[DogFoodie]

For us, lentils and chickpeas are a no go. I really hate the way all these pet food companies are creating such legume heavy foods.

I’ve dealt with food intolerances with my Golden since he was a tiny pup and he’s just over two now; and I’ve finally found a food, specifically Nature’s Variety Instinct LID Duck, that he’s doing well on. It’s far from perfect, but he’s doing great on it so I’m keeping him on it for a bit in order to get him stabilized. It has just a few ingredients, and that’s what I’d recommend you try, a limited ingredient diet; ie: NVI LID or Wellness LID are both great brands to try. Orijen has so many ingredients, it would be anybody’s guess what the problem ingredient was. I know my dog has a problem with fish, fish oil, chickpeas, lentils, possibly garlic and possible flax. So, the problem ingredients aren’t always just the meat proteins.

So, a couple of thoughts, Firm Up is great – so much easier than canned pumpkin. I also added Swanson’s BioCore digestive enzymes to his meals and the difference was amazing. Try a quality LID diet and while it doesn’t have to be a totally novel protein, it just needs to be something different than what your dog has eaten in the past.

[texasniteowl]

Well…time for an update…not a great one…

Since my last post, we continued with the Orijen Adult. By last Sunday, I had Wilson on all kibble, no chicken and rice. And we seemed to be doing well. Pretty good poo, etc. Now, let me clarify, no supplements of any kind at this point. No probiotics. Just kibble…Orijen Adult.

Let me also make sure I clarify that I had been feeding him on a 3x a day schedule, so 3 smaller meals.

Anyway, we seemed to be doing pretty good. Some variation in poo softness but overall good.

However, the last 2 nights (Saturday & Sunday) we have gone downhill a bit. Late at night, just before his last meal (aka midnight snack) he has gone outside to eat grass…which he had not been doing in about a month or so now. And his poo is destabilizing. The first stuff out will look OK and then becomes much softer. Not watery as far as I’ve seen, but very very soft. And he moves around quite a bit and ends up poo-ing in 3 to 4 spots.

Now, with his midnight snack tonight, I’ll add some pumpkin in. Is it time to try something like The Perfect Form? Next, I need to get some probiotics I guess. Any suggestions for ones that are available locally in stores? Or something that ships quick? Like I said above, my feed store sells Probios but I wondered about the sugar content. I do have some Kefir in the fridge…should I try to start him on that?

I guess the other question is, instead of adding supplements, do I give up on the Orijen and move him to something else?

And I suppose I could take a poo sample back to my vet and ask them to look at the bacteria again?

[DogFoodie]

Hi Nan,

Your pup definitely could do well on a homemade diet that’s low in fat and high in high quality protein. It’s critical though to make sure a homemade diet is properly balanced.

Here is a great website with lots of information that could get you started: http://dogaware.com/articles/wdjlowfatdietsamples.html

Here are some suggested low fat foods: /best-dog-foods/suggested-low-fat-dog-food/

If they’re low enough in fat for your boy, some I think are excellent are Orijen Senior, Go! Fit and Free Senior, Wellness Core Reduced Fat and Nature’s Variety Instinct Healthy Weight.

Good luck!

[DogFoodie]

Hi Tracey,

Not all fats are unhealthy and contribute to weight loss. It’s very important to have a variety of healthy fats in the diet. For example, coconut oil is high in medium chain triglycerides, fatty acids that actually boost metabolism and promote weight loss. Other fats contain DHA and are critical for brain function.

A healthy weight loss food should be high in quality protein and have plenty of healthy fats.

Keep your pup moving and reduce his portion size. Feed him for what he should weigh and not for what he currently weighs.

Some excellent foods for weight loss are Orijen Senior which has 38% protein and 15% fat, Go! Fit and Free Senior has 32% protein and 14% fat, Wellness Core Reduced Fat has 33% protein and 10% fat and Nature’s Variety Instinct Healthy Weight Chicken has 32% protein and Salmon has 34% protein, and both have 12% fat.

[andy c]

Dogswell – on paper looks close to Orijen. Have heard from two different local pet stores that carry Orijen/Acana that Champion is treating them badly and forcing them to raise prices to a minimum retail price. If they don’t, then Champion will drop them. It’s not the money, but more that I lose trust in a company that plays hardball with its partners. If they treat their retail partners this way, what about their suppliers and will that affect the quality of their food over time? For now, have switched for to Petcurean Go Fit & Free (also on Editor’s choice list), but it’s a little less protein with fewer flavor choices.

[DogFoodie]

I’ve used Orijen and Acana and most of the formulas didn’t work for my dogs. A food is only great if it’s great for your dog.

I still have my fingers crossed that you might take a look at Victor, Travis.

I saw quite a few local dealers in Central Oklahoma. ; )

Victordogfood.com

[Kenneth N]

Hi Freeholdmom..I’m Freehold Pugpoppa. Three pugs all with issues. Currently we give he boys tripe treats, homemade dehydrated veggies, beef, or turkey. We have tried freeze dried Orijen treats We feed them Darwin’
s and stay away from Raaw Energy because I do not trust Kitt.

[Carol M]

Hi I am new to this forum and would like to ask if there is a mfg. food that would be good for him. The vet currently has him on Hill’s C/D, the initial test showed him to have 11-20 crystals in the test urine.

Would something like one of the Orijen foods be good to help modify his urine pH (8.0) and eliminate the crystals? We have 3 other dogs and my husband is not willing to go the homemade food route.

