Hello I am new to the forum and delighted to have found a site so dedicated to helping advise on the best dog foods it is fab. I am also new to dog ownership and am the proud owner of a 9 week old standard wire haired dachshund.
He was sent home at 8 weeks with a small bag of kibble to get us started and I had to order a fresh bag of Royal Canin Mini Junior dog food. When I read the ingredients I was surprised to see how many fillers there seem to be it seems like rubbish and I really want to switch his food.
I have had a good look at the top foods on the site and narrowed it down to either Acana small puppy food or Orijen and I would really like people’s opinions as to which I should switch to. I do wonder if Orijen may be too rich for his little tummy but then again Acana has oats which could cause wind!!!!
What shall I go for and what is the best way to introduce the new food and phase out the Royal Canin?
Thank you for any help.
I just saw this topic and thought i’d ask a few questions to see if anyone had any input on my treat selection because i feel comfortable with the main diet i am providing just not sure if i am doing the right thing treat wise.
I feed my dog biscuit treats, i try to buy them from quality brands and they are not cheap. but is it bad to feed dogs biscuit type treats? i’ve tried fromm gf biscuits, merrick kitchen bites, brothers complete gf, honest kitchen nuzzles, nutrisource gf, sojo’s gf, wellness gf, and nature’s variety instinct…They are not cheap but are much more affordable then the Orijen freeze dried treats i got for free from chewy.com with my last bag of orijen. I am just wondering if these biscuits are bad treats to give my dog along with her orijen kibble. i give about 4-5 biscuits a day, i know they dont have much meat in them but she loves them so much i continue to buy them for her. would i be better off buying more expensive freeze dried treats like orijen offers in the long run or is it okay to give a premium biscuit like the ones mentioned as a small treat every day? I only ask because my dog is an akita and 85lbs at only 10 months old and even with cheaper freeze dried treats like sojo’s and grandma lucy’s makes it would still be extremely more expensive to buy them, as sojo’s and grandma lucy’s pork freeze dried on chewy.com cost like 3x as much as high end biscuits for equal weight. i just want to know if i’m feeding my dog improperly by trying to save a little cash on her treats….
On another topic, i see many people mentioning giving their dogs bully sticks, and i give them to my dog when i can because they tend to be very expensive, but she loves them so i try to keep some around. I just was curious if anyone used or knew if my source of bullysticks was a quality source. I am currently getting them from bestbullysticks.com , they have nice thick bully sticks for lower price then i’ve seen anywhere: you can get a standard size one for 1.39 (cheaper in bulk) or i just got some jumbo ones (which are huge btw) for 2.19 per stick (cheaper in bulk as well). My question is if these are quality bully sticks and a quality company to trust for my pet, if anyone knows of them or has used them in the past. They say they are made from free range grass fed beef, however the beef comes from brazil unless you buy the made in usa ones for more expensive, and one of my concerns is the origin of the beef used. I have bought the made in usa ones from them in the past but they are much thinner then the brazilian ones when you compare them from what is supposed to be the same size, and much less filled and they are also more expensive. So you pay more for much less when you get the american ones, and since my dog is a large breed and will likely be 95lbs when she is done growing i can’t have thin bully sticks i need thick ones and i need them at a decent price. Does anyone know if bully sticks from brazil should not be trusted? Or where you can get USA made ones that are thick and not priced 3 dollars+ a stick? Any feed back on that site or tips on quality thick bullies for reasonable prices would be very much appreciated…
Tera: After 2 years I am priced out of Honest Kitchen, although it’s a great food. Sudden $8 increase for 10 lbs was costing me $225/month for 2 dogs. Now with Orijen (Champion Foods) I pay $75.99 for 2 ounces less than a month’s worth of Honest Kitchen and it’s the same good, natural food. Watch the Champion canine food video introducing the guy who supplies the fish, farmer who supplies the meat, farmer who supplies veggies, fresh eggs. etc. Way out there in Alberta, it’s an impressive facility, 5 stars. Also sell Arcana. I am getting free shipping by Chewy.
I have two French bulldogs and have had an issue finding a grain free chicken free or anything with feathers for that matter that is also potato free.
