# Orijen and Weight Loss



## shamykebab (Jul 15, 2009)

Does anyone else have a dog that loses weight with Orijen? I've recently moved my dogs onto it (having previously fed them Vitalin) but I've noticed my youngest Lab has lost a lot of weight. When standing still some of her ribs are visible, as is her spine. 

She's just turned a year old and is very active to the point of being hyper. I feed her the same amount as my other Lab (2 yrs old), who in height is a lot bigger than the youngster. I haven't noticed much weight loss with the other Lab and they both get the same exercise daily (the other dog is actually getting more at the moment as the youngster is in season) - normally training in the morning and then an off-lead walk of an hour or more in the evening. She still has a healthy appetite (what Lab doesn't!) but if I feed her more her stools become loose. 

Her training has increased over the last few weeks, which is why I'm feeding her the same quantity as the larger dog. Is Orijen nutritionally insufficient for her? :confused1:


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## luvmydogs (Dec 30, 2009)

Some dogs just need more food than others. I have an English Shepherd bitch who eats exactly twice as much as my other ones - and she is the same weight.


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## Lyceum (Sep 25, 2009)

Yeah, I had my two on it and Novak looked underweight, but if I upped his daily amount he got an upset tum. Had to change food in the end.


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## LucyJ (Jul 3, 2008)

luvmydogs said:


> Some dogs just need more food than others. I have an English Shepherd bitch who eats exactly twice as much as my other ones - and she is the same weight.


I agree, one of my dogs, 2 year old male eats more than the others, he does more training and is more energetic though so he burns up more calories. I mix raw mince with thier food, whatever is going at the butchers, put through the mincer. Works a treat, keeps good muscle and does not make them fat.


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## luvmydogs (Dec 30, 2009)

Lyceum said:


> Yeah, I had my two on it and Novak looked underweight, but if I upped his daily amount he got an upset tum


I should add, mine aren't on Orijen.


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## shamykebab (Jul 15, 2009)

She's getting more than the recommended guideline amount for her weight, but I definitely can't increase it anymore as she just gets the runs. I suppose I'm just going to have to supplement her diet with something until the bag runs out and she can be moved onto something else. Such a pain considering the other dog is actually doing ok on this food - trying to find something that suits them both is a nightmare when one dog has a grain intolerance and the other can't keep weight on.


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## LucyJ (Jul 3, 2008)

shamykebab said:


> She's getting more than the recommended guideline amount for her weight, but I definitely can't increase it anymore as she just gets the runs. I suppose I'm just going to have to supplement her diet with something until the bag runs out and she can be moved onto something else. Such a pain considering the other dog is actually doing ok on this food - trying to find something that suits them both is a nightmare when one dog has a grain intolerance and the other can't keep weight on.


Why don't you try Acana, if Orijen suits, I rotate mine. Just bought some 400gm sizes on the Acana site 2 for 1 offer saved a little bit.


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## Snoringbear (Sep 26, 2008)

Try adding raw mince to bulk it out.


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## SlingDash (Jul 30, 2010)

> Does anyone else have a dog that loses weight with Orijen?


Are you absolutely sure she's underweight? So many people consider their dogs to be so, when they are actually fit, lean and healthy dogs. Others consider their dogs to be fit, lean and healthy when they are actually dangerously obese. It is normal for a slight showing of the ribs in a lean, fit dog.

We have two Labs - brother and sister.

Our big boy can eat and eat and eat and eat, and he never puts any weight on. He tears around like you said yours does when we're out walking, and he obviously burns it all off. His little sister is far more laid-back, and I even think she's getting a tiny bit tubby, so we're going to have to watch what we feed her from now on - especially having moved them all over to a raw diet, for which we're still 'playing' with quantities and weights.

Why not weigh her regularly just to see if her weight is stable. You could also ask the vet their opinion of whther or not she is actually under (or over!) weight for her age and size.


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## shamykebab (Jul 15, 2009)

SlingDash said:


> Are you absolutely sure she's underweight? So many people consider their dogs to be so, when they are actually fit, lean and healthy dogs. Others consider their dogs to be fit, lean and healthy when they are actually dangerously obese. It is normal for a slight showing of the ribs in a lean, fit dog.
> 
> We have two Labs - brother and sister.
> 
> ...


I'm pretty sure she's underweight. Both of them are from trialling stock so their frames are quite slender anyway. The older dog is worked during the season and she gets a bit ribby towards the end of it, but not to the point where you can see her spine! I generally prefer to keep my labs on the leaner side anyway, but the youngster is far too skinny for my liking. You can count her ribs when she's at a standstill and see the bones of her pelvis, and that's under a pretty dense coat! Last time she was weighed (about 4 months ago) she was 18kg - she hasn't grown much since then but she's definitely a lot thinner than she was when she was last weighed. Will weigh her anyway tomorrow just to check.

I may start adding mince or tripe to her meals - if she goes out this coming season without putting weight on now I can't imagine how skinny she's going to get :confused1:.


