Orijen vs Taste of the Wild?

[Paige]

I feed my cat Taste of the Wild and it's been working out really well. I don't have a Tamaskan yet, but I'm doing research in preparation. I was in my local pet supply store talking to the owner about potential options today, and he and I narrowed it down to Taste of the Wild and Orijen. They're relatively the same price at his store. I wanted to see what your experiences with your Tams might be with these two brands. I'm reading this thread (http://www.tamaskan-forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=418) right now and there's a lot of good input on Orijens, but I'm wondering if any of you have ever tried both at some point and if you noticed a significant difference between the two.

[Katlin]

I've had Wylie on both and he's a brutally picky eater (like....it's awful, I can't even describe it). Because I've worked at petstores and sold both brands I decided to try TOTW first, it did not go well. He refused to eat it and when he finally gave up and choked it down, he had severe "movements" >_< So I tried Orijen. He liked it lots, and I used it for a few months. But as soon as I switched to adult Orijen (at 19 months) he lost interest and refused to eat again. I like both brands a lot and find them both on a good playing field so what I personally do is buy medium bags of two different flavours of TOTW (adult, since he's 21 months old) and feed him a different one every day or mix them together. He loves it! I think he just gets tired of eating the same thing over and over.

The nice thing about TOTW puppy is that there are two flavours with very different proteins so you can switch it up if they are picky or have runny movements.

I love orijen, but you really need to work your dog to make sure they use all that protein, otherwise you're going to get runny movements. - With this being said, I don't recommend it for young puppies for that exact reason, they don't need all the protein

Personally and professionally, I'd say go with TOTW for now, see what happens

[arianwenarie]

I don't have a tam (yet), but I fed my lab Orijen before switching her to a raw diet. If you decide to feed ToTW, then I'd stay away from any of the flavors that have fish in it as ToTW does not guarantee their fish is not preserved with ethoxyquin. Orijen, however, does have this guarantee.

Just some food for thought. I have also did a 50/50 mix of Merrick grain free and Orijen Adult before. Prior to that, I rotated between Orijen Adult and a couple different flavors of Acana grain free.

[Paige]

If you decide to feed ToTW, then I'd stay away from any of the flavors that have fish in it as ToTW does not guarantee their fish is not preserved with ethoxyquin. Orijen, however, does have this guarantee.

Oh, that's an excellent point. I hadn't come across that info yet. Thanks!

The nice thing about TOTW puppy is that there are two flavours with very different proteins so you can switch it up if they are picky or have runny movements.

I love orijen, but you really need to work your dog to make sure they use all that protein, otherwise you're going to get runny movements. - With this being said, I don't recommend it for young puppies for that exact reason, they don't need all the protein

Personally and professionally, I'd say go with TOTW for now, see what happens

Awesome, thanks for the info! I'll have to go back to the store and see if he carries both flavors of the TOTW puppy.

[sky]

My tam did well on orijen and acana.

[Hawthorne]

Our four are doing well on TOTW. At one point we tried other foods to give them variety (as you can cause allergies by keeping a dog on the same exact food all his life) which included Orijen and a bunch of other highly rated foods. Nope. They didn't like Orijen. Wouldn't eat it. And Darwin is an absolute chow hound, so I don't know what the problem is there…

Needless to say I wasn't heartbroken because Orijen is much more expensive than TOTW here. We do mix up the TOTW flavors. They seem to like the bison the best and the lamb the least. But they do like the fish, boar and duck, too. We make our own wet food to go with it--that seems to be a trick to keep them eating. It's more of a "soup" than a wet food with one protein source (venison, chicken or fish) and one or a few vegetables all cooked in a stock pot with plenty of water. They seem to appreciate the added moisture to the kibble.

[sharil]

I have my 5 month old on Orijen Large Breed Puppy exclusively. I initially had thoughts of switching him to TOTW, but he's doing so well on the Orijen I've decided to leave him on it at least until he's a year old. Luckily, he isn't a picky eater as some Tams appear to be. He likes the kibble so well, I can use it for lower value training treats.

[chelle784]

We had both pups on Orijen large breed. TOTW in addition to Acana and Blue Buffalo didn't really help Pepper due to her dodgy sensitive stomach she suffers from. Guessing this is genetic as some of her siblings have this too. Although she's ok on Orijen, we started transitioning to Fromm at the recommendation of another breeder and it's so much better on her stomach (not as rich). Bad thing is it's def more expensive than Orijen which is already pricey. I know one of her siblings can only eat natural balance. Phoenix can eat whatever - she doesn't have the same issue - and is currently on Orijen Large breed.