I also feed Dr. Jone’s Ultimate Canine health formula powder to all the dogs, they also get some raw whole milk to go with the powder.

Your points of view would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!

[DogFoodie]

I would try Go! Fit and Free Senior, Orijen Senior or Wellness Core Reduced Fat.

I plan to try the Go! next – it looks fantastic! I’ve used the Orijen and Wellness previously with success.

FWIW, I’ve used EVO Weight Management and didn’t care for it. My usually “unpicky” Cavalier did not like it either.

[Jane E]

I like to use a grain free dog food and feed less…the diets geared toward weight loss drop protein and fat and the dog acts hungry because they are not typically satiated. I like both Orijen Senior and GO! Sensitivity and Shine Grain Free and use a measuring cup every time

[DogFoodie]

She might have a food intolerance to one of the ingredients in the food she’s eating. When my Golden, who has food intolerance issues, is exposed to a food to which he’s sensitive, it’s not unusual for one of the first symptoms to be anal gland issues.

He’s eating the one food he can tolerate without any issues currently and the anal gland are fine.

I bought a product called Firm Up! It’s all natural and contains pumpkin and apple pectin. It’s dehydrated. You add water to it and offer it with their food. But, since you’ve tried pumpkin already, that might not help either.

I think I’d take a look at changing foods. My guess would be that it’s one of the breakfast foods, probably Orijen. They reformulated a while ago (more than 4 or 5 months), but it could be something in the reformulated version, possibly legumes.

[Kathy L]

Save yourself a lot of trial and error and just go straight to the very best. Acana or Orijen from Champion foods out of Canada. Amazing! I order mine from chewy.com. A great company to deal with that stands behind all their products.
Kathy Laven

[Adam]

Hi, my dog is allergic to the following products: rice, soy, peas, wheat and potatoes. I can’t find any dog food that wouldn’t have at least one of these products in it. I found ZiwiPeak air dried cuisine but its protein and vitamin A levels are too high according to my vet and she doesn’t recommend it + it’s the most expensive dog food I have seen. Before I knew my dog had allergies, she was on Orijen a long time ago and went through months of constant diarrhea and digestive problems because of the super high protein levels so I’m trying to avoid that too. Price isn’t really an issue but my location is, I live in Poland so not all the foods listed on this website are available here.

Help please (:

[Dawn R]

Does anyone know which 5 star dry foods have small kibble? I bought Orijen and Acana and it’s way to big for my new puppy, she stared at it confused after eating Stella and Chewys dehydrated for a few days. I want to be able to feed the new puppy as many types of food as possible ( raw, canned, dehydrated, dry).

Please let me know if you have suggestions. Thanks….

Dawn

[Ysabella J]

Hey everyone,

I have a 3 year old, 65 pound Golden Retriever. For about the past 4 months or so I have noticed her licking her behind a lot more than usual. I would say about 3-4 days out of the week and usually when it happens it is multiple times during the day. I know that she is licking back there due to anal glands because every time she does it, out comes the nasty smell.. I took her to the vet, they expressed her anal glands and said they were small, nothing abnormal about them.. She had never had this done before. Well 2 days after I brought her in she started licking again. I started adding pumpkin to her diet regularly with no help. She is fed Orijen kibble & Merrick canned food for breakfast and Stella & Chewy’s raw for dinner. I haven’t switched her diet in over a year. I am really not a big fan of bringing her in every 3 weeks to get her anal glands expressed after reading an article published by Dr. Becker. She doesn’t scoot at all whatsoever, it’s just the licking… I can’t find much information about this online, so now I am here.

Anyone have any advice? I am open to anything… Thanks in advance!!

[OnyxMom]

Andrew, is Orijen LB Puppy grain free? If not try switching to a grain free food and introduce a digestive enzyme into his food.

My 6 month old newfypoo never had good poop. I’d shudder every time he went because the horrible job of picking up dog poop was even more horrid because of his soft-serve style mushy excreta. When he would go on the sidewalk it was embarrassing and super disgusting. I switched his food several times (the proper way) to no avail.

Giving him a probiotic yoghurt only helped when he had very soft poop – but apparently there is a prebiotic and probiotic issue – a little bit of yoghurt doesn’t help with that.

Then I went on a grain free food and poop looked significantly better. Which led me to believe that he clearly does not handle grain well. Then I introduced a digestive enzyme and now his poop could not be better! I dont love picking up dog poop now, but I sort of do a little dance in my head cos it’s not gross anymore. He even goes less now (only two times a day) whereas before he was asking to be taken out 4/5 times a day.

I bought myself this from amazon – http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009O31QXY/ref=sr_ph?ie=UTF8&qid=1405450583&sr=1&keywords=dog+digestive+enzyme

Good Luck!
P.S. I forgot to mention before that I also tried Nutro Ultra and my puppy did not like it and it did not solve the mushy poop issue.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 8 months ago by OnyxMom.

[Andrew M]

We have a 3 month old German bred German Shepherd Dog puppy.
We are feeding him Orijen LB Puppy. His stool is soft, not loose or runny. He also has “gas”…
Was advised to give him some plain yogurt to help with the “gas” issue. Was also told by a breeder that the Orijen, while excellent, may be too rich for him. What is the opinion about Nutro Ultra Large Breed Puppy? (We fed our Golden Nutro Ultra senior and were very pleased with the results.) Thanks in advance to all who comment…

• This reply was modified 11 years, 8 months ago by Andrew M.

