[Robert R]

I am so confused. Until recently, our 7 month old English Springer Spaniel was getting Pro Plan Focus (it’s what the Breeder was feeding), but due to lackluster reviews both here and elsewhere, we decided to look for something better and switched her to Orijen Puppy, which gets 5 stars here and rave reviews from other ESS owners. But then yesterday we were in to see the Vet, and he was not very enthusiastic and said it might be too high in protein (it’s 38%). Perhaps he’s working from an “old school” text book, but it’s hard to know whom to believe! FWIW, our pup loves the Orijen, but now I’m wondering if I made the right choice? So many different opinions!

[Pitlove]

Hi Robert- I have fed Orijen and I think it is a great food. My dog has always done well on high protein. We have a 10 year old English Springer Spaniel as well who is in the care of my boyfriends parents and they feed Purina ONE. He has terrible skin, he smells, his ears smell and he is losing hair. Spaniel breeds are known for their skin issues so IMO feeding a higher quality food like Orijen will greatly reduce the chances of skin problems down the line.

As for your vet’s concerns with high protein, dogs can efficiently process and digest quality animal protein. Orijen is human grade meats, poultry and fish. However, just like every other kibble it is still cooked. It is cooked at a much lower temperature than Purina ProPlan, but still cooked and those cooked animal proteins might not sit well with your puppy. That being said, if he is doing well and is not having loose stool or any other symptoms, no reason to be concerned.

Our Springer Spaniel is considered a large breed dog given his weight and yours will probably boarder on that too, so make sure you are not overfeeding him. That will aid him not having loose stool and also help prevent skeletal disorders like Pano.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 7 months ago by Pitlove.

[Robert R]

pitlove- Thanks for the feedback. Our Marvel is doing great on the Orijen Puppy- no loose stool or any other problems. It’s just difficult reconciling the different opinions. FWIW, the Vet we saw yesterday was not our regular. I’ll have a talk with her a.s.a.p since she’s more scientific minded.

[Pitlove]

Fantastic! Your boy will tell you in his own way if the food does not agree with him. My dog did it to me when I was only feeding him kibble and he refused to eat until I added canned food to it. Canned is the next best thing to raw if you can’t feed raw. Now he eats no problem.

Also keep in mind that it is becoming widely known that many traditional vet’s do not have extensive training on up to date dog nutrition. I would say your vet is old school and might have not brushed up on current studies, research and literature about canine diet.

[zcRiley]

Too much protein or “too rich” is a myth. Completely not proven. The body flushes out what it doesn’t need. Ingredient allergies or diarrhea are the most common causes of changing diets. I wouldn’t want to know what that vet WOULD recommend as a good food, since he’s not a certified canine nutritionist.

[Robert R]

That too much protein is a myth is something I’m not seeing confirmed by many Vets.

[Pitlove]

It’s because majority of traditional vets do not have much training in canine nutrition and tend to not keep up to date with current research about it. You would want to contact a canine nutritionist if you have diet related questions. Same as you would contact a nutritionist for yourself if you lets say, wanted to lose weight.

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