After reading on here lots of positives about this food I have bought a bag which has arrived today. Harvey, my  CKCS is terribly itchy and I have tried lots of foods in hope to find something suitable but nothing has helped so far :(  I have been advised on numerous occasions to give raw a try but I'm not comfortable doing that as I would worry about getting nutritional balances right, they do however enjoy the odd chicken wing ;) Anyway, I have gone with the 6 fish variety but I'm a bit worried about getting the feeding quantity right because he is a bit of a porker - he's neutered and put weight on very easily, he weighs around 9kg now but the vet is always telling me he should be more around the  7kg mark. I have gone for the fish instead of the senior variety which is more suitable for weight control because fish suits him better and I am hoping that the oils will help his dry skin. Can anyone advise how much I should give him per day - I'm thinking 60g?? The pack says for less active dogs with under 1 hours exercise per day weighing between 1-10kg should have between 55 - 115 grams of food per day. They also get a couple of pieces of sea jerky a day and the odd chicken wing - about 2 per week. One other thing, how does the food soak down - I'm thinking perhaps it doesn't because of the lack of grain?

Thanks  Hayley

Any dry food will soak and expand when wet regardless of the ingredients; so not sure what you mean precisely.  The grains in dry food are cooked and their structure changed as a result - so perhaps you are thinking that like pasta or rice you might cook for supper that a grain-based food will expland more?  Does not work that way after cooking ... sure does before though!

Why don't you email Origen and ask for a recommended feeding amount?   I would compare the kalorie content of the food you were feeding against the same for Origen.  That way you can calculate how much Origen you would feed if you wanted to keep to the same number of kalories.  Personally, I would keep him at the same level for about a month - the difference in protein may make a difference in his weight.  If you see his weight is not budging, then the general rule of them is to cut back the number of Kalories by 1/3.   1/4 if you are a softie :-)

Just try it for a few weeks and gauge his weight by weighing him and monitoring him by your eye.

Origen definately doesn't soak up much water just a tiny bit as it is not full of grains or rice.. hence the reason it is often quite popular.

HTHs :-)

Any dry food will soak and expand when wet regardless of the ingredients; so not sure what you mean precisely.   I think you would be very suprised at origen. Even after left for an hour it has only swollen a tiny bit. I used it on a litter of pups.

Fresh meat is 75% moisture. When dry it is roughly 10% moisture.  ... so it will expand given time.  Warm water helps too.

When I first got one of my dogs he was on Purina Chow, one of the multicoloured supermarket types anyway.  His breeder/owner used to soak the food overnight in water and it seemed to more than double in size. 

.... I sense an experiment coming on ... plenty of time during the hols!  :-)

ha ha surely dried food is all abbout 10 % moisture so it should all bulk about the same? thats got me thinking now- i know what i'm doing tonight!!!.....

I did wonder if Orijen's lack of soakability is down to the fact its steam cooked (at low temps) rather than being extruded like most other dry foods-as well as the lack of carbohydrate.I wonder also as the fact its so hard may mean its better for a dog's teeth than extruded food which breaks up as soon as it gets in a dogs mouth.

.... I sense an experiment coming on ... plenty of time during the hols!     Yip been there and done it :-)

You'll be suprised the origen swells to about 10 % but that is only after at least 30-60 mins were as the rice and high grain ones swell to more than double some as much as 5 or 6 times their dry size.

It makes sense.

The % to moisture is a tough one as when meat is dried it is not a 7th of the size.

I have used a few brands when having puppies over the years and the variance of size after soaking is incredible but then so do the ingredients. :-)  Something like Burns , (Nutro high rice content)go mutiple times their dry size.

How did you feed Orijen to your young puppies Blue? Was the fact it doesn't soak very well a problem? I haven't got any young puppies-just wondered!

Hi
I have a litter at the moment and I use Orijen and Nature Diet . Just started to try them with food over last couple of days, I soak the Orijen in warm water for at least 1hr and them wizz in blender with some warm puppy mlk to make a porrage which they are starting to take well. Gradually make it thinker and onto a soft/fork mash. 
Karen

No the origen was great for the puppies. Brilliant ingredients. I just soaked it for 30 mins and used a hand blender to break it down  when they were very small.  I always use a complete for puppies and then move them onto a rawish diet as they get older. 

