Orijen Puppy Food

Thinking of trying Alfie (9 weeks old) on Orijen puppy food, he was on Purfina beta puppy food but i'm not sure it's giving him what he needs.
Have any of you had any experience of Orijen.
thanks

Sorry no, not tried this one.

Orijen puppy food is a good high protein puppy food, just like Applaws (which I put Zeus on). It contains a much higher meat content than most foods and it is proper meat, not meat meal or other garbage that you read on puppy food packs.

However, Zeus didn't do well with Applaws because of that. His digestive system couldn't cope with the high protein and richness of the food, his anal glands kept getting full and he caught an infection on his bum. He only poo'd about 2/3 times a day when he was on this food.

We've now switched back to Wainwrights, which has a much less meat content but has more grain in it. Grain = fibre, which is allowing him to poo 4/5 times a day, leaving his anal glands empty and hes doing much better on it.

I guess it all depends on the pup, because I knew a few who are on Orijen and Applaws and they're not having any problems. Just keep an eye out for the symptoms. Zeus kept rubbing his bum on the floor and when I eventually checked, I spotted the infection.

Pooing 4 or 5 times a day is probably a bit too much. My vet raised an eyebrow when I said Dempsey poos 2 or 3 times a day - he reckons it should only be once or twice!

I'd steer clear of anything with a high grain content - it isn't roughage, it's just useless filler. If you need to add fibre you're better off getting a vegetable supplement (Rinti Green is one I know of) or pulp some vegetables yourself & give a portion once a day.

Caryll wrote:Pooing 4 or 5 times a day is probably a bit too much. My vet raised an eyebrow when I said Dempsey poos 2 or 3 times a day - he reckons it should only be once or twice!

I'd steer clear of anything with a high grain content - it isn't roughage, it's just useless filler. If you need to add fibre you're better off getting a vegetable supplement (Rinti Green is one I know of) or pulp some vegetables yourself & give a portion once a day.

I actually thought 2/3 times a day was the correct amount for pups to poo, but the vet seemed adamant that it was Applaws that was causing the problem of his sore bum (which I have a seperate post for). Hes been on Wainwrights for a week now, and his poo is very soft and soggy, and he poos atleast 4/5 times a day. I was going to start another post for this as I didn't know if it takes them a while to get used to the food change or not? He was on Wainwrights before Applaws and he was fine.

Changing food can give them bad tums. Did you change it gradually?

Caryll wrote:Changing food can give them bad tums. Did you change it gradually?

Yes, over the space of a week and I can't see any improvement. Hes been fully on Wainwrights since Saturday

A week's changeover should be ok. Have you thought about Fish4dogs? Janey swears by it!

Caryll wrote:A week's changeover should be ok. Have you thought about Fish4dogs? Janey swears by it!

I did have a think about it, but wouldn't it be too much for him by changing his food constantly? He was initially on Royal Canin at 8 weeks when we got him and he didnt like it, so I changed to Wainwrights. From Wainwrights we changed him to Applaws, now hes back on Wainwrights. Hes now around 5 and a half months old.

goldie87 wrote:

Caryll wrote:A week's changeover should be ok. Have you thought about Fish4dogs? Janey swears by it!

I did have a think about it, but wouldn't it be too much for him by changing his food constantly? He was initially on Royal Canin at 8 weeks when we got him and he didnt like it, so I changed to Wainwrights. From Wainwrights we changed him to Applaws, now hes back on Wainwrights. Hes now around 5 and a half months old.

Sorry to hear the Applaws didn't agree, I'm guessing he was loose on it? If he's still loose back on the Wainwrights when he was fine on it before then I would be inclined to think it's not food that's causing it, especially as you changed over gradually.

I'm surprised the vet thought it was the Applaws causing his anal gland problems (unless of course it was giving him a runny bum) as grain in the food usually makes stools softer, a diet high in meat and low in fibre usually results in firmer stools...