I am going to try out Earthborn Grain Free kibble and see what happens. I’ve tried them on Orijen (too rich) Acana ( they wouldn’t eat it), FROMM Gold (loose stinky stools & itchiness), Merrick Bison & Sweet Potato (good stools but still itchy), Taste of the Wild High Prairie ( made them gassy).
So this is one of my last options before going to a RAW diet, wish me luck lol.
Sooo, I help a couple of friends shop for dog food and I was with a friend of mine and I advised her to get 3 bags of Earthborn Holistic – Primitive Natural, Great Plains Feast, and Puppy Vantage, and then we went to my fave pet boutique store… I am SO WEAK!!! LoL! They had a sale on Acana and Orijen (the tiny 340-gram bags) for $1.99 instead of the usual $3.99. So I grabbed one of each! I couldn’t help it… argh… However… They are amazing foods, the Orijen one has like 15 meats as the first 15 ingredients… I mean, woah! lol. I can’t wait for Bru to try them! 🙂 Acana Pacifica and Orijen Adult is what I snatched. 🙂 They had Acana Grasslands on sale too, but for $2.99, so I wanted it, but passed on it… Maybe it will be $1.99 if it doesn’t sell in a few days… 😀
But really though, I have got to control myself some around samples… 50%-off or not… lol. I must have about 8lbs of them that need to go through Bruno together with the rest of his foods at some point, soon preferably, and the guy eats like a little over 1/2 cup nowadays, so this will be interesting, lol.
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This reply was modified 10 years, 10 months ago by
Naturella.
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This reply was modified 10 years, 10 months ago by Naturella.
My four month old newfie’s father weighs 200 lbs. I have already tried two different Candidae foods for him and he gets terrible diarrhea. The breeder had him on Kirland Puppy and Pedigree. I want to feed him something higher quality but not so rich as to cause diarrhea. It gets very confusing as some people say the higher fat and protein causes diarrhea, yet others say it’s the grains. I am considering Orijen Large Breed Puppy or Castor and Pollux. Does anyone have any input on these or other foods for giant breed puppies that doesn’t cause diarrhea? Thank you so very much.
I have a 2 year old, 70 lb. Wirehaired Pointing Griffon that is very athletic but had some stomach issues as a young puppy. I wanted to get him on a food that had a higher protein/fat ratio than most of the limited ingredient diets that I had him on. I gradually got him on Orijen and he has done very well on it. He also gets several brands of canned rotated in with his Orijen. I’m not sure if Petco or Petsmart sells it but you can get it at Chewy.com if they deliver to your area. Good luck with your girl.
Thank you so much for adopting! I agree that both Orijen and Acana are great foods, and that you should transition slowly. Get some of the food she was eating at the shelter/foster/previous home to use during transition. Also, I would suggest rotational feeding, since no food is perfect. Here is some more info on that: /frequently-asked-questions/diet-rotation-for-dogs/
Always transition slowly with rotation as well. Good luck!
Hello!
My name is Sam. I am adopting a dog soon, her name is Alice and she’s a Lab mix. I want the best food possible and an easy transitioning of food for her. Are there any suggestions? I’ve been looking at Orijen and Acana. They guessed that she’s a little less than a year old and she’s about 50 pounds. Any suggestions would be great!
Sam
Paul S,
You’ve asked this same question several times, but you’re ignoring the responses to your question, which has been answered.
Regional Red has already been rated here: /dog-food-reviews/orijen-dog-food-adult/
Here’s the EC page for Champion: /reports/champion-petfoods/, which includes Regional Red and links to the product review.
Hi Peggy,
I too, am trying hard to figure out how to introduce the various commercial raw proteins to my girls, I think we just have to do it!!! Slowly, but, I do truly believe it is their best interests long term.
My new puppy Millie is on orijen & horizon kibble both excellent, but I do think as many have advised if she can handle all raw I am going to go for it. Today will be the 1st for the Vital Essentials Fish, I am keeping my fingers & toes crossed she & my older gal Pepper will do ok.
Pepper has been doing ok on the Honest Kitchen, which i plan to introduce to Millie soon.
Good luck to you –
I just bought him a bag of Orijen and added the pumpkin. Really appreciate the sound advice.
