# Orijen vs Nature's Variety vs Alternate



## ladyfreckles (Nov 10, 2011)

So I've been tossing the idea around for awhile. I feed Nature's Variety Prairie LBP. I wanted to start switching him at 12 weeks to either grain-free or raw. For when he grows up my initial plan was to either feed raw or feed a mix of Instinct and California Natural (Lamb). The mix would just be to have some filler. However I have been seriously considering Orijen for his puppy life because it is grain free and it would probably be a lot easier to switch from a grain free LBP formula to a grain free adult formula than trying to switch from a cheaper LBP formula to a grain free/minimal diet. 

If I did switch it would be extremely gradual and slow. 

I've also heard from some people that their dogs did not do well on Orijen at all. I have a friend who has been feeding her dogs CalNat for years and they have beautiful shiny coats and are extremely healthy. He's only 9 weeks right now, so I'm just letting him be a puppy and spending my time researching. Does anyone have any food suggestions? Experience with the brands I listed? Alternate brand suggestions?

Also, to tag on a question...

Does anyone supplement kibble with dietary enzymes? If so, what kind?


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

If he's doing well on the Nature's Variety I don't know if I'd bother switching him off it. Not all puppies/dogs do well on all foods, so if you've got one that's working and it's a good quality food, that would be good enough for me.

I have had very good luck with Orijen, but it's also very expensive. Halo came to us on Wellness Super5Mix puppy food, but never had great stools on it. I switched her to Orijen LBP and her coat was soft and beautiful and her stools were perfect. 

Because she did so well on it I switched Keefer to the Orijen 6 Fish adult and he did well too. Since then I heard about Earthborn Holistics Primitive Natural, so I tried Halo on it. She's doing fine and it's SO much less expensive that I've kept her on it. I tried Keefer on the Earthborn fish based kibble since he does better grain free vs with grain, and also fish based vs other meat sources, and his coat wasn't looking quite as nice as when he was on Orijen. I think he had 3 or 4 of the large bags of Earthborn before recently switching him back. As far as I know, Earthborn doesn't have a food that's appropriate for puppies.


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## GatorDog (Aug 17, 2011)

My dog didn't do well on Orijen or Nature's Variety. They were both too rich for him and too pricey for me  Unfortunately Aiden absolutely LOVES the taste of Orijen. He did much better on Fromm (poop/coat wise) but didn't really doesn't like the taste of the food itself. I've been feeding Hi-Teck mixed with Acana now. Hi-Teck is new to my pet store. It's grain free, and has a variety of proteins, but I'm feeding the lamb based diet. I mix it with the Acana because it is very similar to Orijen, just less rich. He really likes the taste of Acana as well.

I might switch him over to Acana in the long run because it's a pretty fair price and I like the effects that the food is having on Aiden, even mixed with another food.

The only supplement I give right now is Salmon oil. I will give a probiotic when I notice any digestive upsets, but not daily. When I do need it, I'll typically use Naturvet products. They work great!
NaturVet


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## ladylaw203 (May 18, 2001)

I have several dogs on Orijen,different breeds and all ages. I also have a couple of Acana Ranchland. All are doing very well on it and have been for some time  If your dog is doing well on what he is eating, keep him on it.


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## MustLoveGSDs (Oct 31, 2008)

My husky and GSD did great on Orijen but my Dobe did horrible. He started having accidents in the house and urinating very frequently and a lot at a time. $400 in testing later, the vet said try switching his food because his ph levels were off. I was bummed because Orijen is a great quality food and I like the company so I switched all dogs to Acana, same company but Acana has a bit less protein. It did the trick and all my dogs do well on it. I don't need supplements since the quality of the food is excellent and provides great benefits. It has a mix of all the right oils ans minerals. My dobie is a show dog and doesnt need anything done to his coat before a show bc its already glistening. I do mix in canned Instinct a few times a week for their dinner and they love it.


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## ladylaw203 (May 18, 2001)

will check on the canned Instinct. I throw in some Primal Raw once a day.