[texasniteowl]

Thank you all for the replies so far. I had seen most of them when I stopped by the pet store on my way home. I ended up essentially taking Melissa’s view. We have done OK for the last 4 days with the sample of Orijen, so I bought the 15lb bag to continue. Still working slowly in. We are at about 1/4 cup now so I will begin increasing that and see how it goes.

Depending on how things continue to go with the poultry based Orijen, my next bag may be a novel protein just to see if there is a noticeable difference or not.

In future, I will rotate between other foods…once I identify some! I do have a feed store that carries Victor so Victor, Nature’s Variety, Acana, Orijen and Wellness and Fromm’s could all be in the mix.

I do want/need to add some probiotics. My feed store carried one called probios? The woman there said she gives it to both her cattle and her kids! However, if I remember right, one of the first listed ingredients was sugar! So not sure about that.

[Melissaandcrew]

If the Orijent is working stay with it for now. No sense tipping the apple cart.

[aquariangt]

If you aren’t in Canada, all those Acanas won’t be available to you-none of the Acana Classics, just Singles and Regionals.

With over a mile a day and some fetch, I wouldn’t be super concerned with fat unless you are seeing a lot of weight gain. Not only has high protein % been proven, it’s recommended for senior dogs. So if he is fine on the high protein, keep it up.

I would try out a novel protein, and I would try rotating through proteins that he works just fine on, it will help keep him healthy. Of the things you listed, the acana you may not be able to find, and in my opinion, Taste of the Wild and Merrick have too many company issues to bother with, especially with a dog you are trying to pinpoint some stomach issues, it may throw off your findings unnecessarily. Wellness is nice, Acana and Orijen are Nice, Earthborn is nice-and they have the primitive naturals that is poultry based and over 40% protein as well

[texasniteowl]

Short story: we’ve been on chicken and rice for a month and need to get back on a kibble.

You can skip to near the bottom about what kibble to go with or you can read…the long story.

Long story:

My dog Wilson is about 7 and 1/2. We have had him for about 19 months. He came to us on Purina lamb and rice. I first switched him to Fromm’s Duck and Sweet Potato and then later to Fromm’s grain free Salmon Tunalini. He also with every meal got a tbsp of yogurt, usually Fage Greek Plain but sometimes other brands. He was on the Salmon Tunalini for about 7 or 8 months.

In late April, he started eating a lot more grass than usual. Prior, he ate grass maybe once every 2 or 3 months. But he started going out in the a.m. (mostly a.m.) to eat grass about 4 times a week. But no other symptoms really presented. At first.

By mid to late May he was still grass eating but poo had started changing and not for the better. But we would have days were it was fine and then days where it was bad and then days when it was fine again. He still ate his food and still loved his walks, etc. But we also did have a few days where his interest in his food in the morning was not present. Then finally, after seeing some blood in his poo, we went to the vet.

Fecal test #1 was negative for parasites/giardia. Fecal test #2 showed a bacterial overgrowth of the bad, rod shaped bacteria. So vet put us on a 5 day course of amoxicillin, metronidazole, and pro-pectalin. We stayed on his kibble during this course. Finished the 5 days and on day 6, we had not only very liquid, essentially water, diarrhea, we also had vomiting. Called the vet…another 5 days of amox, metro, pro-pec. This time, went to chicken and rice.

The chicken and rice was meant to be short term!

After the 2nd 5 days, we kept on the chicken and rice and waited to see what would happen. It initially seemed like his poo started to improve. So I started mixing in a little kibble. Like less than 1/2 of 1/4 cup.

And things got worse again. So called the vet again.

The vet suggested that in spite of the parasite fecal being negative that we do a dose of panacur. And that if no improvement, our next step would be to take blood and fecal samples and send them to the vet school at Texas A&M to be evaluated. So we did the Panacur.

At first, didn’t see much improvement. But then about 4-5 days after his last dose his poo started to improve. Still on the soft side. And worryingly, a bit orange even though he wasn’t getting pumpkin. But firmer than we had seen in a while.

So, I went by a local boutique pet store who gave me a sample of Orijen Adult and I started mixing in some. Just a little.

And the poo got even better.

Nearly normal! Using the Purina fecal scoring model, we’re up to a 3 where 2 is ideal. We had been averaging a 4.5-5 at one point with some individual poos even worse!

So, I want to slowly increase the amount of kibble. And at some point, I plan to re-introduce probiotics (maybe powder instead of yogurt) and maybe add enzymes.

(I also bought the $3 book about supplementing kibble with fresh stuff…and would like to do that…eventually. First things first.)

Anyway, props to anyone who made it thru all that.

The main question:
Which kibble to go with for now?

A friend of mine who has a dog with severe IBD suggested that maybe a food intolerance started the whole cycle to start with, but I don’t know that I buy that. She suggested a novel protein. But, he’s been on chicken and rice, and the Orijen Adult is chicken based and his poo is improving right now. Is it possible he has a food intolerance of some kind? Sure. Allergies? Yes. In fact, he seems to have a grass allergy. Since I know he has had chicken and duck and lamb and fish, if we start looking at a novel protein, I’d be looking at pork or venison or rabbit. But I don’t know what else he might have had before we adopted him. And in terms of amount paw-licking, etc. I don’t think it is much different than any other time. He can get itchy ears too, but the vet attributes that to mostly seasonal allergies.