My dog food is currently on Natural Balance Limited Ingredients diet and his current brand new bag is ‘sweet potato and bison’. He is a German Shepard mix 4 yrs. old, very smart, intelligent dog. He has not touched his food in five days. I called the company and they ‘say’ they have no recalls and he is just being picky or could be sick of the same dog brand. What… He has never not eaten his food. He will sniff it and walks away. He has to be sooo hungry and they say he is just being picky. I trust his instincts. He just ate some Purina from a neighbor, so that tells me it has to be the dog food. I gave the company the batch # and they are down playing it. I have been doing research and want grain-free with meat. My daughter uses Orijen, which he does likes. I am not opposed to buying that but wanted other choices. Any advice out there?
Thank you for all the great ideas! I have decided to keep him on a fish based, grain free, and potato fee diet. It seems when the grain are pulled out the filler becomes starches which the yeast love. I have switched to Orijen…time will tell and I will keep you posted!
My dog is going on 6 years without any issue but I am switching. I have narrowed it down to Orijen, nature’s valley instinct, Earthborn homistic primitive, or wellness core. Thoughts? I am leaning toward Orijen and core as I am looking for a higher fiber to aid in harder stools.
Hi Dominick:
Here is a reply I found to this question from a few years ago that I agree with. I know there are several others that feel differently about grains. Hopefully they will chime in also and give their opinions in order for you to make good decisions when feeding your dogs.
December 14, 2012 at 7:30 am #10877 REPLY
Hound Dog Mom
Participant
mcaponigro –
I agree. I think some are led to believe a grain-free or grain-free/white potato free food is automatically superior or “species appropriate”, which isn’t the case. There are some wonderful grain-free and white potato free foods, but many more that are low protein, high carb and in no way species-appropriate. Whether the binder is grain, potato, tapioca or legumes – one must keep in mind that none are appropriate foods for a dog (carnivore) to be eating. The most important thing when feeding dry food is – in my opinion – focus more on maximizing meat content and protein content rather than picking a food based on which binder it uses. It’s also important to remember that just because a food contains an ingredient that is high glycemic doesn’t necessarily mean that the food is high glycemic – for an example, Orijen – which contains white potato – is one of the few foods certified low glycemic by the glycemic research institute. I think the only way one can truly avoid these high carb fillers is to go with an all meat or all meat and non-starchy vegetable canned food or feed a homemade diet free from grains and other starches.
The EC list for Champion links back to the Orijen product review. Regional Red has been rated. It received a five star rating.
Regional Red has already been rated, Paul. Look here: /dog-food-reviews/orijen-dog-food-adult/
Here’s the EC page for Champion: /reports/champion-petfoods/
BC,
If you wouldn’t mind I need your input.
Millie my 6 1/2 month old is eating A.M. 1/3 c Orijen Puppy kibble (which is about to go out of the rotation) mixed w Horizon Legacy Puppy (that bag is larger so she will be on that a little longer) as a topper she is getting 1 oz lightly boiled beef.
Noontime: 2-3 Primal Rabbit nuggents w either carrots or cooked squash & zucchini 1-2tbsps.
Suppertime: 1/3 c kibble (same as brkfst) w 1oz boiled chicken.
She does get cocotherapy dried fruit or veggies 2 handfuls
A few times a week she will either a bully stick or a cow ear.
I want to take the noontime feeding out as well as eventually giving her kibble less frequently and adding the honest kitchen in the rotation
She picked up wt. very quickly she is close to what the breeder told me was her adult weight (15lbs).
In your opinion am I feeding her enough? too much?
According to the bags of kibble & that is if she were only eating kibble she should have almost 1 c per day. But since I add the meat as toppers & the raw for lunch, I hesitate to increase the kibble.
Thanks so much
I currently feed my 5 month old puppy Blackhawk Puppy as recommended by the breeder. Having researched this site I am thinking about switching to Orijen Puppy. Blackhawk hasn’t been reviewed here so would you be able to give me an idea of the quality of it compared to Orijen. The first three ingredients are Lamb meal, Ground Brown Rice, Ground Oats, and the full ingredients list is here http://www.blackhawkpetcare.com.au/dog-food/original-lamb-rice-holistic-puppy-formula
I occasionally supplement the Blackhawk kibble with a small amount of Ziwipeak tinned meat for dogs (about an 8th of the can) and even this small addition has our puppy zooming about for a good few hours with excess energy and lots of mouthing – too much protein?
