# New Orijen Formula = soft stool??



## eddie1976E (Nov 7, 2010)

I know of at least one person whose dog is experiencing this. Anyone out there doing ok on the new formula? I have about about 6wks worth of the old formula left.


----------



## hunterisgreat (Jan 30, 2011)

I've got 2 dogs eating it right now... Red meat, chicken and something else. No issue. Bags were bought lastweek.


----------



## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

I might be the one with the dog experiencing soft stool. Not real bad........ but soft.


----------



## GSDElsa (Jul 22, 2009)

I think some soft stools would be expected with a formula change. A little bit like swtiching brands of foods....


----------



## Mika140 (Jan 8, 2011)

My 12 yr old GSD had softer stools on it. She's normally totally solid and no issues unless she has worms, etc. She was on it for about 5 weeks, so she was totally transitioned over. I had planned to finish out what I had of the new stuff, but decided it wasn't worth it at her age. So I just switched her back to the one bag I had of the old formula this week.....and no surprise, her stools are back to normal - solid. I won't be putting either of my dogs back on it unless they go to the 70/30 formula again. I'm planning on using Acana grain-free for now.


----------



## eddie1976E (Nov 7, 2010)

Its too bad about the formula change. Hopefully my dog will transition ok on it. I don't want to stockpile the old formula, but my store still has some of it. If enough people complain to Orijen, I wonder if they would reverse course?


----------



## sable123 (Jul 11, 2010)

eddie1976E said:


> Its too bad about the formula change. Hopefully my dog will transition ok on it. I don't want to stockpile the old formula, but my store still has some of it. If enough people complain to Orijen, I wonder if they would reverse course?


My local store tells me returns have doubled since the formula change. There is a definite trend back to more traditional diets at half the cost because people that are honest with themselves do not see any difference in their pets.

Also, the three big companies, Purina, Euk/Iams, RC have responded with new diets that consumers like. My local store has also doubled its inventory of Pro Pac and foods like it because the price/quality relationship.


----------



## eddie1976E (Nov 7, 2010)

I noticed a definite difference in my dog after switching to Orijen. Her breath isn't as bad, her fur doesn't fall out as much, her energy level has gone up and she is not hanging around her food bowl looking pathetic and begging for more food.


----------



## Mika140 (Jan 8, 2011)

> There is a definite trend back to more traditional diets at half the cost because people that are honest with themselves do not see any difference in their pets.


I'm very honest with myself and I did in fact see great improvements in my dogs while on the original formula of Orijen. The only reason I'm not using it any more is due to the new formula change. 

But on the original 70/30 formula, both my dogs thrived on it. They have been on a variety of other brands in the past and showed marked improvement in muscle tone/mass after going on Orijen. In fact, my vet, who doesn't believe any of these foods has more of an impact than another, even made statements about how great my older dog was doing. He didn't realize that we'd made the food switch...he just knew that something had changed in my senior GSD that caused improved muscle tone. And there was no other reason, as I had retired her from sport work already and her exercise was down in amount if anything.

I'm still a very strong supporter of Champion Foods - I think they produce excellent quality products and are a company that can be trusted as much as any.


----------



## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

PaddyD said:


> I might be the one with the dog experiencing soft stool. Not real bad........ but soft.


Getting softer, almost liquid. Starting her second bag. The first bag was transitioned/mixed with the original Orijen Adult. Have been reading on other sites of many dogs with comparable results. Happy for the people who are not having issues but I am considering switching to Acana.


----------



## sable123 (Jul 11, 2010)

PaddyD said:


> Getting softer, almost liquid. Starting her second bag. The first bag was transitioned/mixed with the original Orijen Adult. Have been reading on other sites of many dogs with comparable results. Happy for the people who are not having issues but I am considering switching to Acana.


These GSD's sure have sensitive tummies. No wonder why that RC foods for GSD's sell so well.

What I have learned from taking care of Babbu for my friend is that these dogs were bred to eat mid-grade foods.


----------



## eddie1976E (Nov 7, 2010)

PaddyD said:


> Getting softer, almost liquid. Starting her second bag. The first bag was transitioned/mixed with the original Orijen Adult. Have been reading on other sites of many dogs with comparable results. Happy for the people who are not having issues but I am considering switching to Acana.


That sucks. I am not looking forward to the transition. I will be buying a very small bag for sure.


----------



## cassadee7 (Nov 26, 2009)

What, exactly, in the new formula is causing the runs? More fat?


----------



## sable123 (Jul 11, 2010)

cassadee7 said:


> What, exactly, in the new formula is causing the runs? More fat?


