# Orijen: Worth The Price?



## ChelseaOliver (Nov 5, 2014)

I'm looking at transitioning my adult dog from raw to a high quality, grain free kibble. The raw doesn't seem to be sitting well anymore and she's been refusing it frequently. So far, Orijen's Tundra and Regional Red formulas are standing out to me - is this food worth the price tag? Pros and cons? Ideally, I'd like to also transition my 9 month old pup to an Orijen puppy formula, and then onto whatever I put the adult on.


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## BellaPup (Jul 7, 2007)

I fed Bella Orijen for a couple years. She did really well on it, but after a while I couldn't find it anymore. I gave up and switched her to Taste of the Wild. She has been doing just as well on TOTW as she did on Orijen...and it is much easier to find and easier on my bank account. 

I think the price is way too high when there are more affordable foods out there that are just as good.


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## RoughCollie (Mar 7, 2011)

It is worth the price to me. Aidan tried at least a dozen dog foods and he didn't like any of them. I wanted to provide him with a food he loves. He loves Orijen adult, he does well on it, and it is rated 5-stars at dogfoodadvisor.com.


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## fourdogs (Feb 3, 2014)

You have to try it with your dog and see. 

Orijen did not work for my dogs at all. I had ones with diarrhea, I had one develop a chronic UTI that would not go away until I switched her off the food and there was much itching and scratching. 

I have tried others but I keep coming back to Fromm, and the dogs do just as well on the grain inclusive Gold and Four-star foods as they do on the grain free foods. It's just a matter of trying things out and see how they do. 

Good luck


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

It really is just going to depend on how your dog does on a given food, honestly.

I used to feed pretty danged high quality, rated 5 stars stuff. Then we had to temporarily downgrade and I found that my dogs did just as well OR BETTER on it. At this point I deliberately feed grain inclusive, 'performance' blend foods because that's what it takes to keep one of them at even a slightly reasonable weight (instead of a walking skeleton) and the others do just as well on it as they did the super expensive stuff (for about 1/3 the cost).

Does that mean Orijen isn't worth it for you? No. It just means that it isn't worth it for me, with this set of dogs.


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## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

Orijen did not work well for my crew. Acana (same company) worked well with the paps.


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## ChelseaOliver (Nov 5, 2014)

Thanks for all your feedback! I'm a bit worried about it being too rich for the puppy but I think we're gonna give it a go with my adult dog, who's super duper picky and refusing to eat most raw right now. Ideally I'd feed raw but the puppy was also reacting previously so it doesn't look like it's in the cards. We'll probably then switch the puppy to an Orijen puppy formula when she finishes her current food and, if that goes over well, maybe Il'l be able to have both dogs eating the same thing when she's grown 

Also, aware that this is the wrong place but anyone with cats on Orijen? It's weird to me that they don't seem to have wet food but we're considering trying our 3 on the dry as well.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Orijen says they don't have wet food because they can't afford their own canning plant and don't trust other canning plants to manufacture their food properly :/. Do your cats eat at least some wet food? A lot of people say their cats got UTIs on Orijen but I don't know if that's because they were feeding all dry or not. I have used it in my ferret's food mixture (with ferrets it's best to mix foods so they don't get too picky. And the cats steal the ferret food) and it's pretty good. Has a lot of fish though. I've never used it as a sole food for the cats because it's just so expensive.


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## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

Depends on the dog, really. Kabota's energy increased 100% on Acana (same company, about 1/2 step down from Orijen), so I tried him on Orijen. He did just fine on it, but there was no additional increase in energy/health, so I'm sticking with Acana.


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## ChelseaOliver (Nov 5, 2014)

Willowy said:


> Orijen says they don't have wet food because they can't afford their own canning plant and don't trust other canning plants to manufacture their food properly :/. Do your cats eat at least some wet food? A lot of people say their cats got UTIs on Orijen but I don't know if that's because they were feeding all dry or not. I have used it in my ferret's food mixture (with ferrets it's best to mix foods so they don't get too picky. And the cats steal the ferret food) and it's pretty good. Has a lot of fish though. I've never used it as a sole food for the cats because it's just so expensive.