Thanks for your help
BC
thanks so so much.
I guess the breeders must get some kind of kick-back (i don’t mean that in a bad sounding way) but this was a mini schnauzer breeder and yes her guarantee was also contingent on giving the Nuvet vitamins, she even gave a special code to get a 45% discount.
Thanks again.
Do you think a puppy that is fed commercial raw, orijen & legacy kibble, cooked meats, poultry & veggies and eventually THK should be on supplements ?
My older gal is on some ,but with this gal at 6 1/2 months should I be giving them so soon?
She grew in the 3 1/2 months that’s she’s been with me and weighs almost 15 lbs-all she wants to do is eat, I hesitate to take the 3rd meal away, but I don’t want her to gain too much weight too quickly.
Thank you always for your input and knowledge
Would you consider dehydrated food like the Honest Kitchen, they have grain free & grain inclusive mixes, also mixes where you add the protein of your choice.
Orijen has a kibble called regional red I think?? it does not contain chicken.
Freeze dried is also something to look at
Robert,
I would also like to add a dry food that you can order online & have it delivered right to your door.
The name of the company is Horizon Pet Food Co. they are located in Canada
you will want to look at the “AMICUS” line small breed Kibble, good co..
I think Dori mentioned Orijen also small kibble size -a bit higher in fat than Amicus (i don’t know if that is a concern or not) both excellent companies.
Websites: k9cuisine.com
petflow.com
I know k9cuisine sells the 5 lb bags-i prefer smaller bags since my girls don’t eat that much-I also ALWAYS top it with lightly cooked meats (i boil) -I forgot to add these are all grain-free kibbles, I don’t know if you want a grain inclusive kibble or not.
I have to agree with Susan a little plain pumpkin is excellent for the tummy or a bit of a cooked sweet potato just maybe 2 tsps. to coax him to check out what’s inside the bowl!
Good luck, i know how you feel I had a Samoyed Nicholas who never left my side when I was sick- He was the best! I wish I knew then, what I have learned now , I didn’t do enough for him, there wasn’t a site like this with such wonderful, knowledgable people to help.
I would start by trying a limited ingredient diet, I’m fond of Acana singles pork and apple. I also like Orijen Six Fish as a place to start for digs with allergies. Allergy testing is expensive, I’ve found that an elimination diet was a less expensive and more accurate way to determine what my dog could eat.
Check out DogFoodWizard.com for my food selector tool, you can tell it to exclude foods that contain poultry and any other suspected allergens for your girl and it should give you a whole list of foods she can eat.
Please read review on Blue Buffalo and google complaints about Blue Buffalo. Maybe your do is trying to tell you something. As to any suggestions for a dry food I’m sorry that I can’t be of any help there. I feel commercial raw foods to my three toy dogs as well as organic fruits and veggies. I know that quite a few posters seem to like Victor’s Grain Free, Nature’s Logic, Annaemaet (?), Brothers Complete, Nature’s Variety Instinct, Acana, Orijen. Those are just a few that I have read dry food feeders compliment. I’m sure there are others but I don’t know. What you can also do is switch to a dry food (for economic reasons I would suppose) and use a canned or freeze dried food as a topper. Your dog would get better nutrients than merely feeding a dry food. There are many other things that you could add to a dry food to make it more palatable and nutritious.
I hope this bumps up your question and kibble feeders will see and respond. 🙂
sk you may want to look into some of these companies. Many of them are free range or grass fed, some grass finished.
Primal… certified humane with high GAP (Global Animal Partership, same system Whole Food uses) ratings. You can contact certifiedhumane.org to see other pet foods they rate.
Stella and Chewys (grassfed beef and lamb and I think grass finished)
Ziwi Peak, Real Meat Food Company and K9 Natural use grass fed beef and lamb I believe.
Dogs for the Earth says their animals are raised above and beyond humane standards.
