Wellness vs. Orijen?

21480 Views 41 Replies 23 Participants Last post by Vertigo75, Jan 17, 2009

kbigge

Discussion Starter · Jul 18, 2008

I have been feeding Kodee Orijen Adult dog food since he was 5 mos old. He has done great on it. I got a lot of opinions on this food before settling on it for his "main" diet. He also gets THK Force and raw chicken (on the bone) about 2x/week.

I am almost out of Orijen, and since I have to order it, I picked up some Wellness Adult dog food today. It's grain-free like the Orijen. I just got a small bag to tide us over til his Orijen gets here (haven't ordered it yet). But, it seems like Kodee may like the Wellness better. He has liked the Orijen more than anything he's had so far, but when I gave him Wellness for the first time, he loved it.

So, I just wanted opinions on whether Wellness is as good as, or better than, Orijen, or not. Please give me your opinions...thanks!

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BlackGSD

· #2 · Jul 18, 2008

You must be talking about Wellness CORE?

One thing about the Wellness is that it is a fair amount lower in protien. I'm not saying this is good or bad, just making an observation.

kbigge

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jul 18, 2008

Yep, sorry - I did mean Wellness Core.

jdp2134

· #4 · Jul 18, 2008

hmmm idk what is better per se. Like a lot of people always say dont fix what aint broke or is your hang up having to order evertime? To me thats not that big of a deal if he is doing well on it and likes it to go ahead and plan a little bit and order it. JMO

BlackGSD

· #5 · Jul 18, 2008

Personally if it was me and he ate the Wellness (and did well on it) and I was able to buy it locally vs. having to order Orijen, I would go with the Wellness.

BUT, this is coming from someone that MUST be able to drive to get kibble because UPS can NOT be relied on here.

There were several times last winter when we didn't have UPS service NOR did we even have U.S. postal service because of the weather closing the highway so the trucks couldn't get here.

jdp2134

· #6 · Jul 18, 2008

but just because he likes it doesnt mean he will do well on it JMO.

roxy84

· #7 · Jul 18, 2008

my answer would be that a 5 month old gsd should eat neither of these foods. here are some Q & A's from the wellness website. there is plenty of research to substantiate the claims made here. you know wellness would love to sell as much of the core as ppossible-yet they still warn against it. at least Orijen Large Breed Puppy comes close to the desired levels.

[i<u>] Why is CORE Dog listed as appropriate for maintenance but CORE Cat is listed as all life-stages including cats and kittens?</u>

We feel very strongly about providing only proven nutrition to your dog. Research has shown that large breed puppies should not be fed a diet that is over 1.3 – 1.5% Calcium or they run a significant risk of developing bone abnormalities. If we listed our CORE Dog diets as suitable for all life stages, we would be irresponsible – knowing inevitably that large breed puppies may be fed these diets (by no fault of their loving owners). In contrast with the CORE Cat diet, there is no supporting evidence that kittens suffer any bone abnormalities from higher calcium levels. We still strived to maintain low mineral content in CORE Cat diet to reduce the occurrence of FLUTD.

<u>Why are these diets only for dogs over 1 year of age? </u>

We care about dogs and their healthful growth. This is one way that we may ensure that large breed puppies do not eat this food. Large and giant breed dogs have special requirements during their growth phase and our mineral levels are higher than these dogs should have.

<u> I have heard that some of these high protein diets can’t be fed to large breed puppies. Why? </u>

Research has shown that large breed puppies should not be fed a diet that is over 1.3 – 1.5% Calcium or they run a significant risk of developing bone abnormalities. Many of the high protein diets on the market today are well in excess of 1.5% Calcium. We do not recommend any large breed puppies be fed our CORE dog diets, or any of the other high protein diets on the market today. In fact, we would conservatively say that puppies in general should not feed higher protein diets that exceed 1.5% Calcium. Again, this is why we feature a maintenance claim and promote the diet for dogs over 1 year in age [/i]

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roxy84

· #8 · Jul 18, 2008

sorry, i should read better at 6 am.

since you said "since he was 5 months old", he may well be over 1 yr old, in which case i very much like both the orijen and wellness core. my senior is the only dog i have who has been exposed to both of these, and he has thrived on both of them. i think both are terrific and plan to rotate them.

one more note, if you ever want to feed a fish based formula, the orijen fish (at least where i live) is 50% more costly than the adult ($88 for a 29 lb bag

, whereas the core ocean isnt too much higher than the core original.

