Orijen? Or better? You decide!
 

I am getting a new puppy from Theishof this spring and it is now time to start researching what the best food is for my new addition. I may do some raw feeding but I am still leaning toward dry food. I have narrowed it down to Orijen because I can buy it locally. Do you think this is the best I can do for my girl or would you suggest something else? Please back up your response. Thanks

you can always add some fresh meat, chicken, certain fruit,
salmon oil (human grade), organic yogurt, raw egg, fish (if canned,
in water no salt added), etc. i also use can food as a topping.

Orijen is the best kibble on the market, IMO. They are now coming out with a freeze-dried food with is pretty exciting.

I agree, if going with kibble Orijen would be my top pick. The only reason I wasn't using that when I was feeding kibble was my dog had allergies.

We were feeding Orijen, never had any 'issue' per say, but decided to switch the food to Merrick and my dogs are doing much better on it. I like Orijen, but LOVE Merrick. Price point is slightly cheaper and overall health has improved!

My dogs are doing well on Orijen but I'm getting ready to try them on Fromm, made in the good ol' USA, slightly cheaper price point and never had a recall(so far *crossed fingers*)... It's just harder to find in stores, only one store near me carries it but it is pretty easy to get online too.

If I ever find the Orijen freeze dried in stores though, going to jump on that! :) Well unless the cost is as ridiculous as that Stella and Chewy's freeze dried which is basically one 30 dollar bag every day for a large dog. O.o

I don't feed Orijen to a new puppy - are you talking about food for a puppy (if so this can be moved to that forum) or when your dog is an adult?

"You decide" - your dog may decide - some thrive on it others don't. I think it is a good food with great marketing, but nothing is magical about it. What is best for your own dog is what works best for them. I tried Orijen for several months and did not find it sat well with my own dogs.

I think even the puppy formula is higher in calcium than I would feed, though. I feed a different food but I did not feed the adult food I am now using to my puppy either even though it is labeled all life stages.

I tried my pup on Origen when I first brought him home. It was too rich for him and he had soft stool. Then I switched him to Fromm Gold. He did well on that but was not enthusiastic about eating it. Now I am mixing the Origen and Fromm together and he is doing great.

Thanks for the feedback. I guess I have not thought that one may agree with my dog more than another. Also, I just assumed that there would be a puppy formula in the brand's line that would work. Someone suggested it may have too much calcium in it. I guess this needs to be a two part question then. What to feed my puppy and then what to feed my adult? I will look into a couple of options in case one doesn't work with my dog too. DoggieDad, its a great idea to add some raw to the kibble. Do you think this is okay for a puppy? Is there a guide to how much I should feed or do you basically just base it off your dog maintaining a healthy weight? I have had Labs in the past so you I am used to really having to watch the amount of food my dogs eat. I am not sure if GSDs have that kind of appetite or not is why I ask. Do you not have to worry about Salmonella and other things like it with the raw food? Thanks again for any feedback. This forum has been a great resource!