My cats eat wet food with every meal, so if we make the switch to Orijen it will be for their kibble only. I agree that cats definitely need wet food, especially my male cat, I always worry about him having urinary issues. I'd have to look more into the cat food thing - I love the idea of it but they are doing great on what they're on now, so I don't know if making the switch would be worth it. I would feel better to have them on a higher quality kibble though.


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## fourdogs (Feb 3, 2014)

My cat wouldn't eat orijen or acana. The most interesting thing is, I rotate the Fromm dry flavors with him, each bag. I add a splash of warm water to his kibble to add in the missing moisture (some cats won't eat it that way). But he also gets ½ wet food as part of his diet. I happened upon a sale of Sheba at Home Depot during their pet food experiment, and not only did he like the food, his coat improved a whole bunch! It's shiny, no more dandruff, poo is good, good price. Sure it's probably not "5 star" but he is doing better on it that he was on Evo wet which was my go-to wet food. 
Depends on each individual animal, truly. 

It's interesting though, I had a similar experience as CptJack, where we had to cut way, way back on all the things according to our budget, and they did just as well! LOL. I am actually preferring the grain-inclusive Fromm to the grain free :O I also liked Hills Ideal Balance and Purina beyond :O


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## goldengirl11 (Mar 3, 2015)

Orijen regional red formula is the only kibble we have found to date with an ingredients list that we like! Our boy eats homemade food (West Coast Canine Life), but we also give him this kibble because he is so active and because he LOVES it! He does very well on it, though it is not his main food. I would be interested to know how your puppy does on this food, since we have a new fur baby coming in two weeks (eek!!) and will likely be trying him on the Orijen puppy formula as well!


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## Stephie (Apr 29, 2010)

As many have already stated, it depends on the dog. 
My Sheltie didn't take to it well. He loved the taste but the only food he seems to be able to stay on with no diarrhea is Hill's Science Diet.
My two Saints eat Orijen and doing fabulous on it. My male is a very finicky eater who has also had endless GI issues over the past few years. He eats Orijen consistently and has yet to get bored with it, knock on wood. It also agrees very well with his stomach, knock on wood once again.
It is expensive but when you're able to feed a diet that your dogs love and it agrees with their stomachs - it's worth it. I've got it on autoship via chewy.com


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## ChelseaOliver (Nov 5, 2014)

We've decided to switch to Acana! the lower protein level makes more sense for my older dog who is having trouble with the raw nowadays and also the price difference is a factor. We'll be transitioning her right onto the red meat formula and the puppy onto the limited ingredient lamb formula. Also switching the cats! Let's hope it goes well.


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## moluno (Apr 29, 2009)

I wouldn't pay Orijen prices for my dogs (they eat A LOT in order to maintain weight, and do just as well on grain inclusive, "lower quality" stuff), but I do feed my cat Orijen. He really likes it, and it doesn't mess with his IBD, the only downside thus far is that his poop REEKS on it. =P Maybe Acana will be less stinky lol.


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## Nissa M (Nov 3, 2014)

ChelseaOliver said:


> We've decided to switch to Acana! the lower protein level makes more sense for my older dog who is having trouble with the raw nowadays and also the price difference is a factor. We'll be transitioning her right onto the red meat formula and the puppy onto the limited ingredient lamb formula. Also switching the cats! Let's hope it goes well.


Hi! Just came across this thread and wondering how your dogs are doing on the Acana so far? I've been reviewing some Orijen vs Acana threads with the plan to to possibly switch from Orijen puppy to one of the single ingredient Acana formulas. Our pup has had some crazy episodes of diarrhea lately and though he returns to normal on a bland diet, the reintroduction of Orijen pup starts the diarrhea up again each time. Wanting to stick with a good quality food as he's done really well on the Orijen until now. 

