label Project, a nonprofit that identified dangerous contaminants present in popular pet foods. Ask us anything!
byu/Cleanlabelproject inIAmA
However, now it’s got me questioning if my pet food is full of contaminants. I recently switched to orijen which got a very low rating. I’m going to reach out to orijen to see if they have any response to this.
all of the orijen foods contain fish perhaps that is why the one star rating?
i purchased a 25 pound bag of orijen original from chewys last month after reading about heavy metal contamination i then discovered posts about hair in the food. today i closely examined the food and found at least 15 hairs baked in and loose in a 1/2 c scoo.p i called orijen they claim the hair is part of a biologically appropriate diet, but that they have contacted the supplier to stop leaving so much hair and hide in the product they deliver. when asked about heavy metal contamination they claim they test their foods and they meet nrc regulations which tie in according to the woman with fda standards and the fda does not have standards for heavy metals in dog food they do for animal feed but not dog food, fda only gets concerned if heavy metal contamination is from additions to the food ie adulterants not heavy metals contained in meats and vegetables used in the dog food. from what i can tell fish oil is not good high in mercury and turkey is the lowest for heavy metal contamination i think im going to try canidae turkey canned food has anyone tried that?
BARF stands for one of two things: Bones and raw foods or Biologically Appropriate Raw foods. In any case, Orijen is not BARF.
I suggest you go to Hare-Today dotcom and cliclk on the Raw Food education link. Email Tracey, the owner, with questions. She is full of information.
I have a 12wk old black lab who right now is eating orijens puppy food which i believe is BARF.
I want to switch him to raw foods that i prepare for him.
To give some background i plan on starting him on chicken only. I have a hookup for organic free range chickens for good prices.
I plan on only feeding him just the meat parts and then if his stools are doing well and his energy levels don’t change in a bad way then ill introduce some organs to him. A week after I introduce organs i will slowly add different meats. such as pork, duck, turkey, beef, lamb, and etc.
Once organs are introduced his diet will be 80% meat 10% bone 5% liver 5%other organ(green tripe, lungs, etc.)
Could someone please let me know if this seems like a good way to do this and my last question is Should I be grinding up his meats and bones together and feeding it to him this way or should I feed it to him whole?
Thank You!
That’s a very interesting and informative site. A bit ashamed to say that for all I am interested more in a company’s quality control than an ingredient list, that there could be heavy metal contamination in pet food never even occurred to me :/
Even more interesting is that several of the “high-end”, boutique type dog foods that I swore were the cause of major problems for my pack are also the lowest rated due to contaminants. Canidae, Wellness CORE, and the God-forsaken Timberwolf, which is possibly the worst commercial dog food in the known universe. It also, I think, puts the final nail in the proverbial coffin of a mystery that’s been bothering me for years. That is, why did my dogs get sick on one formula of a given brand, while thriving on another? (Science Diet, I am looking directly at you) And what could have been the reason why foods like Timberwolf would cause an immediate, drastic and euthanasia worthy behavioral issue, while blood test results were completely normal?
Heavy metal toxicity seems to fit that bill.
One thing I am curious about, though, is how they calculated nutritional value. I see that Kibbles & Bits, which is lower protein than Dog Chow, got rated higher for its nutrient content than the latter, whereas Orijen, which has dangerously high levels of minerals – I think the calcium:phosphorous alone is 3x the daily requirement – has a nutritional value comparable to that of Dog Chow. Odd.
Anyway, I sincerely thank you for posting this. The pack gets mostly home-cooked these days, but some recent health issues are forcing me to start supplementing with kibble, so it’s a very good resource to have when looking into feeds. On another note, I’m seriously considering getting a cat, so took a gander at the kitty list. Couldn’t believe Deli-Cat is still around! That brings back some fond memories of my grandmother’s cat, who lived to be about 22 yrs old on nothing but that food, and even then most likely died of extreme neglect rather than old age 🙁
Hi Craig,
Thanks for posting this. I plan on spending some time checking the site out further. On first glance it looks quite interesting. I saw that some products/brands that people vilify here such as Purina were assigned 5 stars and others like Acana/Orijen that many posters to this site embrace were assigned the lowest rating of only 1 star.
I like that ratings are based in part from actually testing the diets for contaminants and that this isn’t a pet food ratings site per say. It looks like the same group of food scientists and medical professionals also tested baby food
I have a 21 months old Golden Retriever, always been fed Orijen Puppy large and Regional after ( had to move to Regional Red due to availability). About a month ago, Loki developed bad breath, started using Fresh Breath, which worked wonderfully with a previous Golden but did not get any results.
I took Loki to the vet yesterday and was told that probably the problem would go away by cleaning his teeth, but I do not see any big infection that would cause the bad breath.
I wonder if by trying different Orijen formula or a different brand of dry food would help.
Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance
Regards
Susan, thanks for the recommendation of VeRus foods…I just messaged them for a sample or two for my Labradors. I have a 2 yr old and a 10 yr old. We were very happy on the Canada formulas of Orijen and Acana…they aren’t doing as well on the USA formulas. The 6 fish made my older dog sick, sick, sick!! The puppy seems to tolerate it a little better. I’m just ready to find a better food and company all together!
I am not pleased that Orijen has changed their manufacturing to the USA. One of the things My first question is this: Where are they sourcing the ingredients? Canada or Kentucky? Ingredients are different from place to place. Naturally the company is going to applaud this change in different ways, but I want to know the answer on this sourcing issue. I just bought the last two bags of Canadian Red off the shelf of my pet store. I am going to do quite a bit of research before I buy any of the new product. I have already heard quite a few complaints locally.
I noticed the same thing with my dogs, messier stools and smelly. I no longer feed either the Orijen or Acana now.
I created a profile just to post this and I apologize in advance if it’s a little too much TMI.
I have been feeding My cat Orijen Regional Red for about two years now and she has always loved it. She always seemed really active for an indoor cat and loved to play. i noticed early on when Inwould clean her litter box that her “movements” were very small and almost resembled that of a rabbit. I was later told by my vet that it was because the food was so high in protein and contained very little fillers.
Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago and Imnoticed that A.) My cat’s “movements” smelled much stronger and B.) I immediately noticed that they were much bigger and fuller- resembled what I would expect from a small puppy. I immediately went to the bag to check it and turns out it is a bag from the Kentucky plant.
I had noticed a couple of weeks ago that she was a little more lethargic and this on top of the changes in her litter box is enough to have me go get a newmfood tomorrow which is really sad because she truly loved the Canadian version.
Think I’m going to give The Honest Kithen a try as I am reading really good reviews for it.
I previously reported the same issue (exactly as shown in the pictures, above – purchased March, 2017)). I contacted Champion Foods about the issue. They asked me to send a sample of the food in a pre-paid Fed-Ex envelope. which I have done. I was advised that they will research the issue and get back to me with an explanation. I have always been a proponent of Champion Foods (Orijen/Acana), but no more. I switched to a different 5-Star brand. There’s no way that I would be able to trust the future quality of their product(s)! What a shame….
I also just purchased (today) a 25lb. bag of ‘Acana Heritage Meats Formula’ (expiration date of May, 2018). I experienced the same horrible surprise – The kibble was full of white, brown and black hairs, just as pictured in a prior review!!! There was almost more hair than food product itself in each piece! The bag will be returned immediately! I had previously read some negative product reviews after Champion’s move to processing in the USA, but dismissed the bad reviews as probably being related to a transition into a new production facility. I guess I was totally wrong. At this point in time, Champion’s move to the USA is no longer “new”, and a transition period should no longer exist. There is absolutely no excuse for what I discovered in the food I purchased. I have always been a huge advocate for Champion Dog Food’s products, but no more. I can’t possibly continue to trust the quality control methods for either Acana or Orijen.
We have a boxer mastiff mix that suffered with severe allergies. Allergies to the point that she would bleed and smell horribly of yeast. We took her to a hollistic vet and had allergy tests done, only to find out that she was allergic to literally all foods. We found that Orijen Senior is the only food she can handle. She’s been on Orijen senior for a few years now and is very healthy and has put on some very healthy weight (as she was always very skinny before). We moved to the country approximately a year ago, and have noticed that she can eat horse feed and not break out. (she cleans up the food that the horses drop). So i have determined that her worst allergies are not the grains, but to the starches like peas, potatoes, etc. I am happy with the orijen Senior, but it’s $100 per bag and she goes through a bag a month, along with two other dogs and I have three teens. Can anyone advise me on a quality dry food that contains some grains, but not the starchy vegetables? Thanks!
Hi, I was going through the same thing with my 15 yr. old Cocker, one Vet said food allergies, but restricting her at her old age was not in her best interest. I tried the Honest Kitchen Turkey, still runny poop, I tried the Honest Kitchen poop firmer powder which worked for a short while. I tried Orijen Senior, she didn’t like it. Then she was diagnosed with a heart murmur & while adjusting to that I bought Acana Duck & Pear, she loves it but the runny poop issue returned, back in forth to vet, prescription dog food, dry & canned, she wouldn’t eat most of it. So I started cooking whole turkey breast for her along with veggies, rice, pasta etc added to the Acana….but what really has solved the problem is….1/4 Metronidazole tab twice a day everyday…no runny poop since last Oct. It’s a bitter pill so I put it inside a gelatin capsule & wrap in turkey. Vet is happy with the regimen & when asked if it was Colitis she said “probably”. Now she can eat a variety of things without the tummy noise.
First, what a great gathering of other large breed puppy owners – all the great advice is invaluable.
