Orijen Freeze Dried FOOD

[Jay, Lola and Colonel Esau]

Hi food experts.  I'm sure many of you know that Orijen freeze dried treats have been out for a while now.  We've tried them, and they are outstanding.  I was just looking at their website, however, and it looks like they also have actual freeze-dried food???

Here's the link:

http://www.orijen.ca/dog-food/freeze-dried-dog-food/

Very exciting.  Has anyone seen this in stores or tried it???

[Seamus & Haidee]

We haven't tried the treats yet but we saw it online @ Chewy and we are looking forward to trying it. Which flavour did you dog like?

[Jay, Lola and Colonel Esau]

Beef.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

This is a brand new line, just brought out in January.

Be aware that this is a freeze-dried raw food, designed in the prey model raw feeding mode, and as such it contains a lot of organ meat and ground bone. The fat content is 38%, which is 2-4 times higher than that of most dry dog foods. The Omega 6:3 ratio is also not as good as that of their regular dry formulas, mainly because the raw formulas do not contain as much of the Omega 3 fatty acids DHA & EPA, which come from fish.

This might be a good alternative for people who feed commercial raw diets. Champion is a very reliable company and makes an excellent quality product. However, for any dog with digestive issues, I would stay away from it. The fat content alone could cause problems for dog who are prone to pancreatitis or digestive issues.  

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Wow...38% fat content would cause some serious issues for Guinness.  I almost feel like that should be some sort of "warning" on the packaging.  That sounds crazy, but I'm just picturing some people who don't take the time to read the labels giving this to a dog with IBS or chronic pancreatitis.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

They are trying to match the nutrient profiles of the "prey model" raw diets that some people feed. This is what many people do not realize, that when you give your dog a raw chicken quarter, you are giving him a LOT of fat. Yes, animals "in the wild" eat this way, but that might be their only meal for a day or two, so all that fat keeps them going until their next big kill. Our doodles in our homes don't live that way, and IMO, they shouldn't eat that way either. 

It might be a more appropriate diet for sled dogs, working dogs out herding sheep all the time, etc. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

A chicken quarter is 38% fat? Wow. I know of course when we eat chicken the visible "clumps" of fat are discarded but still that seems so high. And of course the dark meat quarters would be higher in fat I guess. I wonder when people feed raw if they trim anything away. No doubt Andrea will tell us.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Don't forget the skin that's covering that raw chicken quarter. And no, the raw feeders don't trim away anything. 

I don't know what the exact percentage of fat is in a whole raw chicken quarter, and it would vary depending on whether it was white or dark meat. But I wouldn't be surprised if it was higher than 38%. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's hard to find calorie counts for whole raw chicken, but here's an example. 

A single raw chicken wing, weighing approximately 28 to 29 g or about 1 oz., has 64 calories and 5 g of fat.

Now, that's not including the bone, which would alter the percentages, but 5 grams of fat equals 45 calories. 75% of 64 calories is 48. So excluding bone, almost 75% of that raw chicken wing (and that's white meat) is fat. And much of the bone is not digestible anyway, even by dogs. So I'd say 38% fat for a whole quarter is conservative. 

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/87457-chicken-wing-nutritional-va...

[Jay, Lola and Colonel Esau]

We don't eat wings, but whole thighs and legs work well (including skin).

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I should add that the ratio of skin to muscle & bone is much higher in a wing than in a breast, so the fat percentage of a breast would be considerably less. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

Yes I agree.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Interesting Karen, that Champion has not put something on the label cautioning those owners of dogs with digestive issues. I can see how they are modeling after the raw feeding mode, but obviously not selling to just that population exclusively or at least mentioning it in their ad. I hope no dogs get pancreatitis or digestive flare ups from this product. But it's new so we will have to wait and see.