# Wellness vs. Orijen?



## kbigge (Dec 29, 2007)

I have been feeding Kodee Orijen Adult dog food since he was 5 mos old. He has done great on it. I got a lot of opinions on this food before settling on it for his "main" diet. He also gets THK Force and raw chicken (on the bone) about 2x/week.

I am almost out of Orijen, and since I have to order it, I picked up some Wellness Adult dog food today. It's grain-free like the Orijen. I just got a small bag to tide us over til his Orijen gets here (haven't ordered it yet). But, it seems like Kodee may like the Wellness better. He has liked the Orijen more than anything he's had so far, but when I gave him Wellness for the first time, he loved it.

So, I just wanted opinions on whether Wellness is as good as, or better than, Orijen, or not. Please give me your opinions...thanks!


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

You must be talking about Wellness CORE?

One thing about the Wellness is that it is a fair amount lower in protien. I'm not saying this is good or bad, just making an observation.


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## kbigge (Dec 29, 2007)

Yep, sorry - I did mean Wellness Core.


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## jdp2134 (Apr 9, 2008)

hmmm idk what is better per se. Like a lot of people always say dont fix what aint broke or is your hang up having to order evertime? To me thats not that big of a deal if he is doing well on it and likes it to go ahead and plan a little bit and order it. JMO


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

Personally if it was me and he ate the Wellness (and did well on it) and I was able to buy it locally vs. having to order Orijen, I would go with the Wellness.

BUT, this is coming from someone that MUST be able to drive to get kibble because UPS can NOT be relied on here.

There were several times last winter when we didn't have UPS service NOR did we even have U.S. postal service because of the weather closing the highway so the trucks couldn't get here.


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## jdp2134 (Apr 9, 2008)

but just because he likes it doesnt mean he will do well on it JMO.


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## roxy84 (Jun 23, 2007)

my answer would be that a 5 month old gsd should eat neither of these foods. here are some Q & A's from the wellness website. there is plenty of research to substantiate the claims made here. you know wellness would love to sell as much of the core as ppossible-yet they still warn against it. at least Orijen Large Breed Puppy comes close to the desired levels. 

_[i<u>] Why is CORE Dog listed as appropriate for maintenance but CORE Cat is listed as all life-stages including cats and kittens?</u>

We feel very strongly about providing only proven nutrition to your dog. Research has shown that large breed puppies should not be fed a diet that is over 1.3 – 1.5% Calcium or they run a significant risk of developing bone abnormalities. If we listed our CORE Dog diets as suitable for all life stages, we would be irresponsible – knowing inevitably that large breed puppies may be fed these diets (by no fault of their loving owners). In contrast with the CORE Cat diet, there is no supporting evidence that kittens suffer any bone abnormalities from higher calcium levels. We still strived to maintain low mineral content in CORE Cat diet to reduce the occurrence of FLUTD. 

<u>Why are these diets only for dogs over 1 year of age? </u>

We care about dogs and their healthful growth. This is one way that we may ensure that large breed puppies do not eat this food. Large and giant breed dogs have special requirements during their growth phase and our mineral levels are higher than these dogs should have. _

<u>_ I have heard that some of these high protein diets can’t be fed to large breed puppies. Why? </u>

Research has shown that large breed puppies should not be fed a diet that is over 1.3 – 1.5% Calcium or they run a significant risk of developing bone abnormalities. Many of the high protein diets on the market today are well in excess of 1.5% Calcium. We do not recommend any large breed puppies be fed our CORE dog diets, or any of the other high protein diets on the market today. In fact, we would conservatively say that puppies in general should not feed higher protein diets that exceed 1.5% Calcium. Again, this is why we feature a maintenance claim and promote the diet for dogs over 1 year in age _[/i]


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## roxy84 (Jun 23, 2007)

sorry, i should read better at 6 am.







since you said "since he was 5 months old", he may well be over 1 yr old, in which case i very much like both the orijen and wellness core. my senior is the only dog i have who has been exposed to both of these, and he has thrived on both of them. i think both are terrific and plan to rotate them.

one more note, if you ever want to feed a fish based formula, the orijen fish (at least where i live) is 50% more costly than the adult ($88 for a 29 lb bag , whereas the core ocean isnt too much higher than the core original.


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## kbigge (Dec 29, 2007)

Thanks, peeps. I meant to say that he is over a year old now. I did read pros/cons of feeding adult food vs. puppy when he was younger, and decided to feed adult. 

Anyway, today I was thinking the same thing you suggested, Roxy, which is to rotate them. I don't know what I was thinking - it's probably better for him to rotate now and then and not feed the same thing all the time.

Also, thanks for mentioning the fish formula. I have bought the Orijen Fish formula once, and he did great on it, but it is expensive! I might rotate a small bag of the Wellness Ocean formula in every now and then - if I can stand the smell of his breath!


