Is anyone feeding the new Orijen Tundra? What is the best Orijen adult formula?

[Kaitee and Orwell]

Just wondering since I'm currently feeding Orwell Orijen's large puppy formula and am wondering which adult formula people like best from Orijen. 

My store doesn't carry Tundra, but can order it specially for me. They already get my large puppy formula in just for me... most of the dogs that stroll through there are little yapper dogs so there isn't much demand. :P

[Stephanie and Ragley]

No Tundra here- venison is my reserved "novel protein" for Ragley so Tundra is out. (plus it is $$$)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

First, and this has nothing to do with your question, you don't need a "large breed" formula unless Orwell is expected to top 80 or 90 lbs as an adult, and really not even then.

There is no "best" Orijen adult formula. All of the adult formulas are almost identical in nutritional profiles, the only difference is the animal protein sources used. All of Orijen's formulas also contain various kinds of fish. When you first switch from the puppy formula to an adult formula, you want the regular Orijen "Adult", which is their poultry based formula and contains the same animal protein (chicken, turkey, and fish) as the puppy formula. This will minimize any need for transitioning or adjusting to the new food. You can also switch to the 6 Fresh Fish formula; since your pup has been getting fish all along, this would also be an easy transition. 

Once you have switched to one of those, you can alternate between the two formulas with each new bag, if you like.

There is no need to go further with any of the other formulas, but if you want to introduce the Regional Red into the rotation, that would be the last one I would try. I will say that it was JD's favorite, but that shouldn;t really be a consideration, strange as it may seem. 

Stephanie raises a good point: you want to keep a couple of proteins that your dog never eats, in case there is some health issue down the line that requires you to feed a "novel" protein. 

I used to rotate between Orijen Adult, 6 Fish, and Regional Red. (There was no Tundra in kibble form then). I also gave treats that contained duck and venison. When my dog was diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease and needed a "novel" protein diet, I was stuck with very few options. 

Orijen has two lines, their traditional kibble line and their newer freeze dried line. The Tundra formula was originally only made in the freeze-dried line but has just recently been brought out in a kibble version. Your store may get it at a later date.

But I would not use it. It contains animal protein sources that are considered "novel" proteins, and it is designed exactly for people in my boat: those whose dogs have been eating all of the other Orijen formulas and now can't use Orijen at all because their dogs need diets that contain proteins they have never eaten. Save it for a day I hope never comes. :) 

[Kaitee and Orwell]

I saw one of your posts on the large breed thing in another thread a while back, but I had just successfully switched Orwell to it successfully and didn't want to go back again. He is going to be 80-85 lbs by my estimation, so its viable. My little 6.5 month old is already 24 inches at the withers and 55 lbs!

This is all great to know. I'll stay away from the Tundra... I might do 6 Fish or Regional Red (since the novelty proteins in the Tundra are still available if that day comes when he needs it). However, I still have a few questions.

Is it really a good idea to feed fish as the only protein source for a dog? And I noticed that the meat:veggie ratio for Regional red is 75:25 and not the typical 80:20. Does that make a big difference? What would a dog lose or gain by having extra veggies instead of meat? 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

To answer your first question, animal protein is animal protein, whether it comes from fish, chicken, beef, or any other animal. It supplies all of the essential amino acids. I think there is an old belief that dogs have some nutritional need for meat, particularly red meat, but that's completely untrue. There are perfectly good puppy foods that are fish based; a dog can live his whole life in wonderful health without ever eating any animal foods other than fish, and many do. :)

Regarding the protein:vegetable ratio in the various formulas, it's not a nutritional value. The macronutrient percentages in all of the Orijen formulas is identical: 38% protein, 18% fat, 5% fiber, in all of them. The "80/20, 75/25" thing is simply intended to show you that unlike most other dog foods, you're paying for animal protein and not for plant protein. As far as what a dog would gain or lose by having 5% more or less veggies in his diet, not a thing. Dogs don't really need to be eating vegetables at all. :)  

[Kaitee and Orwell]

I'm thinking I'm going to go with Six Fish in the future then after he gets on the basic adult formula. I like the added coat/skin health bonus. 

[Abigail *George & Juno*]

Is there any reason you can't switch to six fish from the large breed puppy? I'm only asking because neither of my girls has ever had anything but six fish and we got them both at 8 and 9 weeks...

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

There's no reason you can't go straight to the 6 Fish from the puppy food. 

[Kaitee and Orwell]

Oops. I forgot you said you could switch to the 6 Fish in your original post. I guess the statement about switching to the regular adult formula stuck with me more.

[Abigail *George & Juno*]

Our girls have been on six fish since we got them, we plan to use the tundra formula and then reserve mainly pork as a novel protein. But we also have beef, turkey, and they've really only had chicken when they were with the breeder. So it's possible for us to use those potentially too. Tundra hasn't become available in the US that I'm aware of, but we're waiting a bit longer to change anyways. :) our older doodle has only been on the six fish for a bit over a year and she still loves it, and I love how she looks on it ESPECIALLY compared to her littermates. :) we might just use six fish FOREVER! Lol

Edited to add that we chose tundra because we got a free sample of the freeze dried and my two have already been eating that infrequently as treats and for special meals for awhile...but the freeze dried doesn't contain goat or rabbit.
The freeze dried DOES contain quail and the kibble makes no mention of it. This would mean that the tundra kibble would be bad if rabbit was my novel protein. (And I haven't fed it yet, which is another reason we may not switch to tundra) :)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

You may also have venison and lamb as options, depending on what they've gotten in the way of treats.

Orijen 6 Fish is a great, great food. It was recommended to me by Jack's dermatologist. 

[Abigail *George & Juno*]

Neither. I make homemade treats from deer my brother has hunted and from lamb we raise on our farm. :) Which just made me realize. I don't have beef. I've given them beef liver also from the farm. :-/ I better keep that pork!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

There are more and more foods and treats being made with rabbit these days, so there's always that, too. One more reason to stay away from the Tundra kibble.