# Hesitant switching to Orijen



## Faux (Aug 5, 2013)

So recently I've decided that I want to switch my arthritic 11 month old over to Orijen...it met all of my requirements: No potatoes, no grains, and it had salmon. It would be the their regular adult variety.

My concerns: I'm worried that he won't take the change very well. Last month I tried switching him to Blue Buffalo Wilderness, Salmon variety and he got runny on day four into the switch. He was pooping all over the place.

He's not on a low quality food now, he gets Blue Buffalo Freedom Puppy, which is grain free. So he's used to not having those grains, and his stool is fine. It gets runny if he's just pooping to poop...but that only happens at work when he can poop whenever he wants.

How slowly should I do this switch? When I was switching him before, it was over the course of 10 days, and it went nuts on day 4. What should I know before making the switch? I've not had luck switching either of my dogs to high protein foods.


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## GLiO (Aug 12, 2013)

You can transition as slowly as you want to. I did 14 days for the first food transition I did with my pup. You can try adding a spoonful of canned (non-spiced) pumpkin to their meals if they begin to have problems. If after the transition period he still has digestive issues then it may just not be the food for him.


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## Faux (Aug 5, 2013)

Yikes. I just hope it works out, then.


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## Kyndall54 (Apr 26, 2013)

My puppy does really well on Orijen, I rotate between it and Blue Wilderness. I know sometimes dogs may have some trouble with richness in Orijen, I think acana might be a little less rich if Orijen doesn't work out .


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## Dog Person (Sep 14, 2012)

Just remember that Orijen is very rich and you may have to feed less than you feed now.


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## GLiO (Aug 12, 2013)

Faux said:


> Yikes. I just hope it works out, then.


If you're worried, just start off with the spoonful of pumpkin at each meal during the transition. That will settle the stomach for the initial change. After 4-5 days you can try phasing out the pumpkin as well.


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## domika (Jul 1, 2012)

Yep it is extremely easy to overfeed, especially when mixing them too! Also, I have heard Blue Buffalo gives a lot of dogs loose stools so that could have been the case as well.


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## Bumper1 (Jul 14, 2013)

Faux said:


> So recently I've decided that I want to switch my arthritic 11 month old over to Orijen...it met all of my requirements: No potatoes, no grains, and it had salmon. It would be the their regular adult variety.
> 
> My concerns: I'm worried that he won't take the change very well. Last month I tried switching him to Blue Buffalo Wilderness, Salmon variety and he got runny on day four into the switch. He was pooping all over the place.
> 
> ...


Why do you like peas and lentils so much? Is it the myth about nightshades and arthritis? This has been debunked several times in recent studies.


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## georgiapeach (Mar 17, 2012)

Bumper1 said:


> Why do you like peas and lentils so much? Is it the myth about nightshades and arthritis? This has been debunked several times in recent studies.


Some dogs are sensitive or allergic to potatoes. My westie mix will start chewing her feet within an hour (usually less!) after eating a kibble with potatoes in it. If I continue the kibble, her feet become fire engine red, inflamed, and she chews them non-stop. No potatoes for this dog!


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## Faux (Aug 5, 2013)

Bumper1 said:


> Why do you like peas and lentils so much? Is it the myth about nightshades and arthritis? This has been debunked several times in recent studies.


It's not that I like peas and lentils, I don't want potatoes, and yes it is about the nightshades. Where could I find an article on that? I have yet to come across one. I've never had a dog with arthritis before, so the help is appreciated.


Maybe the overfeeding has been my issue in the past, I'm not sure. He gets about 3 cups now, should I drop down to 2 and see how he does with that?


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

Do try cutting back. If he gets skinny then increase the rations. I failed at feeding high protein kibble too, the amount that would have worked for him was ridiculously tiny. Then I failed at feeding home cooking but he got really fat instead of having soft poop. Luckily raw can be fluffy enough for me to feed the amount he needs!

Never thought much of the nightshade/arthritis connection either but would be nice to see some information on it.