Healthy Pet Foods (healthypetdiet.com) raises organic, pasture raised beef. One of my dogs’ favorite foods. Owner is a top cavalier breeder, not doing it for money, sells mostly to breeders. He’s been doing it for over 20 years and says his food has been tweaked to perfection, and his dogs live well beyond breed standard.
Orijen says their food is pasture raised.
Addiction uses a lot of free range but I stopped using when I found out their canola oil is not organic…they said they are trying to change to organic canola oil.
I just added Trudog to their rotation. It’s grass fed but I need to call them to see if it’s grass finished. I’m sure there are more companies out there but haven’t had the time to look into it.
BTW many of these companies use cage free chicken but not range fed so I try to buy chicken from Whole Foods and feed with a premix. The only way to know about travel time to slaughter, conditions and how much time spent in feed lots is to speak with companies directly. This is my understanding anyway.
sk, thank you for pointing out that billions of animals, as deserving of compassion as our pets, are raised in brutal conditions. It would be very helpful to have another section here called ‘HUMANE OPTIONS’. It could also cover the issue of hormones, GMO’s and anti-biotics since the GAP rating from CertifiedHumane.org covers that as well.
I agree with others that best choice for humane is to buy from local farms where you can directly see conditions….kudos to those who do. Not all of us have that option…and the reason a ‘HUMANE OPTIONS’ would be so appreciated.
At the time the list was assembled, the Calcium in the Orijen LBP formula was too high.
I have a GSD/Doberman mix puppy. She was started on Merrick Grain Free puppy but I then read that the calcium content was too high. I am thinking of Orijen Large Breed puppy but noticed it is not on the list (see below). Can someone tell me why it is not on the list as it is supposed to be a superior dog food?
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwApI_dhlbnFY183Q0NVRXlidWc/edit
Roxie
Dori,
I had wanted to post to you sooner, but was waiting.
OMG Dori, I am amazed, Millie eats it so fast its incredibly.
Pepper ADORES it she got 1 whole nugget today & it was gone in a second.
Oh, if pepper can continue to tolerate raw, at least I could rotate every few weeks with the raw and the Honest Kitchen.
I am going to take the freeze dried out for Millie due to the high fat and if they can both tolerate the raw, who could ask for more, at least for my kids.
Thank you Dori sincerely for giving me a push.
Shawna if you peek in I am so sorry for not listening to you yrs ago, I never knew you could buy commercial raw-raw to me meant raw meat poultry etc, and i just couldn’t risk giving it to Pepper.
I hadn’t heard back from OC raw-i emailed the company, I can get Vital Essentials ordered for me locally, so I know I can interchange that with the Primal nuggets.
I would like to get millie off Kibble even though I am feeding her Orijen & Horizon.
I know you told me and forgive me for asking again, in your rotation you feed raw & dehydrated, I think?? I remember you saying you don’t feed kibble of any kind, i hope i am correct in saying this.
Aimee worried me a bit especially in Millie’s case that the Honest Kitchen would need be a complete meal to feed her during her growing stage, I guess that’s why I keep the kibble in.
I add a bit of lightly cooked meat or poultry & just feed a little less of the HK mix to Pepper & that’s using there protein inclusive mixes, I guess i could do the same for Millie.
I am not confident enough to just transition Millie to HK now, so far so good with the raw, and like you told me safer to stay on 1 new food for awhile, which I am doing.
Thank you so much again.
You take care.
Paul S
The list is for brands/companies. Champion is the company that makes Orijen and Acana. They are on the list.
Dori,
Your such a great wealth of knowledge, my little & i mean little experience with foods rotation is basically kibble with a lightly cooked topper of different proteins. I never fed canned.
i am sorry i am picking your brain so much, i really don’t know how to go about all this and then add in my fear well you can guess-
I used to feed Pepper a sardine every day until she couldn’t handle them, then I gave her fish oil-i would puncture a pill, she got beta glucan for her immune system coq10 for her heart 3x a week a Vit C, folic acid also-all human supplements just scaled down to her wt.
now with Millie I don’t want to overload her at this point because she is a puppy, i had planned to introduce the sardines a few times a week soon I think she needs the omega 3.
