Author Topic: Anyone fed Orijen or Aatu please?  (Read 7490 times)

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Offline cockersarespecialpeople

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Anyone fed Orijen or Aatu please?
« on: December 08, 2017, 04:15:18 PM »
Hi everyone
Our gorgeous show-type boy is 11 months old and has been fed thus far on Barking Heads puppy.  Having spent a while on All About Dog Food's website  :huh: I've managed to narrow down two suitable complete alternatives and wonder if anyone out there has used either Orijen or Aatu please?  I did try Canagan but he wasn't too keen - I think the size of the kibble put him off as it's quite an increase in size from the round kibble of Barking Heads, being more cube shaped.
It seems a bit of a minefield when trying to compare all these foods and I feel I'm going round in circles!  I just want to try and feed him the best and to find one which he eats with obvious relish! All help gratefully received!
Many thanks.


Millie & Raffles running free over the Bridge.  Miss you always our special ones.

Offline its.sme

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Re: Anyone fed Orijen or Aatu please?
« Reply #1 on: December 08, 2017, 06:20:27 PM »
It can be so difficult to find the right food, Bea for instance likes Chappie  :020: I on the other hand do not.

I would contact both company's and ask if they do samples, your boy will soon tell you if he enjoys it :D

Good luck,

Sharon.


Offline cockersarespecialpeople

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Re: Anyone fed Orijen or Aatu please?
« Reply #2 on: December 08, 2017, 07:04:42 PM »
It can be so difficult to find the right food, Bea for instance likes Chappie  :020: I on the other hand do not.

I would contact both company's and ask if they do samples, your boy will soon tell you if he enjoys it :D

Good luck,

Sharon.

Hi Sharon

Yes, I remember previous spaniels liking Chappie too!  I share your view on that one though!!

Good idea and I've emailed Orijen and asked if it's possible.   However, Pet Food UK, who make/distribute Aatu don't send out samples though for some reason.  It's the same company who make Barking Heads though of which they will send out samples!  When I said I didn't want to commit to a full size bag of food which my dog may not like, she suggested any opened bags could be sent to a local animal charity but I know ours wouldn't accept an open bag of food, so not much help there!

Thanks for your help!

Millie & Raffles running free over the Bridge.  Miss you always our special ones.

Offline Joules

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Re: Anyone fed Orijen or Aatu please?
« Reply #3 on: December 08, 2017, 07:42:57 PM »
Is there a reason why you don't want to stick with Barking Heads?

There are quite a few good quality foods nowadays, but the best food is the one that suits your dog  ;)
Julie and Watson

Offline Countrygirl

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Re: Anyone fed Orijen or Aatu please?
« Reply #4 on: December 08, 2017, 08:57:54 PM »
Rosie is now 14 months old.  When she came home at 8 weeks old she was fed Lily's Kitchen dry with some Lily's Kitchen wet food mixed in.  Since she was about 5 months old she has been on Orijen dry but still with some Lily's Kitchen mixed in.  She absolutely loves it.

Offline Mudmagnets

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Re: Anyone fed Orijen or Aatu please?
« Reply #5 on: December 08, 2017, 09:42:03 PM »
Not tried the two foods you mention, but some time ago when Toby went off the Naturediet dry I tried him on Pooch and Mutt and he loves it as does Minstrel who I tried it on when he kept leaving the ND wet food. They now both have Pooch and Mutt Calm and Relaxed which is grain free with a small portion of Forthglade wet 'Just' Duck, Turkey or Lamb mixed in.

P&M  don't rate that highly on All about dogfood (about 3.8), but as dogs can't read and it suits them. I'm not too worried. It's about £35 per 10k bag from Pets at HOme, free delivery. P&M also do treats either with rice or grain free.

I thought about trying Branston on it, but a bit worried as he tends to bolt his food.
Remembering Smudge 23/11/2006 - 3/8/2013, and Branston 30/8/14 - 28/10/22 both now at the Bridge.

Offline cockersarespecialpeople

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Re: Anyone fed Orijen or Aatu please?
« Reply #6 on: December 08, 2017, 10:13:51 PM »
Is there a reason why you don't want to stick with Barking Heads?

There are quite a few good quality foods nowadays, but the best food is the one that suits your dog  ;)

Hi Joules

The only reason is the adult version doesn't come out quite so well on the "bible" of AADF!

I absolutely agree that the best one is the one that suits him but want it to be also one that gives him optimum nutrition too - in other words, the best of both worlds!

Thank you Joules
Millie & Raffles running free over the Bridge.  Miss you always our special ones.

Offline cockersarespecialpeople

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Re: Anyone fed Orijen or Aatu please?
« Reply #7 on: December 08, 2017, 10:22:57 PM »
Rosie is now 14 months old.  When she came home at 8 weeks old she was fed Lily's Kitchen dry with some Lily's Kitchen wet food mixed in.  Since she was about 5 months old she has been on Orijen dry but still with some Lily's Kitchen mixed in.  She absolutely loves it.

Hi Countrygirl

Thanks for that.  Could I ask which Orijen you feed Rosie please?  Again there are a few different flavours.  The Barking Heads Puppy we fed was chicken and salmon based but was not the grain free variant. 

When you look at the list of ingredients on the AADF website, Orijen has about double the rest.  I'm wondering if because of the sheer number of ingredients, does that make it doubly nutritious and good for the dog?  Or am I just being to anal about this?!!
Thank you
Millie & Raffles running free over the Bridge.  Miss you always our special ones.

