Our dog Spartacus (boxer) had a lot of health issues related to his bread, genetically, (gum,teeth and mostly skin) the latest was his body carried 4 bacterias and was 6 months under treatment (antibiotics) and healing creams. We fed him Solid Gold "Barking at the moon" and cooked food (yes I cooked for him rice,fish,chicken,vegi) as told by the holistic doctor.
The discovery of this Orijen food (the 6 fishes) 3 months ago changed his life and ours. No more rashes on his body, no scratching until bleeding. His all "personality" is much better(he feeels better), he is more a sweetheart than can anybody expects from a dog. I know that is the food and I recommend it a lot. The first time I gave him he actually showed me the box to give him more. And I gave up the cooking which is a less of a job for me. We love our dog and love this food which gave him back to us. Recommend it , recommended a lot.

We feed our SAR K-9's Orijen and it's incredible the difference it's made on their performance, we love this brand!

Yes it has great taste,and great ingredients,but it is really to high in protein especially for neutered dogs,my dogs urin smelled really bad.
But that is not the reason I am giving a bad rate,it is because their price is really high,and they always promote themselves in way that no other company does,like animal lovers etc,but than I found out they knew about situation in Australia,and lied about it,turning all the blame on australian goverment.
Everyone has a right on mistake,important is how you handle it later.
That is why I give a 2 star rating.

Marlah

Does "Dax9" work for purina or hills or something? Because he makes a "review" on a food he hasn't even tried on his pets. Whatever! That's not a review at all. It is just an unqualified biased post.

Anyway, I used to feed my 2 year old Orijen. He was very healthy and vibrant on it. His hair grew in so thick and soft and nice! He got 4 walks a day and went to dog parks 3 times a week, so he wasn't super-active but he wasn't inactive/sedentary. He did well on the high protein Orijen. However, I've got to admit that he started getting bad tear staining. I also fed him other grain free foods like "Now!" and his tear stains were worse. About a year later, I switched to RAW and his tear stains are almost all gone. I do believe that food that is too high in protein was what caused my dog to have tear staining. So I probably wouldn't go back to Orijen or any other high protein food again, but otherwise in other ways, it was very good for him. I would recommend it to other pet owners. The makers of Orijen also make a lower protein version called: Acana. They have different flavors and it is very good too.

I think by far it is better than any other kibbles. Some kibbles that are good like Orijen are Now! and Evo.

I like the Orijen brand, its quality is superior. My Newfie is now 16 months old and has been on Orijen since 10 months ago. He was on Wysong Maintenance before that. The reason I shifted to Orijen is even though Wysong is a good food, its carbohydrate content is a bit high for him and it does not agree 100% with his GI. A number of months ago, I rated this brand 5 stars but now I am a bit hesitant.

This is my experience, since I shifted my dog to Orijen, he grows so much better, his coat is great, muscle tone is great and the GI problem rarely re-occurs. But last week, thru his routine bloodworks, his creatinine level is high (165 vs normal high range at 141). We re-do the bloodworks and also did an urine test, luckily the numbers back to normal but still on the high side of the normal range. Creatinine, from my understanding is a by-product of protein or some kind of metabolic waste. Kidneys will get rid of the creatinine so if the creatinine level in the blood is high, it could indicate the kidneys are not functioning sufficiently. So after this, I am a bit nervous of feeding him Orijen because its protein content is higher than other brands, 40%. And I am thinking to shift him to Acana, which is also another Champion Food brand but the protein content is around the 33% range, a bit lower.

Then after my little creatinine scare, I met a dog owner at the dog park and I told her about my dog's latest. She told me she has the same issue with her dog and she fed her dog Orijen 6 Fish. The exact same one I fed my dog. Now I put two together, it's just too coincident. Her dog is also a very young dog with an active lifestyle, dog park, doggy daycare, etc...

So I talk to my vet, he said even he likes protein, because it keeps dogs lean...40% protein content is a bit high for a regular dog's need. He said it's like a diet for a marathon runner, vs. someone who simply goes to the gym everyday. He is not too concerned because my dog's creatinine level is back to the normal range but it's in the high side of the normal range. Even the kidneys can handle it but why stresses them? So he recommends me to find something as good as Orijen but with lower protein content. I show him the Acana content and he likes it.

We are going to put my dog on Acana for few weeks and will look at the bloodworks again. Keep you posted. But don't be too concern yet! Orijen is still good food. Could be just my dog....but let's say your dog reaches adulthood and does not have an unusually high active lifestyle, do a bloodworks just be on the safe side.