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kbigge

Discussion Starter · #9 · Jul 18, 2008

Thanks, peeps. I meant to say that he is over a year old now. I did read pros/cons of feeding adult food vs. puppy when he was younger, and decided to feed adult.

Anyway, today I was thinking the same thing you suggested, Roxy, which is to rotate them. I don't know what I was thinking - it's probably better for him to rotate now and then and not feed the same thing all the time.

Also, thanks for mentioning the fish formula. I have bought the Orijen Fish formula once, and he did great on it, but it is expensive! I might rotate a small bag of the Wellness Ocean formula in every now and then - if I can stand the smell of his breath!

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BlackGSD

· #10 · Jul 18, 2008

Originally Posted By: roxy84
one more note, if you ever want to feed a fish based formula, the orijen fish (at least where i live) is 50% more costly than the adult ($88 for a 29 lb bag , whereas the core ocean isnt too much higher than the core original.

Good grief! Have you looked into how much shippng would be?

I don't have either one available here so I looked on Petfooddirect and the Orijen fish is $66.99 on there for the big bag. (Which is $13 more than the "regular" Orijen.)

(CORE fish is $10 more than the "regular on the same site.)

roxy84

· #11 · Jul 18, 2008

id pay $70 for a 29 lb bag of orijen fish, but that would be my limit. im assuming that price does not onclude shipping?? ill check it out later when i have a chance.

BlackGSD

· #12 · Jul 18, 2008

Originally Posted By: roxy84id pay $70 for a 29 lb bag of orijen fish, but that would be my limit. im assuming that price does not onclude shipping?? ill check it out later when i have a chance.

No that doesn't include shipping. I don't know what shipping would be to you, but shipping to ME would be TERRIBLE. In order to have a 29lb bag of the Orijen Fish shipped to me it would cost a total of $94.58.

(That is for the food and shipping. Shipping to me is $27.59)

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larrydee33

· #13 · Jul 18, 2008

Orijen is worth every penny you send for it.

mikaK9

· #14 · Jul 19, 2008

A few of the good kibble sites offer free shipping....I think you have to be spending $50, or something like that - there is a minimum, but if you reach it, no cost for shipping. In fact, I've read some posts on here where people find the cost to be the same as if they bought it in a store.

BlackGSD

· #15 · Jul 19, 2008

Originally Posted By: mikaK9A few of the good kibble sites offer free shipping....I think you have to be spending $50, or something like that - there is a minimum, but if you reach it, no cost for shipping. In fact, I've read some posts on here where people find the cost to be the same as if they bought it in a store.

Which sites?

kbigge

Discussion Starter · #16 · Jul 19, 2008

I order my Orijen from http://www.k9cuisine.com - They offer free shipping on orders over $50.00, but of course, the shipping cost is included in the cost of the food.

A bag of Orijen Adult 29.7 lb from Amazon.com, for example, is "only" $51.29, but once you add the shipping charge to it, it is more expensive than a bag of the same food from k9cuisine.com, which is $64.99, with "free" shipping.

The other thing I like about k9cuisine.com is that they are really quick - my orders have almost always shipped the same day I ordered them.

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Cooper&me

· #17 · Jul 19, 2008

I also like K9 cusine. Extremely quick.

XPistolX

· #18 · Jul 19, 2008

I have to order Orijen also. This month I ordered two 29.7 lb bags and with shipping it cost about $120.00 but they

up and sent me four 29.7 lb bags so I got 2 bags free YAY!

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roxy84

· #19 · Jul 19, 2008

k9 cuisine doesnt seem to sell the orijen fish, which is the only one that is priced exorbitantly locally. however, its probably gonna be just as high online. ill keep searching.

Spiritsmam

· #20 · Jul 19, 2008

WOW - I can't believe how much food is where you guys are. I bought a 30lb bag of Natures Variety, Prairie today and I thought it was expensive at $39.

I was feeding my guys Wellness Core, which they all loved and did great on (in fact too great - all are now on reduced rations as they have become a tad on the pudgy side!). After researching "cancer diets" (Duncan has MCT abd a sarcoma), I switched them to Natures Variety Prairie (chicken) which they also all love and are doing well on. Personally, I try not to get hung up on which food may be better than another - if it is a quality diet and my pups like it and do well on it then I'm happy.

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