Alternatives to Orijen?

[word_cuts_deep]

I have a picky eater who also has a relatively sensitive stomach, and is also quite young (1 year old spaniel mix).

She was on Orijen for nearly a full year and then stopped eating her kibble. She early finished her recommended serving, and then a month or so ago had some persistent diarrhea and pancreatitis. She was prescribed hills gastrointestinal biome. I slowly transitioned her to Nutrisource (its what her mom and dad ate), but she is still refusing to eat. Aside from that, I’m also noticing that her coat is beginning to change, and that her poops are waaaaaaay bigger and stinkier than before. She’s also starting to fart, which may not be new but is certainly more noticeable.

I’m not even sure if any of this is necessarily “bad”….It seemed like Orijen has a more holistic ingredient list, but I’m not sure that’s all that counts. I’ve tried to have this conversation with vets and the answer is usually to go with Hills/Purina.

I’m struggling picking her diet and have even tried cooking for her, but I don’t think it’s sustainable and frankly, she doesn’t always seem to enjoy it all that much either. Any recommendations or tips?? Please?? I’m DESPERATE.

Going to throw this year as I’m getting the same question: She is eating the prescription diet and I’m looking for something to transition her to once it’s through. It was a short prescription meant to just settle her tummy and firm up stool.

 

[l8shinigami]

@word_cuts_deep Definitely read the sub's wiki, it's so informative!

 

[bernard05]

@word_cuts_deep Pro Plan sensitive skin and stomach.

Your vet is right.

 

[josh1992]

@word_cuts_deep Hills has two formulas— my dog is on the Perfect Digestion formula and likes it. But she is a beagle who will eat anything.

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@word_cuts_deep If you have a prescription for a food then feed that? Vets don’t write the scripts for no reason, and those diets actually do help.

 

[andrewgrinlein]

@word_cuts_deep Orijen was bought out by Mars and I believe they changed the ingredients about 2-4 months ago if I’m not mistaken. They changed to lower quality ingredients since being bought out by mars. That could be why your dog stopped eating it!
Usually lower quality foods can cause bigger and smellier poops but every dog is different. Hills doesn’t have the best ingredients but for some dogs it works well! (I’m not shaming people who feed hills to their dogs. Whatever works for your dog is great)
Your dog could have an allergy or an intolerance to an ingredient in the current food. You could try something with less ingredients to narrow that down. For example you could try brands like Zeal, Carna4, Smack. They usually have limited ingredients and high quality!

 

[brandonap09]

@word_cuts_deep She could be taking in too much protein (gas) and fat (pancreatitis). Don’t focus solely on the ingredient list. Try to find food that has is WASVA accepted and AAFCO food statements on the packaging indicate food is tested (not only formulated). There are medical recommendations to the nutrients a dog needs. Too little or too much of a nutrient is not a good thing. I’d go off the vet recommendation.

There’s a you tube channel for dr. Rae. She’s a vet (I take online vet stuff with a grain of salt), but she walks through different brands, what to look for, and also has links to the small animal vet guide that vets use. This guide lists out the nutrient panels that dogs need and if you read those medical guides, you’ll see that hills and purina’s nutrient panels align with the medical guidelines.

 

[word_cuts_deep]

@brandonap09 Thank you, this is so helpful!

 

[sevilodorf]

@word_cuts_deep Your vet has been to medical school, their advice is the correct advice!

 

[stryker4]

@word_cuts_deep I would listen to your vet and read the wiki here

 

[gavri]

@word_cuts_deep Definitely go either way your vet’s recommendation! An elimination diet may be needed if the sensitive stomach formulas for Purina or Hills don’t work out.

 

[theropod]

@word_cuts_deep Why wouldn't you just keep her on the prescribed food especially since she's had pancreatitis?

 

[hemispheres]

@word_cuts_deep I've fed Orijen and Acana (both dog and cat formulas) in the past and honestly, I didn't have great luck with it. My cats got really fat on it, in spite of feeding half the recommended amount. I'd get a new bag and suddenly, they wouldn't eat it (both cats and dogs). Even without it's link to DCM, I'll never feed it again.

I don't really have any experience with the Hill's diets but they do make a non-prescription diet (Perfect Digestion).