The qualm I have about the Orijen Adult is mainly due to the high fat content. 18%. We are mostly inactive. He is a lap dog most of the day except for our daily 1.1 to 1.2 mile walks. And a little bit of fetch with a tennis ball. But otherwise he loves nothing more than snuggling in my lap in the recliner. And he is 65lbs! And, as mentioned he is 7 and 1/2. Should I start watching the fat %? Though his weight last time we were at the vet was within 3 lbs of what they called ideal. So we are doing pretty good so far.

Then there is the matter of grain free vs. grain inclusive. In the best scenario, I prefer grain free. But I’m not sure I’m crazy about all of them going to lentils for fill. Though, the Orijen Adult has lentils and I have not seen a problem so far. But it has only been about 4-5 days and he is getting a limited amount.

I do like that the Orijen Adult is a higher protein level. His previous food was only 31% protein and the Orijen Adult is 42%. Maybe it was the fact that he has been on chicken and rice for a month that made the higher protein level an easier switch? It’s been proven now that a higher protein percent for senior dogs is OK, right?

Orijen Senior is similar to Adult except uses pea fiber also. The fat is 15% instead of 18%. And fiber is 8% instead of 5%.

Some other mostly chicken or at least poultry based foods I was considering are:
Taste of the Wild Wetlands
Wellness CORE Original
Wellness CORE Reduced Fat (37% protein, 11% fat)
Acana Adult Large Breed (37% protein, 14% fat)
Acana Light & Fit (39% protein, 10% fat)
Acana Senior (37% protein, 14% fat)
Earthborn Holistic Great Plains Feast
Merrick Grain Free Chicken & Sweet Potato

Anyway, I’m really at a loss here. Novel protein or not? Fat %? Protein %? Lentils? Other food suggestions?

[Holly C]

Just an update, I switched to Nature’s Variety Prairie Chicken and Brown Rice and so far my Havanese had been perfect and he loves the food. The Protein is 22.5% as opposed to 38% in the Orijen and the fat is 13% as opposed to 18% . I’ve even added back a little Stella and Chewys as a topper and his stool is fine. Good Luck.

[Richard M]

I have a Maltese cross breed. I clean his eyes daily with a topical pad which cleanes his eyes fine but has no real effect on the colouring.

I have had him on Orijen puppy and his coat is great, other than the tearing stains. He has gone off of Orijen and I know it is not a behavioural issue so thinking of switching to Pulsar.

Are there any other commercial foods that you would recommend to address the tearing stains? I won’t risk his health over cosmetic issues of course and am not too interested in any supplement that contains antibiotics.

[Melissaandcrew]

I love Champion products as I have said many times. I have not bought it recently as I am rotating other brands right now, so it was a surprise for me to read that the Singles have gone down to a 25lb bag. When they reformulated them before, I was told by the customer service it was for uniformity amongst the bags-Acana had been bigger than Orijen and that did make sense to me. However, if the new bags are 25lb, then based on that previous statement, I expect all to drop to 25lb-and that alone may be a deal breaker for me. At some point, I think they are going to price themselves right out of them market in the US, and then the Kentucky plant really won’t be needed, lol.

With that said, I will wait and see if the quality appears to drop, or if there appear to be issues. I will not judge based only on production location. I have no reason to believe that a company would invest 85 million to make lower rated foods in the US, but who knows?? If Champion wants to keep me as a customer(and I buy a ton of food) they will have to keep quality and formulation right up there on par with the Canadian produced foods-I am not interested in redesigned products with less meat content etc. Only time will tell.

[Melissaandcrew]

I love Champion products as I have said many times. I have not bought it recently as I am rotating other brands right now, so it was a surprise for me to read that the Singles have gone down to a 25lb bag. When they reformulated them before, I was told by the customer service it was for uniformity amongst the bags-Acana had been bigger than Orijen and that did make sense to me. However, if the new bags are 25lb, then based on that previous statement, I expect all to drop to 25lb-and that alone may be a deal breaker for me. At some point, I think they are going to price themselves right out of them market in the US, and then the Kentucky plant really won’t be needed, lol.

With that said, I will wait and see if the quality appears to drop, or if there appear to be issues. I will not judge based only on production location. I have no reason to believe that a company would invest 85 million to make lower rated foods in the US, but who knows?? If Champion wants to keep me as a customer(and I buy a ton of food) they will have to keep quality and formulation right up there on par with the Canadian produced foods-I am not interested in redesigned products with less meat content etc. Only time will tell.

[Dannie F]

Looking for anyone with experience good or bad with this brand.

All our adult Shepherds are feed raw, but want to start puppy 8week old on some good quality dry food until he is older and teeth are set.

[Katie J]

He actually watches the other dog eat. So I asked my boyfriend, who he apparently eats better for, if he bring my terrier in for feedings. He does not. I thought he had been being that I told him to… Lol. I had been separating the pair in the bathroom of all places. It was just a convenient place at first. It is quite crowded with the three of us. But I do have to keep any dog getting something special out of sight of the spaniel as she is very territorial over food/treats/anything special. Perhaps the extras I having been giving my terrier will just have to be after I feed the pup for now. I don’t have an ideal situation currently. Eventually they will have special places to eat.