It sounds like inexperienced food chemists. I don't want to send like a broken record but dry dog food is a system not just a list of ingredients. It also doesn't sound like much testing was done. There is definitely a problem with the ingredients and the way it is made.


----------



## Mika140 (Jan 8, 2011)

> It sounds like inexperienced food chemists. I don't want to send like a broken record but dry dog food is a system not just a list of ingredients. It also doesn't sound like much testing was done. There is definitely a problem with the ingredients and the way it is made.


LOTS of speculation there, and coming from someone who clearly doesn't like Orijen at all to begin with. Before you start spreading negative misinformation about a quality company, you should seek out some facts to support your claims.


----------



## roxy84 (Jun 23, 2007)

no problem here. formula changes will always bring out more of the exception of dogs not doing well. the folks that have always fed orijen and are seeing no changes on the new formula arent going to feel the need top post.

stating there are inexperienced food chemists seems like a conscious effort to bash a company with no basis in fact.


----------



## lrodptl (Nov 12, 2009)

I think a lot of people transition too quickly,maybe a month isn't enough for something this rich. 0-4 cups a day in 1 month,seems good . 75% Old 25% New after 1 week.50-50 after 2 weeks would be too much for my dog. 25% Old 75% new after 3 weeks and then complete transition by the end of week 4. I don't know,I usually take about 6 weeks when rotating.


----------



## cassadee7 (Nov 26, 2009)

The Orijen site says that while the amount of "fresh meat" has gone up, the calories, fat, protein etc have stayed pretty much the same. They also state you don't have to transition from the old formula to the new, and there should be no stool changes.

Interesting to see that people are experiencing otherwise. I am just slightly nervous because a bag lasts me a month!


----------



## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

I transitioned over a 2 months from old to new. Just started transitioning to TOTW and see improvements already. We shall see ...............
My last dog lived 13 healthy years on IAMS. But she was a mutt... and I was not yet a GSD snob.


----------



## lrodptl (Nov 12, 2009)

PaddyD said:


> I transitioned over a 2 months from old to new. Just started transitioning to TOTW and see improvements already. We shall see ...............
> My last dog lived 13 healthy years on IAMS. But she was a mutt... and I was not yet a GSD snob.


Maybe it was just too rich,2 months is plenty adequate I think. I rotate through the 4 TOTW blends,Orijen just got too expensive.


----------



## hunterisgreat (Jan 30, 2011)

I am constantly switching foods. I don't eat the same stuff day in and day out. Why should my dogs?


----------



## sable123 (Jul 11, 2010)

hunterisgreat said:


> I am constantly switching foods. I don't eat the same stuff day in and day out. Why should my dogs?


There are several reasons 1) It is a pain, 2) A dog has a relatively small and slow pancrease. Over time constant switching will cause digestive problems & 3) They don't care if they eat the same thing. People believe they like variety but they are wrong. If you always offer something new the dog learns to expect variety.


----------



## hunterisgreat (Jan 30, 2011)

sable123 said:


> There are several reasons 1) It is a pain, 2) A dog has a relatively small and slow pancrease. Over time constant switching will cause digestive problems & 3) They don't care if they eat the same thing. People believe they like variety but they are wrong. If you always offer something new the dog learns to expect variety.


With SO much misinformation floating out there regarding dogs I take everything with a grain of salt and rarely just follow the current trend. For example, the "what causes bloat" stuff is largely all crap outside of the correlation between consumption and immediate exertion. Was originally told to feed/water elevated. After the surgery, was told to always feed/water from the ground. Regardless, not a single supposed cause was relevant in our case... it happened at 5am while he slept on my bed

1. Well this is purely my opinion, but its not a big pain really... I just have 3 bins and when one gets empty I just pick something else. We aren't talking about a major change in food here... all grain free offerings from various reputable brands. Also, lots of canned and fresh tripe, eggs, whatever raw I felt like buying at the grocery store, and the occasional organs and wacky crap from the asian market. Nothing is off limits

2. I'm a huge believer in looking to nature for solutions/appropriate approach. Dogs eat whatever is available in the wild. So do mine. Never had anyone even come close to rejecting a meal around here (except for anything thats not dog food or fresh meat) or have any sort of digestive/skin/coat/whatever issues

3. I'm not sure you can really say anyone who disagrees with you is just flat wrong. In my case, I can tell you that your statement that my dogs will "expect" variety is flat wrong. 