Although some foods just don't agree with some dogs. If he was loose on the Applaws then I'd give Fish4Dogs or Orijen a go - don't worry about changing if the Wainwrights isn't agreeing, it's not agreeing although I personally would investigate other causes for the soft stools if he was OK on the Wainwrights before...

To the OP: Orijen is an excellent dry food, one of the best, if not the best so I'd certainly give it a go.

Yes, I wouldn't normally advise chopping & changing food, but if there's a problem it needs to be sorted. I know that Janey's dog, Moo, had awful tummy problems for ages until she changed her to Fish4dogs, and she's been fine ever since.

P.S. At the moment Fish4dogs are doing the puppy food at half price...

http://www.fish4dogs.com/?gclid=CPXe0tv3mLECFUVc3wodo0GUfg

Galadriel wrote:

Sorry to hear the Applaws didn't agree, I'm guessing he was loose on it? If he's still loose back on the Wainwrights when he was fine on it before then I would be inclined to think it's not food that's causing it, especially as you changed over gradually.

I'm surprised the vet thought it was the Applaws causing his anal gland problems (unless of course it was giving him a runny bum) as grain in the food usually makes stools softer, a diet high in meat and low in fibre usually results in firmer stools...

Although some foods just don't agree with some dogs. If he was loose on the Applaws then I'd give Fish4Dogs or Orijen a go - don't worry about changing if the Wainwrights isn't agreeing, it's not agreeing although I personally would investigate other causes for the soft stools if he was OK on the Wainwrights before...

To the OP: Orijen is an excellent dry food, one of the best, if not the best so I'd certainly give it a go.

Hi Galadriel, what else could be causing the problem? When he was on Applaws, he poo'd about two/three times a day, he struggled to get it out, they were small and hard. But then after a week or so, he developed this problem with his bum. After two trips to the vets, they put it down to that the food had too much protein in it and was too rich for him, and to change his food. He did have a runny bum at this point and it smelt sort of fishy, im guessing because his glands were full?

Caryll wrote:P.S. At the moment Fish4dogs are doing the puppy food at half price...

http://www.fish4dogs.com/?gclid=CPXe0tv3mLECFUVc3wodo0GUfg

Thanks for letting me know, Caryll! I think I may just order it as I've gave him enough time to settle on Wainwrights and had no luck...

Well I'm stumped! IME (although I'm no vet) anal gland problems that have been down to food/stomach issues are when the stools have been too soft. I've never heard of a diet high in protein or firm stools causing the AGs not to empty, often people with dogs that have reoccurring AG problems will switch to a raw diet or higher quality kibble with less/no grain to help solve the problem but then every dog is different I guess.

Of course anal glands not emptying can be caused be other things like allergies and muscle dysfunction.

If he was on antibiotics then that might have caused the runs...

Galadriel wrote:Well I'm stumped! IME (although I'm no vet) anal gland problems that have been down to food/stomach issues are when the stools have been too soft. I've never heard of a diet high in protein or firm stools causing the AGs not to empty, often people with dogs that have reoccurring AG problems will switch to a raw diet or higher quality kibble with less/no grain to help solve the problem but then every dog is different I guess.

Of course anal glands not emptying can be caused be other things like allergies and muscle dysfunction.

If he was on antibiotics then that might have caused the runs...

Yeah he was on anti biotics but after he developed the problem.. I'm pretty stumped too! I'm going to keep him on Wainwrights for another week and see if things get any better. If not, I'll give fish4dogs a go!

Just a little heads up on the fish4dogs deal it says the stock is short dated so be careful when ordering!

Mine only poop once a day, just out of interest Ella how often do chance and harvey do their number 2's?

Fez wrote:Just a little heads up on the fish4dogs deal it says the stock is short dated so be careful when ordering!

Thanks for pointing that out Fez

goldie87 wrote:

Fez wrote:Just a little heads up on the fish4dogs deal it says the stock is short dated so be careful when ordering!

Thanks for pointing that out Fez

No worries!