TOTW to Orijen for 8mo puppy

[girl-E]

Hello,

I posted before when I got my puppy (a standard poodle), and decided to put her on TOTW. My previous dog was on EVO, but I could not afford it at the time for my new puppy. My puppy is 8 months old now, and I want to switch her to Orijen. However, I have been adviced not to give her puppy food. I had my previous dog on EVO since she was a puppy (about 3 months), so I am not so sure about puppy food. I am considering Orijen adult, or Orijen 6 Fish adult.

Does anyone know if it would be good or bad for my puppy to be switched to adult Orijen? Has anyone had any experiences with adult Orijen with a puppy?

Thanks!

 

[vanillasugar]

Commonly people are advised not to use puppy food with large dogs so that they don't grow too quickly and stress joints etc. I wouldn't ordinarily place a standard poodle in the size range requiring this, but to each their own.

Orijen does make a large breed puppy formula (purple and black bag) as their way of addressing this issue, what about that?

Has she been spayed? This has a lot to do with how close she is at 8 mos to being fully grown, which has a lot to do with what food choice would be best.

 

[BerryBye]

Hi Girl E
I am currently in a similar situation and I read on the dog food review site (Why do the foods in the 6* category have cautions about feeding to puppies?) that Orijen, as a 6 star food, is not recommended for puppies due to the high levels of protein in the feed.
I am really on the fence about it though because it sounds like an amazing feed and I've never heard of protein being a problem as long as there is diversity in their diet - which in my opinion Orijen wouldn't over look.
Good luck and I hope your thread brings in some good info!

 

[Bailey08]

Hi Girl E
I am currently in a similar situation and I read on the dog food review site (Why do the foods in the 6* category have cautions about feeding to puppies?) that Orijen, as a 6 star food, is not recommended for puppies due to the high levels of protein in the feed.
I am really on the fence about it though because it sounds like an amazing feed and I've never heard of protein being a problem as long as there is diversity in their diet - which in my opinion Orijen wouldn't over look.
Good luck and I hope your thread brings in some good info!

As previously posted, Orijen *does* have puppy foods -- both regular and large breed.

I really liked Orijen; I fed large breed to my dog when he was a puppy (he didn't end up being very large, lol, but we weren't sure what his breed mix was so the vet suggested it).

 

[BerryBye]

Hi,
I thought I would let you know that I took the Guaranteed Analysis of the Orijin Puppy Food to my vet last night to get her opinion. She said that she would be hesitant to feed a growning dog a feed with that much protein in it (40%), because it might result in joint and muscle issues later in life, and that it may stress their kidneys as they process it at such a high concentration. She said to try and look for a 30% protein feed until they are full grown.
Anyway I've decided I'm going to look into other feeds a bit more before I decide - why are to changing from TOTW? I'm interested to learn more about that feed too.

 

[Dekka]

lol... did you know most vets don't get any real training in nutrition at vet school...

I feed raw to my pups (as do many breeders I know) and it has a much higher protien content than that! I wonder how wild canines (who can be well over 100 pounds) manage it?

(but then vets like to recommend a diet to a carnivore that is primarily grains)

 

[BerryBye]

Thanks for your input Dekka!
I am aware of the lack of knowledge in that area of training for some vets although I selected a vet with a background in nutrition to ask my questions.
I guess my hesitation towards grain free feeds comes from the huge increase in protein from 26% (what he is getting now) to 40%. It may mean that the food he is on now is inadequate, but it may also be too extreme of a change (in all areas not just protein – i.e. removal of grains and introduction of new vegetables and fruits) and throw his system off balance – which could result in the problems some vets caution about.
I’m just trying to learn more about dog feed so I’m doing lots of reading, including my veterinarian in the process, as well as learning from all of the wonderful people on this board.
Does anyone have any feedback about TOTW? I was thinking of trying TOTW Wetlands (32% protein) and then when that bag is gone (assuming all went well), I may try the Orijen…to make it more of a slow but steady increase over a few months versus a few days which should bring him to about a year old when he starts the Orijen.
Does that make sense?

GirlE – Hopefully my questions/comments are helping you determine if it would be good or bad for your puppy to be switched to adult Orijen, I don’t want you to think I’m hijacking your tread!

 

[Hillside]

TOTW Pacific Stream has 25% protein. I have Saga on it and she is doing great.

 

[irenafarm]

Orijen is a wonderful food. I'm using the regular puppy for my working BC pup. I've NEVER had a pup look this good and I've raised pups on raw and homecooked, too.

Protein amounts have nothing to do with joint growth other than the fact that pups need protein to stay healthy and develop properly. The problem with large breed puppies comes with improperly high amounts of calcium, which cause long bones to grow too fast while soft tissue is unable to keep up. This leads to deformities and unstable joints.

As far as kidneys, in any healthy dog, the most important thing is the quality of protein, not the percentage. You challenge the kidneys far more by asking them to handle protein sources the dog isn't made to digest, like soy bean meal or corn gluten meal.

I've had trouble with TOTW. I used it when it first came out, and was happy with it, but then they seemed to change and my dogs that were on it, started getting sick on and off. I switched to Core, and then to the Orijen, and have never had the trouble again I was having on the TOTW.