Hello,

I've recently switched my bitch over to Orijen 6 fish, as we found out she was allergic to chicken, beef and rice.  I'm so impressed with how she's doing on it :-)  The allergy is under control, but as an added bonus she's lost a bit more weight (she's been on a diet for 6 months!), her coats looking nice and her poos are tiny, hard and inoffensive!  The only problem is she's quite peckish at the moment, but I'm hoping she'll get used to the smaller feeding amounts...

I'm so impressed with it that I would like to swap the other two over.  They're doing ok on their current food, but comparing their whopping great stinky poos to her nice little ones makes me think it could be the best thing for them too.  I'm a bit put off by the price though, it works out quite a lot more expensive than their current food. 

Someone on here recommended Acana Pacifica as a cheaper alternative... Anyone have any experience of this food?  It looks very similar, but with 60% fish instead of 70% and contains only 3 types of fish rather than 6.  Are these things likely to make much difference?  Anyone tried both on their dogs?

Thanks,

Clare

Hi Claire,

Yes, Orijen is outstanding isnt it..I had ours on it for a while but like you find it so expensive. I know you are paying for quality and all that but when you have a pack to feed such as I do its just too expensive even with a breeder discount. it would help if they did 15kg bags instead of the 13.5kg bags, I was getting through about 4 of those a month!! I looked up the Acana Pacifica after reading your comments as I had never heard of it?  it also looks to be superb food. Made by the same people who make Orijen interestingly http://www.bernspet.co.uk I dont think the different fish would make a difference either way this looks to be an outstanding food, although still expensive a little cheaper than Orijen. Worth a try most definitly.
 

I've tried both and my dogs have been fine with both. The price difference is quite considerable, the O. 6 fish being £64.99 and the A. Pacifica being £52.99. My lot alternate between all varieties of both foods with no problems at all, although I prefer to feed "fishy" foods as a topper to their raw foods as that is what they get less of with the raw.

Thank you :-)  I think I'll give it a go.  This way I can feed them all the same food, if I'd changed my other dogs to Orijen I would have given them the normal variety because it's cheaper than the 6 fish.  Fingers crossed it agrees with them all!!

I fed Orijen but had problems when weaning pups onto it - the runs in a big way, poor pups were really bad.  So I switched to Fish4dogs and they immediately improved and now I feed all my dogs on it.  I buy it direct, but I think you can buy it at most places, the wholesalers Batleys sell it.  It's 55% fish and potato, fair enough there is carb, but no grain.  There isn't the problems of not feeding carb like with Orijen either and they also sell brilliant fish treats.  It's cheaper then Orijin too.  The puppy food is 75% fish, but when I swapped I put the pups (then about 7 weeks old) onto adult and they were fine.  Don't know what it was with Orijin, but it didn't suit my pups.

I have reared 2 litters on Orijen with great results. Going to try Acana on my next litter as the adults are doing well on it.

> There isn't the problems of not feeding carb like with Orijen....

I'm not sure what you mean by this? Orijen has potato and a certain amount of cardohydrate (as does any kibble, it's needed to help the kibble hold its shape). Could you please explain what you mean?

If you read the stuff Orijin put out they advise against feeding carbs in addition to their food - it is extremely low in carbs - there is some sweet potato and very little else...I've chucked my stuff from them out as I didn't get on with it (well the pups didn't).  They recommend not feeding carbs - so most treats are out.  I now feed Fish4dogs and have had no problems

I can't see anything in their literature or on the website stating not to feed any additional carbs - perhaps you could point me to the place you've heard this?

I sometimes add leftover potato, rice etc, and mine all get a bonio at bedtime, and I don't have problems. It just looks as if Orijen doesn't suit your dogs.

Well really!  If you look at their stuff it's all geared up to feeding nil or almost nil carbohydrates, they've a 30 page 'white paper' on the topic!  Stating why you shouldn't feed carbs at all to your dogs.  In their leaflets it recommends feeding no carbohydrates in addition to the diet.  I can assure you that when I fed my dogs this food I didn't feed additional carbs - I switched to Fish4dog treats (just the pure fish ones) and it was the pups who couldn't cope with it.  I can also assure you that it not just my dogs.  Additionally I didn't blame the food just said as a caution it didn't suit mine!