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

I agree, of it ain't broke, don't fix it. Apparently you've missed all of the 3,200,942 posts from different posters trying to find a food that WORKS for their puppy/dog. If he is doing well on it, I would just leave him on that food until he is 12+ months old, THEN switch if you still want to.

I fed Siren Canidae ALS (with grains), from babyhood until she was a year old, THEN switched to TOTW. Actually I switched her AND my 2 seniors. None had any issues switching from one to the other, and my seniors had been on kibble with grains all their lives.


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

My dog did good on Orijen 6fish but I switched her to Instinct Rabbit(Nature's Variety makes this) because her kidney values were elevated on the Orijen. My vet suggested we switch to that. Since switching they have been normal. This was most likely a benign thing but she is a blood donor and her values need to be normal for her to donate. She's allergic to poultry and does poorly with grains which is why I use the Rabbit formula. I also sometimes use the Instinct raw version.
Personally if I had a puppy I'd use Orijen LBP unless they didn't do well on it.


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## ladyfreckles (Nov 10, 2011)

BlackGSD said:


> I agree, of it ain't broke, don't fix it. Apparently you've missed all of the 3,200,942 posts from different posters trying to find a food that WORKS for their puppy/dog. If he is doing well on it, I would just leave him on that food until he is 12+ months old, THEN switch if you still want to.
> 
> I fed Siren Canidae ALS (with grains), from babyhood until she was a year old, THEN switched to TOTW. Actually I switched her AND my 2 seniors. None had any issues switching from one to the other, and my seniors had been on kibble with grains all their lives.


Trouble is when he stops needing puppy food I'm going to switch to an adult grain-free. I'm just wondering what would make that switch the easiest. I'm not going to keep him on puppy food forever. Speaking of, how long does he stay on the pup food? 6 months?


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

I though that was basically what I addressed in the post you quoted. (switching from a food WITH grains to one without.)

Personally, I never feed puppy food. He can be taken off of it at any time. But the majority of grain free kibbles aren't recommended for a dog under 12 months. You could always just switch him to the Prairie adult.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Dena and Keefer never did get puppy food, nor did Cassidy. Halo was on the Orijen LBP until she was about a year old.

ETA: Most adult grain free foods are for dogs over a year or a year and a half.


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

If you pick a food "for all life stages" then you don't need a puppy food.


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## Clyde (Feb 13, 2011)

I would keep at what is working for you right now. Don't worry to much about when he is an adult because you still have a long way to go. There is no reason to expect that switching him right now to grain free is going to be any easier than switching him as an adult to grain free. I think it it best to let a young puppies digestive system not go through to much stress so switch if you really have an issue with the food he is on otherwise I would wait until is digestive system has matured more.

Plus don't get to set on one idea of what must be the best diet. You may find out that your imagined ideal diet does not end up being the best diet for your dog.

I switched my GSD at 9 weeks cold turkey to raw and he did great. Since then he has been on a raw/ kibble (GO!Salmon and Oat) combo for a month while at the kennel. Also just switched him cold turkey from raw to CalNat Kangaroo and he had no issues. Those are the only times in his life he has switched foods he is now 2. 
My other 3 adult dogs can switch from Acana GF one day to GO! Salmon and Oat or Duck and Potato the next with no issues and I also throw in raw for them a few times a week.

I don't know if I was just lucky with all my dogs having iron guts or what? 

Bottom line I wouldn't worry so much about it until the time comes when you have decided what you want to do and are ready to switch.

I do like to use a digestive enzyme mostly because I am dealing with an allergy issue with my boy but I have heard it is a very helpful addition to kibble diets. The one I use has Protease, Amylase, Lipase and Cellulase these are plant based enzymes. You do not want to use animal based pancreatic enzymes.


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## ladyfreckles (Nov 10, 2011)

The thing is, it's NOT working for him right now. His poop reeks. He has coccidia so I know that's what making it soft, but honestly I have dog sat and picked up poop for years and I have never smelled poop this bad. The last time he had an accident in the house I could smell it from over 20 feet away. I am convinced he's not doing well on it. 

I think I want to try raw. I'm just hesitant to make that sort of financial obligation. Which is why I want to try another kibble before I try that.


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