Now on to my questions/ issue. I have a 6 month old Great Dane puppy – Finn is my 4th Dane, one I’ve lost, Shiloh is 13 (a miracle, I know!) and Liberty is 18 months. Until I brought him home I fed all my Danes Wellness Core Large Breed. Then Libby developed allergies so we switched to Wellness Core Wild. And when I brought Finn home I started him on Wellness Core Puppy. Unfortunately he didn’t like it, so after doing a lot of research, I transitioned him to Orijen Puppy Large and my other pups are eating Orijen Regional Red.
Overall, I’m really happy with the food, but Finn’s growth pace has slowed from an average of 5 lbs/week to about 3 lbs/week, which is much sooner than my other pups, and his front paws shake when he’s at rest. The vet checked for growth plate/ligament issues and found nothing of concern.
Has anyone else seen this kind of issue? Has anyone had any issues with Orijen Puppy Large food?
I have a 13 year old Great Dane and an 18-month old GD who has allergies. I feed them Orijen Regional Red which has no chicken and has an exceptional reputation for the quality of their food. It’s expensive, but I’ve found it worthwhile.
Sorry, but Orijen has rosemary.
She doesn’t need a senior food. As I said, with the exception of Orijen senior, just about all senior foods are too low in protein.
Well, that is partially what they told me. I guess I was fortunate to have started my pup on Orijen USA Puppy. Original and puppy are very close in recipe content. Sophie is six months old so I will be on puppy another three months then slowly transition her to Original. We have had companions in the past that developed similar issues and finding a new food can be a delicate and stressful situation. I wish you luck. I assume you wouldn’t want to try any of the ACANA products?
Here’s the communication we got directly from Orijen:
Orijen Adult was replaced with Orijen Original in the USA last spring. If your pup doesn’t seem too excited about it, we’d recommend trying a different protein source, as eating the same food over and over can cause them to get bored.
The food definitley smells stronger as we have increased the t meat content, fresh meat content, and variety of meats – including using more of the nourishing organs (WholePrey).
(I tried copying and pasting the screen shot of this communication, but i can’t on this forum)
My Cavapoo is on Origin Puppy and seems to be doing well. She started on Diamond Natural and I very slowly brought her into Orijen puppy. When some of these issues appeared on this forum I called Champion and asked them what the differences in diet were. Their answer was the fish in the diet changed due to availability, everything else, they stated, was the same. It really is a shame Orijen is not working well for your Golden. I wish you luck!!
I am dissappointed to see that Orijen is still on the Editor’s Pick of this website. I actually subscribed when i got overwhelmed with my search for a kibble to replace Orijen which I have been feeding my Golden for 6 years. Origen has definitely changed their ingredients (to inferior quality), and have admitted as much. The color and smell is different, and our Golden’s stomach has been irritated by it…
Why are you looking for a senior formula? Just about all of them, except for Orijen senior, are much too low in protein. Older does need a higher protein food, not less.
Try the orijen treats they r good if you can afford
them.
My 7 year old Westie was using Orijen for around 6 years. I’ve been rotating between adult and regional red for a couple of years without any issues. After opening a bag of the “new” original formula from Kentucky he got a terrible case of diarrhea which didn’t go away until we stopped giving him that food. He’s currently having boiled chicken, rice and some pumpkin and doing okay. Reading up on different dry foods to use. Anyone try Farmina?
Susan B: Take your baby off Acana, Orijen or any from that Kentucky plant. He probably is lethargic and has bad breath due to what possibly rancid contents is doing to his insides, which can’t be handled with the best dental health. There are many quality dog foods available like Honest Kitchen and/or cooking your own for him or use as a mix like we do. I will never let another dog suffer from what was supposed to be the best dog food and willing to pay the best as well, again. It was one of the worst experiences of our lives. Now we can only pray it is a testimony to others to safe them grief on many levels. Blessings to you!
Hi David – just joined the forum, I have a 6yr4mo Bernese Mt Dog, neutered at 5, s/p last breeding, big weight gain & I’m researching best foods for weight loss – Nike’s been doing the same favoring of his rear R leg, whimpering at times getting up – vet put him on food I really would never in my life use, so am spending hours researching; my breeder fiends have told me brands not listed on dog food advisor; I used Acana Canada based, (Orijen bison as pup)- Nike’s lost 5lbs in 3 weeks, walks & play with his 18 month daughter help too. Still am searching for lower calorie, good protein & lower fat balanced GF dry dog food I feel good about; I also use ground shark cartilage – may sound crazy, but It worked with my 30 yrs of raising golden retrievers when they got older.
Hey guys,
I’m switching my German Shepherd’s food from Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula Puppy to Orijen Large Puppy. I just want to know how can I do it? How much of Blue Buffalo and Orijen should I mix?