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

> Originally Posted By: roxy84
> one more note, if you ever want to feed a fish based formula, the orijen fish (at least where i live) is 50% more costly than the adult ($88 for a 29 lb bag , whereas the core ocean isnt too much higher than the core original.


Good grief! Have you looked into how much shippng would be?

I don't have either one available here so I looked on Petfooddirect and the Orijen fish is $66.99 on there for the big bag. (Which is $13 more than the "regular" Orijen.)

(CORE fish is $10 more than the "regular on the same site.)


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## roxy84 (Jun 23, 2007)

id pay $70 for a 29 lb bag of orijen fish, but that would be my limit. im assuming that price does not onclude shipping?? ill check it out later when i have a chance.


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

> Originally Posted By: roxy84id pay $70 for a 29 lb bag of orijen fish, but that would be my limit. im assuming that price does not onclude shipping?? ill check it out later when i have a chance.


No that doesn't include shipping. I don't know what shipping would be to you, but shipping to ME would be TERRIBLE. In order to have a 29lb bag of the Orijen Fish shipped to me it would cost a total of $94.58.







(That is for the food and shipping. Shipping to me is $27.59)


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## larrydee33 (Feb 25, 2007)

Orijen is worth every penny you send for it.


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## mikaK9 (Oct 8, 2007)

A few of the good kibble sites offer free shipping....I think you have to be spending $50, or something like that - there is a minimum, but if you reach it, no cost for shipping. In fact, I've read some posts on here where people find the cost to be the same as if they bought it in a store.


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

> Originally Posted By: mikaK9A few of the good kibble sites offer free shipping....I think you have to be spending $50, or something like that - there is a minimum, but if you reach it, no cost for shipping. In fact, I've read some posts on here where people find the cost to be the same as if they bought it in a store.


Which sites?


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## kbigge (Dec 29, 2007)

I order my Orijen from http://www.k9cuisine.com - They offer free shipping on orders over $50.00, but of course, the shipping cost is included in the cost of the food.







A bag of Orijen Adult 29.7 lb from Amazon.com, for example, is "only" $51.29, but once you add the shipping charge to it, it is more expensive than a bag of the same food from k9cuisine.com, which is $64.99, with "free" shipping. 

The other thing I like about k9cuisine.com is that they are really quick - my orders have almost always shipped the same day I ordered them.


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## Cooper&me (Dec 18, 2007)

I also like K9 cusine. Extremely quick.


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## XPistolX (Mar 30, 2008)

I have to order Orijen also. This month I ordered two 29.7 lb bags and with shipping it cost about $120.00 but they







up and sent me four 29.7 lb bags so I got 2 bags free YAY!


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## roxy84 (Jun 23, 2007)

k9 cuisine doesnt seem to sell the orijen fish, which is the only one that is priced exorbitantly locally. however, its probably gonna be just as high online. ill keep searching.


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## Spiritsmam (Nov 10, 2007)

WOW - I can't believe how much food is where you guys are. I bought a 30lb bag of Natures Variety, Prairie today and I thought it was expensive at $39. 

I was feeding my guys Wellness Core, which they all loved and did great on (in fact too great - all are now on reduced rations as they have become a tad on the pudgy side!). After researching "cancer diets" (Duncan has MCT abd a sarcoma), I switched them to Natures Variety Prairie (chicken) which they also all love and are doing well on. Personally, I try not to get hung up on which food may be better than another - if it is a quality diet and my pups like it and do well on it then I'm happy.


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## roxy84 (Jun 23, 2007)

all th foods where i live are in line with what most people pay. orijen and wellness core are just two very pricey foods, especially the fish formulas.


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## BrennasMom (Mar 2, 2008)

Try petfooddirect.com or their sister company nationalpetpharmacy.com they have pretty good prices and come out with 20% off coupons every month or so. The 20% off seems to cover the cost of shipping and then some, at least in the orders I've made. For example, I just made an order of food, frontline, and a couple little things and my discount came out to be over $20, shipping was $13 and change. The cost of the food I bought is also $10 or so less than you'd find in the store, so it came out to be a pretty good deal for me.


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## roxy84 (Jun 23, 2007)

thanks Brennas Mom for that suggestion. right now, i just see a 5% instant saving, which brings the fish to $78.93, inclusing shipping, for the 29 lb bag. this is the best ive seen online so far. is the 20% just randomly listed on their website each month?? that would make the costs very reasonable.


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## BrennasMom (Mar 2, 2008)

go to nationalpetpharmacy.com they have a 22% off code right now... NEL2C I just missed it with my order, I only got 20% off.







They are supposed to send the coupon codes to your e-mail with every promotion, I think they change it weekly. I haven't gotten any so I have to bum the codes off of other people. lol


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## roxy84 (Jun 23, 2007)

thanks so much!!!


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## Paret (Jun 28, 2008)

BTT.

We want more info.

Comments please.