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## Bumper1 (Jul 14, 2013)

Faux said:


> It's not that I like peas and lentils, I don't want potatoes, and yes it is about the nightshades. Where could I find an article on that? I have yet to come across one. I've never had a dog with arthritis before, so the help is appreciated.
> 
> 
> Maybe the overfeeding has been my issue in the past, I'm not sure. He gets about 3 cups now, should I drop down to 2 and see how he does with that?


Experts have looked at this issue before and find nothing that suggest potatoes or other "nightshade" plants like tomato incite arthritis. One thing to remember is that ancient nightshade plants harbored high levels of toxins, but the ones grown today do not. I wouldn't suggest you eat green skinned potatoes while on a trip to Peru but this is simply not an issue here and now. 

You see these statements on certain websites but if you look deeper there isn't any backing.

I definitely suggest that you give this pup perna every day though.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

Not looking very hard finds a reference to this fairly recent study, recent considering the whole thing came up in the 1940's!
http://www.drsoszka.com/arthritis/arthritis-what-you-eat-can-hurt-you/ And there is quite a lot of chatter on the subject. https://www.google.com/search?q=1993%2C+a+study+published+in+the+Journal+of+Neurological+and+Orthopedic+Medical+Surgery&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&client=firefox-a&channel=rcs#bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&channel=rcs&fp=222f3622e62222b8&q=1993+Journal+of+Neurological+and+Orthopedic+Medical+Surgery+arthritis+nightshade&rls=org.mozilla:en-US%3Aofficial Apparently my googlefu is weak today, cannot think up search terms to find studies refuting this study. I am also not inclined to even go through all the sites on the first page which seem to support dropping certain nightshade plants from the diet if you suffer from arthritis.


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## Bumper1 (Jul 14, 2013)

Kathyy said:


> Not looking very hard finds a reference to this fairly recent study, recent considering the whole thing came up in the 1940's!
> http://www.drsoszka.com/arthritis/arthritis-what-you-eat-can-hurt-you/ And there is quite a lot of chatter on the subject. https://www.google.com/search?q=1993%2C+a+study+published+in+the+Journal+of+Neurological+and+Orthopedic+Medical+Surgery&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&client=firefox-a&channel=rcs#bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&channel=rcs&fp=222f3622e62222b8&q=1993+Journal+of+Neurological+and+Orthopedic+Medical+Surgery+arthritis+nightshade&rls=org.mozilla:en-US%3Aofficial Apparently my googlefu is weak today, cannot think up search terms to find studies refuting this study. I am also not inclined to even go through all the sites on the first page which seem to support dropping certain nightshade plants from the diet if you suffer from arthritis.


There is plenty of chatter about it because some people have found a way to make money scaring other people. There is no truth to it. Don't ever listen to or read anything by an acupuncturist. Frauds.

http://www.besthealthmag.ca/eat-well/nutrition/4-myths-about-nightshade-vegetables


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## Emmett (Feb 9, 2013)

Bumper1 said:


> There is plenty of chatter about it because some people have found a way to make money scaring other people. There is no truth to it. Don't ever listen to or read anything by an acupuncturist. Frauds.
> 
> http://www.besthealthmag.ca/eat-well/nutrition/4-myths-about-nightshade-vegetables


Quoted from your linked article, "I am not aware of any studies in peer-reviewed journals that prove or disprove that they affect arthritis,” says arthritis expert Mark Erwin." Which seems to suggest that there is no evidence either way. While the theory is not supported by scientific evidence it is also not disproven or busted as far as this article goes. In fact, instead of "busting" anything they repeatedly say "doubtful" which implies that to the best of their knowledge it is untrue but also acknowledges that there is no certainty either.

Personally, I'm in the same "doubtful" boat, but am also very careful to not tout opinion, in either direction, as fact.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

How is http://www.noarthritis.com/research.htm invalid?

Unless avoiding these family of plants is limiting the diet there isn't any harm in avoiding these foods. If the animal is exhibiting symptoms then one could include nightshade veggies for a while and then take them out of the diet and see if there is any change.

How is acupuncture fraud? It helps animals, I doubted it too but if it helps animals that cannot lie it must do something.


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