You know even though millie is eating a high quality kibble Orijen, Horizon legacy, I am starting to think she needs to get away from all kibble.
I have noticed,( funny that you mentioned this )Pepper’s stool has no smell since she has been eating THK, yet Millie’s does & I can only attribute it to the kibble.
I give Millie both the Orijen & Legacy mixed and she is ok with that.
I know she is ok with the orijen freeze dried (that’s what she gets for lunch alone)
I guess I made the mistake of giving her the HK with her kibble & chicken at nite.
I should have introduced THK alone with her protein as a topper.
Dori I will get this, i won’t be bothering you for ever, I am a Leo ,and we are perfectionists (that’s why I suffer from migraines) so i have to get this correct-poor Millie to have me for a mom 🙁
I did create a new topic on Puppy’s and supplements-i just haven’t had a puppy in ages & according to Millie’s breeder she needs nothing ( i don’t agree) but don’t want to go overboard.
I realize you don’t feed kibble but i saw a post where tripe is now made into kibble-petkind.com, I wanted your opinion, I have read here a lot of posters feed canned tripe-that it is good for them, I see that more of the large breed posters feed it, I just didn’t know if breeds like schnauzers would benefit. After all Pepper & Millie are not what you would call “working dogs’ Pep is in retirement & Millie is unemployed
Good AM,
I have been reading the posts, i guess you all are talking about the ProDen..,
Dori,
Pepper is hypothyroid & is on medication , & I know from being hypothyroid myself iodine consumption has to be watched, I ordered the pro den already, I guess it will be o.k to try, I am going to start on the lower end (as I always do with her because of all her issues)-I hope it doesn’t affect her thyroid, i will wait & since she is due for her yearly thyroid test I will see.
I have a question bout the primal raw, I defrosted a few of the nuggets last nite, do you just feed them cold directly from the frig. or do you zap them in the microwave for a few seconds?
This is the big day at lunch i will give Millie 1 nugget instead of the orijen freeze-dried.
Thanks as always for all the help!!
Hi Dori,
It’s funny about feeding raw, & what the term implies.
The orijen freeze dried, I just opened & crushed & gave her, yet the thought of opening commercial raw freaks me out, i keep asking should i wait should i introduce it after this bag of Orijen is finished? Very silly I know.
These babies are my kids, since I have no children, I worry so-some may not understand, but, I feel you do.
The breeder called me & told me she just had another litter with 4 females-do I want another, I am so tempted to say yes to give Millie a pal her own age,but fear it would be way too much for pepper to handle,since getting Millie in Oct., its been hard on Pepper her age & add the blindness, I keep going back & forth.
Anyway, I digress, oh yes I agree with you I never never introduce anything at night, believe it or not, i don’t even like introducing anything over the weekend, when the vets are off.
I dislike the ER here, cost a fortune of money & not very nice.
I just ordered the Pro Den on Amazon, i will try it on pepper.
I am hoping to cut down on pepper’s dose of reglan next week since she seems to be ok on the Honest Kitchen-she had the turkey this am & I upped the protein with some beef-made her bowl so shiny almost didn’t have to clean it!!!
you have good weekend
Cheryl – I bought it online. If she’s already eating Orijen freeze dried patty which is raw, then she should be able to transition to frozen raw. Do you rehydrate the Orijen? I only wash the dog bowls once a week…maybe. And I use the same bowl for kibble, canned, raw, etc. In the beginning, the bowls got washed after each meal. But that was 3 yrs ago or so.
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This reply was modified 10 years, 11 months ago by
pugmomsandy.
Commercial Raw Feeders,
I could use some help.
Just got some primal Raw for my puppy Millie.
I took a big girl breadth , my questions how do i go about introducing this into Millie’s diet?
Give a tiny amt. alone? I still feed her 3x a day-her noon meal is an orijen freeze dried patty-do u think I should switch w the primal?
Can she eat the primal in her regular bowl or should I get her another stainless bowl?
I am sorry if I sound a bit “out there” have never ever done this-just worried about Millie
Thanks all in advance.
Dori,
Thank thank you for your input.
My girls esp miss Millie are gulpers-I turn around and her food is gone!!
