Orijien Food

[Guest june.andnovas]

I've just ordered a small bag of the puppy Orijen for my 16 week old staffie who since I got him has had a BAAAAAD rear end. (runny / sometimes diarreah / sometimes hard / sometimes just constantly dripping / lots of wind) A lot of the same sxs as a lot of the pp have. I'm sure the constant changing of diet has a lot to do with it as well as him being ultra sensitive.

Supercoat gives him wind and runny inconsistent poo's, Pedigree Natural (I know, but less protein so I thought it was worth a go) was the same and he was eating it, I tried adding turkey mince and this too has given him the splatters.

So fingers crossed the Orijen works and I can move on from this new "poo obsession" I have and we can be a happy family!!

hmm not quiet an enjoyable pupping training addition you have on your hands. Let us know how his stomach reacts to the orijien diet for sure.

[Staff'n'Toller]

I've just ordered a small bag of the puppy Orijen for my 16 week old staffie who since I got him has had a BAAAAAD rear end. (runny / sometimes diarreah / sometimes hard / sometimes just constantly dripping / lots of wind) A lot of the same sxs as a lot of the pp have. I'm sure the constant changing of diet has a lot to do with it as well as him being ultra sensitive.

Supercoat gives him wind and runny inconsistent poo's, Pedigree Natural (I know, but less protein so I thought it was worth a go) was the same and he was eating it, I tried adding turkey mince and this too has given him the splatters.

So fingers crossed the Orijen works and I can move on from this new "poo obsession" I have and we can be a happy family!!

I would be really inclined to give your pup boiled chicken breast (no skin) and boiled rice for a number of days until everything is looking better. Then start to add orijen very slowly i.e. first few meals just 5 or 6 pieces of kibble and see how he goes. Giving him orijen straight off will probably just give you the same results (runny poo).

I would also do drontal worming (from the Vet not the supermarket) 2 doses a fortnight apart in case it's Giardia.

Mel.

Edited September 12, 2008 by Staff'n'Toller

[Rockafella]

I've just ordered a small bag of the puppy Orijen for my 16 week old staffie who since I got him has had a BAAAAAD rear end. (runny / sometimes diarreah / sometimes hard / sometimes just constantly dripping / lots of wind) A lot of the same sxs as a lot of the pp have. I'm sure the constant changing of diet has a lot to do with it as well as him being ultra sensitive.

Supercoat gives him wind and runny inconsistent poo's, Pedigree Natural (I know, but less protein so I thought it was worth a go) was the same and he was eating it, I tried adding turkey mince and this too has given him the splatters.

So fingers crossed the Orijen works and I can move on from this new "poo obsession" I have and we can be a happy family!!

I would be really inclined to give your pup boiled chicken breast (no skin) and boiled rice for a number of days until everything is looking better. Then start to add orijen very slowly i.e. first few meals just 5 or 6 pieces of kibble and see how he goes. Giving him orijen straight off will probably just give you the same results (runny poo).

I would also do drontal worming (from the Vet not the supermarket) 2 doses a fortnight apart in case it's Giardia.

Mel.

Thank you so much for the advice, I certainly will take it on board. How many grams of boiled chicken and rice would you suggest???? I feed him twice a day. And I also wormed him "advocate" on the 2nd, he's due again on the 2nd of next month. Should I give him a drontal anyway just in case it is giardia? Or would that be totally overdoing it?

[Lemonlime]

Well we went through 2 big bags, and a small one of Orijen before changing to Artemis. My dogs were always hungry on Orijen and looking for more food. It was also getting very expensive to feed 4 dogs on. All are doing much better on Artemis.

[Staff'n'Toller]

Probably a third to half a chicken breast and half a cup of boiled rice? It really depends on how hungry he is and how big he is, usually when we do chick/rice it's for a convalescing dog so we use small amounts but since it is just the runs and he is not ill he could eat more. You may even need to up the rice if he seems ravenous but see how he goes with the above amounts.

