I thought I was done deciding on a dog food, but Orijen keeps coming up on threads as a great food. I was leaning towards Orijen over Canidae (which I just bought), but I was concerned abuot the high protein content of Orijen. I thought puppies weren't supposed to get so much protein, as they would grow too fast and their joints could be compromised. I've read just about every article Ed has on diet (raw and kibble), and I'm still wondering about whether Orijen might be a better kibble than Canidae. I know Orijen costs more, but I would pay for it if I knew the protein wouldn't be too much for a 3 mo old pup.

I like the idea of going completely "grain-free". I asked about protein content on one of the puppy forums a few days ago, but never really got an answer to my question.

Can someone please clarify the protein question for me? I am assuming the raw diet has a really high protein content, but I don't know what it is/how it compares to any of the kibbles. Why do so many "high-end" all natural foods have about 24% protein, and Orijen has 40-42%? Which is better? (I haven't opened my big bag of Canidae yet, so I may take it back). Also, does Orijen have human-grade meats?

Thanks a lot for your help!

Hi Kori

I have fed Canidae, as well as Wellness and Innova (my current kibble). I have never fed Orijen, in fact I have never seen it on the pet store shelves here.

But, I did find this statement on their website which may help answer your question.

 Quote:

High-protein, low-carbohydrate and grain-free, ORIJEN features fresh regional ingredients in a Biologically Appropriate ratio of 70 percent meat, 30 percent fruit and vegetables and zero grain (70/30/0).

They have a whitepaper if you are more interested in reading about their methodology/reasoning. http://www.championpetfoods.com/orijen/documents/ORIJEN_White_paper.pdf - "The Biological Food Concept"

Here's their website: http://www.championpetfoods.com/orijen/orijen/

Hopefully someone else who has actually fed Orijen will be able to chime in and tell you their results.

I wanted to feed my then Pup Fred Raw and i did for a short time, but supply did not keep up and i was forced to look for another Top Quality Kibble
It was Connie who found me the Orijen Site, The Food is from Canada, and we can buy it online without transport costs over here in Belgium
My 11 Month Old German Shepherd Fred has been fed on it for some time now and he looks first class his coat is brilliant and loads of energy, i could not be more pleased with the food now Goran is fed on it for nearly the last 2 months he is now 4 months old and he is growing up nice and steady not too fast, He too looks great on it, For me i have found the right Dry Kibble for the Dogs i feed both the Meat Kibble 75% and the Fish Kibble 25% and add a little Salmon Oil to it but i do not know if it is needed but it sure has not harmed them by giving it, I am happy the Dogs are Happy, Results speak for themself

I never understood this "low protein" stuff kibble people talk about. What about raw fed puppies? Raw Chicken is ALOT of protein. Dogs live on mostly protein, and whatever minimal carbs they can get out of raw chicken, but mostly protein.

I would go with Orijen, no problems here and I have 2 pups that have been on Adult Orijen since 5 months old (8 months old now), and Raw Instinct before that (loose stools with that food).

In my opinion, I do not believe that high protein diet has any affect on growth or make your puppy have a pano. Whatever that rumor has been going on is not true. I remember when I was in high school, I gave a terrible advice to my friend that she needs to put her gsd on natural california kibble. Even I told her all about growth problem with high protein diet, guess what??

She told me that her dog was suffering with a terrible pano. She decided to put him down, I feel terrible about it. I should have advise her to feed raw diet because I have seen no one complain about pano or any other problem here when they put their dogs on raw diet. It seems like the problem has disappeared.

I didn't realize Pano was something that would make someone put a dog down for!? I thought it was a temporary condition and pain killers can be given in more severe cases?

It is not common for people to put their dogs down for pano, but it happens. My friend's gsd was crying in pain all day and weeks. She had a pain medicine from her veterinrian. It helps a lot, but when the medicine started to worn out. She kept getting more and stronger kind of medcine. It got worse and worse. He would lay down all day and he would not dare to move a bit. He layed on the floor and peed on himself more than once. It hurted him like hell. He couldn't get up and walk around.

The vet bill was getting too expensive and she didn't want her dog to be in pain anymore. She and her veterinrian thought euthanisa was the best solution for him.

When My Pup Fred suffered from Pano in his near Front Leg, he had been reared up to then on Royal Canine from 8 weeks old, I do not say the food was the problem, just happened but it sure does not have the Protein Content Orijen has, in fact it had more in the way of Grains,
No' Orijen is top class kibble and i will rear my Dogs on it with full confidence that i am doing the best i can for them on a kibble diet

I started my puppy at 4 weeks on Royal Canine, and fed her that until she was about 10 weeks old, then found out that Royal Canine has sawdust in it. (named something else, of course). Royal Canine is high protein also - something like 34%. (My breeder said for a bullmastiff never feed over 24% protein, but I couldn't find that here in Estonia). Well, my puppy got fat and has had joint and hip pain ever since.

We switched at 10 weeks and my bully is now 7 months old. We have since been feeding her Orijen large breed puppy food in the mornings and raw in the evenings (I would love to feed all raw, but we can't get the variety of meats and organs here in Estonia and without the organs I don't feel she is getting enough nutrients, and I do feel that Orijen is a very very good kibble). She has slimmed down, has tons of energy, and with the help of glucosamine supplements her joint pain has lessened (not gone away completely because she's a huge dog.)

My point is I feel that Orijen is the best kibble out there. It's baked at low temps so as not to destroy all the nutrients, it's grain free, and made with human grade meats. I don't understand the protein thing either, but someone put it to me this way - they protein helps them grow muscle. the carbs help them grow fat. would you rather have them grow up big and muscular or big and fat? (that came from a pet store clerk!) And of course, feeding raw is basically 100% protein, so what would the wolves in the wild do - sit and calculate how much protein they are getting when they eat that rabbit?

I have never seen Orijen in a pet store, so I don't know where to get it in the States, but you could probably find a store locator on their web page. Is is expensive, but they deliver it free of charge, which is worth that just in the convenience and the confidence that you are feeding your dog a very good kibble.

Thank you all. You pretty much just confirmed what I suspected, that Orijen (and high protein) is the best. I just placed an order online (K9Cuisine.com) for Orijen. No tax and no shipping charges, so that helped a lot. My dog is worth the best food I can find. I still am considering raw, but in the meantime, he will be getting a great kibble diet.

Thanks again!