Ditto what Karen has said..  I don't bother with puppy milk though.

So a bit more hassle than most puppy foods but worth it then.

Hi Helen,

I don't find it anymore hassle as I would blend any puppy food with my breed for the first few weeks but only thing I would say it soak it for a bit longer.   Certainly think the ingredients are very good. :-)

Where do you get Origen food from please?

Well I've answered my own question and found a website called Mutley and Mog which sells it for £44.98 for a 13.5 kg bag, now that is even dearer than the Arden Grange small bite adult my lot are currently on so someone tell me why they think Origen food is of such quality it merits paying even more than I do already, I have read only good reports about Origen (ads mostly) but dont actually know of anyone that uses it, I have 9 Papillon's so would particularly like to hear from anyone else with toy breeds that have found this food to be even better than what they were feeding before.

Yvonne.

Hi  Yvonne,

I think you have to try things and decide for yourself.  Everyone has different experiences.

I think Origen is decent food, It has low grain and quality ingredients, but I also think some of the Arden Grange food is OK also in particular their grain free Potato and fish which is also about £45 a bag.  I personally do not like complete foods that are full of rice as I dont see the point in paying big bucks for bags of rice.  JWB now do a grain free which is also similar price. Infact works out to be about £50 for 15 kgs  Wafcol Salmon and Potato also about the £40 mark.     Most top end foods are that sort of price.

Anytime I have bought Origen I have bought it from Zoo plus and always been able to source a 10% code from Hot deals of similar so got it cheaper  http://www.hotukdeals.com

I don't personally feed complete all the time I use it mostly as a mixer but still want a quality one even used like that.  I would say complete makes about 25% of my lots diets when they are over 6 months. Under 6 months it is higher and certainly used on puppies up to 8 weeks.

You have to decide why you want to change your dogs food and what you are looking for.   Get a bag of food and try it you will either like it or not.  Not directing this at you but I often think people are sometimes looking for miracles from dog food when there are so much more other things that contribute to the well being of the dog and how it looks and performs also. As I say not directing that comment at you.

Thanks for that Blue, I dont feed them on complete totally but like you want to use a good quality one go along with thir meat/bone/veg diet, I wondered about Origen because it does use a lot of better quality ingriedients as opposed to the cheaper end completes wich are full of nasty fillers, anyway I think I will go ahead and buy a bag and see if thy do better on it than AG, thanks again.
Yvonne.

Did a bit of maths (cant sleep)... though is all approx as i cant know how much anyones dogs eat, but 150g of arden grange a day could work out at 39p per dog.

For the same weight dog Orijen recommend less so (doing soem averages and guesstimation for a mid range active dog of under 10kg) 85g per day which at the price you mention Papillon, would mean 28p per dog per day.

I would be interested to know if that works out in reality, as Id like to see if my lot get on ok with it but realistically id have to buy a lot more... being a lot bigger!

Did a bit of maths (cant sleep)... :-) :-)    That sounds like me at times.

When I used it I defiantely have to use a lot less. The AG fish and potato also goes a fair distance.

defiantely Definitely 

I am going to buy it for sure, will just use up the last of the Arden Grange then buy some, with it being Christmas the coffers are bare and so will have to wait until the New Year to buy some.

Papillon,after reading about research on working gundogs which showed that higher protein food dramatically reduced injuries(see B-Naturals.com-Feeding the performance dog) I decided that was enough to convince me that I should change my dogs onto Orijen(although I also feed some raw meat and tinned food such as AG Partners).My small papillon does agility,has no fear of anything and I always worry about her hurting herself but at least I feel I'm giving her a good enough diet.

Thanks for that Helen, will check out the website :-)

just been looking about for orijen if you google the name you can order direct from orijen. Currently zooplus have a 10% discount available for first order. Orijen themselves will send you a small bag and if you order through them will give you a discount on their next bag.
PS I dont work for them just spend too much time looking for bargins !

Thanks furrie, I am getting some for sure, just using up the last bag of Arden Grange and will order some in the new year, cheers :-)

Yvonne.

You can buy Orijen from Berriewoods as well now - this is great for me as I get my frozen food from them as well.

