I am thinking of trying Orijen on my pack. I do have a 13 year old who is on Plaque off for tartar build up which works on her very well. I know Orijen adds Kelp to its ingredients and Plaque off is made from Kelp.... Does anyone use both Orijen and Plaque off? Do I need to worry about too much Iodine from the Kelp?

I would. Speak to orijen re the amounts and if u could combune or I wonder if u Google safe iodine amount you could work it out

I've started my 6 month old cocker on Orijen....absolutely loves it.

Thankyou both..... I am not sure if I will be able to continue on Orijen really though. I have working dogs that work 4 to 5 days a week and they look terribly thin on the Orijen.. Has anyone else had this problem with Orijen and hard working dogs?

Sorry can't help as I raw  feed  but have a look at millies it's similar in a lot of respects or Eden

I feed raw too. We have a gang of working cockers who are working 3-4 days each week. They are holding their weight very well but are getting a bit more  than just a maintainance amount at the moment. Raw bones are an essential part of their diet which help to keep their teeth "sparkling clean" too.
I use Orijen just for treats and the same with Millies.
If you want a cheaper product than Orijen yet good quality grain free product I would suggest the Millies Wolfheart and raw bones for cleansing the teeth!

Having just look at the ingredients/price of Origen's fish adult diet (for comparison as I feed Arden Grange Sensitive) ......  I guess you don't have to feed as much as with some other brands because not only does 38% protein worry me, but even more so does £74.90 for a 13 KG bag.  (this from Zooplus where I buy my food from).   At that price, I'd switch to raw feeding!!   I wonder how much of this is down to it being an imported brand, and perhaps over-hyped.

I would just say what works for one dog, won't always work for another so to recommend a brand would always have to come from me, with that caution.

Raw is Def cheaper than those and fo many people works out cheaper or less than many kibble.i spend about 30 ish per week but rarely get anything free so it's direct from a good supplier thay feeding 1.700 kg per day

Didn't suit mine - working gundogs and show. Too lean and always hungry on appropriate upper limits on feed rate. Fed more and dreadful loose stool and no improvement in condition. Mine do far better on 3-4 star foods with rice or potato as carb source.

Thanks all,

I would like to fed raw  but with 12 dogs I don't think I could keep up with it. After a shoot day and 11 muddy cold dogs to wash off i would just not be able to keep up with it... After a very wet cold day out with them today I have decided I don't think it's for us.... I upped the quantity yesterday and terribly loose stools today.... They really need something to hold weight  I like the idea behind the Orijen diet but it just doesn't seem enough for our dogs doing hard work all day in all weathers. Shame.

I can understand where u are coming from . Have u looked at Simpson I know nothing about it but people seem to speak well of it particularly  for working dogs

Thankyou furrie friends,

To be honest I have tied Simpsons. I didn't like the shape of my dogs on it. They went barrely looking with too much middle and not enough muscle at back end. I know another dog on the shoot fed Simpsons and she looks the same. After moving off Simpsons they have gone back to the lean muscled back end with small waists.... They are looking super fit and very well but I just liked the Orijen idea so it's a shame it doesn't seem to hold the weight on them. Maybe it's better suited to the pet market.... I don't know.

Have a look at millies unfortunately  tje dogs I know that are good on it arnt working dogs but might be worth a try or the other one that also doesn't have loads of unessary things in is Eden

Thankyou very much furrie friends.... I will have a look :)

Have you tried a raw and mixer combination ? raw to go do a whole range of minced meats with the correct balance of meat/bone and you could add to it with a good mixer such as Burns natural mixer which is rice based.
My Uncle was a gamekeeper for many years and used to soak mixer (Remember winalot ? ) with warm gravy from boiled bones and feed alongside a mixture of raw meats. His dogs looks great on it from the start to the end of the season. He boiled up whole chickens and stripped all the bone out and poured over the mixer, the dogs loved it warm after a long cold wet day ;-)
Basic but effective. You can pump the raw protein in and the rice will keep the weight on.
Aileen

I use applaws, 75% meat, grain free, UK made and cheaper than orijen. Even during the racing season mine are easy to put weight on with it. They have glossy coats, bags of energy but not fizzy and I do have to watch quantities constantly. I adjust their food whenever necessary, if one is looking a bit lean a few days of slightly bigger rations brings them back to ideal weight.

p.s. I guess it's a typo somewhere that you are thinking of trying orijen and then 2 hours later not using it because the dogs are too lean?

I've had the same experience as klb on Origin - loose stools, and I persisted with it for ages and reduced the quantity fed in case I was feeding too much.  It continued.  Came to the conclusion dogs need something to firm up the stool - whether ground bone or carbs of some description.

Now on Bob and Lush and all are great on it.  Although I do wish there were more flavours of it available.

> I have tied Simpsons

was that the 80/20 carb free option
Sensitive meat/Fish and potatoe
or the meat and Rice ones?

I have tied both Brainless in the past. Gave them a barrely middle with not much back end muscle.didnt look like my dogs at all on it .... They are the athletic lean type and looked an awful,shape.

Give the people at Millies Wolfheart a ring. They are very knowledgeable and very helpful and do a whole range of foods, all grain-free, suitable for the very active working dogs to those who are less active (there is a food recommendation guide on their website - https://www.millieswolfheart.co.uk/Food-Recommendation-Guide/). If you bulk buy it works out cheaper and they often do special offers.

The Millies Wolfheart prices shown all include delivery charges, so no extra costs involved.

Our dogs do not need to be heavy weights.An active and lean correctly fed dog can be perfectly healthy, (I do not mean thin like a dairy cow with haunches protruding and every bone showing) but they are performing their best and giving their maximum.

> Gave them a barrely middle with not much back end muscle

Mine are not workers just get their pet dog walks, but if anything one of mine could do with more meat on her back, (seems to loose it whenever going through a moult) LOL but keeps the rest pretty good.  Horses for courses.

That sort of stodginess I only ever found with the old flake foods.

I once ran out and bought old Gilpa value and within a fortnight the dogs were like doughy cushions

Late to the party but ...

I've been feeding Orijen for the past 8.5 years or so without issue. It is low in Iodine so there isn't an issue with using plaque off too, I've used both together in the past with no issue at all.

My collie thrives on it, especially the regional red variety. The 38% protein isn't an issue either. In the past I fed her food 22% and under and she did terribly on it, lethargic, awful coat, impossible to keep weight on. The higher protein content suits her perfectly. She is 10 now and constantly mistaken for a young puppy, she doesn't look or act her age at all. It doesn't suit all dogs but that is the same with any food.