[Carol C]

I have been feeding the Six Fish from Canada to my 10 month old English Bulldog with great results. After 10 days on the USA formula he has developed diarrhea. His stools have firmed some with the addition of pumpkin, but they are still too loose.
I am so disappointed to not be able to continue on this food. I was so hoping that Orijen would strive to keep their USA comparable to the Canadian.
Just ordered a bag of Horizon Legacy to try.

[elaine c]

diarrhea could mean that the bacteria in his gut is messed up you have to go easy and slow with a puppy especially. I have used Horiaon Legacy and it was good. However I have switched FOREVER to Answers Pet food… It is raw, fermented. The problem with kibble is that all the good stuff is cooked out of it at a high temp and them synthetic vitamins are put in , long term the synthetic vitamins, according to the nutritional scientists is that it is not good. Try Answers you will love it and your dog will THRIVE on it!

[Lewis F]

I have a five month old Cavapoo who was started on Diamond Natural Dry Puppy food and we have changed her to Orijen puppy which she likes and it seems to agree with her system. I called Champion about two months ago and asked them what the difference between the Kentucky and Canadian plants. Their response was the type of local fish they put into the recipe, other than that they insisted the USA products were “cooked” the same.

[GERALD P]

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?

[pugmomsandy]

@gerald, Did you transition to the USA formula or was it an abrupt change? The recipes are different between the two.

[Carol C]

pugsmonsandy,

I did not transition since I wasn’t expecting to get a different formula. Chewy told me it was the same formula, but the kibble was different. Origen told me it was different and advised me to add pumpkin, which I did. The problem didn’t arise until about two weeks in. After I posted of the diarrhea problem, it got better. I still believe I will transistion to Horizon.

[elaine c]

horizon is very good. I used it. BUT any kibble is going to have limits because it is PROCESSED. Look into Answers Pet food. and you will never look back!!! If your dog has gas it is not normal… when you feed raw especially this one your dogs tummy will settle right down!

[Shiffy L]

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…

[Lewis F]

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!!

[Shiffy L]

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)

[Lewis F]

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?

[elaine c]

feeding the same thin over and over is not just a question of “getting bored” it is a question of you are limiting what your dogs ingests in the way so many things.. Meat doesn’t smell stronger if it is right. Fresh frozen food is the best of the best. This company is wonderful and so much better than any kibble or canned foods. Remember that kibble is processed and so all the good stuff has been cooked out of it.. they put in synthetic vitamins and the studies show that over time this is bad for dogs BAD. Canned food is not any better because the product is cooked in the can and you have leaching! Look up Answers Pet food. they are rated on advisor and they have a web site. You will wonder why you ever fed that other stuff I promise!!

[pam j]

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.

[Dana F]

I had no luck transitioning my dog from the Canadian version of Orijen to the U.S. version. Even with a slow transition my dog developed diarrhea. I tried more than one formula/recipe.
This was very frustrating because he had been doing remarkably well on the Canadian formula. Starting over and I am now trying various other foods including Holistic Blend.

[a c]

I am trying to transition my 3 months old puppy from Orijen puppy to Horizon Amicus puppy small breed due to the high protein in Orijen and some other things that I read about Orijen USA. It has been over a week now. His stools finally have firm up and I think I will stop given him pumpkin. I hope this will work.

I first tried to transition him to Zignature Zissential. No success. His got diarrhea every two hours, so I switched him right back to Orijen puppy.

[Carter K]

I have been feeding Orijen to my Golden Retriever since he was a puppy. I never had a single complaint with the Canadian food. It consistently came vacuum sealed, and opening the bag you could see that the food was moist and rich in nutrients.

The new formula from Kentucky is so lousy I can’t stand it. I had several bags that the color was extremely light colored, the pieces were very thin or small, and there was an abundance of food particles all over the bag. I was getting ready to switch, when I bought another bag. FINALLY, I got a bag where the kibble was larger, darker in color, and appeared to be the same type of quality as the Canadian plant. I thought that perhaps they had corrected whatever issues they may have been having at the Kentucky plant, but I have not been able to find another bag of this quality since.

Orijen sent me a long-winded response about using “fresh ingredients” and how this causes variation in the food; however, this was never an issue with the Canadian formula. At this point, I don’t know what to feed him as I had previously been so thrilled with Six Fish as it has kept him lean, his muscles strong, and his coat beautiful. If there was SOME way for me to still buy the Canadian food I absolutely would! 🙁

[Nancy J K]

We have 4 dogs, 2 are on Orijen Senior (which I think is the best!) and the other 2 are on Acana Duck and Pear… now that Orijen Fit and Trim is new and finally available in the USA. My next order will be with the Fit and Trim (I’ll keep you posted with our dogs performance and acceptance of the new brand)

I was very disappointed that Chewy.com no longer contracts with Orijen and Acana Foods. I was lucky to find http://www.Hollywoodfeed.com with the same free delivery service and auto ship, and same price as Chewy.com. If you have been ordering through Chewy and now they have cancelled your orders, checkout Hollywood Feed!

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