About 7 months ago I adopted a husky/australian shepard mix pup and immediately started running into problems with his stool. He had diarrhea all the time and terrible gas. The lady at petco told me nutro was the best food out there and gave me all these reasons I should buy it, so I did. Still he had terrible diarrhea and gas. I switched many times, all the while my vet was giving me medicine for worms and antibiotics to help firm the stool, but nothing helped. Finally I started researching what the problem could be and found many informational sites on dog food and what goes into most commercial dog/cat foods and what problems could arise from these ingredients. I finally was able to eliminate certain ingredients he was allergic to, which is pretty much everything but fish and potatoes, and found Orijen 6 Fresh Fish formula. This food is awesome, he has perfect stools, he is no longer gassy or itchy and his coat is shiny and soft and his eyes are bright. I am so glad that there are companies out there who actually care about what they put into their foods and the animals that will be consuming it. I am going to school to be a vet, but different than most I am going to be holistic. I will and do deffinitely recommend this food to everyone. Even though it may seem very expensive, the pros way outweigh the cons. You will have less stool, more energy, a healtheir pet and feed less, so the food will last a lot longer than most of the other crap brands like Eukanuba, Iams, Hills, Purina and so forth.

I got a trial bag to mix into the food my baby is currently eating thinking it would be a great boost to her diet. Well even the puppy is too big for her to eat (she's currently 3lbs. 14oz. doxie-poo) and she wasn't as thrilled as I had hoped she'd be with it. I mixed a few pieces into her dry 2x with no ill effects except I had to put a little water on it so she could eat it. So it's still a great food IMO, but I'll wait to try it again until she's a little bigger and can eat it easier. When we do I'll be happy to update!

Update: it's been about a month now and she is eating the pieces fine now. I mix just about 15% into her other food because I know it's too high protein for my little girl by itself. I think I will continue to mix just a little into her food off and on just for variety, it's such high quality food, I'm happy with the results I see.

After six months on Orijen, my dog was quite gassy and had no interest in eating his food. I switched him to Eagle Pack Holistic Select, and his coat improved remarkably, as did his digestion. He did ok on Orijen, but I see marked improvement in his coat with Eagle Pack...

The food is very good - it was just a little too rich for our Shiba Inu. We just got a Siberian Husky puppy, however, and he kept having chronic diarrhea which no vet could figure out. I read somewhere that breeds like huskies often do better with high protein, no grain diet, especially raw, but feeding raw is too expensive for my budget, so I decided to try Orijen again. (They have a puppy formula with controlled calcium levels for larger breeds - hurray!) After a month of diarrhea on Eagle Pack and Innova - both excellent foods - he is finally perfectly solid, and I'm happy I can feed him a good, grain-free food.

I can see how this food can be too rich for some dogs, but it seems to be just right for our husky.

Upgrade: Our puppy got incredibly gassy, and after dealing with the stinker for a week, I finally decided to try raw feeding. Incredible. No more gas, and stools are beautiful. So I'm feeding raw now, but I still think Orijen is a great food --- just didn't work out for my dogs.

Another Update: I couldn't sustain raw feeding as it was getting very expensive, so I went back to quality kibble. Our husky has done best on EVO --- for some reason Orijen just made him unbelievably gassy, despite having good stools. But it is still a great food - in fact, I've switched my Shiba Inu to Acana Pacifica, made by the same people as Orijen but lower in protein and also much cheaper, and he is doing great on that.

I put my dogs on Orijen for quite a while, and now their digestion is more poor. I read about Orijen having changed their formula; I'm so dissappointed! I tried Taste of the Wild, and now their digestion is perfect again. They had on Orijen loose stool, somethimes diarrhia. It is def. from Orijen. It is ashame! I'm now going back to Taste of the Wild and Eagle Pack.

I have been looking for the best food possible for my rescue dog who has allergies, I did try Evo but it was too rich and went right though her, I stayed away from grain free for awhile, however I believe it's the grain that was making her so miserable. I bought the 6 Fish Orijen, and what a difference, no problem with her stools, she loves the taste & I can feed her a smaller amount. People comment on how wonderful she looks, her eyes are clear, her coat & body tone is wonderful. I'm very happy with this product. I'm lucky to have Alpha Nutrition here in RI as I know it can be hard to find & the cost for shipping can be high, Alpha Nutrition ships Orijen for FREE!
You can order online & they ship Orijen for free go to doggiefood.com under promotions there is a code to enter, I also find they have the best pricing on everything.

??? Any one have a chocolate lab doing well on this food? Appreciate the advice, thanks. Thinking about switching. Sounds good, but not yet totally convinced.