At anyrate, I've found the rotation keeps my dogs minds open to new foods, and they don't have all sorts of digestive problems b/c being so set on one food for years. My female has even snagged a jalapeno that slipped off the cutting board, and once ate a ghost pepper... neither time led to loose stool. I think she even seemed to like the hot pepper. Iron stomachs, both of them... so I must be doing something correct


----------



## roxy84 (Jun 23, 2007)

sable123 said:


> They don't care if they eat the same thing. People believe they like variety but they are wrong..


how can you possibly know this? sure, a dog will eat whatever they have to. it doesnt mean they dont appreciate variety. how can you be telling people they are wrong for believing a dog likes variety? is there some definitive proof of this?....and please dont offer as proof something like "well, i have fed my dog the exact same thing forever and he has always eaten it"............this is no indication of a distaste for variety but instead a recognition by the dog that eating whatever is available= survival.

a dog can have plenty of variety without exhausting all the protein varieties for future use if needed.


----------



## hunterisgreat (Jan 30, 2011)

roxy84 said:


> how can you possibly know this? sure, a dog will eat whatever they have to. it doesnt mean they dont appreciate variety. how can you be telling people they are wrong for believing a dog likes variety? is there some definitive proof of this?....and please dont offer as proof something like "well, i have fed my dog the exact same thing forever and he has always eaten it"............this is no indication of a distaste for variety but instead a recognition by the dog that eating whatever is available= survival.
> 
> a dog can have plenty of variety without exhausting all the protein varieties for future use if needed.


I see more issues with non-changing diet. How many people do you know that have a real finicky diet and get stomach aches whenever they deviate. i've know people who survived on kraft mac & cheese and will get a stomach ache if they get far from it. Condition the body to only use one food and yeah, you'll have issues switching.

I eat literally everything... everything... nothing hurts my stomach (except for exceptionally hot foods, which is just a different thing all together). I can also roll to another country and eat solely what is culturally normal there with no effect.

All my practices are generally applicable to me and my dogs


----------



## ChancetheGSD (Dec 19, 2007)

For my dogs, it doesn't take any more time or effort to buy a new brand of food than it does to go out and buy a new bag of the same food so how is it a pain? It isn't normal for a dog to have blow outs for eating as much as 25% of something different in their diet. Our pets evolved by eating a large variety of things, things that were different day after day. What is wrong with the picture when feeding your dog a small piece of non-seasoned meat causes explosive diarrhea?! IMO, dogs don't get enough variety (even if it's having a single kibble base and then offering other things around that) and THAT is why these dogs have so many problems.

I remember staying with family in NC for a month last year and running out of my dogs regular (high quality) food. Had no chance to get to the store that carried it for 3 days and so I was forced to feed......Kibbles and Bits. Pretty much every dog I know who eats the same thing day after day after day would be SO SICK. My dogs had a day of soft stools and then were fine. (Not even diarrhea, just soft logs) And guess what...No problems switching back to the food they were eating.

Never had any digestion problems and all my dogs get clean bill of health each year. So why change what is working?  Which for us is multiple brands/formulas of kibble, extras fed with those kibbles and even yes, those "awful" table scraps that've kept dogs kicking for much longer than kibble has ever been around.

Though I must say, that doesn't mean I was blessed with 17 "odd" dogs in my time. Chance for example was the WORST. When he came to me at about 6 months old, his stomach was so torn up from parvo and worms. It took a good year on a bland diet to fix his problems and get a half decent stool out of him. But now at almost 4 years old we've had nothing but perfect health and digestion out of him for the last 2.5+ years....FEEDING A VARIETY OF THINGS.

I know you don't have Shepherds, Sable, but where are the pictures of your dogs? Of their teeth on their very strict, no such thing as variety, same thing every day, kibbled diets? Breed is no excuse for poor health and for someone who talks so much but doesn't put out what other people do (ie. PICTURES at the least) it's really hard to believe your dogs have so much luck eating the same thing day in and day out.

For example...Here is a cat who's lived 21 years on kibble. Does this cat really look to be thriving just because he's surviving?










His name is Macavity btw.  Great kitty but obviously has some problems...He's not shaved for example. Don't have any pictures of Joshua and Daisy, the 18/19 year old Toy Poodles who were literally walking skeletons, blind/deaf, had to have their muzzles dunked in food/water multiple times a day in order to get them to eat/drink, who spun circles and paced the floor all day long, had very thin coats and who had no control of their bladders or bowels. They too were fed kibble. At least until they lost all their teeth and then required wetted down canned foods. Again, surviving to long ages isn't thriving. (Since I know you like to give the "well my dogs lived to 13-14 on the same thing excuse. Because *MY* dog has lived to 13 on VARIETY and is THRIVING. Just looking at her outside health, blood work, urinalysis and stools all back this up.)

I think people forget the difference in the two. I would love to be 100 one day, but I'd rather someone put a bullet through my head than give me "human rights" if I'm a vegetable.


----------

