Orijen Puppy Food

[moandlola]

Hi, wondered if anyone could give me some advice.
I got a Bichon puppy when she was 8 weeks old. She was on a combination feed of Pedigree and Royal Canin. I decided to take her off Pedigree since I havent read anything positive about it. I have introduced Orijen puppy very slowly over the last two weeks and she adores it. At the moment she is on 60/40(orijen) mixture. Poops about 4 times a day - healthily although breath and wind smelly! - runs about happily in garden - sleeps overnight from 10sh to 6am.
However, I have been advised by a friend that Orijen is too high in protein for a puppy this age and could lead to problems later? She does seem more hyper but I thought she was just getting 'cheeky'. She's got quite bad tear stain which vet has checked and didnt see any particular cause. Tear stain started after treatment for mite in her ear at 9 weeks - not sure if related?
Wondering if I should be thinking about changing food?
Any advice would be much appreciated.

[josie1918]

Each dog is an individual, if your dog has volumous stools, consistant gas that smells bad, there may be something in the Orijen food that she is allergic to. Just because a food is all natural, organic and highly recommended does not protect each and every dog from having an allergy to it High protein levels (over 23%) are linked in SOME dogs to behvioral changes (agression etc.) I own 3 dogs who have NO allergies, and can eat any protein levels with No problems whatever.
The other two however, are another story. So while pedigree may not be the food everyone else is having great results with, it sounds like your dog was doing well on it. Feeding our canine friends successfully is about finding what works well for your individual dog.

[runlikethewind]

Hi

I concur with Josie - each dog is individual and it's about finding what you think suits your dog. The thing I found was to give the 100% new food a proper go - at least 6 weeks or so at it, until you decide you don't think it suits him. Just keep monitoring the poops. Also you're mixing 2 brands together during the transition and not properly over to Orijen yet so it could be causing a bit of upset. You've also recently removed Pedigree from the mix and this could also be adding to the upset and things haven't settled down yet.

I wished I had not chopped and changed so much during my dog's puppyhood though as it was not the best for his syste I don't think. I tried Arden Grange, Burns, James Wellbeloved, Nature's Harvest, Naturediet (which a lot of people swear by) and Orijen. I was also concerned about the protein levels in Orijen. They do however have quite a clear statement about this on their website.

I don't have any experience of tear staining. I've heard a raw food diet does wonders for this. You can buy prepared raw food diets which are convenient - bit expensive (take a look at www.naturalinstinct.com or www.darlingsdogfood.co.uk. I saw some pictures somewhere - tear stains before and after on raw food, but I have no idea on this particular problem so haven't had to look into it much.

[runlikethewind]

sorry ... correct website address is

http://www.darlingsrealdogfood.com/

[Horace's Mum]

Just a note about Orijen - because it is very different from most other dry food, it does take a while for a dog to get used to it. If you read their own website you will see that they mention wind and smelly stools for the first few weeks until the dog is acclimatised. I think you find the same when changing onto a raw food diet - it is simply the digestive system working out a new way of working. I changed onto orijen from burns at the beginning of the year - admittedly for an adult - and have not looked back since. Given that I cannot feed raw, I feel it is the closest I can come to a barf diet using dry food - I do supplement with cooked meat and fish and fresh or cooked veg and fruit as well. I admit to getting very confused about the issues about protein, but I think it depends on how accessible the protein is - although Orijen is high in protein content in the form of meat, fish and eggs, I think it may be a more natural form than more processed foods. Maybe I have it all wrong, but I would say give it a good 6 weeks once you have changed on to orijen completely and see what everything is like then. Orijen is certainly one of the best dry foods out there.

[maximoo]

Iread/heard that giving dog yogurt helps with tear staining. You can also buy something at your local pet shop for this problem

[moandlola]

Thanks for the advice everyone - most helpful. Will give Orijen a go for the 6 weeks and see how she is. Will also give her a lick or two of natural yoghurt to see if she likes it!

[Wicket]

The same company that makes Orijen makes Acana (also has a puppy line) except it has lower protein levels but has the same quality ingredients.