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## hyper Springer (Jan 8, 2010)

Have to agree my 1 year old ESS 1s 16.5kg as he was weighed at the vets last week...exactly the same weight as 3 months ago....looks ok and vet said he was ok but wouldnt hurt him to add a few lbs.....

as pointed out in previous posts if you up it to much ..runny stools

ive now started him on Natures harvest mixed with regional red..

He gets half a tub of Natures harvest with 80gms of RR for breaky and the half a tub with 100gms RR for tea

Plus he either has fish treats or antos chews for lunch and also scraps like pasta etc when i have my tea.....

he is full of energy as he should be for a ESS and gets 1.5 to 2hrs walks a day plus runs in garden ...in fact he never stops always on the go

so far this mix is working great... stools are same amount but always solid


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## Mum2Heidi (Feb 17, 2010)

Sounds like orijen perhaps isnt the best food for him or have you thought it could be that dried isnt really his thing? Was he ok on the Vitalin??

Hope adding a bit of something else does the trick for you. Since a tummy upset I've had to resign myself to the fact that 100% kibble diet isnt for my little one.


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## chestersmum (Sep 18, 2009)

I had the opposite problem with Chester. He put on weight with orijen. When I lowered the amount I was giving him by 5-10 grams ge was scavenging and going through the bins. Didn't agree with him at all. Also gave him very dry flaky skin and made his coat very dull as well


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## Horse and Hound (May 12, 2010)

Roo's skin was really bad when he was about 10 weeks old. He was on Pets @ Home dry complete topped with butchers wet.

After a lot of education on here we swapped him onto Wainwrights dry and Wet and his skin got a lot better, but he was still scratching a fair bit but not as much.

Now I've cut the kibble completely, he's even better. Skin flake free, coat all shiny, not scratching at all, bar when he has a genuine itch (trust me, you know the difference, he would sit there for 10 mins on end originally). We've just moved onto ND now so will see how that sits. At least, I know if it doesn't work, we can go back to WW. He gets treats for his teeth 2 times a week and a pigs ear/chews once a day. 

He also gets a tin of oily fish once a week instead of his meal. 

I did a lot of research on this, as he's part westie and they are reknown for bad skin problems, but fingers crossed he seems to be ok.


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## SlingDash (Jul 30, 2010)

How about posting some photos of this skinny dog?


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## shamykebab (Jul 15, 2009)

Evidently my card reader wasn't to my dogs' liking and they destroyed it (along with a phone charger) last week. Will post a photo when it's replaced.


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## nfp20 (Jun 29, 2010)

I don't feed based on the recommended amount which is only a guide I feed based on the dog. Too thin up the food too fat cut it. If your dogs struggling on the two feeds with a higher quantity of food they might not be ready to drop a feed split the feeds again to three with the higher quantity split across the three feeds that usually does the trick.

Orijen is a very high protein food so you might find that mixing it with something else might help as some dogs can't cope with the higher protein.


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## Burrowzig (Feb 18, 2009)

Since I changed Ziggy to Orijen, she's put on some weight (probably because she hasn't had colitis since and her digestion is now working properly) so I've cut back a bit on the amount I feed. It suits her and she loves it, but she gets some wet Bozita and some raw too.


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## Amy&Ted (Jul 14, 2010)

nfp20 said:


> I don't feed based on the recommended amount which is only a guide I feed based on the dog. Too thin up the food too fat cut it. If your dogs struggling on the two feeds with a higher quantity of food they might not be ready to drop a feed split the feeds again to three with the higher quantity split across the three feeds that usually does the trick.
> 
> Orijen is a very high protein food so you might find that mixing it with something else might help as some dogs can't cope with the higher protein.


I do this for Ted. He has WW tray food then has some Orijen mixed in. He loves the Orijen though and will happily eat it on its own


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## babycham2002 (Oct 18, 2009)

Im having the opposite problem with fish4dogs.
Great food but Im struggling to keep the weight off my golden and Im feeding well under the guidelines
I must weigh her today actually, check the progress.
Everyone says she is fine but im sure thats just cos they're used to fatdogs :lol: I want her to be a lean mean obedience machine!


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## macrylinda (Aug 13, 2010)

luvmydogs said:


> I should add, mine aren't on Orijen.


She's getting more than the recommended guideline amount for her weight, but I definitely can't increase it anymore as she just gets the runs. I suppose I'm just going to have to supplement her diet with something until the bag runs out and she can be moved onto something else. Such a pain considering the other dog is actually doing ok on this food - trying to find something that suits them both is a nightmare when one dog has a grain intolerance and the other can't keep weight on.


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## SlingDash (Jul 30, 2010)

> Such a pain considering the other dog is actually doing ok on this food - trying to find something that suits them both is a nightmare when one dog has a grain intolerance and the other can't keep weight on.
> Reply With Quote


This probably goes without saying, but you don't need to stop buying it if one dog's doing well on a particular food.

Simply find one that the other gets on with, and buy a bag of each. They'll then last twice as long!

:thumbup:


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## GuyIncognito (Aug 26, 2009)

SlingDash said:


> This probably goes without saying, but you don't need to stop buying it if one dog's doing well on a particular food.
> 
> Simply find one that the other gets on with, and buy a bag of each. They'll then last twice as long!
> 
> :thumbup:


That's just crazy enough to work.


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