Hi all, (we are new to this food, follow us on our experience!)

THE CURRENT SITUATION -

We have a Min Pin who is 9 years old.

3 years ago he developed skin issues.

His previously pink belly, armpits, and anywhere else that showed a little skin..turned an angry red. He licked so much that he has black flat spots on his tummy, muzzle, and hind legs.

He has had chronic ear infections in one ear that get a little better and then come back.

His paws are so itchy and he's chewed the fur off the tops of them.

His neck (where his collar sits) is very itchy and his fur is gone from there. He scratches until he bleeds there and in his ear =(

He has dandruff and rubs his face on the carpet. His muzzle has lost fur and earlier this year he developed a pea sized red bump on his lip. I was so scared. Luckily, we got it removed and the biopsy showed that it was not cancerous. Phew!

He bites his sides and vomitted bile sometimes when on certain kibble.

Lastly, he has tried to graze on grass for the past 1 1/2 years.

OUR HISTORY -

We have always tried to feed him quality food. When he was born we had him on Innova's Lamb and Rice. He did very well on that for six years. Then when his skin issues came up, we switched him to different brands of premium food and took him to the vet many times for tests. Nothing showed up.

The last two foods we tried were Before Grain (we didn't give it long enough), and this vet ordered one, Perscription Diet Allergy. When I found out that they use BHA (sp?) which is a known CARCINOGEN, I immediately threw the rest of the bag out, shook my head in total disgust and started doing research.

OUR NEW DIET PLAN -

Well, I came across Orijen and after a few weeks of Raw, we bought a bag of 6 Fish and Sea Vegetables yesterday (Sept. 13th 2009). We intend to go 50/50 with Raw and Orijen.

Our Raw will consist of chicken wings, necks, backs. Fish, eggs, and organs. Vegetable puree with sprouts (he will not touch them otherwise) and I can have raw soup too =)

*buy a food processor, it's about $45 and raw soup with chickpeas etc. is good for everyone*

We will also give cooked food sometimes. My food supplier has a recipe that her mom used to prolonge the life of her dog with Leukemia for 6 years. Vets gave him 3 months. I'll post it here when I get it!

Our little guy also gets Acidophillus powder, organic apple cider vinegar, and olive oil in his food.

We will give this combination at least 6 months starting September 2009.

OUR ORIJEN EXPERIENCE -

We gave our guy almost a rice bowl of 6 Fish. He LOVES it and went to sleep afterwards. He scratched a little here and there, but seems a little less. One thing of note was he drank a lot of water. About 3 rice bowls of it.

We'll keep you posted!

D and V
Victoria BC Canada

This is one of two foods we've finally settled on for our Aussie and Border Collie. The other is Solid Gold Barking at the Moon. We tried and had success with Wellness products also (26 lb bag of Core is a rip off though). This is an excellent food and your success with it will depend on your dog's activity level. The amount of protein in this food is totally inappropriate for 90% of dogs. I see a lot of 1 star reviews with "I gave this to my toy poodle.." etc. Totally ridiculous, this much protein could damage their kidneys. You'd have to be out of your mind to think that your lap dog needs this much meat. If you switch from Pro Plan or Iams to this food, be prepared for some adjustment period... and by the way, you don't need to feed nearly as much with this food! The price won't even be high by the time you adjust their intake for the amount of calories in this food. Don't let a couple days of farts and diarrhea turn you away, it will pass and the results will be a beautiful coat and super high performance dog. Keep in mind broccoli would give most Americans diarrhea because they're only used to eating crap food. Again, if you have a flyball, frisbee, or chuck-it chasing dog that exercises at least 30 strenuous minutes a day, you will love this food. If that is not your dog, go with Wellness Super5, Innova, Eagle Pack, or Acana for less protein and still very high nutrition.

Although I am impressed by the quality and ingredients I am concerned about the diarrhea it is causing in my dog. She LOVES the taste (and is normally VERY picky) but she's been on it for a month and hasn't had a normal poop yet. Very soft (no form) or downright liquid. And epic gas (whew, clears the room) several times a day. I'm worried about the loose stool so I may have to take her off of it. Too bad, she's never liked a kibble so much and we've tried so many over the last 15 years!

I have a Boxer X American Pit Bull. He loves loves loves this food! I read up on getting a good food for him before I got him. I heard a lot of good things about this dog food, so I decided to give it a try, and I was so happy I did! He is happy and healthy, nice coat too! Stools are good and his BM are regular. My only issue is he is really really gassy. I have to clear the room when he lets one out. I don't know if this is related to the food... but he does pass gas a lot! I am hoping this will eventually tone down.. I am taking him to get neutered next week so I think I will discuss it with my vet. In the mean time I could not be more satisfied with this food!