Advocate doesn't cover tapeworm so you should consider worming separately for that every 3-6mths. Tapeworm doesn't cause diahrroea though.

You will be overdoing things with the worming but it's worth doing the drontal (give it with a meal) now and in 2 weeks before the next advocate. Be sure to weigh him at the Vets so you know you're in the right weight range each time with the drontal.

If nothing works and he's still got the runs then it def warrants further investigation, doesn't sound normal for a pup.

Mel.

[LoremIpsum]

On another note my two dogs have been on Orijen for a while and they absolutely love it but it's not all good things I'm seeing. There stools are too soft half the time and they are now both farting machines since switching to it. On the other hand their coats are absolutely beautiful on it.

We're having the same problem. Martha's poos are very runny, and man, can she whiff up a room!

Opps, disregard this, I was blaming Orijen without foundation. Martha had the "splatters" (as Rockysmum calls it) for other reasons and is AOK now. Back to the small, firm, black stools that so delight me.

I would be really inclined to give your pup boiled chicken breast (no skin) and boiled rice for a number of days until everything is looking better. Then start to add orijen very slowly i.e. first few meals just 5 or 6 pieces of kibble and see how he goes. Giving him orijen straight off will probably just give you the same results (runny poo).

Rockysmum, you could also try adding mashed pumpkin. I gave this to Martha when she had the runs and it solidified her poos immediately. I just mashed half a butternut pumpkin and spread that out over three meals, stuck the shredded boiled chicken on top. (I didn't bother with rice.) She loved it.

Have you talked to your vet about it?

Ziwipeak ... was reading about this last night. Does anyone use it? Compared to Orijien?

I'm interested as well. Anyone?

[poocow]

I've only used ziwipeak as a treat to sprinkle on top of their food, never as a dry food as I thought it would be a bit too rich for my boys.

[Rockafella]

Probably a third to half a chicken breast and half a cup of boiled rice? It really depends on how hungry he is and how big he is, usually when we do chick/rice it\'s for a convalescing dog so we use small amounts but since it is just the runs and he is not ill he could eat more. You may even need to up the rice if he seems ravenous but see how he goes with the above amounts.

Advocate doesn\'t cover tapeworm so you should consider worming separately for that every 3-6mths. Tapeworm doesn\'t cause diahrroea though.

You will be overdoing things with the worming but it\'s worth doing the drontal (give it with a meal) now and in 2 weeks before the next advocate. Be sure to weigh him at the Vets so you know you\'re in the right weight range each time with the drontal.

If nothing works and he\'s still got the runs then it def warrants further investigation, doesn\'t sound normal for a pup.

Mel.

Rockysmum, you could also try adding mashed pumpkin. I gave this to Martha when she had the runs and it solidified her poos immediately. I just mashed half a butternut pumpkin and spread that out over three meals, stuck the shredded boiled chicken on top. (I didn\'t bother with rice.) She loved it.

Have you talked to your vet about it?

Thanks for all the advice!!

i took him to the vet yeterday. He's gaining weight well (phew) and the vet seemed to think it might be due to changing his diet too quickly as apart from his "off" rear end he's more than happy and a normal pup with an enormour appetite to match. She also gave him some "binding" stuff which I think looks a lot like runny cement, to coat the intestines and relieve his sxs. We're on the boiled chicken and rice and I will maybe halve the rice and give pumpkin too for a week or so and then start adding small amounts of Orijen (when I get it). And I'll be sure to stick to the one diet and we'll see how we go!

Once again, thanks for all the fanstastic advice... you guys ROCK!!!! :D

Edited September 14, 2008 by Rockysmum

[Jey]

Is Orijen the only dry food without grains?

[Rockafella]

Is Orijen the only dry food without grains?

from what I hear Eagle Pack Holistic is also grain free.