Also, about 3 months ago we switched our once obese cat onto Orijen's cat and kitten formula from a silly, expensive vet weight control food and he's done amazingly well. Hope your cats are too!


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## taquitos (Oct 18, 2012)

Nissa M said:


> Hi! Just came across this thread and wondering how your dogs are doing on the Acana so far? I've been reviewing some Orijen vs Acana threads with the plan to to possibly switch from Orijen puppy to one of the single ingredient Acana formulas. Our pup has had some crazy episodes of diarrhea lately and though he returns to normal on a bland diet, the reintroduction of Orijen pup starts the diarrhea up again each time. Wanting to stick with a good quality food as he's done really well on the Orijen until now.
> 
> Also, about 3 months ago we switched our once obese cat onto Orijen's cat and kitten formula from a silly, expensive vet weight control food and he's done amazingly well. Hope your cats are too!


Very few people have dogs that have issues on Acana, especially the single ingredient formulas  Go for it!


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## Nissa M (Nov 3, 2014)

taquitos said:


> Very few people have dogs that have issues on Acana, especially the single ingredient formulas  Go for it!


Yes, this is what I keep hearing! Thanks


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## Little Wise Owl (Nov 12, 2011)

I personally don't think Orijen is worth the price UNLESS it's the ONLY food your dog does good on (which I've heard many don't). Acana, on the other hand, IS worth it. IMO.

My dogs do amazing on the Pacifica and Chicken and Burbank Potato.


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## CandyLeopard (Oct 14, 2013)

My dog does wonderful on Acana singles Pork. It's by far the best food, he has never had diarrhea since the switch.. which was.. maybe 7 months ago? 
The only thing that sucks is it recently went up in price by $5!! (where I live, anyway).


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## Nissa M (Nov 3, 2014)

Little Wise Owl said:


> I personally don't think Orijen is worth the price UNLESS it's the ONLY food your dog does good on (which I've heard many don't). Acana, on the other hand, IS worth it. IMO.
> 
> My dogs do amazing on the Pacifica and Chicken and Burbank Potato.





CandyLeopard said:


> My dog does wonderful on Acana singles Pork. It's by far the best food, he has never had diarrhea since the switch.. which was.. maybe 7 months ago?
> The only thing that sucks is it recently went up in price by $5!! (where I live, anyway).


Were both of your dogs on Orijen before the Acana switch?


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## Little Wise Owl (Nov 12, 2011)

Nah, we fed Orijen years ago and our dogs did pretty okay on it but it was just too expensive. They were fed other foods in between until I found out Acana Chicken/Potato was really affordable.


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## ChelseaOliver (Nov 5, 2014)

Nissa M said:


> Hi! Just came across this thread and wondering how your dogs are doing on the Acana so far? I've been reviewing some Orijen vs Acana threads with the plan to to possibly switch from Orijen puppy to one of the single ingredient Acana formulas. Our pup has had some crazy episodes of diarrhea lately and though he returns to normal on a bland diet, the reintroduction of Orijen pup starts the diarrhea up again each time. Wanting to stick with a good quality food as he's done really well on the Orijen until now.
> 
> Also, about 3 months ago we switched our once obese cat onto Orijen's cat and kitten formula from a silly, expensive vet weight control food and he's done amazingly well. Hope your cats are too!


Hi Nissa, sorry I'm just responding to this now. Everything has gone super well! My super picky adult dog is consistently eating the Acana red meat formula and the puppy is doing great on the Acana limited ingredient lamb and apple. I had to increase her food as she got a bit too skinny but now she's gained a bit. Her poops aren't quite where I'd like them to be but I think that's partially the amount of food she is eating plus stuff she's still getting off the ground. The cats LOVE the Acana. One of them recently had a bout of diarrhea but I don't think it was the kibble because it cleared up quickly, so she probably got into something. The cat's poops are perfect and no stomach upset at all, aside from that once incidence.


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