I must say I love Orijen. I started buying it when my Italian Greyhound was 6 months old & have been feeding it for about a year now. He is a picky eater and does get bored so we switch it up amongst all the Orijen flavors, some Acana, Spot's Stew, and Innova EVO. Thankfully he doesn't get an upset stomach so as soon as a bag runs out, I am able to try a different one from the above without irritating him. For dogs who do get diarrhea though, I would save enough to slowly mix it in with the newer food so as not to shock their body with the amount of protein and higher quality food. I love brands that are such high quality and such high protein since we are out and about everyday running around 3-5 miles. It's a great way to keep us both in shape =)

Tried Orijen after researching and finding from dogfoodanalysis that it got a 6 Star Rating, we are owned by 3 pedigree Siberian Huskies and I'd recommend this food to anyone, it's expensive but worth it! Dogs are all looking well and you don't need to feed a lot of it, especially to Huskies, very pleased with Orijen!

I switched my 1 year old Rhodesian Ridgeback to this food a few months ago as she wash having stomach problems and loose stools on her previous food - Natural Balance Ultra. She LOVES this dry food, and now has great stools. In all honesty, she is thriving on it...... she has more energy, more stamina, bright eyes, and a glossy coat. I am very impressed with what this food has done for her, and would recommend it in a heartbeat. Orijen seems to be at the top of the heap with the grain free dog foods and I am in complete support of it. I don’t eat McDonalds…. why would I force my dog to?!

I would not say it is so low in quality,but definitelly a huge dissapointmant for the price we payed,not to mention them trying to hide the truth about what happened in Australia..I am really dissapointed with this food,really.

I have heard so much good things about Orijen, but my dog was not up to it. I had to put wet food over, and many times she ate Wetfood only.

Another thing...my dog is 6.5lb maltese/shih zhu mix, Orijen kibbles are too big her. I had to cut in half or 1/4 so she can eat, if she eats. So much work for me everyweek.

Few weeks she ate Orijen with wetfood (I was so happy) without skipping, but I really noticed she pooed every time I took her out...4, 5 times and looked like rabbit poo...many tiny balls. And her breath was a bit stinky. I didnt notice any better on coating. Few times she threw up after 7 hours breakfast, undigested kibbles came out. It was time for me to look for new dog food.

My friend's toy poddle has been eating Orijen for more than 6months and still eating it, so it is good for some dogs. But it has not been for my dog.

I started to give Tiwipeak...my dog loves it!!! She only poo twice, but not big, and nice condition=well digested. I dont have to put any wetfood!!!! It is much more expensive than Orijen, but if you find dog food your dog loves, it is all good. right?

I tried Orijen with my two dogs for about a month or two. My larger dog developed stomach problems from the food and his fur changed completely to a rough and unshiney coat. The little dog had more eye staining than ever.

I stopped feeding them the food and the dogs are now fine. My larger dog's coat returned to normal and his gas and diarhhea subsided.


'

I have a 1.5 year old GSD, and she has had stomach problems and loose stools since we got her. We have made many visits to the vet to treat this issue, and tried all the boiled chicken, rice and pumpkin mixes. At times her digestion is better, like when we put her on probiotics, but it has always seemed a bit unhealthy. She has been on Royal Canin since she was a puppy, b/c many friends and trainers recommended it. But after her most recent stint with diarrhea and the vet I thought it was time to change her food. I was really nervous, as I did not want to upset her stomach any more, but after much research decided to try Orijen brand food. When I got to the pet store they had Orijen's sister line Acana, which has 30% protein instead of 40% which I decided to start her on, so not to be too rough on the stomach. Usually with a new food there is some upset stomach, but following the directions she has done remarkably well. Her stools have never been so healthy, and I am very happy with the product.

I'm currently on the puppy formula and everything seems to be great. My puppy is a Lhasa apso mix with poodle. Only thing I dislike about this product is that it makes his breath really stinky!

I am not on the grain-free bandwagon, but when it comes to grain-free foods, this is one of the best. Good proteins, good carbs, good ratio of nutrients, good supplements list.

I got my puppy this food is because I saw the tag says it's the best food I wanted to try it, two month ago we started this food for my puppy, she started terrible diarrhea, at fist I thought was something else so stopped all her other treats, but diarrhea still occurs daily, took her to the vet doctor check her poopoo doc asked me what I'm feeding her now, I gave a sample of dog food that is all I'm giving her because of the diarrhea she never had a treat for a month. doc said the dog food is too oily want me to change her food wait for few days and come back to check her poopoo, we switched to ProPac she is fine now never had another diarrhea after, now she can have all her treats back.
I don't know about dog foods only want the best for my dog, now we are not going to try new things again.

