I have just had a bag of Royal Canin Junior kibble delivered for my 8 week old dachsie puppy. The breeder sent us home with some in a bag and I had not read the ingredients until the ordered bag arrived.  Having read the ingredients I am concerned that there seem to be a lot of fillers and no actual chicken or meat or even glucosamine/chondroitin etc

I was wondering about switching him to Orijen as I understand that this is considered to be a very good food and has a really high % of chicken etc The breeder told me to keep my puppy on Royal Canine for at least 10 months before switching slowly to another brand but surely it is important for a growing puppy to have a good quality food. 

Can I switch now or should I wait and if so for how long? What are people's thoughts/experiences of royal canin and Orijen please?

Thank you.

I have fed both of these in the past. Wouldn't feed Royal Canin again, there isn't much good in it, like you say, just lots of fillers. Orijen looked good on paper but gave my dogs terrible wind! I feed Taste of the Wild which is very similar to Orijen but without the smelly problem! They do a puppy version too but my youngest was fed on the adult from 6 months and he turned out fine.

Edited to add: If your switching food do it gradually over a week or so, mixing in some new food into the old, gradually reducing the amount of the old stuff,  that way you should avoid any upset tummys

I've raised a couple of litters on raw and Orijen and found it a good food. My last litter I used Millies Wolfheart and was very happy with that and would use that again in preference to Orijen.

I can't see a problem switching now as long as it's done gradually and IMO there are a lot of foods out there that are a lot better ingredient-wise than RC.

I used orijen for a while but it didn't suit my dog as well as other foods so sometimes it is a bit of trial to see which suits. He had it as an adult so I can't comment on the puppy version.

I'm not a great lover of RC as I feel it's very overpriced for the ingredients and mine don't have good toilets on it, the grain content gives them bright yellow sticky poos. 

I can just about get away with 1 part RC to 3 parts of my usual food when I win any at shows, but would not choose to buy it.

If your considering grain free why not look at Simpsons 80/20 as it is UK produced.  Also have heard really god reports about Eden from one of my puppy owners (two years old now).

I dislike RC due to all the pointless ingredients.
I like Orijen but not the price. Acana is slightly cheaper but also good. There are lots of decent grain free foods out there. Have a google and make a decision. I'd be changing over right now and sell in the RC to someone who will use it or take to a local rescue to use.

I use RC with your breed and a larger breed without any problems.

I know quite a few people whose dogs are great on it, but it is very overpriced for the ingredients ( many comparable foods with lower price tags) and there are better value foods with better ingredients.

Well for starters, much as it may not be so important with a smaller breed, my buy in Basset, after years of breeding my own, came to me at 4 months having been fed Royal Canin Junior.   When I checked the protein level, I almost died.   And indeed, this puppy was HUGE.  To me, it was clear that he'd really put on way too much growth, too fast.  Yes, a big part of that would be down to his bloodlines, but for sure, we'd never reared our puppies on that level of protein!!!   And they all ended up sound.   Sadly not so with him.   By around 7 - 8 months he was lame on a front leg.  As it's around in my breed, I immediately went to Pano and off we went to the bone-specialist vet at the practice I was using at the time.   He felt him all over, and had me trotting him up and down outside.   He advised full x-rays, front to back.   He was able to rule out Pano, and Wobblers (which I'd also considered might be going on - it too is around in the breed) but what he did see was pemature closure of the growth plates, ulna, both sides.   This is also not unknown in the breed and I have to say could have happened regardless, BUT would it had he been on a food with a more sensible protein level?    We'd never had any of that in our bloodline!

Whether you keep your puppy on this is totally up to you and for sure, many breeders swear by it but I'd not touch it, leaving aside the 'fillers'.   Obviously I switched him to another brand, gradually, mixing the new with the old but the damage had already been done.   As a result of this, his front has bowed (although actually doesn't look as bad as I'd expected but it's still not good enough for me to feel happy about showing him, which I'd hoped I might be able to do, to get me back in the ring, even if just locally.   It's tragic because he's a lovely boy - and a good job because those early months he cost be as much again as his buy-in price.

