Give me your dog food opinions please

[fusspot]

I want to switch dog food to something more natural, with less (or no) animal byproducts, grains, preservatives and fillers. I bought a sample bag of Orijen and the dogs liked it and I liked what was in it...and not in it. I like that it is sourced and made in Canada too. I talked to one friend whose 2 dogs are on it and she has noticed a big difference, especially with one dog who had allergies. Is anyone else using it? Opinons welcome. What other holistic brands have you tried and liked? I am looking for something that is fairly easy to find.

[pmc]

I use the Orijen cat food for both my cats, fussy, and if I had a dog, I'd put him on it, too.

When I got my younger cat, Charlie, she was already on the Orijen. I liked it so much I've gradually switched my older cat to it as well. He used to eat Royal Canin exclusively.

Here's a link to Orijen's website, if anyone is interested:

http://www.orijen.ca/orijen/about/

PS: Orijen is available at most Global Pet Food stores.

[Elizabeth]

I feed Orijen to my dog and cats and love it. Great product and I love that it is made in Canada.

[fusspot]

Thanks PMC and Elizabeth!!
Elizabeth, where do you buy it? I see Globals has it in Cobourg as well as All Creatures. Wondering if there is any price difference between the the two stores.

[pmc]

One of the other things I love about the Orijen foods is that it's made without any fillers. Therefore, to meet the nutrional needs of your dog or cat, you feed less of it than you would of a more 'traditional' pet food. Althought the food is a bit pricey, since the bag actually lasts longer, the cost is comparable. And the ingredients are all human-grade quality.

[Kaleena]

I've heard nothing but good things about Orijen, excellent food.

I feed Innova to our Lab which can also be found at Global Pet Foods. She has some allergies to grain products and does very well on this food, it also does not have unnecessary fillers etc. Innova also has a line that is supposed to be as close to feeding raw as kibble can be call Innova EVO (for both cats and dogs).

Our shepherd doesn't do well on the Innova, too rich for his sensitive tummy He gets fed and does well on Canidae.

[fusspot]

Kaleena, Innova EVO was my second choice, it also gets great reviews on all the sites I checked. I think I'll try the Orijen mainly because it's Canadian. If I'm not happy for some reason, I will check out the EVO.

I like that about Orijen too Pmc. I am sick of what goes into most dog food, it's disgusting. Animal by-products, digest....gross! I bet most people haven't a clue what they are feeding their dogs and they'd be sick too if they really looked into it.

[babytigger]

We've got our guy on Wellness CORE. Wellness has several types out there, and they are a good food as well. If I could find Orijen around here, I'd put him on that, since it's Canadian. The nearest Globals is too far to get too easily. Orijen has their own chickens and employ fisherman to catch and deliver fresh fish directly to them.

Innova EVO is about as close to a raw diet as you can get. My old picky cat wouldn't take to it.

A good site, if you want some straightforward and honest info is this one:

http://www.petfoodratings.net/

This one isn't bad...and it's got a good link or two:

http://www.naturalpetfood.com/meatorgrain.html

[pmc]

Thanks for the links, bt! The first one is especially helpful.

Here's a link to all of the Pet Food stores in Ontario that sell Orijen. Maybe you can find somewhere closer to you that carries it?

http://www.orijen.ca/orijen/storeLocato ... sting.aspx

[fusspot]

Thanks BT, the review sites have been very helpful. I checked a few out over the weekend and they are great! Isn't the net great for stuff like this?

[horsemad!]

My dogs are on Orijen, Fusspot, and have been for about a year... when I don't have time to cook for them, that is.

Bowie was a little thin for my liking last year and he's now filled out over his hips... to the point that I'm cutting his food down a little as he's gone from 57lbs to 62lbs... and I think I'd like him to be about 60lbs, though the vet is happy with him at 62, but no heavier. Both their coats look awesome, their poops are small-ish and healthy looking, and they're happy and full of energy.

Hamish was on Orijen too, bless him. He loved it. It was the only food he'd eat. My parents have their dogs on Orijen and homemade and their cats are on Evo. Again, all healthy, happy animals.

Global should have a frequent buyer programme... they do here in Orangeville - buy 12 and your 13th bag is free.

[pmc]

Yup, the Global up here in Newmarket has the same incentive, hm.