Seems to have really good ingredients and i like that it is grain free but my pit/coondhound mix wouldnt even take a bite of it...sniffed it then walked away. My pug on the otherhand loves it (course he eats dead bugs and leaves) but it made him poop like crazy. 4-5 times a day. :-( sad this food didnt work for my dogs.

I couldn't be happier with Orijen! I started feeding Orijen about 6 months ago to my two Dachshunds, and they have been absolutely thriving on it. More energy, more stamina, bright eyes, and glossy coats. My longhair Dachshund's coat, which at one point was so dry it almost looked and felt like cotton, improved unbelievably on this food, and is now soft and shiny. And my smooth, who was COVERED with dandruff before switching, now doesn't have a single flake on her! And they really seem to love the taste (even the picky one). My smooth Dachshund actually LOST weight on this food (something we had long been trying to achieve without success), and was down to her ideal weight within two months of switching to Orijen. And you should see how defined her muscles are now! Very small, very firm stools too, and each of them "go" only once a day on average.


I am very impressed with what this food has done for my dogs, and would recommend it in a heartbeat.



UPDATE - 07/31/09
I've been feeding Orijen for almost 2 years now, and I still couldn't be happier with it! I honestly don't have anything bad to say about it. I'm extremely picky about dog food, but I can't even think of a minor complaint about this food or how my dogs are doing on it.

I have now tried both Orijen Adult, as well as Orijen 6 Fresh Fish, and my dogs have done fantastic on both. They especially LOVE the taste of the Fish formula! I'll be trying the new Orijen Regional Red formula soon as well.

I have been feeding Orijen Adult for over 2 years to my Cavaliers, and occasional fosters. I was always the type who liked to buy a different food each time, rotating back and forth between Fromm Four Star, Merrick, Wellness, Eagle Pack, EVO, Natural Balance, Avoderm, the whole nine. THEN, I tried Orijen. WOW, what a difference in my dogs. Their coats are amazing, perfectly shaped and firm poops, and the best thing- I never have to have their anal glands emptied. This may seem trivial, but why do I have to have this done every 6 weeks with every other food? It can't be a coincidence. I have tried a couple new foods recently but always end up coming back to Orijen, now rotating between the Adult & Fresh fish varieties. Yes, I love Orijen for MOST of my dogs.

I will say, however, that ONE of my dogs cannot tolerate Orijen. I think the protein level is too high. He is prone to Colitis and we have flareups when he is on Orijen. So I do switch foods around with him. I just discovered that Acana is made by the same company, so we're trying the Prairie Harvest grain-free for him and so far, so good.

Please remember that any food can be the best food for your dog- if your dog does well on it, is healthy, has nice poops, and likes it, then it's probably fine!

After my dog had a bad reaction to Timberwolf Organics(see my post), I switched him to Orijen and Honest Kitchen in March 2008. Since then he's been doing wonderful and we haven't had any problems with him randomly throwing up or those nasty bouts with diarrhea. I get compliments all the time on how healthy his coat looks. I highly recommend this product.

We have a 11 yr old bully mix who has pretty severe food allergies and a sensitive stomach.

A few months ago we had rotated from TOTW Pacific Stream to Orijen 6 Fish. Our dog was doing very well on the TOTW, but seemed to be doing phenomenally well on the Orijen. His coat was remarkable, eyes clear, firm, appropriately sized stools and high energy level for a 11 yr old dog.

That was until several weeks ago when we purchased a new bag and learned that, aside from the subtle name change from 6 Fresh Fish to 6 Fish, the formula has changed some. The ingredient changes probably would have been transparent to us, but our dog is no longer able to tolerate this food as he started having horrible diarreah as soon as we started feeding from that new bag . We even purchased another bag from another lot# thinking that perhaps we just got a bad bag, but still had the same results. We took him off the Orijen and put him back on the TOTW and his stools improved overnight.

We were hoping that his issue was not related to the formula change, but apparently it was. Now as I mentioned, our dog has a VERY sensitive stomach, so slight formula changes that other dogs might never notice, can cause a major disturbance with ours.

Still, this has been a major disappointment as our dog was doing so well on this food prior to the change.