When I first got her it took her 25 min to eat,now seconds, I had to get her a slow feed bowl.
I thank you for your input on the Turkey necks-I just don’t feel comfortable giving them to her, I am not real interested in RMB either.
If I went raw, it would be commercial raw also, Millie being a schnauzer I have to watch her fats.
She adores the orijen freeze dried-howls while I am making it-jumping dancing!!!
Do you cook the fruits and veggies or do you give your girls raw with that also.
Pepper (until her bad gastric episode) always got raw carrots for a snack, bu tI noticed they came out the same way they went in, so i cook them-i read that since they have a short digestive tract, its hard for them to process the raw veggies.
I did order some Primal raw, so i am anxious to see how millie does.
It is hard to find real commercial raw here,so ordering it is my only option & I don’t know what other companies will ship to me in Louisiana without it costing a fortune.
Thanks again Dori
I actually use Stella & Chewy’s meal mixers to top my dogs’ kibble. I add water. It comes in 4 flavors, beef, chicken, turkey and salmon. I’ve used turkey and fish. My dogs love it and their doing great. I tried Orijen FD and while they loved it it didn’t work for them….stool too loose. I’m going to stick with Stella & Chewy’s
for now. The meal mixers are small bitesize nuggets but I also like their patties.
Cheryl-I have a Beagle Aussie mix and a Chihuahua mix. I don’t worry too much about the fat in the Orijen since they only get one meal per week of it. The freeze dried is expensive so I just keep it in rotation because it’s great when traveling.
I have tried Stella and Chewy’s FD but don’t love the ingredients. It’s does rehydrate well though. I have not tried the toppers since I make most of the dog’s food myself and only use kibble 1-2 times per week. S&C is treated with HPP and I don’t care for that either.
I am actually going to order some Primal Sardine grind to try, maybe some beef too. Primal uses HPP on their poultry products. Where would you order Primal from? It looks like wag.com will have it shipped from the manufacturer.
Kristen,
What breed(s) do you have? My 6 month old Mini schnauzer was getting 1 Orijen patty for lunch with cooked carrots.
I could never give her more than 1 patty due to the high fat.
I have been giving her the orijen & horizon legacy & Amicus Puppy formulas but when these bags are finished , she will transition to the adult formulas
Thank you for the heads up about Sojos, I guess the HK varieties will be the next rotation I give her.
Have you seen or used the Stella & Chewy’s “MEAL TOPPERS” -it is a freeze dried product and I do intend to email the company about analysis on them -I think it comes in 3 varieties .
Primal frozen was recommended for me to try-the rabbit & venison ,but I am not sure I will be able to get them shipped here in the south.
Cheryl-I use Orijen FD and have never found it to be gooey. Initially I found it took too long to dissolve, but resolved that by breaking it up before adding water. I feed it individually (sometimes) but mainly use it as a 50/50 mix with Orjien Adult kibble once per week. If you have not used Sojos yet, it is a dehydrated product that does not digest well for either of my dogs (comes out in their poop). I even tried pureeing it after rehydrating to chop up the pieces but that didn’t work and I threw the rest of the bag out. Luckily, it’s not that expensive.
S&C dissolves easily, but I don’t love the ingredients, nor did one of my dogs:( So I say find which one’s good for pup(s) and go with it. Stewart’s is another FD I found, but I think it’s processed the HPP way like S&C and one of my dog’s doesn’t seem to do well with those products.
Farmina grain free, I recently started rotating it with Orijen as I have read very positive reviews.
Kristen-I was having a difficult time dissolving the patty-it was gooey -I had never used a freeze dried product,but I guess I was doing it correctly-just didn’t like the way it looked.
Its funny you mention S & C’s -I was just going to order some-since the fat in the Orijen is too high for my mini schnauzer.
i do apologize I was mixing up freeze dried & dehydrated-i got that straight.
I use Honest Kitchen was going to try the Sojos,but may not for my older gal.
Cheryl-referring back to one of your earlier posts, what do you mean about Orijen FD dissolving poorly? If you break up the patties they dissolve just fine. The ingredients are better than Stella and Chewy’s and some of the other products you mentioned are actually dehydrated.
