Orijen switch

Postby call2arms » April 5th, 2009, 7:01 pm

Jessie has been on Orijen for almost a year now, she is on the fish version as the chicken one is not so great for her (skin + ear issues)...
Now I had that teacher at school who had a few clients who had problems that she feeled were related with Orijen (pancreatitis, uveitis, kidney problems)... So I went ahead and did some blood tests and urine tests...

And it comes out that she's got a really high specific gravity for her urine, scarily high, but that at least means that her kidneys can concentrate... No crystals or anything else, but some protein traces were in there.
Then the blood. Some liver enzymes (I don't remember which ones as I don't have the test with me, but I think ALT was in there) were elevated quite a bit, and my teacher recommended that I switch with something with a little less protein. Of course, she had some allergies so that means no chicken and no grain... Leaves me with not much choices.

Do you guys have suggestions? I tought of putting her on the Senior version of Orijen but it's chicken based if I remember well...
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Postby maberi » April 6th, 2009, 11:03 am

My guys have been on Orijen for almost a year now and I haven't noticed any problems but haven't had any blood work done on any of them with the exception of Kayden prior to his surgery. Everything came back normal but I'm not sure those things you mentioned would have raised suspicion at the time :|

I'm moving my guys all back to raw this month (Kayden is going on a ground blend to be on the safe side)
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Postby Mickle » April 6th, 2009, 11:16 am

If you can get you can try Acana its made by orijen and I believe its lower protein but still grain free and they have fish, chicken, or lamb.
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Postby call2arms » April 6th, 2009, 5:37 pm

29% carbs, 33% protein and 15% fat for Acana fish vs. 18% carbs, 18% fat, 44% protein for Orijen. I just with I didn't know about this. It would be simpler. I can't really ask any vet that I know cause most recommend the sh*tty vet foods, and don't back holistic.

I should still see if Acana is carried in Quebec.
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Postby call2arms » April 12th, 2009, 10:19 am

Ok... So I checked out what my local food store carries, there's Acana (I'd have to order the Pacifica), Taste of the Wild (smoked salmon version), and Nature's Variety (but at over 100$ per 30lbs this is a bit over budget :shock: )...

I haven't fed any of these foods, anyone tried them and liked/disliked them? I have no idea which to pick, all have lower protein levels than Orijen which is what I was looking for.

In the last 4 weeks, Jessie got TUBBY on Orijen. I totally freaked out when I got home from my internship for the weekend... BF has been feeding her 2 1/2 cups as we did before... Oddly it seems like she gets skinny every winter and gains weight in the spring. I'd like for the opposite to happen, a coat of fat is always nice in -30 celsius weather!
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Postby Marinepits » April 12th, 2009, 10:26 am

We used the Nature's Variety for a while, but only one store here carried it (at the time) and we had a hard time being able to get the same formula consistently, so we ended up switching to Merrick which was easier to find. It's pricey here, too, but not $100! :shock:

All the dogs except Mac did really well on the NV. He was a bit gassy and his poops were never really soild -- he wasn't having diarrhea or "soft serve", but the poo just wasn't formed well and because of that he ended up with anal gland issues. It is NO fun trying to express anal glands on a 90 pound mastiff mix, especially when the hubby who is supposed to be holding him is too grossed out to be helpful, LOL.
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Postby Mickle » April 12th, 2009, 12:00 pm

I dont really trust natures variety or TOW, I would really try the Acana. Im feeding the lamb right now to my guys in between raw meals and Everything has gone well. I really like the food and I dont think it will be too much of a switch for your dog to handle. Total rip off on the natures variety too. The store I work at has it for 71$. Thats a ridiculous mark up where you would get it! Natures variety also gets stuff from china...rabbit and liver. Just so you know!
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Postby call2arms » April 12th, 2009, 8:28 pm

Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely give a try to the Acana. I remember the Nature's variety was less expensive a few years ago, maybe it's the store I go to but they're the only ones who carry Orijen and Acana (at least the 30lbs of Acana Pacifica is like 61$ + tx there, not so bad, it's cheaper than the Orijen)...
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Postby SisMorphine » April 12th, 2009, 8:40 pm

TOTW and NV can both be a sourcing issue, though in the grand scheme of food things not the biggest issues normally (though China continues to be total sketchball). I've had luck feeding the regular NV to my dogs, though their grain-free, Instinct, hasn't set well at all.

Personally I would try the Acana. I haven't used it, yet, though have tried Orijen. My only complaint with Orijen was a pretty drastic increase in yeast issues (goopy eyes, frito feet, etc).

Now that being said I'm just being picky and I think that all are still in the top section of the kibbles out there.
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Postby call2arms » April 12th, 2009, 8:56 pm

Jessie did have the yeast issue at first on Orijen, but she got used to it I guess. The only yeasty area now in on the left fold of her mouth (you know under the mandible canine) and it's not oging away no matter what I do, it seems the more I tried to make it disappear the more it grew, so I just left it. Same with the paw issue she had last summer, I left it alone and it died on itself.

Acana it will be, now we just have to go through the Orijen bag BF bought last week (didn't want him to change the food without me around).

I'm also pretty sure Acana is all Canadian ingredients like Orijen, so it is pretty cool to keep feeding a 'local' food. :)
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Postby SisMorphine » April 12th, 2009, 9:01 pm

call2arms wrote:I'm also pretty sure Acana is all Canadian ingredients like Orijen, so it is pretty cool to keep feeding a 'local' food. :)

Yup same company, same sourcing as far as I've heard :)
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Postby call2arms » April 12th, 2009, 9:27 pm

Champion food, yeah.

I like how TOTW puts 'smoked salmon' as a flavor. Like they ever bother to smoke the salmon before they put it in there. Like your dog cares if it's smoked. All marketing.
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Postby Mickle » April 12th, 2009, 9:41 pm

Yay! Lemme know how the Acana switch works for you!
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