I don't know the reasons for the formula change and perhaps Orijen feels that it is an improvement over the previous formula, and it very well may be. I just wish they would have made it publically known that the formula had changed, either by indicating "new and improved formula" on the bag or at least on the Champion Foods website. It would have saved us some aggravation in trying to figure out why our dog could no longer tolerate this food. In fact, I went into 2 different stores in my area that sell Orijen and neither one of them seemed to be aware of any formula change either.

Anyway, I still think Orijen is a fantastic food and I'm not here to bash Champion Foods. If our dog could stomach the new formula, we'd still be feeding it. I just hadn't seen much discussion about the formula change and wanted to post about our experience with the new formula in case anyone runs into a similar situation.

Love this food...I have a boston terrier who has never looked better! She is active and happy, he coat is beautiful and shiny. I can't say enough about the benefits I've observed. The only downside for me is that it is on the more expensive side as far as pet food goes and therefore not carried by many stores locally in my area. I have found it at petfoodauthority.com for less than anywhere else.

We've fed our 3 Miniature Schnauzers Orijen food for the past year and they love it - they are all healthy and have nice shiny coats. We purchase the large bags and switch between Adult and 6 Fish. They love both flavors.

We use to feed them Eukanuba for the two males and Science Diet Ultra for the female because the vet said she had bad allergies. After feeding her Science Diet for 4 months, we noticed that she was losing a lot of weight and was becoming really tired and dis-interested in most everything. After doing a bunch of research on the internet about dog foods we found that the Science Diet we were feeding her (on the recommendation of our Vet) had powdered cellulose as one of the main ingredients. Powdered Cellulose is otherwise known as sawdust. The Dogfood rating web site rated the very expensive Science Diet Ultra a 1 star. The other two dogs got bored of Eukanuba no matter what flavours we triedand always had dry flakey skin . We've had very good results with Orijen, and I take comfort in knowing that it's grain free without a bunch of fillers, and all ingredients are fresh, human grade... and especially for us... its a local product (the Champion Pet Foods factory is about 20 minutes from us).

Of interest, Orijen is releasing a new formula based on Red meats called Regional Red. I gave them a call and they said that they are starting to ship Regional Red this week - July 7th.

'Loaded with premium red meats, ORIJEN’s REGIONAL RED is made with high inclusions of wild boar, lamb, heritage pork and bison—all raised ‘free-range’ within our region, passed ‘fit for human consumption’ and delivered FRESH each day."

http://www.orijen.ca/orijen/products/regionalRed.as px

I will be switching to this new Orijen flavour this week. I am very excited and looking forward about trying this new flavour. I'm sure all three of our dogs will love it.

I just started my dog on Orijen after researching online. She has previously eaten TOTW and Wellness Core. She seems to love it. My only concern is that I noticed zea mays listed on the ingredient list. Zea mays is just the scientific name for corn. Why would a grain free dog food contain corn (technically a grain) and why would it be listed under its scientific name? I emailed Orijen's customer service about this hoping for an explanation. Thoughts?

I recently lost a GSD to cancer at age 5 which led me to do a lot of research into his former food , Natures Recipe Easy to Digest Lamb, Barley and Rice. Not sure if his diet contributed to the cancer but I have to think it had something to do with it. I am now a firm believer in low grain / grain free diets and Orijen seems to be at the top of the heap.

I recently adopted a GSD from a local rescue organization and on top of being 25lbs underweight he had some of the typical problems associated with the breed; sensitive stomach, flaking skin, ear infections. After 6 weeks on Orijen he has gained 20lbs, his ear infections have cleared up, no more loose stools and his coat and skin are perfect. I have had comments from people that he looks like a show dog. This food, although expensive, is definitely worth the money. One note is to make sure you adjust the amount of kibble you are feeding your dog as Orijen has a higher caloric value which allows you to feed less.

So far, my recently adopted 5 year old Golden/Border Collie mix loves the stuff! I was a little worried after having read every single review and response here, but decided to try it anyway. Mia came from the pound, and she joined my other two on a raw diet. After 2 months of thriving on it, she suddenly came down with heinous itchies and was pulling her hair out. Her coat lost its luster and softness. Although it may be seasonal allergies, I really didn't want a red, bald dog. (Else I would have gotten a Mexican Hairless or a Chinese Crested)

Although I haven't taken her in yet, the vet suggested fish. The raw cost could be prohibitive, so I thought I'd try this. She LOVES it and gobbles it up. I was worried about reported diarrhea, but her stools are actually better than they were before. Another review suggested (in a lovely manner) that the diarrhea might be from the detox process of coming off grains and onto "good" food. Made sense to me. Mia is coming off 75% meat, 25% veggies, no worry about that. Also, the problem of gas from both ends seems not be be for her. Thank heavens -- she was already pretty gassy and belchy. Not much of a lady, in fact.

