# undecided (Orijen vs. Wellness)



## fkeeley (Aug 31, 2006)

I need to switch my 10 week old puppy from Canidae to something as she's having diarrhea most likely due to the food (worm checked, etc). I read a lot about Orijen and Wellness and I would welcome opinion from folks who have used both. I'm going to switch her to a large breed puppy formula and they both seems since. I realize that what works for one may not work for another, but needless to say, I would like to make up my mind by hearing about experiences with both brands.

My concern with Orijen would be how difficult (or how easy would be) for the food to get spoiled. I will be looking at expiration dates/keeping in a dark cool room but also I don't want "the (bad) food because i didn't keep it the way it should" upset her stomach. Is the food that "sensitive" to the environment? :help:


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## hmmiller05 (Mar 1, 2010)

I do not know about how quickly it spoils (we go through it wayy to quickly for that) but I LOVE LOVE Orijen!! I feed the 6-fish formula and it's just awesome and both of my pups do great on it.. I have also used Wellness and it is a great food as well (probably one of the best sold at Petco/Petsmart type stores) but I personally consider Orijen in a league of its own as far as ingredients goes.. However it can be difficult to find for me sometimes.. 

I was concerned with the transition because its so rich but I basically switched cold turkey and neither had any stomach issues (I've heard this is abnormal though). 

Good luck! 



PS. please note that I am not an expert on any food, but am merely just stating my experience..


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## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

If you're going to choose one of the two, I'd go with Orijen and see how she does on that. If she's still not doing well on it, then I'd go to Wellness. 

I heard that a lot of dogs that are switched to Orijen have soft stools for a week or so, so keep that in mind.


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## fkeeley (Aug 31, 2006)

Hmmm didn't think about that. Would Wellness not be as rich or would any "high quality" pet food be rich anyways?


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## Denman (Jul 6, 2009)

I switched from Royal Canine GSD blend to Orijen 6 fish and ginger is doing great on it. Switched about 6 months or so ago, she was really scratchy on the RC GSD Blend, now she is no where near as bad as she was so I suspect a chicken allergy was the cause.

Again Im no expert, but she is doing much better now then she was.


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## CaseysGSD (Oct 15, 2010)

Unfortuntly we had very loose stools on both..... We were first on wellness but it did not agree with our Pup so we switched to Orijin, I love Orijin as I fed it to one of my other dogs but she as well could not handle it until adulthood. So we tried it with our puppy and had the runs with it as well. We just switched to GO natural endurance formula (it's not just for puppies but has a puppy feeding guideline on the back) a few days ago because it is also a high quality food but has a bit less protien at 36% (Origin has 40%) and so far it's working very well, we switched cold turkey because it couldn't get any worse! So after 2 days everything is firming up already and she LOVES to food! ( she has never cleaned a bowl before until trying this)

Hope you find something that works for you, seems Shepherds have picky tummies! I'm hoping this food that we are on now sticks... If not I'm considering trying raw.


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## sagelfn (Aug 13, 2009)

Both foods are great. Advantage to Orijen for being grainfree and having a LBP formula. Wellness has the CORE line which is grainfree but not suitable for puppies. Both foods are dry kibble and have the same risk of spoiling as any other kibble. I keep mine in the bag in an air tight container. One bag lasts about a month. No issues with it going bad. Do check the date when you purchase, Orijen is harder to find and may sit on the shelf longer.

I was switching from Royal Canin to Wellness but my pup didn't care for it so I went with Orijen. Had to transition very slow, just a few bites of the new stuff to keep stools solid and be very careful of overfeeding as that can cause loose stools as well.


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

I would try a small bag of Orijen first and see how it goes, mix it in slowly with the old food. Ask if there's a return policy if he doesn't like it, but I've never heard of a dog that didn't like the taste. I feed Nature's Variety and it's preservative-free so I don't buy huge bags of it so it's always fresh. I figure the few extra dollars per bag is worth it. Good luck!!


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## Dennq (Jun 21, 2010)

All three of my guys are on Orijen and they love it!

Just don't overfeed as you will have loose stools and they also pack on the pounds fast.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

Orijen is top of the line if you don't mind paying for it. Wellness isn't too cheap either, so it's probably not that big of a price difference. Maybe an extra $10-$15 per bag depending on where you go. 