[Sagittarian]

The only grain free foods that I am aware are in Australia are:

Orijen

Artemis Maximal

Ziwipeak

Evo (only available at PP and their subsidiaries).

Eagle Pack is grain based.

Sags

[Guest june.andnovas]

anyone know how to get in contact with orijien food directly? can't seem to find their website :/

[Jey]

Thanks!

[Jey]

http://www.championpetfoods.com/orijen/about/

Always do a 'web' google search if your Australia only search fails.

[chuckie500]

Go here for a good read about many of the dry kibble foods.

www.dogfoodanalysis.com

[Tiggy]

I've started my dogs on Orijen and they're loving it. It has a much stronger smell than the Eagle Pack and it's more moist.

[Golden Rules]

I have bought a bag of Orijen but my boy eats mostly raw and it's there for emergencies and lazy days (mine) - so I won't be able to really comment on how good it is for many months to come......

I did also buy some for the cats and they have turned up their noses at it so far so have had to mix it with their other food to et them to eat it

I am keen to hear how everyone else's dogs do on it long term..

[poochmad]

Henschke's been on Orijen for almost 8weeks. He gets 3/4 cup each morning and night, mixed with half a sardine. For every solid poo he has a softer poo to match. Not sure whether this is the kibble or whether this is the treats he receives (he gets a little dried liver or a pigs ear, or a chicken twist thing, etc).

When he stops teething, I will just have him on Orijen and sardines (without the chews) for a couple of days to see whether his poos improve...

When he was on his other puppy food - Advance Plus, every single poo was sloppy and he pooed a lot more and scratched all the time.

Now he hardly scratches and poos in the morning, during the day, in the afternoon and once at night.

[Katdogs]

Our foster dog Terry had very sloppy poos on Orijen until I changed him to Royal Canin Sensible last week, he was good on that almost straight away. This weekend we're low on Orijen and I had to buy something for the other dogs, so I've just been to the pet food place and bought Royal Canin again.

We've given the Orijen a good 8-10 week trial, and I think it's just too rich for my dogs. I LOVE the ingredients list, it all sounds wonderful, but the girls just don't seem to be as stable on it - something is just not quite as good about the poo coming out of them (weird thing to study I guess, but it's the best clue I have - they're so healthy otherwise). Stevie is susceptible to ear infections (even though she hadn't had a bad one for a while since mainly changing to raw diet) so I was trying to get away from some of the grains and preservatives in RC and tried Orijen. However she'd already improved so much on mainly raw that the bit of Royal Canin she was having didn't seem to be a problem. I couldn't see enough of an improvement in any way to justify staying with Orijen, just some minor negative effects.

So back to Royal Canin as the fill-in around the raw. 'Raw' in our case is varying quantities of chicken frames/necks/wings/marylands, red meat offcuts from the butcher, vegies, sardines, yoghurt, leftover people food, and joint guard and 'health booster'. The BARF and dry is mainly for convenience and to make up for the lack of offal because I just hate handling offal

I'm also rethinking the Dr B BARF patties we alternated with, because it feels like the recipe has changed - fattier, smellier - but the dogs were on BARF long before Orijen, so Orijen is first to go off the shopping list.

Strange thing is, my cat is refusing to eat her Orijen too - so back to the Iams she was always happy and healthy on.

[vrox]

i've been feeding my puppy on advance (puppy large growth) since she was about 3 months (having switched from Hills Science Diet, which made her pretty itchy because of the high corn/grain content), thinking that because it's australian made and marketed as 'super premium' dog food, it was good for her. but having read the reviews about dog food on dogfoodanalysis.com (excellent site!) i'm not so sure anymore. anyway, so i'm thinking of now switching her to orijen which seems to be highly revered by everyone, but the extremely high protein content worries me. orijen has 42% protein, compared with most other premium puppy brands which have only about 29% protein.

so, does this mean that although orijen is fantastic, is it not good to feed them to large breed puppies? maybe switch to this when she's an adult? what are your experiences?