Canidae or Orijen Large Breed Puppy

[gmo1379]

Hi, I'm currently feeding my 4 month old Canidae ALS. She's doing "ok" on it, she gets eye gunk - still has mostly soft but formed stools - and poops 4 times a day.

I've been reading up a little bit and was thinking about trying out Orijen Large Breed Puppy food. My only concern is the protein content (42%).

I've read that to much protein for a large breed puppy can lead to future bone/skeletal problems, is this true? The last thing I'd want to do is possibly assist in her getting HD.

Why would they make this food if it was going to hurt the dog later in life?

thanks a bunch!

[sweetlee]

Most of our breeders here don't recommend using the puppy or large breed foods. If you do a search on puppy food you will probably find the reasons why.
A good adult food should do fine.
If the ALS is disagreeing with your baby, you may need to switch to something new.
Make sure you are not feeding too much, which will cause mushy stools.
Where did you get your puppy? You should be able to call your breeder and ask what they were feeding and how the puppy was doing on it.
Just remember if you decide to switch foods do it slowly to avoid digestive upset.
I am sure that some of our more experienced members will be along soon to help you out.

Sharon

[brunie's mom]

If the Canidae is giving your pup problems then try the Orijen Large Breed Puppy.
I usually do not recommend Large Breed foods....but with Orijen....it's the calciums/phosphorus ratio that is important....and the Adult is too high for a growing puppy.

The high protein is fine (think about a raw diet)....but the balance of calcium/phosphorus should be close to 1:1 for growing large breed puppies.

We've had a few members raise their puppies on Orijen and they've been very happy with the results.

There is a big difference in price also....but if cost does not matter go for the Orijen.

Gina

[onyxvontitan]

Orijen is definetly a great food my boy is going through his fourth bag of it and is doing real good on it. nice shinny coat and lean and muscular

[gmo1379]

Originally Posted by onyxvontitan

Orijen is definetly a great food my boy is going through his fourth bag of it and is doing real good on it. nice shinny coat and lean and muscular

very nice, how old is he? are you feeding him the large breed puppy?

[mamamia1]

I'm having about the same experience with Canidae, which is what my breeder recommended. Not the worst, [her coat is nice, she gets eye boogers and poops 4 times/day while I only feed her 3 cups at meals and another 1/2 cup for training at 5 months 43 lbs.] but you gotta wonder if there isn't something better out there. The whole concept of grain free makes sense. I am definitely going to be following this thread and would love to her some more people's experience with Orijen. I wish I had the patience/organizational skills to feed RAW, but sometime I have a hard time keeping food in the house for us.

[Maxxx]

I've been feeding Max the Orijen Large Breed Puppy for about 4-5 months now. He was originally on Canidae ALS and had some major eye goobies. It's been going great. Thanks to Gina for recommending cutting down his servings his poops are a lot firmer than on the Canidae.

We're constantly complimented on his coat. It's so shiny, I can't take photos in the sun and he's lean and developing muscle very nicely. We've kept his growth slow and have nothing but nice things to say about the Orijen.

I've been mixing in some raw over the past 2 weeks and I think I've found a good serving size for him. You don't need to make the raw yourself, you can buy it pre-done and frozen and just thaw it when you're ready to use it. It's more expensive, but it saves a lot of time.

[gmo1379]

Originally Posted by Maxxx

I've been feeding Max the Orijen Large Breed Puppy for about 4-5 months now. He was originally on Canidae ALS and had some major eye goobies. It's been going great. Thanks to Gina for recommending cutting down his servings his poops are a lot firmer than on the Canidae.

Thanks for the info!

How old is Max? When were you planning to switch him to Orijen Adult?

[mamamia1]

How much are you feeding? The bag directions seem to be an awful lot of food, and are based on adult weight. How am I supposed to know what my pups adult weight is? I can make an educated guess, but there's still quite a range.

[gmo1379]

Originally Posted by mamamia1

How much are you feeding? The bag directions seem to be an awful lot of food, and are based on adult weight. How am I supposed to know what my pups adult weight is? I can make an educated guess, but there's still quite a range.

Based on the calories (483/cup), I would feed your pup 3 to 3 1/2 cups per day.

[mamamia1]

Originally Posted by gmo1379

Based on the calories (483/cup), I would feed your pup 3 to 3 1/2 cups per day.

Thanks. That seems about right. I've picked up a bag of the Orijen Large breed puppy and will begin mixing it in when my bag of Canidae starts to get low. I've read lots of great things and we have a holistic vet here who suggests it all the time.

[Maxxx]

Originally Posted by gmo1379

Thanks for the info!

How old is Max? When were you planning to switch him to Orijen Adult?

Max is 10 months old. I'll switch him sometime after a year old. I haven't really made a firm decision as to when yet since I'm still toying with the idea to switch him completely to raw.

Originally Posted by mamamia1

How much are you feeding? The bag directions seem to be an awful lot of food, and are based on adult weight. How am I supposed to know what my pups adult weight is? I can make an educated guess, but there's still quite a range.

I also made the wrong decision to feed him the amount recommended on the bag. I also thought it was weird to guestimate adult weight in order to get the right portion. I feed Max 1 3/4 cups, twice a day. He's pretty active though.

[onyxvontitan]

Originally Posted by gmo1379

very nice, how old is he? are you feeding him the large breed puppy?

he is 10 months now and yes it is the large breed puppy. it is kinda expensive but it seems to last alittle more than a month. he is unerweight for some people, because he is about 90lbs when people say at 10 months they sould be 100, but like I said there is not much fat on him.

[psychosid77]

Originally Posted by Maxxx

Max is 10 months old. I'll switch him sometime after a year old. I haven't really made a firm decision as to when yet since I'm still toying with the idea to switch him completely to raw.



I also made the wrong decision to feed him the amount recommended on the bag. I also thought it was weird to guestimate adult weight in order to get the right portion. I feed Max 1 3/4 cups, twice a day. He's pretty active though.

so you are leaving max on the large breed puppy till after a year then........

[OnyxGold1]

We have our litters start on the Orijen L/B Puppy at about 4 weeks.....(softened up of course with warm water) and have had great results. All of our adults get the regular Orijen adult....the puppy that I kept from my last litter~~Chili~~ I was initially feeding her about 1 cup of food three times/day up until about 5 months.....then she dropped to two feedings of 1 1/2-1 3/4 cups twice a day.....until she was about 10.5 months.....I noticed then that her growth had slowed in terms of height and that she appeared to be putting the food elsewhere......so at that point I switched her over to adult Orijen and kept her at 1.5cups twice / day. I have 160acres so exercise isn't an issue.....right now...she's three weeks shy of her 1st BDAY and she is 24" on the nose and varies a bit between 85-90lbs.

When to switch will really vary from dog to dog tho.......most of my girls I can easily switch to adult between 10-12 months.....however my one token neutered boy....omg....he was on puppy food until he was nearly 2.....being as how he was a tall string bean until then

Heather Peters