[Katlin]

Fromm is an incredible food with tons of flavours and formulas, but wow is it ever expensive. I gave Wylie some Game Bird samples and he just about chewed my hand off, but a medium bag is $52 where as I pay $33 for my TOTW

[chelle784]

I wish that TOTW was ok for Pepper as it can get pricey especially as she eats up to 4 half - 5 cups a day which is more than the food guides say but as you can tell from photos she is still a skinny minnie.

[Hawthorne]

I wish that TOTW was ok for Pepper as it can get pricey especially as she eats up to 4 half - 5 cups a day which is more than the food guides say but as you can tell from photos she is still a skinny minnie.

As long as her movements are solid, that's how I would gauge if it was too much food or not.

[arianwenarie]

I wish that TOTW was ok for Pepper as it can get pricey especially as she eats up to 4 half - 5 cups a day which is more than the food guides say but as you can tell from photos she is still a skinny minnie.

As long as her movements are solid, that's how I would gauge if it was too much food or not.

Yep. And it is important to remember that the feeding guidelines are merely that - suggested feeding amounts. Use purina's dog body weight condition chart to gauge if your dog needs more or less food:http://www.woodhavenlabs.com/dogweight.html

[Katlin]

See I should be feeding Wylie 3-4 cups a day, he barely eats two. But he's never hungry after he's done and his BM's are solid...so I won't increase his food unless he needs it

[chelle784]

hmmm.. Maybe Pepper has a high metabolism or something as I'm sure she's only about 60/65lbs (smallest of her littermates!) so not big or anything. I just thought 4 half -5 was a lot considering it was a puppy food which I thought was more calorific and shes a year and a half. I shall have to see what will happen now she's transitioning to Fromm.

She used to have maybe 2 half cups a day or sometimes nothing. Since we go Phoenix she's started eating everything because she knows that if she doesn't eat it within 10minutes it will get picked up and put back in the box (in case Phoenix eats it).

[arianwenarie]

Since we go Phoenix she's started eating everything because she knows that if she doesn't eat it within 10minutes it will get picked up and put back in the box (in case Phoenix eats it).

This is a bit off topic, but I had to LOL about this portion. haha. That's one way to "encourage" a dog who picks at his/her food - introduce 'competition' (another dog). Just like kids...

[Katlin]

I disagree, that's a great way to start food aggression.

[Tana]

I think is nothing wrong with that, if you use it in right way. I use this "competition" with Tana. But I agree with Katlin, it's a fine line to possessiveness. Depends on the dog.

[chelle784]

I guess it depends on the dog. The reason Pepper eats it all now is because she will let Phoenix eat out of the same bowl as she's eating at the same time and Phoenix eats everything in 2 secs whereas Pepper is a slow eater. We can feed Phoenix in front of Pepper as Pepper will not try eat from her bowl we just can't do it the other way round as Pepper lets Phoenix eat from her bowl.

Pepper eats it all because there is no food aggression between the 2 of them. Pepper does not correct Phoenix when it comes to food (obv I'm glad there is no resource guarding/food aggression) Pepper has 10minutes then the gate that separates them gets taken up.

[arianwenarie]

I think is nothing wrong with that, if you use it in right way. I use this "competition" with Tana. But I agree with Katlin, it's a fine line to possessiveness. Depends on the dog.

I meant that more as a joke. Lol...it is unfortunate that technology has not advanced to where we can show readers our tone of voice. Hahaha.

Anyway, I agree with Tana - there's a fine line when it comes to this so tread carefully.

[chelle784]

Haha it did sound like a joke. I think Phoenix's presence, even though they are separated during feeding time, is enough to make her eat. She's a pushover when it comes to food but maybe it's also because she doesn't really care about it.

[Tana]

I think is nothing wrong with that, if you use it in right way. I use this "competition" with Tana. But I agree with Katlin, it's a fine line to possessiveness. Depends on the dog.

I meant that more as a joke. Lol...it is unfortunate that technology has not advanced to where we can show readers our tone of voice. Hahaha.

Lol. But they do act like kids, when they want one thing so badly and focus on it and then comes that "wow, ow ow" protesting sound lol... Tams are funny dogs

[Katlin]

lol I'm sorry. I kinda thought like "what now...?"

[arianwenarie]

lol I'm sorry. I kinda thought like "what now...?"

No worries, Katlin. I would have had the exact same reaction if I were in your shoes. Now, if someone said what I said to me in person, then I'd look at them as if they grew another 2 heads.

