Is Orijen worth looking into?

tobyshiba

I was just looking into the food for the first time. I heard a lot of great things about it ( from everyone here at the forums ) ... and I also found a store thats only 11 miles from where I live. Not too bad.

I was thinking of going over a getting a small bag as a sample for Toby, just for him to try out. Hes currently on Eagle Pack Puppy. Obviously it'd take a good month of slowing introducing a new food to switch. Do you think if I switched him from Eagle Pack Puppy to Orijen Puppy -- would he gain more weight if I used the same food amount? ( 2 cups a day ) Would it make more sense to ease him into an adult food ( like the Orijen 6 Fish ) over a month or two, since in another month or so he'll be getting closer to 7-8 months old.

I guess I just want opinions. I saw Eagle Pack was a 4 star rated food and Orijen was a 6 star rated food on this one dog food analysis website I was looking at.

zoiegirl

Orijen is supposed to be one of the best out there. I would switch but theres only one supplier in the whole state and its to difficult to rely on because its so far away.

scarlet

My thoughts are if Toby is doing fine on what he's been eating, what change it? Especially if the Orijen may be unreliable.... Also, Brada always suggests changing out food, so I try and add different foods together and never changing out totally.

okiron

Elaine, I understand the theory of don't fix it if it's not broken but if there's better options out there then why not? It's not finding a new solution but finding a better one. And if it doesn't work then you have a decent food to fall back on. I rather have my animals on grain than starving but if they can handle grain free than I rather have them on grain free. If they can't handle it, at least I can say I tried.

Someone could correct me if I'm wrong but I got the impression that the changing out foods thing was exclusively for grain free foods only. Grain to grain food should be a gradual change along with grain to grain free.

dlroberts

Orijen is considered one of the best foods out there. Joey was on it for a little over a month. He seemed to like it and he grew like a weed while he was on it. Its over 500 calories per cup so I suspect he would gain a lot more weight on it compared to the eagle pack. Unfortunately, after about a month his stool became soft and was unresponsive to probiotics. I have since switched him to Solid Gold Hundenflocken Puppy and he's been doing much better. Orijen is a really rich food, and it seems that a lot of dogs do better with it as a supplement to their normal diet then their exclusive diet.

IMO opinion, its certainly worth a try though.

JessicaRabbit

I feed all three of my dogs Orijen (Miko- Puppy Formula, Moto and Piggy 6 Fish) as well as my cats. I know that a few folks dogs didn't respond fabulously to Orijen. In my own experience my animals thrived! Everyones coats improved. Their stool is great. Miko is in fact growing like a weed (she is entering that gangly long and scrawny phase).

I would suggest since your dog is doing well with the Eagle Pack and is almost to the point that you would be switching to adult food in a couple months, wait. Why transition twice? ONce you feel your puppy is ready for adult food introduce the Orijen then.

tobyshiba

hmm, I figure its at least worth a shot. I guess i'll get a bag of it in a month or so and then start transitioning him to adult food. I'd like him to get better food, since he deserves it. If something does go wrong, of course i'll probably put him on the Holistic Salmon/Fish Eagle Pack. Least he will never be eating Eukanuba/Iams. ;D haha.

tsukitsune

I am with Elaine on this one, I have been working with a holistic specialist to get the right combination diet and nutrient combination for the shibas. When I first saw her, she said she believed that kibble should be looked at from a 'if it isn't broke don't fix it' attitude provided you have your animal on a high grade, quality balanced kibble.

Truly though, I have heard nothing but very good things about Orijen, if there were a supplier within driving distance from me, I probably would have tried that food before the Eagle Pack Holistic, but my food works and I believe it to be better than other lower grade commercial foods by the results from my dogs. If you can find it, afford it, and Toby can tolerate it as his adult food - why not go with a 6-star over a 4-star!? You'll have to switch him to some adult forumla kibble anyway, right? :)