We have used Burns (not with very good results) but after he was found to have Giardia too   switched him to a fish and potato diet to get his digestive system to settle down.   Arden Grange Sensitive.   That did the trick.  I have just recently switched both mine to Pooch & Co Tripe and Rice which seems to have worked!

I have no experience of Orijen.

I would switch - I don't know what your dog thinks but my bitch would go quite a few days with out eating RC because it just didn't appeal to her! If I could afford origin I would use it - were on natural instinct now (which if I were to do a price comparison is probably the same!!) but I prefer the poos with the raw over the kibbles. Dog food is such a mine field. But if your decision is Orijen or RC go Orijen :)

Well on the one hand I am no great fan of Royal Canin, but on the other hand -if your breeder is experienced and successfully rears their pups on RC and has done so for years, and you have no previous experience of rearing a pup of this breed, then I don't think you can go far wrong by following the breeder's advice. What suits one dog or one breed does not necessarily suit all, and an experienced, good breeder will know what suits their dogs, which is why they recommend it.

Hi MamaBas, I am so sad to read what happened to your Basset could it have been the RC that caused the prem closure of the growth plates?  When you say that the levels of protein were too high what did you mean?  Do you happen to know what level of protein is acceptable in a puppy food.  I have checked the Orijen protein level and it is
38-42 percent protein I am not sure if that is good or bad! But I am not happy with RC and I am thinking as we have a small dog to try a small bag of Orijen or another good quality food and switch him off it ASAP.

True but the ingredients are not good at all. I do trust the breeder but I think I will switch.

When you say that the levels of protein were too high what did you mean?  Do you happen to know what level of protein is acceptable in a puppy food.

I can only speak from my experience and obviously with my own breed but for me, the 32% protein Junior RC has, is just too high.    We have never reared our puppies on anything that high - 26% is probably about the highest.    Otherwise, as far as I'm concerned, and I stress this IS just my opinion, with a medium to large breed any higher can cause too much growth, too fast.   And much as premature closure of the growth plates isn't unknown in my breed and it could have been going to happen regardless with him, I do believe rearing my boy on that high a protein level, didn't help!!

38 - 42% may be considered fine for a small breed.   So I'd ask other breeders of your breed and especially your breeder.

ps   It's really frustrating because my lad is a crowd stopper and such a lovely hound to live with - just as well after all I had to spend to put him right early days!!    Was a time when he could well have gone back.

Shame I can imagine how frustrating it just have been for you but you still have a lovely dog he sounds like a real gem.
I have had a look at some of the puppy food protein levels it is quite interesting RC, and Acana are around 32% protein, Orijen puppy is 38% protein.

Our two came to us on RC, was told they were fed whatever she'd won, our pup also put weight on very quickly & like Mamabas's experience he suffered growth plate deformaties to both front legs. Although advised sloppy output was normal & a joke amongst her fellow breeders' & not to worry, gave up feeding it & wouldn't use it again.

http://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/dog-food-reviews/0060/royal-canin-medium-adult bears out my own opinion, and this is the one we most often have won at shows.

That's a very interesting review!!!   And I'd totally agree with the final sentence.!!

Since switching my Labrador to Markus Mühle NaturNah, which is a cold pressed complete food, his coat has improved and he poos less and it's better formed...he's always had a sensitive tummy and this food has solved it. He's a greedy dog, but this food seems to satisfy him. The kibble is massive, which also seems to help slow him down whilst he eats (which was always a problem with other foods). The size of the kibble doesn't put my Chihuahua off though, as she's always stealing it from his bowl, as well as eating it from hers. It's a good quality food. The chicken meal, etc, that it contains is just chicken, dried to extract moisture, it's not cheap or rubbish gristle, etc, and is often a better, more concentrated source of protein. Also, although it contains maize, it's been preheated to break it down, making it easier to digest and much less likely to cause any issues regarding sensitivity.

Price wise, it's not bad, and I get a good deal on 2 x 15kg bags from zooplus. You don't need to feed so much of it, but it does have a shorter shelf life (I think it's 6 months). One such bag lasts my Lab around 40-42 days. HTH.

Regards, Nik.