I had planned to switch to 2 meals and found out that the boyfriend fed lunch today. I will just give him a very small dinner to hold him over. We’ll go to 2 tomorrow. I am nervous about having him eat just dry as he hasn’t been forced to suffer that torture in about a week. 😉 Would doing a mostly dry meal in the AM and a mostly wet meal in the PM be a good compromise?

I had a sneaking suspicion that I was totally getting played with the spoon feeding. And there is a reason that I have furry kids and not the human kind. I guess I would be that mom forcing food down her kids’ mouths! It’s been several years since I’ve had a puppy as opposed to an adoloescent or adult. I have been extremely paranoid and concerned with every bit of him.

I did a bit of online vet work to see about his water habits. And I was figuring that he just hadn’t understood that water isn’t just a boredom thing. His potty training has been coming along so I was thinking about letting him get a few more water breaks so he can get the hint. I will discuss his habits with our vet just to be sure as he acts like a normal puppy.

We just picked up some new goodies for him tonight: 2 samples of Signature and two cans of Wild Calling. And since the price was good on the Orijen Treats, he got those too. We almost picked up a small bag of the Stella raw, but we were wanting to try a small bag of the rabbit before committing to a big bag.

Crazy4cats – Thank you. He’s my little special man. I just want the best for my little guys!

[Katie J]

A little over two weeks ago, I brought home a new pup for my boyfriend. He’s a Shiba Inu/Akita Inu mix and coming up to 4 months old. I have very little background on him as he was a pet store pup that I bought second hand. It’s a long story for another thread. I know the stigma with pet store pups as well though I have a 13 year old English Springer Spaniel that was purchased at a pet store that has never had anything but a routine vet visit and lives on Purina of all things. Anyhow back on topic. My little guy is little. He weighed at 7 lbs about a week ago at the vet’s office, but I am guessing he’s sitting closer to 8-9 now. Yes, I know he is shockingly small for his supposed breeding. But everyone that meets him guesses either one of this mix, but no one knows why he’s so small. We’re guessing that it could have a lot to do with his pet store past.

Now that that’s out of the way, time to talk food. I got him with a bag of Eukanuba puppy. He ate that fine until he caught wind of the Purina. Our adult dogs (the spaniel and my terrier mix) are free range because we lead a very busy and random life at the house. This is something I plan to change for my terrier and this pup when my boyfriend get our own place. I knew that I didn’t want the pup to eat adult food as he has special puppy needs. I nearly just bought the puppy formula for Purina until I food this website. Since then I have done more reading than I would care to admit on dog food. I decided to pick a food that wasn’t going to be a big jump in quality or price and bought 4Health Puppy. I know some people are leery of Diamond. But at the price and star rating, I grabbed a bag along with one of each of their rice free cans. My plan was to do kibble and a can topper. He licked the bowl clean for three meals. Meal four, he ate half and walked away. I switched the topper to a new flavor. Same result. We were trying two meals a day but broke it down to 3 thinking that I was trying to feed him too much at a time. No change. Though I was able to get him to finish if I spoon fed the last half of his food.

Three days ago I stopped by a local dog boutique and came home with several samples and goats milk as a probiotic. His stools had been soft too pretty loose due to the changing in foods trying to find something he liked. After the milk thawed I gave him a little in his nornal meal with the same result: ate half, spoon fed rest. Stools have firmed up since. The night before last we started samples. I have a lot of Earthborn as I had went to another store and got even more samples most of which was Earthborn. I think it was the prairie formula first that he nearly finished on his own without the milk. I only give the milk once a day. Apparently he nearly finished his next two meal with my boyfriend. I wasn’t there as I was working. But I know that he will not spoon feed. With fireworks last night, the pup didn’t get his dinner. It was too late, and he had a late lunch. I expected a hungry puppy today! Nope. Same result with goats milk. This was his second feeding on a new flavor of Earthborn. I forgot the flavor. But it was blue packaging. I still have the primitive flavor left to try from Earthborn. I also have Halo, two flavors of Fromm, Acana and Orijen puppy. I wanted to get through all of the cheaper stuff first in hopes of finding something he likes.

A few extra things to add, I am feeding him separately from the spaniel who is very food aggressive. But I feed him with my terrier as I want to start transititioning my terrier to a better diet as well for when we move out. Sometimes the pup seems distracted because the terrier gets something different (4Health adult and the same topper the pup gets). But he does want to eat the terrier’s. He gets awfully burpy when he eats. I am looking to add sardines and perhaps switching to plain Kefir for the probiotic. Switching to raw right now is not something I want to do. I am unsure about getting the right balance, and his puppy stage is far too important to screw up. I do plan on introducing him to all the raw elements I want to use in the future, and at around a year old, we may make the switch. And I cannot afford to do commercial or dehydrated food. I love the guy, but I can’t justify spending as much to feed him as to fees me not to mention it’s not in the budget.

Boy that was long just to get to what I wanted to ask. Is he training me to spoon feed him? It seems like all of my meals with him end with me begging him to finish so much so that I grab the spoon. His nutrition is so important to me. I can’t stand him missing a meal or wasting that food! Any ideas?

[Holly C]

I’m having the same issue with my 2 year old Havanese. A month ago he started with loose stools. I had the vet check his stools and no parasites etc. He’s been on Orijen and stella and chewys chicken since he’s a puppy. I want to try a lower protein food and see if that helps. I have to check the fat content – that a very good point. He’s been on a probiotic which seems to help a bit. He’s a picky eater so this is a real challange. The Wellness sounds promising. Thanks for the suggestion- I’ll give it a try.