Thanks LJR :-)

I've just found that out also when i went to purchase my frozen food. My boy has never liked complete food, but i have decided to go ahead and buy some in the hope he likes this. If not then i hope he accepts it as treats and i can get more food in him that way. Very high protein levels.. Amazing!!!
Decided that the fish one was a bit too much to pay out for if he doesn't like the brand of complete so gone for the slightly cheaper one. Fingers crossed!!!

My boys have been on the Origen for almost two weeks now and are thoroughly enjoying it - I don't know if I'm imagining it but they look so glossy and healthy. I didnt swap over gradually - just changed them over all at once and they've been fine - no upset tummies :) So far so good.

My crew are on this as well- I have been switching between this food and Go and they all seem to like it.
I even put our ferrets on the GO food because of the protien, they need high protien and the ferret food I find just doesn't cut it.

Good to hear they didnt have any runny tummy effects from the changeover luvhandles, my lot are halfway through their last sack of Arden Grange so I will be changing them over in a few weeks from now.

Yes, they were absolutely fine and thier tummies are usually very easily upset. They're really enjoying the Origen and they dont mind that it isnt soaked whereas they are normally so fussy and turn thier noses up at dry food so all good reports from me.

Luvhandles, do you mix anything in with it, ie meat etc, or just give it on it's own.

Wendy, I just give the Origen on its own at meal times but they do get a couple of chicken wings each week and some sea jerky each day as treats.

I haven't needed to mix anything in with it to make it 'interesting' - they haven't once turned their noses up at it which is a first, especially for my Harvey as he is so fussy.

Mine is being delivered on wed and i'm so excited about trying this.

Maybe I should try them with nothing mixed in!! Just that before on AG they always had something mixed in with it otherwise they walked away. Must admit they they seem to like it better, regardless!

this may sound strange but I can understand the dogs attraction as it smells so strong and flavoursome and it seems quite oily and moist even though it is dry - if that makes sense?? Every other dry food that I have fed has had very little aroma and has been very dry and 'stale' looking compared to the Origen. One other major plus for me, I have noticed that my boys don't smell at all doggy - normally a few days after bathing they start to smell again but since thier bath on Christmas eve, they still smell nice which is fantastic. I have a very sensitive nose and can usually smell the boys first thing in the morning in the kitchen and one of my first jobs is opening the window and lighting my oil burner but I haven't needed to because they just don't smell - maybe its partly because the weather has been dry but even so, they have never stayed sweet smelling for this long before ever!

People who feed a raw diet always say their dogs don't smell either so it must be something to do with the high meat content and lack of grains.

My hubby says that they fluff alot more on this food and it smells awful- going to try the yogurt to see if this helps with the prudent smell phew :-( .... I am planning on staying with the food cause they like it and why pay more for grain food when this is alot more meat...

How much are you feeding Dollface and do you give other treats? The only time my two seem to get bad wind is when I feed any more than they need and that applies to all foods - just a thought that could be the problem? P.s - I love the term 'fluff'  :-D

I free feed, always have- they seem to not eat as much as they did when on Nutro- I find I fill their bowls less now- think bostons are just gassy dogs lol

I know someone else who has their boxers on this and she is very gassy as well :-( I dunno

I think its a brachy breed thing lol. Squishy faces = Farty bums ;-)

LMAO :-D I think you are right lol

Well the Origen arrived today and they are eating it right now, will see if its any better than AG but so far so good at least they find it palatable.

looking at my dogs I have noticed their coat is alot more shinier and Junior's skin is not really flakey anymore like it use to be- works good for my crew. I even have the ferret (kitty) on Go and she seems to really like it- so I think I will not be buying ferret food anymore cause its not that high in protien where this stuff is.

Time will tell if I can see a difference in mine, they really like it though which for Papillons is a great thing as they are not big eaters at the best of times.

Right I have a funny question but I need to ask, my lot have been on Origen over a week and I have noticed a real decrease in the amount they poo (said it was a funny question lol) have any of you others using it found that to be the same? they seem to be eating ok but are producing less poo than when on the AG, I'm not moaning mind but just wanted to query it with others.

> Right I have a funny question but I need to ask, my lot have been on Origen over a week and I have noticed a real decrease in the amount they poo (said it was a funny question lol) have any of you others using it found that to be the same? they seem to be eating ok but are producing less poo than when on the AG, I'm not moaning mind but just wanted to query it with others.

Yep,that sounds normal as there's more meat/less carbohydrate than AG.