Anywho...back on topic, has anyone tried Canidae? I know that they don't guarantee their kibble is ethyxoquin free (fish formulas), but otherwise, I think it's fine. For anyone feeding Nature's Variety rabbit formulas - I'd recommend stop feeding this; the rabbit was sourced from China. Some people say they stopped about a month ago and are now sourcing from France, but there is no source for either of these tidbits of info. Either way, rather controversial to me, so I'd rather play it safe. (not that I feed kibble anymore.)

[Katlin]

I used to sell Canidae....I'd put in on par with Blue Buffalo. It's alright, but there are definitely better brands

[OUBraves17]

I have fed Kova Orijen since we got him, he absolutely loves it! However, it is very expensive, actually one of the most expensive of the brands in my experience. However, the specialty store we buy it froms says it is the best food they carry and they have a rewards program with it, for every 10 bags we buy, we get 1 free. We never had any problems with it and he has always had solid stools. My other dog, a Canaan, has been on Taste of the Wild for the past year. Kya (J&J tamaskan pup) is on taste of the wild puppy and she does fine on that. My favorite part about that is I can change the flavor of TOTW for Oakley every few months as he gets bored with certain kinds, also the price is a little easier to handle.

Chelle, maybe Kova inherited all the food drive. Even when he isn't feeling well, he has never once turned down food. We should have known though, if you look at the pictures when they are puppies, Kova always has his face in the food bowl

[chelle784]

I have fed Kova Orijen since we got him, he absolutely loves it! However, it is very expensive, actually one of the most expensive of the brands in my experience. However, the specialty store we buy it froms says it is the best food they carry and they have a rewards program with it, for every 10 bags we buy, we get 1 free. We never had any problems with it and he has always had solid stools. My other dog, a Canaan, has been on Taste of the Wild for the past year. Kya (J&J tamaskan pup) is on taste of the wild puppy and she does fine on that. My favorite part about that is I can change the flavor of TOTW for Oakley every few months as he gets bored with certain kinds, also the price is a little easier to handle.

Chelle, maybe Kova inherited all the food drive. Even when he isn't feeling well, he has never once turned down food. We should have known though, if you look at the pictures when they are puppies, Kova always has his face in the food bowl

lol I wish Pepper had a food drive like Kova! I'm constantly trying to fatten her up. Global pet foods do that too - free bag for every 10. We usually buy Orijen from there. Orijen was fine with Pepper but we needed to transition her from it because it was the pup food and we bought a Fromm brand that was fine for pups and adults. Pepper's sensitive stomach usually flares up if she eats something she shouldnt. Once she ate part of her monkey (soft toy monkey) and she puked and diarrhead everywhere. Not just soft stool it was brown water. Sorry too much info. Acana also did this to her as a pup. Orijen 6 fish was also fine but it made her pee and poop smell of fish... I would def recommend Orijen though - it's just a bit too rich for Pepper with the exception of the pup food which she can't be on forever. It's also about $10 cheaper per bag than Fromm which can add up.

[chelle784]

Oh also does anyone know the reason for this and I'm sorry for the gross subject - so both Phoenix and Pepper used to be on Orijen large breed. Pepper pooped once- twice a day (7am and 11pm) and Phoenix 2-3 times a day at the same times but one at lunch (she eats 3 times a day). Now they have fully transitioned onto Fromm and have been on this for a few weeks. They poop the same amount of times and they are eating the same amount (no weight changes for Pepper or anything) but the size of their poops is significantly smaller for both of them. Anyone know why and is this bad? Everything is solid.

[Katlin]

No it's good, it means they are using more nutrients from that food. If you look at raw food poops they are teeny tiny.

[chelle784]

oohh ok

[arianwenarie]

Oh also does anyone know the reason for this and I'm sorry for the gross subject - so both Phoenix and Pepper used to be on Orijen large breed. Pepper pooped once- twice a day (7am and 11pm) and Phoenix 2-3 times a day at the same times but one at lunch (she eats 3 times a day). Now they have fully transitioned onto Fromm and have been on this for a few weeks. They poop the same amount of times and they are eating the same amount (no weight changes for Pepper or anything) but the size of their poops is significantly smaller for both of them. Anyone know why and is this bad? Everything is solid.

I echo what Kaitlin said. Ever since I switched Abby to raw, I frequently talk about poo in the raw feeding forums. It's a norm, apparently. LOL. There's even a thread with pictures..but I'll spare you the graphic details.