Ive been feeding it since I switched lucy off of innova about a month or two ago and she loves it. Nothing but good things to say about that kibble.


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## Val-Hi King Timber (Aug 26, 2010)

I had Timber on Wellness 5 but I just couldnt stop thinking about Orijen. I had a brochure and it just seemed like such a great food. So at my next Vet appt I went ahead and picked up a bag. I also found out that our Vets office is the ONLY place to get it in our entire state. Wow!
Anyway.....I started adding in the Orijen to the wellness and everything was going good. Until I took that last step with the transition. The point where Timber was getting no more Wellness at all. Just one cup of Orijen All Life Stages.
Now.....we've had very loose stools for the past 4 days. Yesterday I bumped the amount back down to half Wellness and half Orijen. We'll see if it helps but now I dont know what to do.
Im totally into the Orijen though. Im just hoping Timber's tummy adjusts to the change.


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## roxy84 (Jun 23, 2007)

CaseysGSD said:


> We just switched to GO natural endurance formula (it's not just for puppies but has a puppy feeding guideline on the back) .


just to let you know that the go grain free endurance has a maximum Ca level of 2.2% (they only list the minimum on their site, which is 1.8%). while that wouldnt be much concern for a smalll breed pup, imo, its too high for a large breed pup. in fact its higher than wellness core, which specifically warns against feeding to large breed pups for that very reason.


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

I would never feed orijen after reading this site for years and years. I have read about more problems with that food (diarrhea/loose stools) than perhaps any other brand of food I've researched. Those that feed it with no problems - awesome. But more people than I can remember have complained about it even after proper transition and giving the dog time to adjust to the "rich" diet.

Of those two, I would go with wellness. It's not talked about much on this site and I'm not really sure why because it's an EXCELLENT food. I know quite a few people who feed it (not on this site) and have excellent results with it.

Orijen seems to simply be too rich for many dogs.


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## CaseysGSD (Oct 15, 2010)

roxy84 said:


> just to let you know that the go grain free endurance has a maximum Ca level of 2.2% (they only list the minimum on their site, which is 1.8%). while that wouldnt be much concern for a smalll breed pup, imo, its too high for a large breed pup. in fact its higher than wellness core, which specifically warns against feeding to large breed pups for that very reason.


Thank you for the info, I'm really kind of at a loss... This is the first food that she has loved and has had normal stools on!


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## counter (Feb 20, 2009)

We've used both. Orijen is rich enough to cause loose stools, and Wellness definitely gave them the worst runs ever. Orijen is one of the best kibbles, so we still feed it, but blend it with Wellness CORE. The CORE solidifies their stool, and they love the flavor. We also blend in Acana lamb. They didn't do well on Wellness, and Orijen by itself loosened up the poo.


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

fkeeley said:


> I need to switch my 10 week old puppy from Canidae to something as she's having diarrhea most likely due to the food (worm checked, etc). I read a lot about Orijen and Wellness and I would welcome opinion from folks who have used both. I'm going to switch her to a large breed puppy formula and they both seems since. I realize that what works for one may not work for another, but needless to say, I would like to make up my mind by hearing about experiences with both brands.
> 
> My concern with Orijen would be how difficult (or how easy would be) for the food to get spoiled. I will be looking at expiration dates/keeping in a dark cool room but also I don't want "the (bad) food because i didn't keep it the way it should" upset her stomach. Is the food that "sensitive" to the environment? :help:


I don't think it spoils that quickly? I use it in rotation, and use it for my 2 fosters right now so it lasts longer and seems fine.  Hoping I am right - you can go to Natural Pet Foods on S. Clinton in Rochester - they are great there. Lots of foods to look at and chose from. 

With the Orijen puppy - it is very easy to overfeed. VERY. And depending on what kind of belly a pup has - it can make it harder. I like starting puppies on a single ingredient, easy to digest food. I learned that after a foster litter that had a big problem with the Orijen - their bellies were very stressed and it was too much. Mario at Natural Pet Foods pointed out with babies, we don't feed them Thanksgiving meals, but squash only (my form of his better example!). Then slowly introduce other foods. 

Ask Roxy - he is the best at the ca/ph ratio information but some foods might be Pinnacle or California Natural. Then start looking at more complicated foods. That's just thought and you don't need to follow it. 