One of my dog’s ate her poo for the first 4 years. She was on Blue Buffalo (puppy, then wilderness). We switched her to a raw diet last year, along with the occasional Orijen kibble and she no longer eats it. From what I’ve read the flavors in kibble don’t digest and so poop tastes just like kibble to some dogs. Unless your clients are willing to change diet then picking it up right away is about your only option.
Orijen is the only brand of freeze-dried that I’ve actually tried to rehydrate and feed to my dogs as a meal and I agree it rehydrates horribly. I do like the ingredients though. Generally I just feed freeze-dred as treats and don’t rehydrate, the brands I use most often are Stella & Chewy’s, Primal and Nature’s Variety Instinct.
Today my dogs had Wellness Simple Small Breed Salmon & Potato for their kibble, topped with Ark Natural’s Gentle Digest probiotic and Stella & Chewy’s Meal Mixers Turkey. I add a little water to mix up. They’ve been eating this for awhile now. Sometimes I’ll add Stella & Chewy’s Meal Mixers Beef or Fish formulas but when I tried to change freeze dried to Orijen the pup had major diarrhea. Btw, he came to me with a case of coccidia and whipworms (yuck!). He’s through with his meds and will go back to the vet later in January to see if more is needed. I think he’s doing okay, though. I do believe him and Rupert need grain free definitely because I tried to use some Wellness Small Breed Adult and got “not so good” results with them. I have to order the Simple from Chewy’s because no one around me carries the line anymore.
Hi Samantha,
Sweet little Pennie has had some challenges. I bet she’s been lonely. I’m sorry that the elderly gentleman had to release her, but am glad she has found a living home with you. I hope he’s doing OK without her.
When it comes to fish, I feel your pain. It’s everywhere. I’ve tried several different types of fishes and fish oils, but my dog reacted to all of them. It is very difficult to find a fish free food. I’ll be reading an ingredient panel and think it looks good and then down at the bottom of the list I’ll see menhaden meal or salmon oil. It’s frustrating, I know. My dog has some other intolerances that make more challenging.
If I’m not mistaken, the only Victor that’s an option is Lamb & Brown Rice. That’s quite a step down from Orijen Six Fish. I have used, with great success, Nature’s Variety Instinct Limited Ingredient Diets. I know there are more options than those I’ll list, but those that I’ve found have to exclude other ingredients beyond fish…, so a couple more recommendations are Addiction Viva La Venison, Acana Duck & Bartlett Pear (the original, not the Singles), The Honest Kitchen Thrive, and Canidae Pure Sky (I HATE that it’s a Diamond product, but it works for my dog so I use it sparingly) and Wysong Fundamentals.
I’ll see what others I can come up with.
I recently adopted a 2.5 year old Boston Terrier named Pennie. She was living in a bad situation with an elderly man who was suffering from his own medical issues and unable to take care of her. Since she’s been with me, she has really opened up and showing her personality.
When she was at the shelter, she was eating Orijen, so I got a bag of the 6 fish variety since that’s what she was used to. Her nose was always lightly pink. However the pink got really bright pink and she started to develop a rash on her chest with little red dots. This is all along with some scratching and paw licking.
I was shopping around and got some free samples for Performatrin Ultra Chicken and Brown Rice. I started feeding her that to try to pinpoint the source of the allergy (if it even is food). The chicken and rice has salmon meal in it but is mostly a different protein base, so I figured I’d start there. It hasn’t been that long but her nose is back to the light pink and the rash is almost clear. Side note, I noticed that her stool is firmer and less with the chicken and rice than with the 6 fish. I could be imagining it but I think the scratching is also less, but the paw licking is the same.
I’m very glad to see the benefits with the new food but Performatrin Ultra chicken and brown rice only has a 3.5 star rating here and it’s over $60 for a 30 lbs bag. That’s a little too expensive for me, especially when I know there are better foods out there. I would prefer at least 4-4.5 stars. So my question is that is there a better food out there that has a similar profile that’s not as pricey?
I was really looking into Victor brand since I’ve only read good things about it and it’s much more economical. There’s a local vendor by me.
Any recommendations? Thank you!
