# Not sure about Orijen anymore...



## ohrats9 (Dec 19, 2007)

Hi guys. I'm hoping everyone can help me figure this out. Tommy is growing like a weed and I'm not sure the Orijen food is doing him any favors anymore...

I am feeding him Orijen and I have been since he was 12 weeks. He did fine until recently (he's just under a year old) but the skin and bones paired with his disgusting bum is starting to freak me out. He has rancid gas and his poop has become more drool than anything else. 

Also, the thinness has me worried. He was starting to rapidly drop weight and I upped his food until he at least kept the weight he had, but he doesn't put any on. I am feeding him 5 cups a day which seems like a completely crazy amount. He's building muscle tone and is SUPER energetic. Skin/coat looks alright, but eyes are a little gunky. The overall impression does not make me satisfied that Orijen is the right food for him.

I don't like the idea of Acana because it's the same company as Orijen. I want to feed grain free. I am hearing wonderful things about Fromm. Can you guys help me out here? Is Fromm all it's cracked up to be? 

I appreciate it.


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## Mikeincalgary (Jun 14, 2013)

Are you sure it's from the food? acana has a lower protein amount, it may do the trick?


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## ohrats9 (Dec 19, 2007)

Mikeincalgary said:


> Are you sure it's from the food? acana has a lower protein amount, it may do the trick?


Yeah, it's the food. I thought it might be worms or something like that, but it's not.


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## taquitos (Oct 18, 2012)

Sometimes a certain brand of food, no matter how great, is not always easily digested by all dogs.

You could definitely try the Acana Regionals line


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## ohrats9 (Dec 19, 2007)

So it seems that Acana is the food of choice. I'll give it a shot, thanks you guys.


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## mcdavis (May 1, 2012)

A few years ago I planned to start using Orijen until several pet shop owners told me that it could cause (very) loose stools in some dogs, and I didn't want to take the risk. As others have said some food suits some dogs and causes problems for others, same as humans......
Fromm Gold worked really well for my previous dog so it was the natural choice for my new pup, and it seems to work well for him too, however it's a trial and error thing.


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## Flaming (Feb 2, 2013)

I'd go with Acana as well. Champion is a good company, some dogs just can't handle the large amounts of fat and protein that is in Orijen though, so Acana is a good alternative and you're sticking with the same company that you know about. 
There is an Acana grain free line though...I think it's regionals but you'll have to check the bags because I'm not sure.


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## ohrats9 (Dec 19, 2007)

Well, I just did a bunch more reading. I like that Fromm is family based and has never had a recall. It also seems to sit well with more sensitive stomachs. I'm going to go with Fromm for now.

Thanks again for your replies!


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

My opinion is, use what works for your dog. Within the bounds of safety of course, an example being that I avoid made in China where possible especially for treats.

But grain free, grain inclusive, high protein, lower protein and such is mainly about figuring out what your dog does best on.

I feed many of my fosters Fromm Classic. A simple, inexpensive food and most the them do very well on it. Some need more fat, I add fat to their diet. My own dog needs more protein, he does best at protein (in dry food) over 36%, 40% is better. Some people say that no "pet" dog needs that much protein but it works for him and his blood panels, kidney function and such all check out fine so that's what he gets. He's doing very nicely on partial raw so that's another option to consider. 

A basic blood panel is a good idea if your dog is really struggling to gain or maintain weight or has other health problems.


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## Dog Person (Sep 14, 2012)

I agree with Shell, feed whatever works for your dog

If your dog doesn't need grain free why feed it. You open up the choices of what you can feed by including both unless you really have to.

How large is your dog? 5 cups is a lot of food and that also may be he reason why his poop and gas are bad. I wasn't feeing Zoey nearly that much and she was pretty bad in those areas too on Orijen. I fed the same amount of Pinnacle and everything was normal.


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## Bumper1 (Jul 14, 2013)

ohrats9 said:


> Hi guys. I'm hoping everyone can help me figure this out. Tommy is growing like a weed and I'm not sure the Orijen food is doing him any favors anymore...
> 
> I am feeding him Orijen and I have been since he was 12 weeks. He did fine until recently (he's just under a year old) but the skin and bones paired with his disgusting bum is starting to freak me out. He has rancid gas and his poop has become more drool than anything else.
> 
> ...


Your experience is more or less typical with Orijen but rather than just say its a bad food people spin it by saying its so good most dogs don't do well on it. I find that hysterical. One thing Champion runs a very good public relations machine on the web.

Fromm makes safe foods but the GF are terrible in terms of nutrition and very expensive for what is a big bag of pea protein.

If you just have to feed GF foods. Annamaet has 3 excellent ones, Salcha, Aqualuk and Manitok which are excellent foods. Dr Tim's has one too and its a great food and its a bargain on-line. PetValue's store brand Performatrin is a good one I hear and a good deal. Tractor Supplies house brand is another option.

I don't see any real advantage with GF foods because grain problems are statistically insignificant. 1 in 20,000 dogs has a rice allergy and 1 in 10,000 dogs has a problem with corn.


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## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

If your dog has been doing fine and suddenly is starting to have health problems, I would take him in to the vet to rule out medical issues first.


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## ohrats9 (Dec 19, 2007)

Bumper1 said:


> Your experience is more or less typical with Orijen but rather than just say its a bad food people spin it by saying its so good most dogs don't do well on it. I find that hysterical. One thing Champion runs a very good public relations machine on the web.
> 
> Fromm makes safe foods but the GF are terrible in terms of nutrition and very expensive for what is a big bag of pea protein.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the names of those foods!