That said, of that sensitive tummy litter - my dog can eat anything now and he gets the full rotation of Nature's Logic, Acana, Orijen, whatever else catches my eye and always nice firm bouncy stool.


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## VTcoach (Jun 28, 2005)

Its trial-and-error with kibble. What works for one dog may not with another.
That said, I raised a dog on Orijen puppy without issue.


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## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

VTcoach is right. It can sound like the best food in the world on paper - but if it doesn't agree with your dog, it's a no go. I like Orijen, Acana and Wellness. My dog's system only likes Wellness, so Wellness is it.


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## roxy84 (Jun 23, 2007)

CaseysGSD said:


> Thank you for the info, I'm really kind of at a loss... This is the first food that she has loved and has had normal stools on!


maybe one of the acana grainless formulas would work. it is similar to orijen except for a little less meat content and lower protein levels. being made by champion as well i think many of us feel pretty confident with it. i think the grasslands formula is the only one with higher Ca levels....but the pacifica and wild prarie are ok.


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## Cluemanti (Jun 25, 2010)

Been feeding Orijen LBP with zero problems. Think after another bag I will try Wellness 5. With the Orijen price increase slowing making its way to the shelves figured it was a perfect time to switch.


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## CaseysGSD (Oct 15, 2010)

roxy84 said:


> maybe one of the acana grainless formulas would work. it is similar to orijen except for a little less meat content and lower protein levels. being made by champion as well i think many of us feel pretty confident with it. i think the grasslands formula is the only one with higher Ca levels....but the pacifica and wild prarie are ok.


Just saw this.... Thanks for the recommendation, after much research we ended up going RAW and Blitz has never been better!


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

Stosh said:


> I would try a small bag of Orijen first and see how it goes, mix it in slowly with the old food. Ask if there's a return policy if he doesn't like it, but I've never heard of a dog that didn't like the taste. I feed Nature's Variety and it's preservative-free so I don't buy huge bags of it so it's always fresh. I figure the few extra dollars per bag is worth it. Good luck!!


We have used both. Just have to make the transition slowly. Had loose stools at first but it cleared up after a week or so. We used Wellness Super 5 LPB, then Orijen LBP. No problems with either once she adapted.


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## schroedes (Sep 10, 2010)

orijen is about 10 bucks more so why not, wellness is good but its first 2 ingredients include water so once they are cooked they move way down on the list, so wellness is actually quite a bit grain etc, had my pup on it just recently and he seemed to have very large stools as if he wasnt utilizing any of the food he was taking in, plus he seemed to itch more. so i said **** with it, its only 10 bucks and just recently started him on orijen. the ingredients really cant be beat, as nature intended as far as kibble goes


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## fkeeley (Aug 31, 2006)

The more I think about it, I really like Orijen more than Wellness. Wellness has a lot of grains in it. I have seen Orijen at country max by me so i know I can get it. Now the guy at country max raves on TOTW due to the quality and price vs. Orijen. I'm not ready to make the switch as she is still on Wellness large puppy breed but now I'm at a loss again....TOTW? I will search the forum for opinions on that vs Orijen. My concern is that if the dog cannot tolerate Orijen, I'll have to find something similar that she can tolerate :thinking:


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## schroedes (Sep 10, 2010)

fkeeley said:


> The more I think about it, I really like Orijen more than Wellness. Wellness has a lot of grains in it. I have seen Orijen at country max by me so i know I can get it. Now the guy at country max raves on TOTW due to the quality and price vs. Orijen. I'm not ready to make the switch as she is still on Wellness large puppy breed but now I'm at a loss again....TOTW? I will search the forum for opinions on that vs Orijen. My concern is that if the dog cannot tolerate Orijen, I'll have to find something similar that she can tolerate :thinking:


 i believe totw is produced by diamond foods. good food but orijen/acana are really in a league of their own. most people will blow 60 bucks at one good dinner so to feed your pup for a month for the same price is well worth it in my eyes


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## fkeeley (Aug 31, 2006)

schroedes said:


> i believe totw is produced by diamond foods. good food but orijen/acana are really in a league of their own. most people will blow 60 bucks at one good dinner so to feed your pup for a month for the same price is well worth it in my eyes


Hmmm $60.00, geez I spend more than that on dinners unfortunately :crazy:. And very good point! I didn't realize that Diamond made TOTW! HMMM


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