Orijen dog food and liver/kidney problems

[Nancy Sweet]

I just switced my doodle to Orijen 6 fish dry food. He has a sensitive stomach and soft stools. I was feeding him holistic select duck and oatmeal and was told to try a grain free food. I was told this was the best food you can buy. I transitioned him a week a go. His stools are pretty much the same. I am not sure how long the transition should take. My biggest concern though,  is the reviews I have been reading that Orijen causes liver and kidney damage. Now I don't know what to do. Are these claims true? Should I switch again? Once again I am so confused.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Hey, guys, this discussion is a year old. I don't know why it's suddenly been revived, but there is no problem with Orijen causing any kind of liver or kidney disease. It may not work best for every single dog out there, but neither does anything else. Every dog is different.

 

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

I actually wrote a reply and then realised this is an old post so quickly deleted it.  It's probably still relevant as people keep telling me that Orijen is too high protein.  I just say I have done my research and am sure this is the best food for my puppy.  They are all trying to sell me other  dubious varieties.  It's a hard sell in that market so there must be a huge profit margin on the stuff.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Fortunately, I still had your reply in my e-mail notifications:

 Posted by Nicly and Riley:

Recently some people have tried to tell me that Orijen was dangerous and that it was too high protein.  They had a vested interest as they were trying to sell some other brand of  rubbish dog food.  Luckily I had done my research on the comparison sites and here where there is no better advice available from the food group.  Karen & Jack have read every research paper and I trust them (definitely Karen, though maybe not Jack!!!) absolutely.  I moved Riley at age 11 weeks to Orijen puppy from RC and for nearly two weeks he had very soft poops and had smelly gas that was bad enough to clear a room!   I persevered, cut out all treats and just fed the Orijen.  Now at 16 weeks he is thriving, his coat already looks better, no gas and his poops are perfect.  If I were you I would hold tight, read as much as you can that is based on sound intelligent proper research and arm yourself to the teeth because there is a lot of ignorance on the issue of dog food out there.

 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

And thank you for the vote of confidence. :) We do try.

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

You're most welcome : )

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Let's talk about protein. We know that dogs have a higher protein requirement than people do. They're designed for eating meat, as the raw feeders often remind us. Your dog can eat a big hunk of raw steak, or a whole raw chicken breast. You can't; your teeth can't tear the raw meat apart or crush the bones. We know that dogs can live on diets composed of nothing but animal foods, which contain no carbohydrates at all. So all of the calories they consume are being provided by animal proteins and fats. And common sense tells us that the body composition of any animal a dog might eat (chicken, rabbit, squirrel, etc.) has to be more than 50% lean tissue, i.e. muscle & bone, rather than fat. So dogs are designed to eat a very high protein diet in terms of the amount of calories provided by animal proteins.

The metabolic energy provided by any food can only come from one of three sources: Protein, carbohydrate, and fat. Anything you eat, or your dog eats, has to be composed of some combination of these three. It might be only one, it might be two, or it might be all three. Yes, foods, also conatin vitamins, minerals, fiber, ask, and water, but those things don't contribute to the calories or the metabolic energy. So when the water is removed from a piece of chicken or beef, all you have left is a larger amount of protein and a smaller amount of fat.

For example, 93% lean hamburger would be 93% protein and 7% fat. No carbohydrates. (Carbohydrates come from plants.)

Another example: A spoonful of sugar is all carbohydrate. 100%. Now if you mix that spoonful of sugar into a glass of water, and add a vitamin tablet, that glass of sugar-vitamine water is still 100% carbohydrate. The water and the vitamins don't count in terms of the macronutrient content.

 

Now, most human nutritionists will tell you that a pretty good ratio for humans would be 20% fat, 30% protein,

and 50% carbohydrate. Some people follow diets like Atkins, where they consume almost no carbohydrates and very high protein and fat percentages. Nutritionists tell us this is not healthful, but lots of people do eat that way. They consume diets containing more than 50% protein.

Obviously, the healthy proportions for dogs would be higher for the proteins and lower for the carbohydrates. How much higher, I don't know. But if a dog is not getting any of his calories from plant foods, as in the case of many raw-fed dogs, the protein percentage would have to be well above 60%. (Again, not by weight or volume, but by measurable metabolic energy.)

Folks, Orijen contains only 38% protein. If you don't eat a plant-based diet, you're getting more protein than a dog who eats Orijen is getting.

So how can Orijen be "too high in protein" for a dog???????

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

Also, if anyone has any concerns, you can email Champion Pet Foods (the makers of Orijen and Acana) and they will provide you with INDEPENDENT research as to why their levels of protein are suitable for cats and dogs. i did post an email in the food group a while back about it.... but i cant find it now

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

orijen makes cat food? I'm so on it! penelope is going to be a happy kitty when she hears this. :)

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

FOUND IT

 

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/high-pr...

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

This has been a useful discussion. I've just started switching my doodle from natural balance and she seems to be doing well, but the stinky gas is killing me. I'm glad to know that it will eventually cease. her poops have been so much better in the last week.