Anyone Experienced With Orijen Large Breed Puppy ? - Page 1

I have a 12 week old working line GSD that started on Orijen Large Breed Puppy formula last week. When we were at the vets this evening the he told us about three Shiloh shepherds that developed skeletal problems in thier front limbs whilst on Orijen Large Breed puppy. These dogs were subsequently taken off the formula & the problems in the front limbs resolved themselves in  two of the three pups. The third has to have surgery for his issue.

Has anyone raised a GSD pup using this formula? What has been your experience with it?

Thanking everyone for thier input in advance!

My GSD pup was on Orijen from 16 weeks till a year old never a problem aways healthy.  But I also fed him raw and supplemented with Canine Complete.     This is the first I have heard of any pup with a problem on Orijen.

I blend Orijen large breed puppy with WolfCub 50/50. Orijen is pretty high protein, so I like to offset it a bit. Our pup looks just fine. Shilos are pretty gigantic dogs, I'm not surprised to hear about bone problems regardless of what they eat.

My Beckett was raised on Orijen, and my pups are on it as well, we haven't had any problems, in fact, some of Beckett's problems,(panno, a touch of demodex), resolved on the Orijen. I think, as KCzaja said, those Shiloh pups were probably going to have those problems anyway, folks,(esp. vets), are quick to blame the feed. And each pup is an individual, what works for one might not for another. jackie harris

Thanks everyone for you input. With the Shilohs they were probably going to have issues regardless of the food due to thier abnoramlly large size. My pup is a working line GSD & subsequently within the standard. I may, however, start to do a 50/ 50 mix with another food.

If anyone has more expereinces to share about Orijen Large Breed & thier GSD pups I would be interested in hearing from you.

Thanks again.

Dear cornerboy,
I have been feeding Orijen for the last 2 years. Here are my findings:

1) Orijen large breed puppy is not 100% safe to use in puppies due the the high amount of protein it includes. In most of the cases we faced very fast development and skeletal growth which is not good for gsd pups. In some of the cases we had skeletal & bone issues (limping). In a couple of them the problem was not revesible and we had to go into surgery. In most of the the issues resolved with anti-inflammatory drugs and a switch to Acana large breed puppy. We now feed our puppies from 1 1/2 months onwards as follows: 1 sack Orijen (13,5 kg) followed by 2 sacks of Acana (2x15kg). We have not faced any problems ever since. Conclusively, Orijen Large Breed Puppy may cause problems in puppies with a genetic predisposition to grow big so, it should be administered with care and mixed with another kibble of lower protein.

2) Regarding Orijen Adult have no fear. All of our dogs thrive on it. Never any problems. It is the best dog food in our breeding experience after having gone through major brands (Purina ProPlan, Hill's, Techni-Cal, Eukanuba, Royal Canin).

3) Please note that the other dry kibble that Champion Pet Foods (the manufacturer of Orijen) is producing, namely ACANA is going to upgrade by producing completely grain-free dry kibble but with lower protein. It is worth trying as soon as in comes in the market.

Best of Luck.

Thank you for your observations Petros. This is what I like about this board. You have a problem & usually there are a number of people out there who can help you. I am going to shift to a 50/ 50 mix of Orijen & something else or a 1/3 Orijen & 2/3 some other regular type formula.   Best  to steer on the side of caution for sure.

The Great Dane Lady has some interesting info regarding the feeding of large/ giant breeds on her website. 

www.greatdanelady.com

She recommends Eagle Pack large / giant breed puppy formula.

Thanks again!