I would like to know if any breeders are using Orijen dog food for their puppies and adult dog's? I read that it was awarded best dog food of the year. Also it is rated a top level 6 on the dog food analysis web site. I would like to know what everyone thinks of this food.

Two years, 4 litters of 2 breeds. LOVE IT! Just had girls wean pups, their coats are amazing! Pups are thriving. Love the stuff.

only good reviews from here too.

I have raised three litters on Orijen .....no problems......love it !! I have managed to keep all of my puppy families feeding it also. I send them home with a small bag and at least two stores in their area that sell it (send a mapquest directions from their home to the store) !!

Do you feed the regular puppy, or the large breed puppy to a litter?

This litter I have now is the first that we have raised completely on the Orijen from the time their mother was in whelp. I used the regular Puppy at first then I switched to the Large Breed for them. I switched to Orijen almost 2 years ago and I had puppies then but they were switched onto Orijen after they were about 3 months.
I am very happy with the growth rates on this litter, they are growing very evenly. I start the puppies on pureed kibble at 3 weeks after a few days of Goats milk formula and baby rice ,then slowly add in the kibble. This is the first time that we noticed the puppies stools were formed from the get go, not soft and no mushy poos either. My girl Morey had plenty of milk and her condition looked fabulous even through nursing, she looked so good after the litter that you would not have guessed she'd had puppies, her coat stayed in until the puppies were 4 months old and then shed, but not a huge shed like they do most times after a litter.
All in all I am thrilled with the results for feeding it everyone.

Could you please give the link to the dog food analysis web site? Thanks!

Its generally here, but appears to be down for maintenance.

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showcat.php/cat/8

I have decided to switch my seniors to Orijen Senior. I went to a specialty store to purchase it but the senior bags were not packaged like the puppy or the adult. They appeared to be very hard packed almost like a vacuum pack not loose. I asked the store manager about the difference and he said that it was vacuum packed. Why would they vacuum pack only the senior food? Has anyone else found this to be true or could there be a problem with these particular senior bags? I have emailed Orijen customer service but have not heard back yet.

All my Orijen (Puppy, Regular and 6 fish) has come in vacuum sealed bags. I've been feeding it for 2 years now and have never had a bag that didn't hiss when I first opened it. Sure wish they'd put the resealable tabs on the big bags though.....

Sharon,on the Senior bags, you could actually see the shape of the kibble in the bag, could not move the kibble around at all, it was packed so tight that the kibble was like a hard clump. You could drop the bag on the floor and the kibble did not break up at all because the bag was so tight around it. Almost like the seal a meal kitchen bags where all the air was removed and the bag takes the shape of the food. I don't know if when you open the bag and peel it away from the food if you could then break apart the individual kibble pieces. There was no sign of the bag being in water. All the Senior bags were this way. The other kibble was loose in a vacuum bag just like most kibble products almost like potato chips are packaged.

That's how mine always comes...bags feel almost hard and it's difficult to move anything around until you open the bag.

You might want to buy a small bag of the senior and check it out, but what you describe sounds normal to me. Occasionally I'll get a bag that seems a little looser, but it's the exception.

Thanks, Sharon. I can't wait to get them started on it. I have heard and read so many great things about Orijen. I currently have them on NV Prairie but want to switch to grainless. They did well on it but lately their coat was lackluster, white flakes and alot of shedding. I considered going with NV Instinct but I really liked the ingredients in the Orijen a little better the NV Instinct. The closest store that carries it is a 50 mile round trip but I found an online store that actually sells it cheaper including shipping. I'll introduce them very gradually to the grain free, probably over a two week period.

I am looking into possibly changing foods and I was wondering what some of you are paying for the Adult food and the bag size. There are a couple of places in my area that carry it and I want to compare prices.

Sounds like most people are very happy with this food. Any concern about the high protein percentage for puppies?

I pay $65 per bag, and the store I get it from doesn't charge me tax (I'm in Ontario at 13%).

If I buy 6 at once, I get 1 free. So for me, its cheaper than ProPlan.

Any studies done on feeding this type of diet long term?
How long have grain free foods with such high protein been on the market?

We get the same free bag but also get a cut in price/bag if we buy 6+ at one time. Usual price for big bag is $58. We're in the same province as the company so that helps with the price I think. As for the protein question, I'm more concerned about high calcium than the protein. We've been feeding it for over 3 years and I know breeders/friends who've used it longer than that for all their dogs/litters with no problems. JMO

We've used this food for adults and litters for almost 4 years now, with zero problems. We use the all-breed puppy to wean onto, and grow out on. No ortho problems yet, nor do we expect any.

The company (Champion Pet Foods )that manufactures Orijen also has other food lines; the Acana brand is still grain free, but has a slightly lower protein level (low 30's in various formulas - 60% meat, 40% botanicals) for those of you who are leery of the higher (40 plus - 70% meat, 30% botanicals) levels of the Orijen brand.

The bags I get of the adult and the LB puppy are vacuumed sealed like Sharon describes.

I pay $58.99 (-10%) for the adult and $59.99 (-10%) for pup plus shipping.

www.heartypet.com gives breeders a 10% discount and will extend this discount to your puppy buyers.

They also keep track of your purchases and when you buy #6 they put thru the free bag for you.

Great small company to deal with.

I was going to ask something similar. Their Large Breed puppy is 42% protein. That's a frightening, high amount for a pup isn't it?

This would combine well with the other posting about protein & calcium.