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Kona (12) and Sophie (11) have been doing well on Wellness Senior for years, but I'm thinking of switching to Orijen Senior. Has anyone used or is currently using it? How have your old dogs done on a higher protein grain-free food? The girls are both healthy and at a good weight, they both have some arthritis and take supplements. I'm not worried about the price, it will cost me about $300 more a year. I know that feeding raw would be better, but it doesn't fit with our lifestyle since we road trip with the dogs a few times a year. I'm happy to entertain some other options also, let me know what you think. Thanks!
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I can't speak to the Senior formula, but I had gotten a bag of Orijen for Artie when the formula was 70/30. By the time we were ready for the next bag, it had switched to 80/20. He had horrible digestive issues -- lots of runny poops (which the company said was normal for the first week) but then there was blood in his poop, so I just gave up on it. It was just too rich in protein for Artie, my delicate flower.
I feed my two oldest Bostons Orijen Senior and both have done very well on it. Before the Senior formula, they were eating Orijen Fresh Six Fish and Regular Adult. I never had any problem switching between the formulas.
If your dogs are doing well on wellness then why switch?
Wellness Senior is a good food, but there are better ones out there and I'm just exploring some options to see if there is something they would do better on. I've been thinking about grain free because I'm wondering if some of the inflammation with arthritis would be eased with less grain. Just trying to get some feedback from others to help make a decision.
I know that current thinking is that one should not keep a dog on the exact same food year in and year out but pick 3 or 4 different brands and rotate them, feeding one for 3 or 4 months, then switch to brand B for 3 or 4 months, etc. I can't swear to it but I believe that I first read about this idea in The Whole Dog Journal, which is a source that I trust.
The theory is that by doing so you will get small changes in the micronutrients from different manufacturers and that that is a good thing. I've been doing that for several years now with Kirkland as sort of the main one I rely on since I am feeding 3 good sized dogs plus varying numbers of fosters of different sizes and cost is a bit of a factor. I also feed Wellness Core and then some other brand, which I vary - Canidae, Origen, TOTW, etc.
I feed it to my 5 1/2 yr old Mastiff and he does very well with it, and he has a extremely sensitive stomach, probably due to all the medicines he is on for his DCM.
With the regular Orijen, and several of the other foods he would eat he did have what I call soft serve poop, none with the senior formula.
And Orijen seems to last longer, he goes through the large bag about every 6-7 weeks, and this is for a 170lb dog.
Thanks Dawn. That's what I'm worried about with Kona, she can have a sensitive tummy, Sophie can eat a brick and be just fine.
When I read the portion about Sophie I almost spewed my coffee everywhere! Wasn't quite expecting that
When one has a sensitive stomach, especially a seasoned dog, I would hesitate on switching. Cleo was my sensitive one and Tony like your Sophie has a cast iron gut. Carly, the new girl, is fine digestive wise, but certainly has allergy issues
When I read the portion about Sophie I almost spewed my coffee everywhere! Wasn't quite expecting that
When one has a sensitive stomach, especially a seasoned dog, I would hesitate on switching. Cleo was my sensitive one and Tony like your Sophie has a cast iron gut. Carly, the new girl, is fine digestive wise, but certainly has allergy issues
Kona's tummy issues don't seem to be tied to dog food as much as they are tied to convincing people to feed her things like deviled eggs (she had 2 Saturday night).
I'm thinking of getting a small bag of Orijen Senior after our May road trip and seeing how they do with it mixed into their Wellness Senior. If they do well I may just keep a mix of the two or possibly make the switch.
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