[Charles Z]

Orijen Six Fish

[Ysabella J]

Okay cat people, I am in dire need of some help. A friend of mine found an abandoned kitten that she couldn’t keep. I ended up taking care of her and in the meantime fell in love with her. Took her to the vet for a check up, got her dewormed with panacur and albon, and also sent out a fecal that came back negative. The vet believes she is about 5 weeks old. I have been feeding her raw goats milk and Taste of the Wild dry food. Cat food is fairly new to me as I feed my dog half raw & half Orijen, and never had a cat of my own, only ones that I grew up with. I am wondering if there is something too rich in her diet? She has had very loose stools for 4 days now.. I have had her for 6 days. What do I do? I am considering ground turkey, pumpkin, and rice… Poor kitty has to go so often and I’m constantly bathing and cleaning up after her. The vet says she’s hydrated and she has been drinking plenty of water.

What to do?

[aquariangt]

I’m trying to see if Peas are causing a problem in my miniature schnauzer, it may not be, but it seems to be an ingredient that caused a bit of an issue based on when she’s been scratchy, and she got a small spot.

Anyway-would Pea Flour and Pea Protein cause similar problems as the ingredient “Peas”? Another problem I’ve been running into-and I’m sure with more digging I’ll find one, but seeing if anyone has an idea off the top of their head-is I’m trying to find something without peas but still lands over 30% protein. Merrick and Natural Balance aren’t things I’m particularly interested in. Orijen is an option eventually but I need to work her into something that high in protein (maybe, maybe she wouldn’t have an issue) now that I don’t have sensitive stomach boy with me, I may be able to get back to the higher proteins.

[Isabel P]

I have been feeding Orijen for a few years and I’m not happy about their decision to produce food in KY only for sale to the US consumers. I was willing to pay a higher price because it came from Canada which I feel has stricter regulations and uses wild caught/ locally sourced ingredients.
I will be watching how this develops closely, as 1 of my 3 dogs is highly allergic and needs to eat not only grain free but also potato free food, which means limited choices.

[Linsey H]

Hi there, I started reading these forums back when I was first researching a puppy, and so far it has served me well, though I finally have a question. I know that there is a separate thread for large breed puppies, but I felt like my question might have been a bit too long and complicated for it.

I have a 21w, 45lb female Shiloh Shepherd and she has recently started teething. I have been restricting her calcium pretty thoroughly, though I have heard from several reliable people that I should be giving her more during her teething phase. My internet searches so far have been unhelpful and I have not found much scientific data on large breeds and teething. I am also a little concerned with her current diet ratios, so if I am doing something terrible, I am hoping that someone can call me out on it. So far my puppy has been putting on steady 2 pounds a week, with the exception of a few ~3lb/week growth spurts. She does appear to get occasional growing pains still though.

Her current diet:
She receives two meals a day which consist of kibble and toppers, and since she is a puppy she still receives a significant amount of training treats. I have been using http://www.animalmedicalcenterofchicago.com/pdf/CalorieRequirementsForDogs.pdf as a rough guideline for calories- my puppy gets roughly 1.1-1.3k C from kibble and then 200-500C from toppers, chews and training treats. I have read that large breeds have slightly different requirements after 4mo, plus my puppy is decently active- she walks a lot, plays plenty of fetch, and then gets at least 1 hour of dog play through various outlets daily. I generally adjust how much she gets of what based on what she did that day, and she has been staying very lean and well muscled.

For kibble, her breeder had her on Earthborn Holistic: Meadow Feast, and since that was on Hound Dog Mom’s list and had the right amount of calcium I have kept her on it. The breeder also suggested using Flexicose and Missing Link Puppy as supplements- I am not sure if Missing Link is the best, but the breeder said that the calcium amounts checked out (only the min is on the package).

For toppers, she almost always gets a tablespoon of pumpkin and then either raw green tripe, a raw ground mix from our butcher, or canned PetKind. The raw mix consists of 10% green tripe, 10% organs, and 80% beef – it is bone free and has been the main thing reducing calcium in her diet. As of last month, I have started giving my puppy either a raw (irradiated) egg or a chicken wing every 2-3 days (whenever she finishes .75-1lb pound of the supplement). I had read somewhere that a chicken wing contains ~1.86g of calcium and 89g total with ~38% being bone, though my math is still somewhat guestimate-y. I also have backs and necks, but I was under the impression that they had more calcium.

For treats, she either gets soft Buddy Biscuits (grain free), dried/dehydrated meat, lamb lung, Orijen treats, or cooked chicken- she definitely prefers softer treats and no is no longer interested in kibble rewards (she spits it out in training). When I had her on only meat-based rewards, she started to get a little snobbish so I reintroduced the Buddy Biscuits, but I am not sure that they are the healthiest option. I try to limit the amount on normal days to 100C, and then for days she has class (or if I work with her on a lot of new behaviors) she gets 200-300C.

For chews, she either gets Beams (fish skin), bison trachea (dehydrated, I have not been able to find raw/frozen), or tendon- though she is not as interested in the last two since she has been teething. Pumpkin filled kongs have been another option, though she is not a big kong fan. Lamb lung, jerky, or sweet potato, are rare accompaniments to the pumpkin. She is a gentle chewer and only finishes the beams in a single session. She is no longer interested in fruit/veggie chews. For teething, I have tried frozen towels/ropes soaked in a broth solution, but she has yet to go for them. Her favorite “chew” is definitely the raw bones, but I don’t want to give her too many due to calcium levels.

