Orijen, protein, puppies (again)

[saraemilyroy]

So,

Ive read on the forum (although a tad bit late) that its best to avoid high protein diets for puppies..

We just got our dog a few weeks ago and the breeder (a well respected one, registered, who has been breeding boxers for 15 years) told us the food we needed to get was 'Royal Canin Large Puppy 32' which is 32% protein..

We had him on this up until Saturday when we wanted to switch him over to something more nutritious.. So we went to the pet food store and picked up a bag of Orijen Regional Red which is 38% protein..

We checked up on dogfoodanalysis.com, where we are glad to see the food is listed as a 6 star.. Even moreso, considering that its cheaper then the Royal Canin is..

After reading some of the threads regarding too much protein potentially causing problems in puppies im just curious as to your opinions if we should switch him back to the Royal Canin, keep him on the Orijen, or something else all together..

My confusion stems from a few things:

1) Our puppy is 5 months old.. We were told (not by the breeder, the vet) that at around 6 months it is safe to switch over to an adult dog food.. If this is the case then is it really beneficial to switch over for only 1 month?

2) The protein difference from what our breeder recommended to what the orijen is (32% vs 38%) doesnt seem to be THAT big of a protein change.. Or am i wrong?

3) Some of the threads mention that on the bags of Orijen it states that the food is not suitable for dogs under 1 year of age.. I've checked the bag of regional red a few times and unless im blind the only pertinent thing i see is 'All life stages'

 

[Sansal]

If your dog does well on the Orijen, stay with the Orijen. Since it is an all life stages food that should be fine for your pup. There are some studies out there that suggest that high protein can cause problems in growing puppies and other studies find that it does not cause problems. A lot of the high quality foods have high protein contents. I feed my puppy Taste of the Wild which has 32%. And I think you are probably right, the difference between 32% or 38% is not that big.

 

[johann]

The orijen 6-fish is also an all life stages food. They do also sell a puppy food if you're concerned about it. Orijen has been really good about answering my questions via email (google search for their website). I'm sure they could guide you in the right direction.

We switched Johann to adult food at 12 months on the recommendation of our vet. But it seems like everyone has different guidelines and I don't think there's only 1 right answer.

As I'm sure you figured out, your puppy is much better off on Orijen than Royal Canin. I'm jealous you found the Regional Red....no one around here carries that flavor.

 

[dsmit]

I switched Tyson to Orijen 6 Fish at 6 months and he has been doing well on it. The calcium and phosphorus levels are suited for puppies. These levels are more of an issue than the high protein in Orijen. These levels are lower in Orijen than in other high protein foods. The calcium and phosphorus levels are higher in Regional Red so I do not plan to rotate that flavor until Tyson is at least 1 year old.

 

[LeeUmm]

I'm in the same situation as you.

My girl is 6 months and currently on Taste of The Wild which has been great. I'm only switching for two reasons. 1. The warehouse type store we generally shop at that has by far the cheapest prices doesn't carry it, and 2. Small concerns regarding ethoxyquin. It is a preservative that may or may not cause cancer. Do a search here or Google. I'm not majorly concerned with it, but I guess if I can avoid it, I might as well.

I'm leaning towards Acana as it's made by the same company as Orijen, but lower protein and cheaper prices. Their lowest bag I believe is 33% protein. They are also only a select few of companies who guarantee they don't use ethoxyquin, or their suppliers.

You've probably read it, but this great article by BoxerWorld goes over the protein levels, large breed and puppy food topics towards the bottom after the examples.

It really comes down to personal preference I believe, as long as you aren't feeding her a garbage 1 star food. Everybody has different opinions, so it's really a gut feeling because the more research you do, it seems like there is a problem with almost everything .

My personal preference will be to stay away from 40% protein food and large breed stuff. I'll be sticking with adult or all life stage.

Should you choose not to stay with Orijen, I probably wouldn't suggest going back to Royal Canin as that was rated 2 stars. Wellness is another company to look into.