# Orijen



## Spindrift

I was doing all this research on dog food and thought that Orijen sounded like such an excellent brand. I almost decided to use it until I started reading about the recent change that was made in their formula. I came across an awful lot of reviews from Orijen users who had to stop using it after this change because it caused problems with their dogs. The Orijen website states that if you are already using Origen, that you do not have to transition your pets to the new formula and that they should not have problems with their stool when making this switch. I can easily overlook a comment here and a comment there, but I have found such a huge number of negative comments about this new formula from long time Orijen users that I am totally doubting it now.

I don't want to believe what I have read.....Does anyone in these forums have experience with this brand and their new formula? I am very curious to know what others have to say about it.


----------



## CurlyDog

I'm interested in this because I've always been a fan of Orijen. So far this is what I've found on the dog food advisor site:

The Bottom Line

All things considered, none of Orijen’s new recipes appear to have been designed to save cost but to increase the overall quality of what was already a top-tier product.

Orijen Dog Food New Recipe Update

I'd love to hear more on this!


----------



## CharismaticMillie

Tiger eats some Orijen in addition to his raw and has done wonderful with it. IF I were to feed kibble instead of raw Orijen or Acana are the only ones I'd feed.


----------



## Spindrift

The link from CurlyDog is exactly the same article I was looking at when I encountered so many negative experiences that people have had. Read the comments after the article.....

I wrote the company about it and got what sounded like a pre-written response. It talked about how people don't properly transition their dogs to the new food, as if I was referring to those trying Orijen for the first time. What I had brought up though was the fact that regular Orijen users could no longer tolerate the new formula, while the website states that those already on Origen could be switched right to the new brand with no ill effect. 

I wanted the company to convince me that I did not need to be concerned about this. I was not left convinced. I also feel that if there are pets who used to do very well on this product and now no longer can tolerate it because of the changes, that is something that should be addressed. The company should at least continue to offer the original formula as well, though that is just my opinion. I would still like to hear experiences of others who have used this brand and wether or not their pets were affected by the new formula.


----------



## vtomblin

I switched to Orijen a month ago and have no complaints. The dogs love it and their poops are even smaller than with blue buffalo. It is made in my province with mostly alberta raised livestock in their own factory. not like every other company who comes out of one or 2 plants. Big fan here. Not sure if it's new or old formula. Good luck in your search.


----------



## penny_ann

I switched to Orijen this month too. Penny won't allow a proper switch either. She tastes the new and refuses the old food. We haven't had any problems. They eat it at night with the premade raw in the am.


----------



## oceanrose

I just switched to Orijen from Wellness CORE. In June, CORE changed it's recipe, adding more peas and removing some of the chicken. My shepherd started blowing coat like crazy, and for the first time ever had a hot spot. 

I've had them on Orijen for about a month, and so far the dogs are doing great. Lance is still shedding, (he is a shepherd) but the scratching has cleared up. My only problem with it, is due to taste, the concentration, and having a new puppy to compete with, Ramya the pom is gaining a bit of weight. 

I think a lot of the complaints have to do with how concentrated the food is, it is really easy to overfeed with!


----------



## Rayah-QualitySPs

I feed orijen and have for about two years now. My dogs all like the food and I have not had any digestive problems. 

I would certainly recommend the food but it must be kept fresh. You cannot open the bag and leave it open to the air or it goes off. I put my in a big metal can from ProPlan but large tupperware containers would also work.


----------



## liljaker

Question: Any particular reason you stopped feeding Wellness CORE?


----------



## oceanrose

liljaker said:


> Question: Any particular reason you stopped feeding Wellness CORE?


My 5 year old shepherd cross's coat just fell apart. He went from having a beautiful plush coat to shedding every hair on his head and getting hot spots all over. It coincided with the first bag of their formulation change. I might have given it more time but my pomeranian's coat was also really dry and unhealthy looking. So, I decided to start the new puppy on Orijen and switched the other two as well. 

I still think CORE is a good food, but lowering the omega 3 fatty acids, and the amount of chicken, while adding more peas just didn't work for Lance at all


----------



## outwest

People usually search out and post negatively when they are unhappy. They tend to want to tell everyone about it. The people who are content don't bother to search on the web and post. The negative comments you read are skewed towards unhappy people. I usually make my own decisions rather than relying on what a bunch of people say on the internet. 

It is an expensive food with great ingredients. Since you initially liked it and aren't scared away by the price, you should give it a try.


----------



## Siskojan

Sisko started out on Orijen puppy with a 20lb bag courtesy of his breeder, as that is what she recommends. He was a bad eater as a pup and we played around between Orijen (the fishy one) and Innova and he seemed to prefer the Innova Chicken and Turkey. But, he got the itches all the time. The vet said to try something he hadn't had so we went to Evo salmon and herring - huge success- he loves it day in and day out, especially with canned salmon and herring on top and much less scratching and his poop is as good as poop can be. Anyway the point to this long saga is that the Evo salmon and herring only comes in very small kibble and that bothers me so we are going to switch back to Orijen again and see how that goes.


----------