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## Milo114 (Jul 2, 2013)

I recently switched from orijen to annamaet and I have been very happy with it and my dogs coat looks better. I really like this company. Good luck!


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## Blueduck1105 (Sep 17, 2013)

My dog is having the same kind of tendencies about the weight too. He will be goingto the vet this weekend for another check up to determine a potential reason. Glad I came across this thread. Thanks everyone 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## bowie (Apr 26, 2010)

Bumper1 said:


> Fromm makes safe foods but the GF are terrible in terms of nutrition and very expensive for what is a big bag of pea protein.


Oh my goodness, now Fromm is a terrible food, too? What's so bad about it? I just bought the Surf & Turf, and while it does have pea protein, it's the 11th ingredient listed.

Pacific Wild Salmon
Duck Meal
Russet Potatoes
Pea Flour
Sweet Potatoes
Duck
Chicken Fat
Dried Tomato Pomace
Salmon Meal
Whole Dried Egg
*Pea Protein*
Chicken
Flaxseed
Wisconsin Cheese
Salmon Oil
Chicken Broth
Carrots
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Apples
Green Beans
Chicken Cartilage
Potassium Chloride
Cranberries
Blueberries
Salt
Chicory Root Extract
Alfalfa Sprouts
Yucca Schidigera Extract
Sodium Selenite
Folic Acid
Taurine
Parsley
Vitamins

Before you call me a "label-reader," here's the typical analysis of Fromm GF Surf & Turf. http://frommfamily.com/pdf/typical-analysis/four-star-dog-dry-surf-turf.pdf If you could please point out what is bad here I would really appreciate it.

OP, I would second the vet suggestion that Laurelin made. Is there any blood in the stool? Could it possibly be giardia? If all is well, Bumper1 mentioned Annamaet grain-free. My miniature dachshund is fed the Manitok forumla and I'm very happy with it.


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## Dog Person (Sep 14, 2012)

Pea Flour is the 4th item down. Based on what has been said take out the Salmon and Duck - the most ingredients are Duck Meal (2nd down so it weighed led than the Salmon), Potatoes, Pea Flour, Sweet Potatoes & Chicken Fat (most of what I've read about reading labels is you stop at the fat)

I think it gets to the point of being nit picking. Probably most of the "better" foods are great to feed your dog. It's not Kibbles and Bits or crappy food. I think it's a simple matter of - Does the dog do well on it - yes/no. Yes - keep feeding; no - try something else.

A few people on here seem to have the knowledge base to get "the best results" from foods, the rest of us do not; a lot feed raw. In the 12 years we owned Maggie she ate Authority, Nutro Natural Choice, Purina and Science Diet along with wet foods from Alpo, Pedigree and any can that was around $1.00 or less; at around 10 YO she stopped eating any combination and I started giving her cooked chicken mixed with her Nutro Natural Choice Senior food. She was active until the day she died, her coat was beautiful and the Vet commented on how well toned she was at her last visit before she died. Zoey gets better foods and has had ear infections and UTIs ... so it makes me wonder what the heck is up.

All we can do is "read the label" if you don't have the knowledge. But know that as you read what to look for.


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## ohrats9 (Dec 19, 2007)

I thought I would give you guys an update after I went on a little food information gathering rampage...

I ended up staying with the Orijen, but I am now serving half of that while the other half is Honest Kitchen (I chose Embark for the first flavor). I went straight to the half/half mixture because I couldn't see it getting any worse and I was right. His bum activities were much improved by the next morning. I'm pretty pumped.

Out.


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

ohrats9 said:


> I thought I would give you guys an update after I went on a little food information gathering rampage...
> 
> I ended up staying with the Orijen, but I am now serving half of that while the other half is Honest Kitchen (I chose Embark for the first flavor). I went straight to the half/half mixture because I couldn't see it getting any worse and I was right. His bum activities were much improved by the next morning. I'm pretty pumped.
> 
> Out.


Glad to hear that! Sign up for emails on THK, you frequently will get newsletters with coupons. "Like" them on Facebook as well, if you do that.


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## NicoleIsStoked (Aug 31, 2012)

Bumper1 said:


> Your experience is more or less typical with Orijen but rather than just say its a bad food people spin it by saying its so good most dogs don't do well on it. I find that hysterical. One thing Champion runs a very good public relations machine on the web.
> 
> Fromm makes safe foods but the GF are terrible in terms of nutrition and very expensive for what is a big bag of pea protein.
> 
> ...


Out of sheet curiosity, where are those numbers from?


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## Bumper1 (Jul 14, 2013)

NicoleIsStoked said:


> Out of sheet curiosity, where are those numbers from?


Pretty much every peer reviewed study on food allergies puts Rice at 1% and Corn at 2% of verified food allergies, with common proteins at around 80% combined. All grains except wheat at less than 5%.

However, 90% of allergies of are not diet, rather environmental.

So if you do the math and use the AVMA's data on all allergies which is about 5% of all dogs (90% of these are environmental), you get to these numbers.

Grain allergies are statistically insignificant, especially rice, corn, barley and oats.


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## ohrats9 (Dec 19, 2007)

InkedMarie said:


> Glad to hear that! Sign up for emails on THK, you frequently will get newsletters with coupons. "Like" them on Facebook as well, if you do that.


Thanks for the tip!


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