# TERRIBLE diarrhea after trying Orijen... help!



## Linz

Hi everyone, recently my local country store started carrying Orijen. My 2 dogs (Golden Retriever and pug) were eating TOTW. I decided to try them out with a bag of original Orijen adult food. I did 3/4 TOTW 1/4 Orijen for 4 days, then did 1/2 and 1/2 and my Golden got AWEFUL diarrhea. He had an accident over night (which never happens) and when I came home from work he was COVERED in diarrhea and all over his kennel and the floor. -This happened Wednesay. Wednesday night I just went back to TOTW. Yesterday (thurs) he had a small accident of diarrhea in his kennel when I got home but no other accidents. Today no accidents but still cow-pie diarrhea. I started him on hamburger and rice for a bland diet last night and this morning. I plan to continue this either until he's better or I end up at the vet..

My question is this: How long should it take before the hamburger/rice helps? Is there anything else I should do to help him? He's acting fine. Still wanting to eat, still drinks, wants to play, go for walks, etc. 

So I guess Orijen isn't going to work for us .... 
btw - my pug is doing fine on it!


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## Angel's_mom

Orijen is higher in calories than TOTW so your dog should need less food. I wonder if that's what caused the diarrhea? 

Not sure about the hamburger and rice, and how long it takes to help. I tried it on my dog and only found out she couldn't digest rice. Which was helpful in it's own way. I hope your doggie feels better soon!


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## john47

orijen is a really good food. i would try giving it more time and transition the dog slower. a tablespoon or two of pure canned pumpkin mixed in the dog's food should stop the diarrhea.


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## lumpy

I have been feeding Orijen to my five year old Bouvier for about 3 years with no problems. The last bag I bought was a huge mistake. She has had severe diarrhea for days. I took her off the food and fed her rice, pumpkin and ground beef. The problem cleared up. I started her slowly on Orijen again (same bag) and the diarrhea returned with a vengence! They (Orijen) have either changed their formula or their suppliers have supplied garbage ingredients. Unfortunately there are no laws governing the manufacturing of dog food. I watched a program on W-5 about dog food. They made a batch of dog food out of old work boots, motor oil and other disgusting products. They added vitamin supplements etc and it passed inspection! I wonder if Orijen is inflating the quality of their food. I know I will no longer buy this brand of food. The vet bills will be astronomical if I continue feeding her this food. My cousin has been trying to contact Orijen about this problem and they will not return her calls. In my opinion, this lack of customer support speaks volumes about their so called quality. Home cooked meals for my dog from now on!

Phil


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## globalchiptrader

Hi, I am having the same issue now with Orijen since they changed the formula with my 2 year old Boerboel. May I ask what dog food you are now using? I had chose Orijen due to high quality ingredients. 
Jim


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## StellaLucyDesi

HI! If you read above again, you'll see that they were either feeding TOTW prior to the Orijen or have switched to home cooking. Anyway, you might try TOTW yourself...alot of people love it...or another high quality grain free food like Fromm 4-Star Surf & Turf, Wellness Core, etc. I feed two of my four the Surf & Turf and love it for them. It's a moderate amount of protein (30-33%) and is made in a family-owned facility in Wisconsin. As far as I know, they've never had any recalls...yet...'cause you know things can happen, but so far they're are a great company and easy to deal with. Check them out www.frommfamily.com. They also have a facebook page. Btw, there is a very good dog food review site that is fairly new that I love....www.dogfoodadvisor.com. Check them out for other foods you might like to try. Good luck.


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## lumpy

I was going to feed my dog natural, but I don't have the freezer space. I switched her to "Fromm Gold for Adults". Since doing so, I have had no further problems. Still no reply from Orijen. I hope they go out of business. Take care and good luck with your dog.

Phil



globalchiptrader said:


> Hi, I am having the same issue now with Orijen since they changed the formula with my 2 year old Boerboel. May I ask what dog food you are now using? I had chose Orijen due to high quality ingredients.
> Jim


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## globalchiptrader

Hi, I am thinking of changing to EVO, yet concerned about the P+G buyout. anyone have an opinion?


