Having second thoughts about food...

[cocoincanada]

We have been feeding Sunny Orijen food for months now. He was on Wellness when he was a puppy and that lasted about 7-8 months, and then we switchen to Orijen puppy and now he's 14 months, and on Orijen Adult. I'm starting to have 2nd thoughts about feeding him grain-free. He's a house dog and gets about 45 mins or more of exercise per day (walk) and more on weekends (1.5 hrs each day). I don't know if he should be eating such a high protein diet when he's really not that active.

I'm starting to doubt my choice now, mostly because he recently had a really bad bladder/kidney infection and when I started reading up on it, I learned that too much protein can often be harder on the kidneys to digest and can put more strain on them. I'm not saying that this is the reason for his infection, but if he in being strained more due to eating grain-free, maybe I should start adding grain back into his diet?

I like Orijen because it doesn't have a list of ingredients/chemicals/preservatives 3 miles long and all the top ingredients are "real". I've been looking at some options for other foods, and have come up with a few, and they are: Go! Natural, Innova, and going back to Wellness. Originally, we switched him off of Wellness puppy because he had runny poop all the time, but who's to say the Adult formula would cause the same?

I hate the idea of changing his food again, but I want what's best for my pup!

Also, what are your thoughts on mixing foods? California Natural has various good quality foods (or so I read), but they are single source protein, like Herring & Sweet Potato, Lamb Meal & Rice, Chicken Meal & Rice...so I'm wondering if mixing them would be ok, so my pup could get a variety of protein sources? The California Natural seems good on the ingredient side of things, but it seems to be missing things like Acidophilus, which helps instill the good bacteria back into the system.

I'm so confused! I know so many of you have food problems with your pets. If only they could talk and tell us what kind of food they want :)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Hi, I know that there are a lot of posts in the Commercial Foods section, but if you read through it, you will see a lot of information about this subject, along with a lot of recommendations for good commercial kibbles. Although we hear a lot about how bad grains are for our dogs, it is really a question of what kind of grains they are, and what else the dog is getting to eat. Dogs do need 25-35 percent of their diets to come from carbohydrates. I agree that too much protein can be a problem for dogs who are not running the Iditarod or herding sheep.
Please check out the Commercial foods section, you will find a lot of info there. Some of the other discussions, including even my "Whine" (semi-humorous) will have some info on these questions. You might also want to check out the "Recommended reading section, where there are books listed that will give you excellent info on nutritional requirements for dogs.

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

Along with Karen's suggestions, I would add that I do change brands and tastes with almost every bag. I never knew about the phase it in slowly advice that I have seen on DK and just did it. Their poops have been fine but I also home cook their main meals, the kibble is left out all day for graze feeding. I switch between Innova Evo, Taste of the Wild Prarie and TOTW Pacific Stream, I also use Life's Abundance on occaision. Come check out the Food Group for much more.

[Lee Seidman]

Hi, We have had our Doodle Lexi on Orijen Large Breed Puppy food. She is six months, has a beautiful coat and seems so healthy and playful. I have spent hours researching dry food because she is a fussy eater, weighs only 29 lbs. and never finishes even one cupfull fed twice a day. We have been giving her some cooked chicken, scrambled eggs, and even soaked her food in chicken and beef bouilon to encourage her to eat more but she just will not eat.
We have tried several foods and always came back to Orijen because whomever I speak with, and what sources on the net that I have found all rate Orijen four star........its the best in my opinion and I hope to stay with Orijen and not to have to try any other brand of food again. If anyone has any ideas on how to get our baby to eat more I would appreciate hearing their suggestions.

[Dianne Carter ~ Trinity Doodles]

We really love the Orijen line also, recently we have starting using the same company - Champion Foods, ACANA grain free line. The ACANA has a bit lower protein as well as a bit lower price (we go through 60+ lbs a week so this is nice). We change flavors/formulas with each bag and do also like to throw in a bag or Orijen 6 fish into the mix on occasion as well. We did a rather ambitious evaluation of foods. Our top two favs were pretty much anything in the Champion line or anything in the Natura line (to include California Natural, Innova - which does have the addition of some of the ingredients you are looking for and Innova EVO. We use California Natural for our puppies because of the simple formula. On occasion we throw in a bag of EVO Red bites for a change and even maybe a bag of Innova. We rarely do a graduated change anymore but do use digestive enzymes especially during a change, we have not had any issues.

There has been much debate over the high protein diet and its effect on the kidneys. On the flip side I have heard it said that it is also dependent on the quality of the protein, that a high quality protein breaks down more efficiently and thus may tax the kidneys to a lesser degree. I honestly cannot tell you with certainty of that. What I can add is that grain free does not equal carb free. If you so desired you could always add fresh into the kibble for additional (and a variety) of complex carbs, or fruits and vegetables. If your dog had specific grain issues, perhaps you might consider adding some instant mashed potato flakes for additional carbs/variety. I used to add baby food rice or oatmeal cereal from time to time, but we do have a grain sensitivity here and now substitue the potatos.

Best of luck with this! Let us know how it works out.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Posted from the "comments" section 2/17/09

Comment by Sally and Echo: Hi Dianne, this info is for you and all the other Orijen users out there. I was concerned when the WDJ didn't include Orijen in it's yearly best dog kibble food edition last month. I just received this blurb from WDJ today and I wanted to post it for everyone to see...(this is a March preview edition).....

We also failed to include one company on our “2009 Approved Dry Foods” list, whose information we had obtained and whose products we admire. Champion Petfoods Ltd., of Morinville, Alberta, makes its Orijen and Acana (high-protein, low-carb) dry dog foods in its own plant. See orijen.ca or call [phone] for more information.

Now that is a shame that it only gets a blurb but at least WDJ made the correction. I thought you might all like to see it in writing! Thanks!