Please take another look at their web page and read their stuff - the whole ethos is against feeding carbohydrates and how it can all stuff up your dog's digestion if you do.  My advice would be to cut out the bonio, potato and rice and feed fat and protein to your dogs if you agree with the Orijin idea of what dogs should eat - if not, why feed it?  It seems pointless to feed an almost zero carb diet and then add carb...as their site says if you feed carb you cut out the impact of the protein and fat that you're paying a lot of money for :-(

From their website

Biologically Appropriate, ORIJEN diets contain no more than 20% carbohydrates, derived from fruits and vegetables. That's less than half of the amount in conventional dry pet foods.

WHY ARE CARBOHYDRATES INAPPROPRIATE FOR DOGS AND CATS?
To a dog or cat, carbohydrates are empty calories - that is, they're simple sugars that provide no nutritional value other than their limited & controversial energy potential. Why is this so? Because unlike us humans, dogs & cats are evolved as carnivores and are anatomically specialized for a diet rich in animal proteins and fats - not carbohydrates.

    * Carbohydrates are quickly absorbed into the blood stream, causing a rapid rise in blood sugar levels.
    * This rapid rise causes the body to produce a sharp rise in insulin levels and results in the sugars being converted into fat.
    * A rapid drop, leading to feelings of hunger and weakness, usually follows the rapid fall and rise of blood sugar levels.

In the body of a cat or dog, carbohydrates convert to glucose, which causes blood sugar to elevate. Blood sugar converts easily to fat, which is why carbohydrates linked to health issues in dogs & cats are serious, including:

    * Obesity
    * Insulin resistance
    * Type II diabetes

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ROLE OF CARBOHYDRATES IN PET FOOD, PLEASE SEE OUR ORIJEN WHITE PAGES.

Again, from their website...

TREATS
We all love to give our dogs treats. However, treats should be given in moderation and should represent five percent or less of your dog's daily food intake. The rest should come from a nutritionally complete feeding program.

> Please take another look at their web page and read their stuff - the whole ethos is against feeding carbohydrates and how it can all stuff up your dog's digestion if you do.  My advice would be to cut out the bonio, potato and rice and feed fat and protein to your dogs if you agree with the Orijin idea of what dogs should eat - if not, why feed it?

The amount of added carb I feed is so small as to make very little difference at all in the great scheme of things. My dogs MAIN diet is relatively carb-free, Orijen or Acana used as a topper to raw meat/tripe etc. I'm sure the odd bonio as a treat isn't going to upset the apple cart that much. 

With any of these "dog food manufacturers" they will all say theirs is the right way to feed, a little tweak here and there isn't likely to rock the boat that much and we will all feed what suits our own dogs, Orijen obviously didn't suit yours - I'm not criticising you.

From your links, Orijen, how I read it anyway, are giving reasons not to feed a HIGH proportion of carbs, not saying NEVER feed carbs. Regarding treats they are saying they should represent a small % of the total food intake (no more than 5%). I'd say the occasional leftovers and bonio is a pretty small %.

There is a reason for this and dogs don't actually need carbs in the same way as we do (however they are talking about a low carb diet and from more beneficial sources not no carbs)- they use fat and protein differently and this is what they use for enrgy they can obviosuly use carbs but a lot of the time they are just stored which is why we see so many over weight dogs nowadays, dogs do tend to have  better more muscular and less fat shape when on a lower carb but higher protein diet, so there is sense in what they say.  The reason they are in so many commercial pet food and often as the first ingredient is because of cost and sourcing, nothing else!

I don't use it with my dogs (though if I'm feeding kibble it is grain free) but I know a lot of people that do and have never known one to have a problem with it, but known lots that have benefitted from it - of course there will be exceptions as with everything!

The treat bit doesn't mention anything about carbs from what I can see :-)