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## ipreferpi

I had the same issues with Orijen, plus my dog and cat got UTI's on it. I just think it's a food that works really well for some, and not at all for others.

As far as another option, if the P&G thing concerns you, you might consider Instinct. It's a Natures Variety product that ranges in protein percentages from the 30's to 40's depending on formula. They have a chicken, Duck and Turkey, Rabbit, Beef and Lamb, and a Salmon. They're all grain free and use tapioca as a carbohydrate.


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## xxxxdogdragoness

man is there anything that isnt owned by big business anymore??? i feed a 3 star food (exclusive adult & puppy) & mine have done very well on it, Izze gets fish oil for her coat, has for many many years & the pup will soon be getting it as well. i was consideing changing but my food isnt 'broken' so why fix it lol.


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## amynrichie

dogdragoness said:


> i was consideing changing but my food isnt 'broken' so why fix it lol.


 My thoughts exactly!


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## Clamothe

TOTW is a lot lower in protein then Orijen. If you want to stay with the Orijen company you could try Acana which is their lower protein version. Why were you switching from TOTW?


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## globalchiptrader

Anyone have thoughts on Merrick Before Grain? Or the starch free Wysong??


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## kyle6286

globalchiptrader said:


> Anyone have thoughts on Merrick Before Grain? Or the starch free Wysong??



We just switched our shih tzu to Before Grain Chicken. We originally had him on Innova for a while, got nervous about the P & G buyout, changed him to Orijen, then I was a little nervous about the high protein %. We landed on Before Grain because it's grain-free and the chicken formula has 32% protein which we feel comfortable with. I can say that the ingredients in BG are very good and it is rated a 5 star dog food on dogfoodanalysis and dogfoodadvisor. We have noticed that our dog isn't as crazy about eating it as he was with Orijen. When we would give him Orijen, he would act like he's never eaten before and gobble the whole thing down in a couple of minutes. With BG, he sometimes eats 1/3 of the bowl and then comes back later to finish it. I'm not sure if he is just full or he's not too fond of the flavor. In his defense, we have only been giving him BG for two weeks now so maybe he's still adapting to it. Just last night I tried putting some warm water on the food and he loved it. He ate the whole thing without pausing.


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## Kawgirl

My two small dogs did well on Merrick Before Grain chicken kibble when they were on it.


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## Hallie

Hallie has been on a grainfree rotation since she was 6 weeks old. Shes rarely eaten the same food twice, I'm big on rotating. She's never had a problem until orijen adult came along. It was terrible. On the brightside, she did fantastic on regional red. I don't think it's the richness in the orijen adult that causes problems since regional red is richer.


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## KBBar

Linz said:


> Hi everyone, recently my local country store started carrying Orijen. My 2 dogs (Golden Retriever and pug) were eating TOTW. I decided to try them out with a bag of original Orijen adult food. I did 3/4 TOTW 1/4 Orijen for 4 days, then did 1/2 and 1/2 and my Golden got AWEFUL diarrhea. He had an accident over night (which never happens) and when I came home from work he was COVERED in diarrhea and all over his kennel and the floor. -This happened Wednesay. Wednesday night I just went back to TOTW. Yesterday (thurs) he had a small accident of diarrhea in his kennel when I got home but no other accidents. Today no accidents but still cow-pie diarrhea. I started him on hamburger and rice for a bland diet last night and this morning. I plan to continue this either until he's better or I end up at the vet..
> 
> My question is this: How long should it take before the hamburger/rice helps? Is there anything else I should do to help him? He's acting fine. Still wanting to eat, still drinks, wants to play, go for walks, etc.
> 
> So I guess Orijen isn't going to work for us ....
> btw - my pug is doing fine on it!


The exact same thing happened with our puppy. Each time that I introduce the Orijen food, my puppy had diarrhea for four days each. You can also give pumpkin and RX Clay along with the bland rice and meat diet. Really, the only cure is getting it out of their system. The pumpkin helps firm up the stool and the RX clay helps draw out toxins .


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## RonE

Ten-year-old thread.


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