If Mia responds well to this diet, with some added raw meat, I may just put my other two on it, too. The cost of the quality raw meat and organic veggies is already pretty prohibitive -- why not make it easier on myself???

To be continued . . . .


OK, it has been a week on Orijen now. The digestive upset Mia had from before Orijen (gas and belching) is gone. The only thing is that she is pooping out more volume (for lack of a better word). I guess that's a good thing. I'm supplementing, for the time being, with 3V caps and a sardine in the morning.

I do have to agree with the reviews that say that the food is fairly stinky, but their breath isn't. At least the house is big and well-ventilated!!


One month into the 6-fish and I am very happy!! Mia's coat looks healthier and she is scratching much less. Her skin is clearing up, too. I'm hooked (so is Mia).

Put my 14.5 year old Westie on Orijen Senior about 8 months ago, she has done very,very well on it.

She had been on Nutro, when I decided to switch her to a high protein diet. She was constantly hungry, and never satisfied. First tried EVO, but she had some bloody stool, put her on the Orijen Senior and have had absolutely no problems. She eats a third of what she ate on the Nutro and is satisfied, after she eats she goes and lies down, before she would search for 30 minutes for any little scrap, everywhere. She is maintaining her weight and seems to feel a bit better, but I also added a glucosamine and chondrotin supplement at the same time. I also like that is is the only high protein diet in a senior formula, and that it has a lot of quality, holistic and natural ingredients. Only problem is availability, can only get it online in my area.

My English bulldog loves the 6-fish formula, and it basically solved his digestive issues overnight. I'd previously fed him Innova, California Natural (Herring and Sweet Potato) as well as the mixed-protein Orijen Adult and had to consistently supplement all food with pumpkin to provide fiber. Within a day of switching him over to the fish formula, his stomach challenges resolved themselves. I've never seen him be so interested in his food or eat it so quickly! His allergies also improved since going onto it, and the foot licking has finally (after 1 1/2 years) lessened!

Now for the problem - because it's a high protein food, the portion size is smaller than my bully wants and he constantly seems hungry. I've actually just started mixing in Acana Pacifica to bulk up the portion size a little bit. This combo seems to take off the hunger edge a little more, and though it's only been a few days, he's doing well even with the mix.

If anyone has an allergy prone dog, I'd definitely recommend trying one of these formulas. I have a vet-dermatologist who wanted to put him on a Royal Canin food to try and address the allergies, and thank god that I found this food first before having to resort to anything like that.

Pros: Cured a sensitive stomach! Improving allergies. Dog loves it unlike any other dry food.
Cons: Hungry dog - Have to be careful on portion size or else the dog is going to put on some pounds.

Finnaly after weeks of asking the local pet store to get this in, its arrived. I bought the big bag of adult formula for my 2-1/2 year old german shepherd. Absolutely loves it, he scarfs the whole bowl down. I have tried other grain free food but he would take all day to eat 1 bowl. He doesnt even listen to me when its feeding time, he acts like a shark lol. Coat looks wonderfull tons of energy and only poops once a day. I have reserched dog food for 3 years now and I cant find a better comercial food, I love my dog and want whats best for him so I will be using Orijen exclusively now that I can get it right up the road. It is a better value than most food since you dont have to feed as much and dont need to give vitamins because all the wonderfull ingrediants. I would 100% recomend at least trying a few bags to see how youre dog reacts, you wont regret it!!!

Hi this dog foog is great over dog food i give her was not good for her now she is so happy and no alergies, i am going to buy this dog food all the time love my dogs.

I just started Orijen for my 4-years old Golden Retreiver, he was on Eagle Pack for the last 3 years.
The only problem with this food- he eats it so fast that I start to wonder whether I gave him food or not:)

I love it, for my three year old jack russel terrior origen. she is allergic to chicken, wheat, milk & dairy products.orijen is good for her becaise the fish formula she loves it. Gladly it is made in my home province alberta. thx origen

Great ingredients, reasonably priced, etc., but my dog gets really horrible gas (from both ends)/has bowel movements really often (and a LOT) on certain types of food, and apparently this is one of those. Haha. She was on Ziwipeak before Orijen (and will be going back on it starting today!) and only had BMs once a day, and very little, very solid ones.. (sorry if this is TMI for everyone! LOL). I had switched her to the Orijen because it's grainless and with the hopes that I could get her on a more reasonably priced, easier to find food, but unfortunately her gas problems and frequent BMs came back after only one or two days of being exclusively on the Orijen.