Offline cockersarespecialpeople

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Re: Anyone fed Orijen or Aatu please?
« Reply #8 on: December 08, 2017, 11:00:52 PM »
Not tried the two foods you mention, but some time ago when Toby went off the Naturediet dry I tried him on Pooch and Mutt and he loves it as does Minstrel who I tried it on when he kept leaving the ND wet food. They now both have Pooch and Mutt Calm and Relaxed which is grain free with a small portion of Forthglade wet 'Just' Duck, Turkey or Lamb mixed in.

P&M  don't rate that highly on All about dogfood (about 3.8), but as dogs can't read and it suits them. I'm not too worried. It's about £35 per 10k bag from Pets at HOme, free delivery. P&M also do treats either with rice or grain free.

I thought about trying Branston on it, but a bit worried as he tends to bolt his food.

Thank you Mudmagnets.  I've not come across the Pooch & Mutt food you mention but will check it out and also the Naturediet.  I want to keep him on dry food mainly for hygiene reasons, especially in the summer, as he doesn't always finish his food in one go.  However, he does have pieces of chicken/beef/fish usually as well just for a bit of variety.

With regard to Branston bolting his food, I expect you've seen those bowls designed to slow their eating habits down?  Brake Fast and Outward Hound are two makes to look at.

Thank you.
Millie & Raffles running free over the Bridge.  Miss you always our special ones.

Offline Mudmagnets

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Re: Anyone fed Orijen or Aatu please?
« Reply #9 on: December 09, 2017, 12:14:31 AM »
With regard to Branston bolting his food, I expect you've seen those bowls designed to slow their eating habits down?  Brake Fast and Outward Hound are two makes to look at.

Thanks, I have looked at them, but have resisted up till now, but maybe worth a 2nd look

Here is the Pooch & Mutt Website link, so you can read up on it if you wish and also the PAH page: although I notice it has gone up a fair bit since I last bought it from them (must have been on a special offer I guess).

https://www.poochandmutt.store/collections/grain-free-food/products/calm-relaxed-grain-free-complete-natural-dog-food?variant=27781858951

http://www.petsathome.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/en/pets/pooch-and-mutt-calm-and-relaxed-complete-dog-food-10kg-%28online-exclusive%29
Remembering Smudge 23/11/2006 - 3/8/2013, and Branston 30/8/14 - 28/10/22 both now at the Bridge.

Offline Theo961

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Re: Anyone fed Orijen or Aatu please?
« Reply #10 on: December 09, 2017, 03:12:30 AM »
Have you thought about Eden or Millies Wolfheart? They both do sample quantities, similar ingredients to the 2 you mentioned and UK companies.
I love the AADF site and it's great to check for ingredients etc but it can make you feel that if you are not feeding a 5 star food you are a bad owner. In truth it can be bias in it's scoring to one belief of dog nutrition (when there are others)  I do feed my boy minimal  carbs and he thrives, but it can be a diet too rich for a lot of dogs.
Best thing is to find ingredients you are happy with but more importantly that your dog likes and thrives on and i agree samples are the best way.  :D

Offline BonnieScot

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Re: Anyone fed Orijen or Aatu please?
« Reply #11 on: December 09, 2017, 06:45:51 AM »
Bon loves Millie's (as do the pesky cats who've been know to steal it).  >:D




Offline Finvarra

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Re: Anyone fed Orijen or Aatu please?
« Reply #12 on: December 09, 2017, 09:13:30 AM »
I fed Dylan on Barking heads as a pup, he did really well on it. When he became adult Imswitched to Evolution, and I add some wet food to it for variety. You can get really,screwed up and confused on the AADF site. A few samples to,see what your dog likes, and if the ingredients of the one you choose to go,with are good, then you,re good to go.

I sometimes think the pet food manufacturers have us stressing about the nutrition of our dogs more than Olympic athletes!  :lol2:

Lesley and Dylan
Remembering All the dogs of my life, especially Milo

Offline its.sme

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Re: Anyone fed Orijen or Aatu please?
« Reply #13 on: December 09, 2017, 12:12:18 PM »
I've recently changed to Forthglade which do sample pots, scores well go AADF site, but it is all about what your dog gets on well with.

https://forthglade.com/product/cold-pressed-dry-dog-food-chicken-starter-pack-300g/

It's a shame not all companies don't do samples, isn't it the best way to promote their product ?

Sharon

Offline Countrygirl

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Re: Anyone fed Orijen or Aatu please?
« Reply #14 on: December 09, 2017, 07:53:12 PM »
Rosie is now 14 months old.  When she came home at 8 weeks old she was fed Lily's Kitchen dry with some Lily's Kitchen wet food mixed in.  Since she was about 5 months old she has been on Orijen dry but still with some Lily's Kitchen mixed in.  She absolutely loves it.

Hi Countrygirl

Thanks for that.  Could I ask which Orijen you feed Rosie please?  Again there are a few different flavours.  The Barking Heads Puppy we fed was chicken and salmon based but was not the grain free variant. 

When you look at the list of ingredients on the AADF website, Orijen has about double the rest.  I'm wondering if because of the sheer number of ingredients, does that make it doubly nutritious and good for the dog?  Or am I just being to anal about this?!!
Thank you

Rosie has either the Original (Chicken & Turkey) or the Six Fish (all fish) depending on what flavour the Lily's Kitchen wet food is.  I give her the Original with the meaty flavours and the Six Fish with the fishy flavours.  Over the top, I know, but....

There are other flavours of Orijen but I have not tried any of the others.  She is happy with these combinations and her poos are fine.

It might be worth trying a small bag of Orijen and see how you go.  It is expensive but I am more than happy with it.