Orijen= diarrhea? Help! (BlackLabbie)

This dosn't sound good.I know when we were trying to get a grip on our Dudleys diarrhea from the time he was 4 1/2 months on,we tried everything the vet suggested,in the expensive foods,and they were worse on him than the cheaper ones.We found the science diet(chicken) to be the easiest on his tummy,and Hes been on it a good long time now,and we wouldn't ever try anything new now.Of course he has bowel disease and takes immoudium twice a day to avoid the poopies.

Sorry I couldn't be of help,but someone in here probobly can.

May sound weird but when switching, my dogs have always done better with a cold switch, or a cold switch to bland diet and then onto the new food, rather than a slow switch with the old and new food.

 It doesn't sound great but may take more of an adjustment or it just isn't the right thing for Apollo.  Bugsy definitely needs less Orjen (Fish as well) than other foods but his 1 yr old boxer buddy is eating a ton of the regular Orjen, initially had awful gas and soft poop.  When I last talked to his owner she was getting better results with it and the stinkiness was gone.

Bugsy's poop on Orjen is non-stinky and compact.

It may be transitional for Apollo as the food he was on was much lower protein, had grains and was formulated to be mild.

I sure hope they are feeling better soon!!!!!!!!!!!! Belly rubs for all the fur kids 

kpwlee

I sure hope they are feeling better soon!!!!!!!!!!!! Belly rubs for all the fur kids 

Me too! This morning, around 3:00am, I woke up from the SMELL....I thought one of the pups pooped in the house, but after investigating I realized, nope, it was just gas, ugh, ew....

 So, to delve a little more into grossness, when  you say Diarrhea, do you mean, they all have serious, gotta get to the bathroom right this very second, watery, recurring can't control it diarrhea?  Or is it more, normal time to poop, but not formed mushy to puddle type of poop, that is regular colour and rather consitant, as in no water...k, I just grossed myself out there. 

The first would have me more worried than the second.  Especially if it were all 3 dogs.  Could be a bad bag, though I haven't heard of any issues with Orijen before.  You never know though, could have been a bag that had a tear in it, and sat in the sun through transit or something stupid.  The second, could be more a process of detoxing their systems.  When I switched mine to raw, we had horrid gas for about a week.  Nearly quit, but all of a sudden I noticed it was gone, and I was getting hard little poops that turned white and dissapeared just like everyone told me they would!  I find it unlikely that all 3 dogs would do badly on the food though, so I'd try to give it a little more time.

As for the desparate hunger, try some cut green beans for a bit to fill him up while his belly adjusts.  I just put my dogs back on kibble for budget reasons and they were in the beginning, insane about feeding time.  Whining at the freezer(where I keep the food) hours before mealtime.  Tossing bowls around the kitchen if I forgot to pick them up.  But they've settled down now that their adjusted again.  I think their minds are fixated on how long they eat, or how much they chew.  So since worrying off frozen chunks of chicken flesh took longer than eating a bowl of kibble, the thought they were getting more.  They've both gained weight...

huskymom

 So, to delve a little more into grossness, when  you say Diarrhea, do you mean, they all have serious, gotta get to the bathroom right this very second, watery, recurring can't control it diarrhea?  Or is it more, normal time to poop, but not formed mushy to puddle type of poop, that is regular colour and rather consitant, as in no water...k, I just grossed myself out there. 

Since switching Molson pooped in the house once when nobody was home (he's never pooped inside before). It was the "can't control it diarrhea"; little spots everywhere and one big puddle *gag*. All 3 of them have watery, runny poops at normal poop times, and they have gas when they poop (I know, TMI, lol).

Also, Patty stopped pooping at night; she only goes 1x in the morning, sometimes she goes in the afternoon, and never poops at night anymore.

Yikes, I know that smell! 

This sounds like it is not workng for them. If it were me I'd take them right off of it and put them back on their previous foods or something similar.

Good luck :)

How long has it been since you switched?

And another question. Just looked it up, thinking about switching Joker to it, is it really $86 for a 30lb bag?!! I think Joker would do great on this but the price hurts to look at!

This sounds an awful lot like overfeeding. Believe it or not, in spite of the trash diving and apparent weight loss. Loose stools will cause water weight loss, and when food moves too quickly through the system, minerals aren't absorbed properly and the dog craves oddball things. My dogs eat anywhere from HALF to a QUARTER of the serving of Orijen recommended on the bag. And they are very active. I think orijen shoots themselves in the foot putting those recommendations on the bag. I hear so often that people have trouble because it is "too rich." if anything it is not nutrient dense enough in the sense that some of my dogs eat so little of it that they were only getting about a third of some vital minerals and vitamins they needed! Try cutting it in half for a few days, then if you sense they are truly dropping condition add back food a little at a time until the weight stabilizes. If the soft stools do not stop after just a day or so of cut rations then you can assume it is either a bug or general food intolerance in your pack.

Becca, about how much do you think I should feed? Patty is 22lbs, Molson is about 24lbs- they're pretty inactive (they go for a walk 3x a day, maybe to the park 1-3x per week). Apollo is 95lbs, very active (runs w/ me 4 miles 5 days a week, swims, goes to the park 7 days a week, etc).

kle1986

How long has it been since you switched? 

About 2 months.

kle1986

And another question. Just looked it up, thinking about switching Joker to it, is it really $86 for a 30lb bag?!! I think Joker would do great on this but the price hurts to look at!

Yeah, I know what you mean! My dogs eat better than my DH and I, lol.

BlackLabbie

kle1986

And another question. Just looked it up, thinking about switching Joker to it, is it really $86 for a 30lb bag?!! I think Joker would do great on this but the price hurts to look at!

Yeah, I know what you mean! My dogs eat better than my DH and I, lol.

Yep, that's what I pay.  A 30 lb bag lasts me about a month or so for my two dogs.  Got one on its way to me as we speak, actually.  To me it's worth the extra cost, because it's such a great food and both my dogs are thriving on it.  The regular adult formula is about $10 less than the 6 Fresh Fish, if that helps, Kim.  And, from k9cuisine...free shipping!

After about the first month of switching, Harry dropped the 6 pounds he needed to lose (yay!).  They both had slightly loose stools for the first week or so (after a slow transition from NB to Orijen), but after that, they both have excellent stools.

BF says the same thing about them eating better than we do, lol.

If it helps, Stephanie, Harry and Sammy weigh 60 lbs and 56 lbs respectively, and they each get 2.5 cups a day of Orijen.  The bag's recommendation is higher.  Oh, and I had to do some math, too, because the dogs' weight on the bags are listed in kg, not pounds, lol!

Just forwarded this to the boxer pup's owner as it sounds as if the overfeeding potential is there too!

It is very pricey but there are various online dealers now - sitstay, hearty pet, petfooddirect - dang can't remember the other one someone sent me - but there are some decent prices around. I found a local place and the price is cheaper than K9cuisine. Look around and you can save some $$

Bugsy is about 105lbs and on normal activity gets 3.5 - 4 cups - now with his 'resting' lifestyle he is getting 3-3.5 with green beans

kpwlee

Bugsy is about 105lbs and on normal activity gets 3.5 - 4 cups - now with his 'resting' lifestyle he is getting 3-3.5 with green beans

Hmmmm.....do you think I should cut back Apollo to 3 cups a day?

Anybody have an advice on how much to feed P&M? 1/2 cup per day?

I feel so lost! Whaaaaaaaaaa