With the Orijen, the amount of pet poops generated are smaller for two reasons - because the food is so nutritionally dense, you feed less, therefore there's not as much for the pet to poop in the first place. And because the food has no fillers or bulk, the volume of the poops are further reduced, too.

Just an added little bonus!

[fusspot]

Too bad it doesn't work that way with horses eh? We LIKE the big puffy poops when it comes to our equines!

Mr Fussy bought the food today and we are all signed up for the frequent buyer program. I will have to pay close attention to the weight of my boys, they tend to gain weight fairly easily.

Next on my agenda is cat food research!

Does Orijen make canned cat food or just dry? I feed them a bit of each right now and like the canned for the extra moisture it provides them, their coats are much glossier since I added the canned food to their diet.

[pmc]

Orijen only makes dry dog/cat kibble, fussy. Btw, the Orijen cat kibble qualifies for Global's frequent buyer program, just like their dog food does.

For canned cat food, I use "go! natural." Two of the four flavours it comes in are grain-free (Chicken/Turkey/Duck and Freshwater Trout). My Global Pet Food store carries all four varieties.

Here's a link to the go! natural site:

http://www.petcurean.com/index.php?page_id=187#

Like Orijen, go! natural uses human-grade ingredients and is all Canadian-made, which I appreciate. They hail from Chilliwack, BC.

[fusspot]

Thanks PMC I will check out the site. My 18 year old cat is a bit fussy so I'll have to try a tin or two to see if it passes her inspection!

[pmc]

It comes in single-serving tins, too, fussy. Easiest (and cheapest!) way to find out if she likes it, or if she prefers one flavour over another.

Try mixing it in with some of whatever canned food she gets now to gradually accustom her to the new taste. Then slowly reduce the amount of the previous food until she's totally on the new one. That worked really well for my older, set-in-his-ways cat, too, and I used this same method to switch him from the Royal Canin to the Orijen kibble.

[Elizabeth]

Sorry, Fussy, I keep forgetting about this site being back. I'm not sure which is cheaper, Global or All Creatures, but both have the same program for getting a free bag. Where did you end up buying from? When we first started feeding it Global wasn't carrying it, only All Creatures so we bought from there but we buy our canned cat food from Global.

I feed the cats Wellness canned as that is the only one my picky Maine Coon will eat and she'll only eat one flavour of it too! She does love her Orijen kibble though.

[fusspot]

It's ok Liz, we got it at Globals, just more convenient than going downtown and it's right across from the Beer Store Too bad, we don't get the same frequent buyer program from them!!

I haven't made it back to get some canned food for the cats but will get there this week. They are also almost out of Temptations which wouldn't go over well at all. They are spoiled rotten barn cats!

[pmc]

My two love those Temptations too, fussy. The stuff is like crack for cats!

Do yourself a favour though - DON'T read the ingredient list!

[babytigger]

Don't read the ingredients on Temptations! My cats are all addicted to them as well, and while it's not a "grain free" treat...it is just that, a treat, so it's not their main diet. The Greenies treats are another one my cats like.

Fussy..if you want, this is great link, written by a vet regarding feeding cats and what's best.

http://www.catinfo.org/

Wellness, Innova Evo & Eagle Pack are all good ones for cats. If you can get them to eat it. Having found out that my old girl (she's almost 20) has CRF, I looked into a ton of wet foods. Feeding wet is better than feeding dry for cats. Cats have a low thirst drive as it is, so feeding wet just helps get that extra water into them that they desperately need for healthy organ function.

My old girl ate Wellness for a while, then went off it, so I tried Eagle Pack which she ate & after a while went off it, so I tried Innova EVO, which she ate and after a while she went off it. I swear, she's driving me nuts about food right now.....I know she loves Fancy feast (while not the best food, it's honestly better than some of the vet foods, and it's a wet one, so she gets the extra water her kidneys must have), and so, for the time being, she's been eating that while I suss out something else for her that is meat based. Trouble is, the last couple days, she's not wanted the Fancy Feast either.

The closest Global is about a 15 minute bus ride...and carrying a large bag of dog food back on the bus isn't fun. So I got to the Pet Valu around the corner.

Has anyone tried this one: Before Grain....made by Merrick?

http://www.beforegrain.com/