So, I just ended up going back to Ziwipeak. I guess I'll have to resort to buying it online.

So far the best dog food I have tried. My rottweilers coat improved and my other dogs like it and seem to do well on it.

Update: I still think Orijen is one of the best processed dog foods but I have switched my dogs to raw. The improvement is amazing. My cats will be next.

Excellent quality food! I have my dogs (9 & 10 years old) on Orijen Senior dry mixed with Merrick canned food, and both are doing extremely well. I had them on Blue Buffalo Senior, which I also think is a good food, but since the switch I definitely notice an improvement in their coats (more shine and less shedding). They are also more energetic, bright-eyed, much less gassy and the bad breath is gone. Highly recommend!

I just bought 6 Fresh Fish for my 11 year old dog to try and see if it will help with her gas and itchy paws. She has been on Wellness SuperMix Lamb and Rice for the last 3 years and before that, Wellness Supermix Ocean Fish, and before that Nutro (she was allergic to chicken). Wellness worked pretty well for the last few years, but recently (in the last few months) she has been having terrible gas and itchy paws and ears. The itching is almost as bad as when she was on dry food with chicken from other brands.

This isn't a real review (yet) because my dog is just starting on Orijen, but I will update it in 2-3 weeks when the effects of the new food become evident...Meanwhile, I have a question:

After reading several comments (positive and negative) about Orijen foods, and in particular the post about Lake Athabasca and the oil sands operations there, I did more research about that area and am a little concerned...

I read on the Orijen website that their fish comes from the "lakes of northern Alberta and Saskatchewan" and off the pacific northwest.

Does anyone know if the oil/tar sands operations in Alberta, specifically around the Athabasca River, Lake Athabasca, Peace River and Cold Lake or similar regions have affected the fish that they use in their dog food such as 6 Fresh Fish?

Or does anyone know where/which lakes they get their fish from specifically? I've emailed them and am waiting for a reply.

Any information would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

I've been feeding my dog this food for two months. In that time he's had bad diarrhea twice. At first I thought it was something else but I now suspect the food. The combination of high protein and fat does not agree with him. He's a running partner and thought the high protein would be best...but I don't think so anymore.

i did my own taste test for my dogs, which i breed pomeranians, i tested -blue buffalo,- fromm, -prairie,- instinct,- natural balance, and orijen. all of the dogs choose "orijen" they wont touch anything else now that they've tried it, & much to my surprise, their stools have all firmed up! they were previously on blue buffalo and all had loose stools, so that's why i was on a quest to find a new food, but since the orijen seems to work, i'll will look no further!

I have a Golden Retriver who has been on Orijen Senior for approximately 12 months now - I switched her late in life ... She is now 10. No problems at all when I first swiched. She loves the taste. I cut back from 3 cups of her old dog food to 2 cups of Orijen. She lost 2 lbs however still holding at a perfect weight of 70 lbs. You can see better muscle tone. And the best news, Since she switched 12 months ago, we had 2 senior blood tests. Absolutly no issues with kidney or other major organs. The high protein is causing NO problems. Just helping her live a longer healthier life ... The sad part for me, I had another Golden Retriever who passed away a little more then a year ago. He lost most of his muscle in his back legs, just could not walk any more plus some other issues. Even though he passed away at 14 and 1/2 years, I truly believe I could have had him with me another year IF I had him on Orijen earlier in life ... Oh well, I'm learning, but it was the hard way ...

I have a Jack Russell and a Scottish Terrier and they both get fed Orijen adult dog food.
They have both been on this food for about 1 year and they both love it. I was feeding Evo which I also feel is an excellent food, before switching to Orijen. The switch was made because my Scottie keep having frequent bouts of vomiting on the Evo brand, so I decided to try Orijen. Since switching to Orijen we've had no problems, the vomiting stopped. Both dogs have beautiful coats , no skin problems at all, and are full of energy. Their yearly blood work results were excellent. The only problem that I have with Orijen is it is a problem for me to get hold of. No one in my vicinity carries it so I must make special trips to purchase it. Other than that I would highly recommend Orijen for anyone that feeds their dog dry kibble. At one time our Vet. tried to give me a sample of Science diet, I just laughed and told him he needed to take a course in doggie nutrtion. Who are they kidding when they try to push that stuff.....obviously they are getting kick backs to sell that stuff in their clinics! YIPES!
Anyway give Orijen a try, I think you will be happy with the results you see in your pet.

The dog loves it, he has a great coat and improved energy and focus. We rotate this food with Innova every 3 months or so -- he appears to do better on the Orijen.