Anyways, my core question is this:
Does her current diet seem too far out of balance?

With the follow-ups being these:
1) Am I giving her too many calories in unbalanced toppers and treats?
2) Is my puppy getting too much or not enough calcium?
3) Are there other raw chewing options with less calcium (unless she needs more)?
4) Are there any specific books I should read in addition to Dr. Becker and Steve Brown’s books?
5) What are some of the better online resources for buying raw? My local butcher shop is pretty great, but unfortunately they don’t carry everything.

[Cheryl M]

Hi, I used to feed our non-working farm dogs(Akita&Border Collie) Orijen and Wellness, however it was getting a little too pricey. Switched to Pulsar and even tho it’s about $52.00 for a 25lb bag, they go thru one about every 2 weeks. I hate to sound really cheap, but I’m wondering if anyone can recommend another quality brand that I could mix with the Pulsar, just to help stretch it out a bit? Thanks

[marmarx89]

my favorite treats are made by Vital Essentials, they are raw freeze dried nuggets of green tripe, my guy goes crazy for them. Also, I’m a huge fan of the Orijen’s freeze dried treats, especially the Tundra flavor.

[Small]

How is Patch doing? I, too, have had experiences with Prednisone when my Amber had stomach issues. It does help get things under control, but sometimes with side effects. I have read that long-term use can cause Cushing’s disease. Amber developed a bladder infection that I believe was a side effect of the Prednisone. It took 3 lots of antibiotics to finally get rid of it. An ultrasound shows she still has thickening of the bladder wall after 2 months infection free. I did lots of research which led me to change her to a grain-free diet (Acana). Actually, I am now starting to incorporate Orijen. I have added probiotics, vitamins & minerals, krill oil, and a whole food supplement (all Mercola products). She had not had any diarrhea, gas, or anal gland issues since. Not to mention her coat has become soft and silky.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 9 months ago by Small.
• This reply was modified 11 years, 9 months ago by Small.

[cindy q]

I use Orijen regional red.

[Case]

If I’m not mistaken, DFA reviews are based strictly on the ingredients and the area for feedback is in place for situations just as this.

Have you considered Orijen Six Fish or Regional Red?

[RescueDaneMom]

Case,

I experience an evolution of my dog food feeding habits as well. I started off feeding premium kibbles. Then I started adding canned and dehydrates as toppers as well as some freeze-dried here and there. Then I tried commercial raw and used it as a topper too. The more I educated myself, I decided to ditch kibble completely. I fed 50% dehydrated and 50% commercial raw for about 6 months. My food bill was about $200/month for my Great Dane. He got tired of the dehydrated and I couldn’t afford 100% commercial raw so I decided to do 50% kibble. He was pooping twice as much and not a regular schedule, plus it stunk to high heaven compared to when he was eating the dehydrated/raw. Now I am working toward 100% homemade raw. I bought myself a grinder a few weeks ago. I made a little over 20 pounds of raw this weekend and he’s eating his dehydrated food again since he hasn’t had it for awhile.

Long story short is that what is best depends on your dog. Mine does SO much better on dehydrated and raw then he does on kibble. He was always overweight on kibble before I switched. Now he is nice and lean. I prefer the Pureformance line of GL’s over the artisan. I would suggest trying that one first. It should be easier for your dog to transition to because it has chickpeas in it which I imagine are similar on a digestion basis to the lentils in Orijen. My dog would eat the Artisan but didn’t really care for it. He refused to eat the Pureformance. He eats The Honest Kitchen.

I hope this helps.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Freeze-dried may or may not be raw. The process of freeze drying doesn’t use heat so if raw meat is freeze-dried the end product is raw, if cooked meat is freeze-dried the end process is cooked. Grandma Lucy’s cooks their meat prior to freeze-drying. If you want a raw freeze-dried product Stella & Chewy’s, Primal, Orijen, Nature’s Variety, Vital Essentials, Northwest Naturals and Dogswell Nutrisca (I’m sure there are others I’ve forgotten) all have some good options. Just be aware that freeze-dried foods are VERY expensive. Frozen raw is much cheaper, but a commercial frozen raw will still likely cost more to feed than kibble.

[spaniel39]

I have had great luck with Sophie my 120 pound Komondor on
Nutrisource Large Breed Lamb (she was on large breed puppy previously but now
she’s 15 months old).
It gets great reviews and reasonably priced especially compared to Orijen or Acana.

Before that, she did well on canine Caviar Lamb Puppy dinner but was very expensive
plus they had a labeling problem, where there was a misprint on the bags showing
the puppy formula calcium level over 2% and did nothing about it
(Oh, the food inside is ok, we just need to use up the bags!!!)
Another good one I used but don’t anymore is Artemis’s Osopure Duck and garbanzo beans
but the big bags are $70.

Personally, not into the “raw” diet for my pups;
I do supplement their diet (have 2 springer spaniels also) with a very lean
Hamburger or turkey burger—cooked—once a week or 10 days.
They love green beans, blueberries, cooked spinach.
It’s great to supplement with veggies, etc

GLTA!