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## kbigge (Dec 29, 2007)

Well, update on Kodee. I'm not sure why, but he decided he doesn't want to eat the Core all of a sudden, which is fine with me. Our Orijen came, and he seemed glad. I did buy some Wellness Ocean Formula (not sure of exact name, but it's the fish Wellness), and he would rather starve than eat that! He refused to eat 2 meals in a row, and was not eating the 3rd one, when I gave him some regular Wellness Core w/a can of Merrick thrown in to entice him to eat it.

Orijen is here now, and he's back to eating that and THK.

Maybe the Core gave him indigestion or something. His stools looked normal, then he just refused to eat it. Weirdo.


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## kelso (Jan 22, 2007)

wellness core and orijen are both great foods, I think.

I did notice that with wellness core ocean, our dogs (which have stomachs of steel) had some less than steller poop, more runny than I have seen, and have not seen that with other foods (including foods with grains like Merrick or Canidae). They did great on the Orijen 6 fresh fish, which of course is also fish based. Maybe the Wellness Ocean is more rich?

So, I guess it just depends! We are now not feeding either of these foods, not because I don't think they are good, but we use them as an adjunct to RAW, and they are just to expensive, and we have seemed to have gotten better/same results with feeding RAW and then a kibble with grains for a lower price. And we give salmon oil with meals, and Kelso popped up with a sebaceous cyst, which I thought might be from having to much of a fish oil based diet?? Not sure, could be a coincidence.

Glad to hear Kodee is liking what he eats now! It is amazing how different all of our dogs do on different foods, and their tastes.


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## GSDTrain (Apr 21, 2008)

ivy is on wellness and she loves it


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## GSDog (Mar 5, 2008)

Orijen for my GS. He was growing way too fast for a pup. He will be one year old next week. 5-6 months back we put him on Orijen for Adult and he is now 95lbs and healthy.


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## BJDimock (Sep 14, 2008)

Wellness, Evo, and Innova are very popular and well made diets around here! I have heard from many clients that their dogs have softer stools on Wellness though. (And many do just fine.) Evo has a tendancy to produce overhard stools. I have to mix Evo with Abaday frozen raw to keep stools normal.


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## Paret (Jun 28, 2008)

Let's have some more on Core vs Orijen.


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## Doc (Jan 13, 2009)

Another online source for dog products is 

http://www.doggiefood.com


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

we were using Nataural Balance. my Shep stopped eating it. we switched to Wellness Super 5 Mix. we also use Wellness can. we didn't switch gradually like you're suppose to. i gave my Shep the Wellness and he gobbled it up. my Grey Hound made the switch with no problems also. we never fed puppy food to our Shep.


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## TonyR (May 4, 2008)

We feed wellness core to all of our dogs and they are doing great.no complaints at all.never tried orijen, so i cant compare but Wellness was better then every other brand that we did try and the dogs love it.


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## M&J (Nov 16, 2002)

My dogs did best on Timberwolf, but I'm not going down that road.....
Switched to Orijen. Fantastic! Rudy, however, gained some weight so I put both dogs on Wellness CORE Reduced Fat. Once Rudy has lost all his weight I will go back to Orijen, since I don't have to have it shipped. 
The only thing I noticed is they have slightly softer poop, and Lilly's coat has some dandruff and not quite as shiney. That's probably b/c she is on the reduced fat formula.
I am very happy with both Orijen and Wellness CORE.


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

Another way to get the weight off is to feed Orijen Senior. It is less fat without still being too little fat and also has less carbs.


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## M&J (Nov 16, 2002)

Great idea, Ruth. Thanks!


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## KohleePiper (Jun 13, 2007)

I feed my adult dogs the Wellness CORE but when we got Diesel we put him on Wellness LB Puppy because the CORE isn't good for puppies. Once Diesel is a year old we'll switch him over to the CORE. He does love to steal the adult's CORE when I'm looking though!! 

The wellness is a wonderful brand of food in my opinion. My dogs have normal poops, shiny coats, and no allergies.

I have used the orijen but my adults won't eat it. I feed my cat orijen and she does very well on it. Diesel hasn't tried it yet but maybe one day I'll get a bag.


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## M&J (Nov 16, 2002)

Forgot to mention...my very picky eater will lick the bowl clean of Wellness CORE. She never does that for any other food.


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

I think the two foods are about equal, they're both good. I've fed both to my dogs and cats. Actually I was feeding Wellness CORE to my foster kittens and then I saw that Orijen was a little less expensive so I switched to it (I had 7 foster kittens at the time so any way to save money was good!) They did great on both foods, and my own cats were on the Orijen already and do well on it. They all have nice shiny soft coats and good health.


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## Vertigo75 (Jul 11, 2006)

I usually feed Orijen, but will use Wellness Core Fish version if my shipment of Orijen is on back order. Our dog seems to do very well on both, and I have no qualms about going back and forth between the two.


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