[Case]

If I can go raw for less than Orijen, I’m likely to do that in the future.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Case –

Are you comparing Grandma Lucy’s to Orijen? Grandma Lucy’s isn’t a raw food. Like BC said, you’d need to compare cost to feed on a calorie basis but I’d assume any (or at least most) commercial raw foods would be much more expensive to feed then even a super premium kibble like Orijen. Homemade raw, however, can be done fairly cheaply. I feed my dogs homemade raw for cheaper than it would be to feed Orijen. I haven’t done the calculations in awhile but I believe most of the commercial raw foods would run me about 4X – 5X more than I spend making it myself.

[Case]

Ok. With those two products:

Grandma Lucy’s: 4162 kcal/kg; 591 cal/cup

Orijen Puppy: 4080 kcal/kg; 490 kcal/cup

[Case]

Have I read too much today and confused myself? It appears that it’s more cost effective to feed raw than high end kibble. Am I overlooking something here?

http://www.chewy.com/dog/grandma-lucys-pureformance-grain/dp/36506
-vs-
http://www.chewy.com/dog/orijen-puppy-grain-free-dry-dog-food/dp/29733

[Jazz Lover]

I’m trying to do the best I can to feed our 89lb lab the healthiest I’m able.

Currently he has been on Orijen LB Adult. Jazz is now 1 yr old (Apr). Generally, I give him 3 cups daily, w/ Grizzly Salmon Oil. I substitute out 1/2 cup dry for 1/2 can Merrick, raw vegs or a couple sardines packed in water. I plan to give him Fromm for a change and switch back & forth for variety. For training snacks, I use apple, or died unsulferated, unsweetend fruit.

I don’t feel going raw entirely is something I can afford, however I’m open to toppers & suggestions, even the possibility of one meal per day other then dry.

Thank you

[Brittany D]

Acana does not offer puppy food and I know my two dogs really like Acana so we will eventually switch to it when Dexter is fully grown but I need a puppy food for him he is only 7 months old. We recently rescued him and he was emaciated when he was rescued by the orginzation and he was still quite underweight when we adopted him just a few weeks ago. He is doing much better now and is only still slightly underweight but he is growing well (rib cage is actually looking more normal instead of very thin and small). Dexter appears to be a Scottish Terrier+Poodle mix. I haven’t weighed him recently but I know he’s at least 8 pounds.

I am only buying high quality food such as Acana, Orijen, Wellness Core, etc. I am going by the rating system here on DFA and am choosing 4+ star dog foods only. It seems odd though that all of the 5 star foods that DFA has reviewed do not offer puppy foods. Is this common?

I’d prefer to have a dog food that is completely gluten-free as I myself have Celiac Disease and am very sensitive to gluten so handling the food and receiving doggy kisses puts me at risk of having a bad reaction if they are eating foods with gluten in them.

So I’d prefer a grain-free OR one with Rice/potato/sweet potato, etc but no other gluten-containing grains.

Dexter and Bentley (who is 6 years old, Yorkie) both itch a lot and have atopic dermatitis. Dexter’s is on his face and I have not seen any spots anywhere else, and Bentley’s is mainly on his back but he did have it practically everywhere on his body (just not a full blanket rash). We switched to Greenies Pill Pockets Allergen Formula and it does seem even better now with much less itching for Bentley. So he also may have an allergy to wheat (gluten) as one of the main ingredients in all of the pill pockets minus the allergen formula is wheat.

So I think I need:
1) gluten-free
2) 4 or 5-star rating from DFA or one that hasn’t yet been reviewed but is on the same level quality-wise as 4 or 5 star foods DFA has already reviewed
3) Prefer smaller kibble as my dogs are small/toy size.

Kind of off my own topic but Bentley (6 year old yorkie) vomited whenever he ate Orijen 6Fish so I think Orijen itself is too strong somehow for Bentley so I tried Acana and they both ate it without any issue. Maybe the Orijen is too protein-rich for Bentley?

I am hopeful you (all) will be able to help me narrow down a puppy food to give to Dexter. I prefer kibble over canned only because it is more cost effective and less work to prepare and we won’t have to worry about how long that can was in the fridge.

I look forward to your responses. 🙂

[Gail A]

I have an eight-year-old Boston Terrier that had terrible gas issues and diarrhea as a puppy and young adult. He was on Canidae for a few years and then we switched him to Orijen. The stools improved on Orijen, but the gas persisted. He had to have surgery and was on a homemade chicken and rice diet for about a week or two and I happily discovered that his gas symptoms completely cleared! Going on a hunch, I looked for a dog kibble that only had chicken and rice. What I ended up finding was Nature’s Variety Instinct Limited Ingredient Lamb and Tapioca formula. It worked great. My dog loved it, he had small, firm stools and no gas!

We have had him on this for years now and never had a problem. Unfortunately, they just recently changed the formula to Lamb and Peas and suddenly we are dealing with gas again. Does anyone have any suggestions as to a good food that has limited ingredients and is preferably very low in fiber? I think it’s the extra fiber in the peas that’s bothering him.

I’d appreciate any suggestions or pointers. We live in a small house and he is starting to run us out of the house again. 🙁

Thanks in advance!

[zcRiley]

In other words by 2016, we won’t be getting the Canadian version of Orijen/Acana. We’ll be getting the Kentucky version of it. Which defeats the whole “from Canada” taste/quality aspect. Which means I’ll be switching brands as of a minute ago.